Tomima - Lingerie and Underwear Expert

During Los Angeles Fashion Week in March 2008, The Pussycat Dolls - inspired lingerie line was a surprise hit. Designed by the founder of the Pussycat Dolls band, Robin Antin, the collection received several thumbs up from major LA fashionistas.

 The group, known for their skimpy lingerie-like costumes and overtly sexy moves, is now putting its reputation on an equally sexy and skimpy line of lingerie. Sean "Puffy" Combs and Quincy Jones were just some of the celebrities at the fashion show.

 The collection first featured micro-mini skirts with corset, graffiti-covered bra and panty sets, leopard-printed pieces and many lace-up ensembles. Then a frilly, ribbon trimmed and ruffly collection emerged with very sheer sets and a sailor inspired theme. Antin summed up the show by saying "It’s feminine and it’s edgy, just like the Pussycat Dolls." The first collection is titled "Shhh" because Astin wanted a word to sum up "Our little secret."

That’s right. Eco-friendly fabric made from wood is now available. French lingerie designer, Sophie Young is designing lingerie with Lenpur fabric under the label By Nature. Her collection, called g=9.8 (the scientific equation for earth’s acceleration due to gravity) claims not only to be eco-friendly, but ultra comfortable and soft as silk, with the feel of cashmere and the coolness of linen.

Lenpur is made from white pine trees. Tree trimmings are mixed with enzymes and turned into fibers for weaving. The claim is that these fibers regulate the wearer’s temperature so she is never too hot or too cold. Lenpur is biodegradable and anti-bacterial. It also washes and dries very quickly. Not only is g=9.8 a sexy brand, it is trying to be innovative as well with strong ethics. It has based its entire production in a small village near Angers, France to help strengthen the local economy. The dyes it uses are certified by Oekotex as non-toxic. The pine used is not part of a deforestation project.

Young’s line was introduced recently at a Paris ethical fashion show this spring and in Lyon Mode. There is one British company selling the underwear line, but interest has been brisk, and many others retailers have asked for linesheets.

Last week I had the great pleasure to spend a fabulous and informative afternoon with Liels George. Over the last six years, Liesl has been the designer for Goddess bras and now the new elomi bras. Born and raised in South Africa, and currently living in the UK, Liels is simply lovely. As she walked toward me to shake my hand, I was struck by her Cleopatra coloring, and her buxom shape. "How fabulous!" I thought to know that the designer for these full figure bra lines is herself full figured.

I’ve always known that Goddess bras were the first full figure bra line in the United States. And, their success has sustained the test of time. So, I wanted to know what Goddess, and now elomi, have done and continue to do to ensure that their bras are some of the best fitting full figure bras in the world. Liels was more than kind to share her knowledge.

Underwires - Starting with the underwires, Goddess and elomi underwires have a wider sweep or a longer diameter. Most underwire bras come up on the sides in front of the arm. However, a full figure girl has more breast tissue under her arm. This common wire style could rest on sensative breast tissue and cause pain. By opening up the wire further, and going farther under the arm, the Goddess and elomi underwires scoop up all a woman’s breast tissue and pull it into the bra cup. As Liels in her lovely British accent explained, this tends to have a minimizing effect and a better overall breast shape. She also uses very strong underwires. Liesl made the interesting point that when a woman complains of her underwires sticking outward in the middle of her chest, it can also be caused by cheap and flimsy underwires not being able to withstand the weight of larger breasts.

Soft cup Bras - I then asked Liesl about her design of soft cup bras. She had some very interesting insights. A soft cup bra, she feels, is popular because women who have had a bad experience with uncomfortable underwires feel this is their only option. In truth, she said, if the woman was able to get into her correct underwire size, she would probably stay with an underwire. After all, underwires will always give you a more defined silhouette. However, there are a lot of women out there who want soft cup bras, so she will continue to design them. The elomi bra line, though, will only consist of underwire bras for now. An additional point about soft cup bras. With a soft cup bra, it is apparenlty impossible to get the center panel or gore to lay flat against the sternum. Only an underwire can achieve this.

Bra Straps - since Liesl’s arrival, all bras by Goddess and elomi  have been designed with restricted stretch elastic. Liesl explains that a rigid strap gives great support. but, when a woman moves, if the strap doesn’t have some give, it will pull or get out of place and be uncomfortable. On the other end, an elastic strap will give too much movement and thus reduce support. Also, a stretch elastic tends to curl into a "U" shape when stretched. This creates an even narrower strap on the shoulder which digs in. Restrictive stretch straps are wide and comfortable. They don’t curl, and provide just enough stretch to allow for movement without feeling bound. Oh, and as for those padded straps, Liesl has some designs that incorporate them, but she is not a fan. A padded strap reduces the length of strap adjustability. And, this limitation can prevent women from buying an otherwise fantastic product.

Bra Backs - Liesl prefers the leotard back styling. A leotard back design incorporates the strap into the back and gives a rounded or leotard back style to a bra rather than a common camisole back. There are several reasons for this design choice. According to Liesl, this design helps to reduce the  bra back from creeping up your back and the subsequent back fat this may cause. But secondly, and more important,  leotard back styling helps to better distribute the breast weight across and down the back rather than just at the shoulders. This goes a long way towards increasing comfort for full figure bra wearers.

Cup Design - Liesl is credited with coming up with the 4 section cup design seen in both the Goddess and elomi bra lines. As she stated, the best supporting cup will always be a multi-section cup. However, the 4th section Liesl has added is along the side. Rather than putting a support panel inside the cup, she has incorporated the panel into the cup construction itself. This helps to push breast tissue forward and further reduces breast spillage out the sides. She also made a very interesting point about the differences between US women and UK women. Over in the UK, there isn’t a thought about whether bra seams show through their clothing. It’s only in the US that women are obsessed about seamless bras.