Berenice Bejo has a starring role in the recent Golden Globe winner and Academy Award-nominated movie "The Artist."  But, what many may not know is that under her flawless gown at the Golden Globes she was wearing a Maidenform strapless bra.

To be more specific, it was the Maidenform Custom Lift Strapless bra style 9455. I think this was a great choice.  This strapless bra has a rather unique feature. Its padding in the bottom of the cups is sized differently for each cup size. So, the amount of padding in an A cup is more than the padding in the B, C, or D cups – the padding decreases as the cup sizes increase.  This unique construction of the strapless bra means it stays up and will not look unnatural on you.

Berenice looked fabulous and so can you! 

Find Maidenform lingerie at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Panties

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Many women (and men) fall in love with the shape and look that demi and balconette bras can create. Their objective is to expose your upper breast tissue for sexy full cleavage and give a mounding effect to your upper chest that is a sign of youth.  Unfortunately, this bra style, that comes with wide-set straps, is not right for every woman to wear. Oh, and demi bras and balconette bras are one and the same.

Demi bras look best on women with average to small bust sizes and whose upper breasts are rather full. If full coverage bras leave your cups half empty or cause a wrinkled look, then demi styles might also be an answer because the small cup shape is more forgiving of a woman with less breast tissue.

If you love the demi look but want more coverage, go for a semi-demi cup bra. This is a great solution for women with large areolas that might peek out in traditional demi cups.

If you’re hunting for a great demi bra, I recommend Le Mystere Francesca, Chantelle Icone 3855, Cosabella SN1171 and La Perla 901634.

For full-busted women, demi bras can actually give you an overflowing look or cause an unflattering indentation at the upper breast so I recommend avoiding this style altogether. Keep in mind that Fantasie, Elomi and Freya brands call their bra styles with a low front or sweetheart neckline a balcony bra, but these are not true demi styles. These brands specialize in bras for full-busted women for the very best fit and support.

Finally, if you have issues with your straps falling off your shoulders, a demi or balconette bra is simply going to exacerbate this – this bra style always comes with wide-set straps.

If you are not a candidate for this type of bra, take heart.  You can still look sexy in other styles such as plunge bras, pretty lacy styles, and the ever-popular sheer bras.  There’s more than one way to do sexy.

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Fantasie makes terrific full-busted bras.  So, naturally, when they showed me a new bra that will be coming this fall, I became very excited. 

 The new Fantasie bra is called Esme.  It is their next generation of a t-shirt bra.  Currently their Fantasie Smoothing T-shirt bra 4510 and their Fantasie Molded Smooth Cup bra 4500 have been  "go to" t-shirt bras for many successful years.  And if you own one, you know that both run a little large in the cups. Well, Fantasie has listened to their customer and come up with this new Esme solution.

The Esme uses a new molded shape to the cups.  Though the molded fabric has stripe detailing, it still provides a smooth line under clothing.  The straps have also been brought inward and are what is called "center pull" so that the lift from the straps comes at the breast apex rather than on the shoulders.  This also reduces strap slippage. 

 When comparing the Esme to the 4500 and 4510, I instantly saw that the cups are more paired down for a lighter look on the body.  The cups are also light and thin to keep volume to a minimum.

 So, look for this new Fantasie Esme at HerRoom in the coming months.  I think you will love both the look and the fit.

Find Fantasie lingerie at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Panties

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This year, our Undie Award for the overall favorite bra went to the Timpa 16449.  It received the most votes by you the public.  Here is what’s remarkable about this fact: this bra is really a bra for AA, A, B, and some C cup women.

This is quite a change for many reasons.  The trend over the last several years has been for manufacturers to focus on the larger cup sizes and decrease or even remove smaller cup sizes from their line.  The Olga brand is a perfect example.  About 5 years ago, Olga made the decision to start all their bra styles at a C cup size, and gave up on any cup size smaller.  Wacoal, Chantelle and other bra brands have the smaller cup sizes but have been pushing into the larger cup sizes such as G and H.

At HerRoom we’ve seen a steady up-tick in questions about the smaller cup sizes and complaints that the selection is getting smaller.  And they are right.  Having this bra be the winner this year, I think sends a strong message to lingerie manufacturers that there are a lot of women out there in the smaller cup sizes who still want to be serviced.

So, let’s talk about this Timpa bra.  It’s actually not a new style.  In fact, it’s been around for at least 10 years.  But, it really is amazing and sexy for several reasons.  First, the cups are made of this incredible stretchy mesh.  Not only is it comfortable, it’s very sexy as well.  The low demi cut of the cups really accomodates a lot of necklines.  I personally have this bra and use it every time I have a low and wide neckline.  When I’m concerned that my bra might show, this is my go-to bra to insure it doesn’t. And, over the years, Timpa has added great colors and taken this basic style and added cute embroidery to it  So, though the one style won, don’t think you only have the one choice. Oh, and did I mention Timpa also makes matching panties?

I’ve given tips that this bra runs a little small.  The truth is this bra does not run small; it really is just cut very demi.  Many women who put it on feel the cups are too small because they’re not used to such a low neckline. 

Thank you to all who voted for this bra.  There really is power in having a smaller cup size and embracing it.

Find Timpa lingerie at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Panties

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The UK retailer Marks & Spencer has launched, with great fanfare, the first ever carbon neutral bra.  Okay, what exactly does this mean?

The lingerie collection is called Autograph Leaves, and the four bras, three panties and garter belt were made in Sri Lanka at an eco-model factory that had its carbon footprint certified by the Carbon Trust. That means they calculated everything that goes into the carbon footprint such as the components, manufacturing, transportation, even the amount of energy consumers will use to wash and dry the underwear.

One interesting discovery from calculating the carbon footprint of lingerie was the discovery of how much impact lace and embroidery have on the footprint’s size.  So, lingerie that is simpler is also "greener."  And, using manufacturing techniques that use renewable energy and reduce waste, they were able to reduce the carbon footprint by approximately 33% compared to traditional lingerie manufacturing.

"The complexity of a bra’s supply chain makes it the ideal product to learn about the practicalities of carbon footprinting, as it contains 21 component parts from 12 different suppliers," explains Mike Barry, head of sustainable business at M&S. 

Find all bras at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras

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A side-effect of being in the bra business is that you tend to know the bra size and favorite style of all your female acquaintances.   So, I personally know of two women who don’t know each other, but both happen to share the same bra style, have been wearing it for more than 10 years, and ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!

Are you jealous?  I know I am.  I have never selected a bra style that’s stayed on the market that long.  Their bra is the Chantelle Tamaris Seamless Molded Underwire 1660.  And here are the reasons they sing its praises.

First, both women feel they have somewhat sloping shoulders.  And the straps on this bra do not fall off their shoulders.  Now, there are a number of reasons why straps can fall off shoulders – your upper breasts are shallow and do not fill up the top of the cup, your band size is too big etc.  The reason these straps stay on your shoulders is because they are located almost directly above the nipple.  This is known in the trade as "center pull" or "cup centered" straps. The cups are also shaped more as a triangle which assists in keeping the straps centered and on your shoulders. 

Their next favorite feature is the leotard back. Lately, you’ve probably been seeing commercials on TV about Bali’s new "Comfort-U Design" back.  Well, it’s not new.  This has been called a leotard back in the industry and has been around for years.  The Tamaris has this back which allows the bra back to look more pared down, and again helps keep the straps on your shoulders.

Both women are in the 34-36, B-C size range, so granted they don’t have any real size issues.  But the other thing they love is the cup design.  Again, this was really one of the first seamless cups to come onto the market.  But, what is different is that these cups are not made of a stretchy fabric that can make your breasts look floppy.  Rather, the sheer/lacy fabric is non-stretch.  This goes a long way in giving you a great uplifted breast shape.  And, the unique horizontal lace along the cups helps to eliminate a woman’s "high beams" if you know what I mean. 

Finally, a few historical side notes.  Chantelle shared with me that this bra has an extremely loyal following (my 2 friends back that up), and it was one of the very first seamless molded bras ever offered. And the lion’s share of sales for this bra are in the USA.

So, here you have a very comfortable bra, with straps that don’t fall off, gives great shape, is pretty, modest, and supportive.  No wonder it’s been a favorite for so many years.  Its size range, though,  is a little limiting – 32B to 38D with a few E cups in range as well.

Find Chantelle lingerie at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Panties

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I seem to have a lot of racerback clothing in my wardrobe this summer.  I’ve been wearing my favorite (discontinued) strapless bra, but this year’s Overall Undie Winning Bra was a racerback style, so I decided to buy it and give it a try.  It’s the Vanity Fair Body Sleeks Flexi Back Front Close Racerback bra 75263.

I put it on and it was not an instant love connection.  On me, this bra was full coverage, and I’m not a big fan of bras that cover my upper chest so much.  I also wouldn’t call it pretty.  But, the damask neutral color was a good flesh tone for me, and the bra is seamless with contour padding in the cups which I like very much.  So, I pressed on.

What I have never liked about racerback bras is the straps coming so close to my neck.   There is this muscle called the scapula that goes from your neck to your shoulder.  I don’t like pressure on it, and every racerback bra I have tried seems to hit at the most painful point.

But unlike most racerback bras, the Body Sleeks Racerback actually has what they call a "flexi back."  The straps are not actually connected.  They cross in the back, but also move as you do.  So, I was able to place the straps farther down my shoulders and they stayed put.  It’s a simple design, but actually quite ingenious.

With this bra on, I went about testing it with all my racerback tops.  I was stunned.  Absolutely every top I tried on completely covered this bra.  I mean every one – including a racerback where the narrowest point was only about 2 inches wide. Not a strap showed anywhere. The full cup coverage prevented any bra lines under my tops. And, this bra has front-adjusting straps.  I figured out that by loosening them a little, the straps would sit wider on my shoulders.  When they needed to be up higher, I adjusted the strap tighter and it stayed where I needed it to. 

Conclusion:  Our Undie Award voters know their stuff.  I now understand why this bra won such high marks.  I’m a convert, and I know you will be too.  Unfortunately, the size range is pretty small.  It starts at 34B and goes to 40D. 

Find Vanity Fair lingerie at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Panties

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With over 30,000 votes cast, the Undie Awards for men and women’s underwear are in.  For the 4th year, men and women have voted on their favorite styles which we present along with our Select winners. Select winners are staff picks which highlight smaller brands or up-and-coming styles. For the 1st time, a raceback bra, Vanity Fair Body Sleeks Flexi Back Front Close, won favorite overall bra for average figures. In another surprise, a brief–Bali Skimp Skamp Brief 2633, which was 2008′s favorite brief–won for best overall panty. So here they are–this year’s winners.

This year’s overall winning bra for the average figure is  Vanity Fair Body Sleeks Flexi Back Front Close, Racerback Bra 75263. Everyone agrees that that the seamless cups are invisible under clothing and that the raceback design provides great support.

This year’s overall winning bra for full figure is Goddess’s Keira Banded Underwire Bra 6090. Customers love how comfortable it is along with its perfect fit. This bra is designed for maximum support and comes in sizes 36DD-46N.

One of our best sellers, and the 2008 winner for best brief, Bali Skimp Skamp Brief 2633, is this year’s overall favorite panty. With its great fit and generous coverage, this is Bali’s best-selling panty in the US.

The 2010 overall winner for shapewear, Flexees Fat Free Dressing Tank Top 3266, does double duty as both outerware and shapewear. Wear it as a tank top while the hidden liner smoothes and shapes the tummy.

In the voting for men’s favorites, the 2010 Undie Award winner for best boxer is making its second appearance as the top choice. Calvin Klein’s Slim Fit Woven Boxer U1513 is slim-fitting without the excess fabric of some boxers. But it doesn’t cling like boxer briefs. Voters love the soft cotton fabric too.

You can see all of the 2010 Undie Award winners and Select winners for both men and women by visiting The Undies. And it’s never too early to vote for your faves for 2011.

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We vote for our favorite celebs, fave YouTube videos, even commercials…why not for the one thing we wear (or most of us wear) each and every day? That’s right—our undies. Since 2007, over 100,000 votes have come in for favorite bras, panties, shapewear and men’s underwear. It’s easy to make your opinion known–just go the The Undies site and have at it.

Why should you use 5 minutes of your busy day to vote in the Undies?

Well, for starters, once you vote, you’ll get 10% off any order at HerRoom and HisRoom.

For another thing, your votes show manufacturers what we like, what we don’t like and what we want more of.  By casting your vote, you’re saying ‘here’s what works, here’s what doesn’t work.’ You’re not just a voter, you’re a style-maker.

And–your opinions help other people decide what to buy. When confronted with hundreds of styles in dozens of sizes, bra-buying especially, can be daunting. By voting for your favorites, you become a valued resource for shoppers. Doesn’t that feel like a good deed?

So, save money, dictate style and help other shoppers–surely that’s worth a few minutes of time. Start at the Undies website or go right to the voting. Women vote here, men– Undies voting is right this way.

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The winners fall into two categories.  First, we give  you The Undie Award for the garment receiving the most votes in its category.  We also provide The Undie Select Award as well.  This award is given to a garment we feel deserves attention in the category.  There are many great garments that for reasons of distribution, aren’t as well known.  The Undie Select Award gives these lesser known garments an opportunity to be recognized. In fact, two Undie Select winners last year are this years Undie Award Winners.

So, here are the 2008 Undie Award Winners:

Womens:

Favorite Overall Bra:

            Average:           Vanity Fair Body Sleeks Contour Stretch Bra 75-266

            Full Figure:      Vanity Fair 75-005 and 75-134 (tie)

Favorite Overall Panty:

                                    Vanity Fair Perfectly Yours Ravissant Brief 15712

Favorite Overall Shapewear:

                                    Spanx Power Panties 004

Select:

                                    TC Fine Shapewear Firm Control Camisole 444

Favorite Sports Bra:

            Average:          Lily of France In Action Sports Bra 2101755

            Full Figure:      Enell Sports Bra 100

Select:

            Average:          Moving Comfort Cara Sports Bra 728460

            Full Figure:      Goddess Sports Bra 5056

Favorite Strapless Bra:

            Average:          Maidenform One Fabulous Fit Strapless Bra 7955

            Full Figure:      Goddess Cantilevered Strapless Bra 391

Select:

            Average:          Wacoal Halo Lace Seamless Convertible Bra 65449

            Full Figure:      Fantasie Smoothing Seamless Strapless Bra 4530

Favorite T-Shirt Bra:

            Average:          Chantelle Body Sculpt T-shirt Underwire Bra 2895

            Full Figure:      Le Mystere Renaissance Tisha Bra 9955

Select:

            Average:          Hanro Sensual Deep Plunge Underwire Bra 1263

            Full Figure:      elomi Smoothing Foam Underwire Bra 1220

Favorite Seamless Bra:

            Average:      Elita Silk Magic Cross Over Bra 8838

            Full Figure:      Fantasie Seamless Molded Balcony Bra 4520

Select:

            Average:          Bali Smooth Compliments Underwire Bra 3100

            Full Figure:      Anita Seamless Underwire Bra 5490

Favorite Minimizer Bra:

                                    Wacoal Seamless Minimizer Bra 85154

Select:

                                    Olga Sheer Tapestry Full Figure Minimizer Bra 35984

Favorite Push-Up Bra:

                                    Wonderbra Gel Satin Push-Up Bra 7234

Select:

                                    Calvin Klein Perfectly Fit Push-Up Bra F2541

Favorite Brief:

            Full Cut:          Bali Skimp Skamp Brief 2633

            Hi-Cut:            Vanity Fair Sophia Hi-Cut Brief 13072

Select:

            Full Cut:          Calida Ajour Brief 21060

            Hi-Cut:            OnGossamer Mesh Hi-Cut Brief 3012

Favorite Bikini:

                                    Barely There Invisible Look Modal Bikini 2113

Select:

                                    Barely There Jeanious Bikini 2548

Favorite Thong:

                                    Hanky Panky Thong 4911

Select:

                                    Elita Silk Magic Thong 8831

Favorite Boy Short:

                                    Barely There Flawless Fit Boyshort 2855

Select:

                                    Natori Body Doubles Femme Hipster 153002

Favorite G-String:

                                    La Perla Sexy Town G-String 2353

Select:

                                    Natori Lace Trim Body Doubles G-String 157001

Mens:

Favorite Boxers:

            Woven:            Mansilk Silk Satin Boxer M333

             Knit:               Tommy Hilfiger Knit Boxer U62512231

Select:

            Woven:            Hanro Retro Boxer 3829

            Knit:                Adam+Eve Undershorts ABJB7

Favorite Boxer Briefs:

                                    Tommy Hilfiger boxer Brief U62512229

Select:

                                    Calvin Klein Tech Active Boxer Brief U2724

Favorite Briefs:

                                    Munsingwear Full Rise Pouch Brief MW21

Select:

                                    2xist Contour Pouch Brief 3103 and 3103C

Favorite Jock:

                                    C-in2 Bamboo Street Jock 3068

Select:

                                    Bike Performance Cotton Strap Supporter BASP17

Favorite Thong:

(tie)                             2xist Original “Y” Backed Thong 3102

                                    Calvin Klein Steel Thong U2706

Select:

                                    Grigioperla Skin Thong 0022174

Favorite T-Shirt:

                                    Hanes Crew Neck T-Shirt 2136

Select:

                                    Schiesser Original Fine Rib Seamless V-Neck T-Shirt 05-123

 See all the winners at www.theundies.com/winners.aspx