Tomima’s Blog – Lingerie & Underwear Expert

When reading the product reviews our customers write, there are occasional comments about the lace being itchy.  Well, there is a very good explanation for this– and a solution.

Anyone who has done some sewing will tell you that one of the biggest challenges is sewing on a trim.  It requires a lot of planning, pinning, and careful sewing or it will look terrible.  And lace is a particularly difficult trim to sew on well.  It can be slippery and can stretch as you sew it.  It’s also very thin and rather flimsy.  So, one way manufacturers insure that the lace is sewn on efficiently and correctly is to have it treated with a starch or stiffening agent.  This agent can give the lace a rather stiff hand and consequently render it itchy. 

The good news is that all of these agents are water-based and designed to be washed out.  After one or two washings, the lace on your lingerie should take on a much softer hand.

Now, having said all of this, some lace will always be stiff and scratchy.  And this lace is much less expensive.  Therefore, let price-point be your guide when selecting lacy lingerie.  You will pay a little more, but get a much more beautiful and softer lace.

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This month, Leanne Marshall was the Project Runway Winner with her fabulous collection inspired by water elements such as waves, bubbles, soft colors and transparent elements.  As is usually the case, models wear these designs without any undergarments to allow for quick changes and eliminate the chance of any VPL or bra strap slip.  We, however, need to wear undergarments.  So, here’s my pick for what we should be underwearing with this winning design by Marshall.

I picked this bra by LZ because it’s the perfect bra for a woman who wants support, but also wants to wear plunging and/or open necklines.  It’s a great choice when your only other option would be to go braless.

This Spanx slimmer piece was picked for several reasons.  White pants are one of the biggest lingerie challenges because almost anything can be seen through them.  This Spanx piece comes up as high on the waist as these high waisted pants.  This eliminates any extraneous horizontal panty lines.  The control guarantees a smooth line from high-waist to calves, the cotton crotch makes wearing a panty optional, and the leg band gives you a bare foot look that is preferrable when wearing sandals.

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Did you know there is a woman scientist studying the science of breast bounce?  Her name is Dr. Joanna Scurr at the University of Portmouth in the UK.  I had the pleasure of meeting Joanna earlier this year when she and I shared a podcast on sports bras and breast bounce. My part of the podcast was sharing the fact that HerRoom.com provides a Bounce Test video on every sports bra that is branded as high impact.  From viewing the videos, several on the market are not doing the job.  Joanna shared that during high impact, our breasts move in a figure 8 movement up and down (as much as 8.25"), side to side, and also move in and out.  Her research showed that no matter what your breast size, wearing a good sports bra in the correct size will reduce or reduce breast pain and diminish the strain on the Coopers ligaments, which help keep your breasts from sagging.

Recently, Dr. Scurr and her breast biomechanics research team have discovered through many interviews with women that embarrassment and/or ignorance are the key reasons for women choosing the wrong type of bra support.

Over a three year study, Scurr confirmed that women tend to purchase bras where the band is too large, and the cup size is too small.  This has been the consensus of almost all the bra manufacturers I have spoken with as well.  Wearing the wrong size during aerobic activity reduces a woman’s breast support and increases her breast discomfort due to excessive movement.  Thus women’s breasts will stretch and sag if not in the proper size sports bra.  Adding to this incorrect sizing are women’s false perceptions about what breast size they want to be.  Rather than finding the right size, women stick with a size that they feel is socially acceptable.  This, of course, is absolute nonsense because no one knows what bra size you are wearing, and the right size will probably make you look thinner and more youthful.

Another interesting point made by Scurr is that women experience breast pain more during acceleration and deceleration of the breasts.  So, once a woman is in the zone running for example, consistent breast movement is not as painful as when she starting to run or beginning to slow down.  I absolutely agree with this finding because I personally feel more breast pain when doing aerobic activity that is not a consistent repetitive movement.

Women also seem to have some built-in predjudices when it comes to selecting bras for sports activity.  Joanna’s team found that many of their interviewees have a stong preference for a certain style of sports bra, and would not consider buying a different style if it deviated from what they thought represented a supportive sports bra.  Specifically, many women feel that a sports bra must be one that pulls on over their head and not have a back or front closure.  If the sports bra resembles the look of an everyday bra, most women feel its not truly a sports bra.  Of course, this is absolutely false.  There are many sports bras with openings that provide fabulous support during high impact activity.  Just look at the Bounce Test to see this point.

Perhaps the UK is really ahead of the US in this area. Last year, a British Medical Association Conference made a recommendation that a free bra fitting be offered during a physical exam.  It is felt that if women are properly fitted, there would be a decrease in the number of unnecessary breast reductions.

 
Find Sports Bras at HerRoom in these departments:
Sport Underwear