The French brand Huit (pronounced "wheat" and French for the number eight) was in the clutches of bankruptcy. But no more!  Eveden, the company that brings us Goddess, Freya, Fantasie, and Elomi bought it.  Tracy Lewis, Chief Executive of Eveden came from the UK and visited me in our Dallas office just before Thanksgiving.  She shared with me Eveden’s plans for the Huit brand.

By way of background, Huit is a very proud French brand and even includes ‘Paris’ on its label.  Traditionally, it has been sold in better boutiques across the United States.  HerRoom has also been fortunate enough to carry the brand for many years.  The essence of the Huit brand is that it is stylish yet effortless, with hip colors.  A premium brand, Huit focuses a lot on being fashionable.  Therefore, less than 30% of the Huit products were ever basics.  Most were fashion and one-time designs.  The brand serviced the 32-38, A to D cup customer.

So, why did Eveden buy Huit?  Tracy explained that it was an excellent expansion opportunity.  Eveden brands have always been for full-figured women, so this was a very exciting chance to buy a well-known name brand that fits the average size woman.  And, there are no plans to take Huit into the full-figure market. 

What also impressed me was Tracy’s comment that Eveden retained the current Huit designers in France.  Eveden really wants to keep and maintain the special qualities the Huit brand has had for years.  Huit has also been a swimwear manufacturer, making swimwear with cup sizing.  Eveden absolutely intends to continue the swimwear line as well.

The re-launch is planned for this coming February with new photography.  And, there are plans to add 30 band sizes and take the cup sizing up to DD. Of special note, Tracy said to pay attention to the Cupcake Collection. The plan is to expand this further.  HerRoom already carries this collection, and I’m crazy about how terrific it looks.

Three cheers for keeping a fabulous lingerie brand alive and moving forward.

Huit Cupcake Bandeau Strapless Bra	Huit Cupcake Full  Cup Balconnet Bra	Huit Cupcake Magic Air Pushup Bra

Find Huit lingerie at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Panties

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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.

Find elomi and Goddess lingerie at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras