Tomima's Blog – Lingerie & Underwear Expert

Maidenform launched a campaign this year titled "Out with the Old.  In with the New" where it featured the new Maidenform Breakthrough Backless underwire bra style 7445.  My response to their slogan is "Hold on to the old, for now."

ABC Television ran a second season of "American Inventor" where Elaine Cato, a realtor from Tennessee, came in as runner up with her invention: "The Annette Convertible Six-in-One bra."  During her congratulations, Norah Alberto from Maidenform appeared and offered to help her further develop and market her idea.  This Breakthrough Backless bra is the result of that collaboration.

The great news for Cato is that it made it to the market.  The not so great news is that we are receiving not so great reviews about it.

When we received our sample of the bra, we had one of our models put it on to be photographed.  The first thing I noticed was how high up it rode under the arm.  The model too found this a little bothersome.  However, I was unfettered by this comment because, honestly, how many times have women not been totally comfortable in an effort to look fabulous.  And this bra would hopefully provide breast support to women wanting to wear a low back or backless outfit.

I became concerned, however, when the actual product with tags arrived in my warehouse.  There, attached to this bra was a tag titled "Fitting Instructions."  Upon reading it, I learned that Maidenform recommends this bra be used in conjunction with fashion tape – you know, the tape JLo used to keep the infamous green Versace dress in place years ago.  A free roll of tape would be sent to you, but you had to allow up to 6 weeks to receive it.

Well, this was all new information that had not been shared with us by Maidenform when they were taking our order.  I then found out from a Maidenform representative that the fit of this bra really works better for the C cups and higher because they have the breast volume to keep the bra in place.

The ultimate arbitor on the success of this bra is our customers.  The reviews are now in.  So far, the reviewers are only giving 1 to 3 out of 5 stars.  These comments are from women with a variety of bra sizes.  Basically, the complaint is that the bra does not stay in place, needs constant adjusting while wearing, and that tape would help alleviate some of this problem.  Also, none of the reviewers said it was a bad product, or that they were sorry they bought it.

So, in conclusion, if you want a bra for a backless garment, this Maidenform 7445 is one option.  Just know that it’s not particularly comfortable to wear and will move around unless you use fashion tape, which can take up to 6 weeks to arrive unless you go out and buy some yourself.

Find Maidenform lingerie at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras

Posted by Tomima at 6:19am
Tags: backless bra, maidenform
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I meet regularly with various lingerie manufacturer representatives.  It’s always interesting though, when I meet with manufacturers who are not based in the United States.  For example, Chantelle, Fantasie of England, and Panache are all designed in Europe.  Without a doubt, European women have different taste and preferences when it comes to bras and lingerie.

The first curious comment from these manufacturers is that women from the UK have considerably larger breast sizes.  The average cup size is a D rather than the C in the US.  Now, their band size is not unusual – UK women are in good shape from all their walking.  But, in general, a British woman has larger breasts.

European women buy lots of white and ivory underwear.  The concept of nude underwear has either not caught on, or they dismiss it.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  First, European women are very accustomed to hand-washing their lingerie and then putting it up to dry.  US women have more washers and dryers than European women.  Truly white undergarments are a sign of them being clean.  If they get a little dingy, you bleach them or throw them out.  If you have nude colored underwear, there is no gauge as to whether or not it’s getting dingy.  The color ivory to European women is considered their version of nude.  It can still look clean, but has enough cream to better match their skin tone.

Now, having said this, European women are big purchasers of lingerie in wild colors – purple, red, citrus, chartreuse.  And they don’t care if it shows under their clothing.  American women buy very little lingerie that is colored.  In fact, colored lingerie makes up less than 8% of lingerie sales in the United States.  American women buy mostly nude and black bras and panties.  You will see beautiful colored lingerie in US department stores, but it’s really put in there just to show some contrast and keep the department from looking like a sea of nude.  Chances are if you like a colored piece of lingerie, hold off buying because it will be on sale shortly.

American women are obsessed with seamless, contoured and invisible underwear.  We don’t want anyone to see any sign of lingerie under any of our clothing.  We are on a constant quest for that lingerie item that won’t show.  European women, by contrast, could care less.  Let there be seams showing, let their lace show through, who cares if someone sees a panty line?  European women love buying pretty lacy and expensive lingerie and don’t care if it shows or not.

Viva la Difference!

Check out lingerie essentials in HerRoom’s Complete Lingerie Wardrobe.

Find Chantelle lingerie at HerRoom

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Posted by Tomima at 8:34am
Tags: chantelle, european lingerie, fantasie, french bras, panache
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A new line called Olga’s Christina was launched by Warnaco in 2007. Warnaco is the same company that markets the Olga brand of lingerie, so the name similarity is intentional. So, what’s going on with announcing this new brand? I put this question to two of my friends over at Warnaco, Elizabeth Sullivan, Sales Coordinator for Warnaco, and Todd Mick, Warnaco’s Merchandise Manager.

The traditional Olga bra line needed a new direction. It has been a favorite of many women for many years, but the core customer has always been the full figure woman. So Olga made the decision to adjust their size range. Olga bras now focus on band sizes from 36 to 42, and cup sizes from C to DD. As Todd said, "No one makes full figure bras more beautifully than Olga." So, to that end, Olga’s focus is on full figure bras that are extremely pretty and beautifully embellished.

The Olga bra cups and their fit are also a main focus as well. For example, the Olga Smoothback with Supremesupport 35061 has a great cup capacity. The cups are molded with Simplex fabric, which doesn’t stretch so holds a woman’s breasts while giving great support. This bra also has a lower center and lace for a sexy look. Both Todd and Liz agree this is a beautiful looking bra. The customer that wore the now discontinued Olga style 319 will want this bra.

Okay, so I understand the new direction with Olga. But why introduce the Olga’s Christina bra line? Isn’t this just going to confuse the customer? According to Todd and Liz, the answer is no. The two lines are really a complement to one another. Both are addressing the full figure customer. But what Warnaco has found is that within this bra demographic, there are two very different customers. Olga styles satisfy a woman who wants pretty, detailed, and embellished bras. Olga’s Christina customers want traditional and sophisticated styling that are streamlined – less fancy. This customer tends to also be a little younger.

The Olga’s Christina line is made up of underwire bras and minimizers that have smooth cups and design lines to be worn under t-shirt and knits. For example, their Lace Underwire 55007 is luxurious and elegant, but the surface of the cups are smooth enough to wear under fitted tops. This lacy looking yet smooth bra has been such a success, a minimizer of the same concept, style 55019 is planned for introduction shortly. Another focus in the Olga’s Christina line is modesty. Liz points out that this customer does not want their headlights showing. So, spacer foam is being used in many of the cups. Spacer foam is only about 1/8" thick, but goes a long way in masking nipple show-through and giving the wearer a very smooth and pretty shape.

Todd summed it up best. "Olga’s Christina brings to life a fresh perspective on intimate apparel. We are redesigning the bras, not the bodies, to deliver beauty, function and fashion to that DDD cup woman."

You can learn more about full-figure sizing and fit at HerRoom’s fitting guide.

Find Olga and Christina lingerie at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras

Posted by Tomima at 10:04am
Tags: Full-figure, olga bras, plus size bras
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