Archive for the 'Women’s Lingerie' Category
Bra Recycling Month
October 16, 2011
It’s October! Did you also know it’s the month for the second annual bra recycling campaign?
This month, along with the traditional Breast Cancer and Domestic Violence Awareness campaigns, The Bra Recyclers, based in Gilbert, Arizona have decided to help bring awareness to these issues by collecting and recycling bras. There are women across America without a clean and properly fitted bra. The Bra Recyclers say that last year’s collection gave self-esteem and strength to the thousands of women who received the gently-used or new bras that had been donated.
This year, the Bra Recyclers are hosting weekly raffles to give away prizes. Each woman who makes a donation is put into the drawing for a chance to win the prize. To see the updated list of prizes, go to The Bra Recyclers website .
Last year, more than 7,000 bras were donated to The Bra Recyclers. And the hope is that this year, they will more than double that number. “This year our goal is to collect 10,000 recycled bras,” said Birks-Mitchell. “We know we can do it, because this is a simple way for anyone to support Breast Cancer and Domestic Violence Awareness.”
For more information about The Bra Recyclers, including charity organizations they support, and more Bra Recycling Month details, please visit www.brarecycling.com.
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Posted by Tomima at 10:04am
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Knock Out – New Product for Women
October 05, 2011
Here’s a rather taboo subject – odor and dampness in our panties. Okay! Okay! It’s an icky subject, but I’m happy to say there is also a possible solution to all this and they look pretty – Knock Out Panties.
You may have read about them in The Washington Post last month. Angela Newnam, a D.C. socialite and entrepreneur, came up wtih these Febreze-like underpants after finding a forgotten patent covering a technology that permanently binds the odor-trapping chemicals in air fresheners. Originally called "No Trace" it was marketed to outdoorsmen wanting to eliminate their natural scent while tracking and hunting animals.
There are 6 Knock Out panty styles – each with a liner made of "No Trace" fabric. This technology is built into the fibers and therefore does not wear or wash out. And, the line is made in America. Check out the Knock Out line at HerRoom.
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Posted by Tomima at 7:31am
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Apparel Sizing Has Changed
September 26, 2011
Have you noticed that you find yourself sizing down a lot when you try on clothing? I have. And I tell you, when I fit into a size 2, or once into a size 0, I’m so elated, I almost always buy it. For me, it’s like wearing a badge of honor!
Well, now my bubble has been burst. I learned recently that a size 0 today was a size 8 back in the 1970′s. As a child, I remember one of my babysitters telling me that she once waited on Jackie O for a bathing suit and sold her a size 10. So, for years, I thought as long as I stayed under a size 10, I was just fine. Well, now I’m finding that her size 10 of the 70′s is today’s size 2!
So, what’s going on? According to Ed Gribbin, President of Alvanon Inc – a clothing size and fit consultant to the fashion industry, the industry is playing with the sizing numbers so that more plus-size women can fit in sizes that sound more standard. Today’s size 14 has a bust measurement of 44 inches, a waist of 38 inches and hips of 46 inches. So, though 1/3 of the American population of women are plus-sized, only 15% of clothing sales go to clothing classified as plus-sized. In other words, they have shifted the sizing scale downward, created sizes like 0 and 00 at the bottom of the size scale so that traditionally average sizes like 10, 12 and 14 are actually fitting plus-sized women.
However, getting the right fit in these new sizes is a challenge. As I blogged about before, once a woman gets to a certain size, she starts to hold her weight in a variety of areas. In contrast, the smaller sizes tend to put on weight proportionally in the same areas and this allows the manufacturer to know how to grade a pattern for the different sizes. We’ve all heard about the fruit shape comparisons. The apple shape means you have a large tummy. The pear shape means you have large hips. These two silhouettes do not fit in clothing the same way – the weight distribution is diverse in these larger sizes.
Lane Bryant, a retailer of plus-sized clothing, has been making 3-D scans of many of their customers’ bodies since 2004. They now have more than 65,000 unique body measurements for comparison analysis. What they found is that 15% of women in the plus sized category had more than a 10 inch difference between their waist and hips. 70% of these women had a difference between waist and hips within an 8-10 inch variance, and another 15% only has a 4-6 inch variance between these two measurements. That’s a lot of variation! So, there is no one dress shape or pant style that will fit all plus-sized women.
The lesson in all of this is that plus-sized women need to know not only their size, but their body shape. The latest thinking is that there are 4 shapes – round, curvy, bottom-heavy and straight.
Since I sell underwear, once I learned this, I immediately thought of the challenges plus-sized women have with shapewear. Shapewear is really made with the assumption that you are for the most part pretty straight up and down. So by figuring out her body shape, a full-figure woman can make the right shapewear decisions If she has a fuller bottom, two pieces of shapewear – one for the top and one for the bottom – will give her the best results. If she’s more straight, a one-piece shapewear will probably work.
So, say goodbye to the fruit analogies, and figure out what body shape you have if you are plus-sized. This will go a long way in helping you find the best-fitting and figure-flattering clothing.
Find Shapewear that fits at HerRoom in these departments:
Shapewear
Plus-Size Lingerie
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Posted by Tomima at 9:12am
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