It makes perfect sense that the strap adjuster should be in front on bras.  Think about it.  It would make putting on a bra easier because the straps could quickly be let out to get them on your shoulders.  Once your bra is on, you could easily adjust the straps yourself until you had adequate breast support.  So, why aren’t they in front?  Well there are 4 reasons.

1. Strap design.  More and more bras now incorporate the front of the bra straps into the overall design of the bra.  If there is lace, you will see it also crawling up the bra strap  If there is a design element on the cup, many times it will continue up the strap.  Designers also like to shape the bra straps differently.  For example, start them wide where they attach to the bra cup and then taper them up to your shoulder area.   These design options would never work with a strap adjuster.  In these cases, the strap adjustment needs to be in the back.

2. Wide Strap Designs.  In the last 5 years, the concept of "comfort straps" has really taken off.  This is where the top of the strap that rests on your shoulder will be wide and possibly have padding.  Such a design necessitates any strap adjusting being handled in the back.

3. Aesthetics. It is the common opinion of the industry that when looking a a bra, it is more attractive if all the hooks and adjusters are in the back.  It’s a rather old concept, but one that seems to stick around.

4. Show-through.  In this age of t-shirt bras, when no one wants seams from a bra to show through their form-fitting clothing, the strap adjuster gets the same scrutiny.  If it’s in front, you would have a bump that would be visible under clothing.

Another interesting piece of information on this came from our friends at Wacoal.  Years ago, the strap adjustment was always on the front of a bra. But, unlike today’s adjusters, it was a slide and pull-through strap adjuster that was rather bulky.  Women complained about it showing under tops so the industry moved them to the back.  When the new adjusters became popular, the industry never moved them from back to front.

So, for all these reasons, we are left taking off our bras and then guessing as to the right adjustment, or depending on someone else to do it for us.  Now, there are some bras out there with front adjusters.  You’ll just need to look closely at our images, or use our nifty feature to have all the back shots pop up in your search.  And, you can purchase a convertible bra and switch the straps to your liking.

With all these explanations, it’s now understandable why the adjustments are in back.  But, it sure would be great if someone could figure out how a girl could get to them once she’s put on her bra.

Find bras at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras

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Came across both of these this week.

The first bra is called ‘The Husband-Hunting Bra’ by Triumph.  This bra has a countdown clock that a woman sets to her personal deadline date and time for when she expects to be married.   Once engaged, she inserts her engagement ring into a slot in the bra, the clock stops counting down and begins to play the wedding march song. The bra is playing to Japan’s singles market as the country’s marriage rate continues to fall. Think it will help?

The second bra is called the Horny Bra.  A Slovenian company has found material that inflates when one’s body temperature climbs.  So, when you put this bra on, it allegedly senses if your body temperature is climbing due to arousal from seeing some cute guy, and the bra ‘inflates’ cup size and  turns into a more serious push-up bra.  When you cool down, the bra does as well, taking your bust  back to where it started.  Warning: Women experiencing hot flashes should probably steer clear of this one.

Find interesting lingerie at HerRoom in these departments:
Sexy Lingerie

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So we don’t know if bras prevent the inevitable breast sag.  But, here are a few things I do know.  My 80 year-young mom has great looking D-cup boobs.  Even her gynecologist has commented on how high they are compared to those of other women her age.  I too have pretty perky ones.  What both of us have in common is that we have always worn a bra.  Though I’m a C cup, I really avoid clothing where I can’t wear some kind of bra.

I had the opportunity to work with Joanna Scurr last year.  Dr. Scurr is the only one I know currently doing work on breast bounce and movement.  Her research shows that our breasts move in a figure-8 motion as we move - especially while running.  Though she wasn’t able to measure an increase in sagging, she did discover that breast pain and thus breast movement can be reduced or eliminated by wearing a supportive sports bra.   The more support, the less the bounce and thus less breast pain.  HerRoom, in fact, is the only website that conducts a bounce test on every sports bra and shows you how much breast bounce to expect when wearing various sports bras.

Our breasts, like our faces and other body parts, are subjected to daily gravity.  They will sag.  And, since they have little to no muscle tissue, it’s not possible to tone our breasts to make them firm.  Wearing a bra may or may not reduce your sag over time, but what a bra can do is put your girls in a more flattering light.  A bra can lift, separate, push up, minimize, plump up and generally present your breasts in a more youthful and attractive silhouette to make your clothes look better.  And, wearing a bra cuts down on breast pain, reduces jiggle, provides modesty from headlights showing, and makes us more comfortable.  All in all, it’s a great idea to wear a bra.

Find Sports bras at HerRoom in these departments:
Sport Underwear

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When people vote, they first select the body types that most closely define their shape.  Specifically, we ask voters to select a bust type, a tummy type and a bottom type. Each year, we are surprised by how consistently the percentages break out among body types regardless of the increase in votes.

The 2009 Undie Award voters are as follows:

20%  Small Bust

28% Average Bust

8% Augmented Bust

31% Full Bust

13% Plus Size Bust

52% claim to have little or no tummy

11% claim to have no bottom

8% claim to have a low hanging bottom

11% claim to have a bubble bottom.

For the men, 36% were 6 feet or taller.

Finally, 21% of our voters were in their teens or 20’s;  47% were in their 30’s or 40’s;  33% were in their 50’s or older.

I’m frequently asked what age my website appeals to. Clearly, given these statistics, HerRoom is working for everyone.

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Your votes are in!  This year we received more than 20,000 votes from women and men telling us their favorite undergarments.  Some are repeats from last year, but there are also some fresh new designs.  So, for the third year in a row, here are the 2009 Undie Awards Winners:

This year’s Overall bra winner for average figure goes to the Vanity Fair Body Sleeks Contour Stretch Bra 75-266.   This is the second year in a row that this bra has won this award.  Bottom line: this bra is just plain comfortable with a very simple t-shirt design.

This year’s Overall bra winner for full figure goes to the Panache Superbra Tango Underwire Balconnet bra 3251.  A pretty and flattering bra, it is also very supportive.  Its cup sizing goes up to a JJ.

The Overall Panty winner was the Olga Secret Hug Nylon Scoop Halfpant 913.  Over the three years of this award, most of the panty winners have had a center back seam.  This center back seam gives a much better fit and shape while keeping the panty from riding up.

In the Men’s category, the Overall Favorite Boxers went to Calvin Klein Slim Fit Woven Boxer U1513 for the Woven category, and the Calvin Klein Cotton Knit Boxer U3008 for the knit category.  Both have a devoted following because neither has too much or too little fabric. Both fit just right.

In total, there are 36 Undie Awards given out in the Woman’s category, and 14 Undie Awards given out in the Men’s category.  For a full list of winners, go to TheUndies.com and click on the 2009 Winners. And, while you’re there, go ahead and cast your vote for your favorites.  You could be wearing the next Undie Award Winner!

Find Undie Award-winning lingerie and more at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Panties

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There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal last week bemoaning the fact that most web apparel sites tend to market to the younger demographic.

So, why do they do this?  The answer is kind of funny.  Here we have the cutting-edge Internet using out-of-date demographics that were set up in the 60’s by the advertising industry. Someone, back then, found that successfully appealing to this youthful demographic would create mass appeal and acceptance. 

Let’s look at a few facts here.  First, 65% of online apparel sales are made by women over the age of 35.  Second, look around you.  The ages 18-34 customers are having a hard time finding jobs, many are living at home, and most don’t have the finances to purchase a home.  The money to spend is with the more mature population. 

Being in the now "older" demographic myself, I am more and more aware of what helps a woman make a buying decision.  We don’t so much care that Angelina Jolie was seen wearing it.  Rather, we want facts; especially with lingerie.  More to the point, we want to know if a panty’s rise will be high enough, what other women our size think of the garment, is it durable, what does it look like on a woman who has some meat on her bones?

Well, if I may be so bold as to toot my own horn here for a moment, HerRoom addresses all of these concerns and more.  My team works very hard to provide "fitters comments" on every garment.  Here you will find relevant garment measurements, bra hook counts, and design details.  Our reviews come from real customers - not seeded by employees to build up quantity - and we respond to questions and concerns.  Our reviews also include the reviewers bra size and body type.  Finally, one of the features I’m most proud of are our alternate image views for bras that come in cup sizes DD and larger.  We display a shot of that item on a model who is a 36DD so that the larger breasted woman has a better sense of how it will look and fit.

All this being said, I hope women over the age of 35 know that I welcome you.  And, if there is some piece of information missing to better help you make a decision, I hope you’ll let me know.

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I have one of those mothers who always buys three panties for every bra she owns in the same color so that she matches.  I don’t know what happened, but I didn’t get the "matching" gene.  It never occurs to me to match - rather I consider what I am wearing on the top and bottom of my outfit and select the item that will work best underneath.

So, are you a matcher?  Don’t be worried if you’re not.  Speaking with many vendors over the years, the percentage of matching women out there is rather low.  Most brands put it at about 10%.  More upscale brands like Prima Donna put it at about 30%.  Walk into any department store when they’re having a sale and you always see that special matching panty discounted.

So, should one match or not match? That is the question.  For my Mom, it’s all about feeling great in her lingerie.  Knowing you match is a nice little secret with yourself that you have it all together under your clothes.  If you find yourself needing to disrobe somewhere such as a locker room or doctor’s office, you look coordinated and together.  The downside to matching is that many times, that matching panty doesn’t fit well or isn’t in the style you prefer.  One of my favorite bras only gives me the option of a high-rise thong, or monster brief - I wear neither.  So, matching lingerie is kind of hard work for shopping and selection.

Now, those of us who don’t match shouldn’t feel bad either.  After all, how many times does anyone actually see you in just your underwear?  Take off your blouse, and all they see is your bra.  Drop your pants and all they see is your panty.  If you wear a white blouse and black pants, you have the ability to wear a nude bra and black panties.  You can also get dressed more quickly because you are not trying to match up all the variable.

Having said all of this, our home page this week shows you ways to be matchy between brands.  Hanky Panky makes panties in over 30 colors.  We’ve taken the guess work out of figuring out which of their colors matches other brands.  So, if you are a closet matchy who loves Hanky Panky, now you can coordinate your tops and bottoms to look and feel fabulous.

Find lingerie collections at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Panties

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I think we all know about that silicone gripper tape that is often used to line a strapless bra or the edges of shapewear.  Consumers, and I’m one of them, have always thought that when a garment has this, it will stay in place - no more pulling up a strapless bra or feeling that creeping up feeling from the legs of your shapewear.  Well guess what?  Having that silicone inside your garment doesn’t do anything.  That’s right, Flexees in particular has run tests and found that it doesn’t really work.  It’s a purely cosmetic feature.  Consumers see it and the perception is that the garment will stay put.  If deciding between two garments, a consumer will pick the one with the gripper tape because the perception is that it will stay in place better.

So, the lesson learned here is to look at the construction and fabric of the garment.  Quality elastic that isn’t skimpy, and fabric with an ample percentage of spandex will provide the best support and staying power.  All that gripper tape is doing is pulling on your body hairs and irritating your skin.

Find strapless bras at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras

Find lingerie accessories at HerRoom in these departments:
etcetera

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This took me by surprise.  The Japan based Wacoal company has been making and selling loincloths for women since December of last year.  Called a fundoshi, it’s basically a rectangle piece of fabric with ties.

Okay, so let’s ask the basic question–why?  The answer, according to Tomoka Okamura (Merchandise Director for Wacoals’ Nanafun brand) is that it’s the "ultimate liberation item" for women.  After a hard days work, many girls like to be able to come home and relax without having tight or binding panties on.

With over 5,000 being sold so far in Japan, the plan is to roll the fundoshi out to other countries in the Pacific Rim.  No plans at this time to bring it to the US.

I agree this is kind of a fun twist on a very old idea.  But, I’m surprised the shape hasn’t been a little modernized.  For example, I would think an hourglas shape to reduce the fabric bulk between the legs would have been designed into it. One also has to ask how comfortable this really is with the possible gapping at the legs and probably frequent adjustments to maintain modesty.  But, in the end, it is something new.  Don’t be surprised if you see this showing up as a bathing suit option in a summer coming soon.

Find Wacoal lingerie at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Panties

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 ...and Jennifer Garner is just one example.

I saw these pictures today of Jennifer Garner getting caught wearing a not-too-great pair of worn-out underwear.  And no, it wasn’t a thong or or a lacy little something.  It was a comfortable looking pair of briefs.  Hurray!  An example of a movie star actually wearing what most of us wear every day.

Like her, we’ve all been there.  Since it’s underwear, we think no one will see it.  But, here’s proof that that isn’t always the case.  In fact, I was having brunch with my daughters Sunday morning after church and we noticed this woman who got up and failed to pull her pants up as well.  We got a shot of a bad pair of underpants and unfortunately much more. 

I too am guilty of hanging on to underpants too long - and I’m in the business.  But it’s understandable.  I’m sure most of us think like Jennifer when she selected them that day.  She looked at them and decided they were comfortable - regardless of the elastic coming off.  So, we slip them on.  But, also look how Jennifer is dressed; comfortable and sloppy.  When I pull out a comfortable ratty pair of underpants, I subconsciously think I shouldn’t put something really nice on over them.  Rather, I keep with the theme and continue putting on a ratty warm-up suit too.  It’s a slippery slope to fashion laziness when you start with a bad pair of panties.

Since cleaning out my old panties, I noticed that I’m also making more of an effort in the morning to look better. After all, better panties make you also feel better about yourself.

Find nice new underpants at HerRoom in these departments:
Panties

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