Useful Ebay Guides to Lingerie

• Vintage Panties Characteristics and Why So Collectible

• LINGERIE BRANDS BY COUNTRY

The Knicker Picker

visit the Knicker Picker dressing room for an innovative lingerie shopping guide featuring 3 models wearing a variety of popular styles and brands. This is a great way to "try on" underwear before buying it.

"We are trying to take the guesswork and embarrassment out of underwear shopping and make it more fun," Talbot said. "With an online dressing room, you can interact with the models and see how the items actually look on women with realistic body shapes. I think it would be near on impossible to get a sales assistant in a shop to try on underwear for you to look at."

You can then pick from a list of sexy garments and get your model to don them by clicking on each item and dragging them towards them.

For a closer look you can beckon the model towards you or ask them to spin round and show off the rear view.

Details, prices and sizes of each piece of underwear appear on a screen next to the model, so you can add them to your shopping basket.

KnickerPicker then connects you to the relevant retailer's Web site to make your purchase.

(Fox news)

Triumph International's Annual Eco-Design Contest

Triumph International is a United Kingdom based lingerie house with a green focus. They also promote student innovation. A vehicle for both is the Triumph Inspiration Award. In this competition, select schools challenge students to create a unique product design promoting environmental awareness. " The winning designer, judged by experts in the field of design, fashion and the media, at the final held in July 2008 at Bejing, would bag a cash prize of Euro 15,000 and get a chance to sell the product in select stores worldwide."
The collection includes:

• "My Hashi bra" (my chopsticks bra), features a pair of foldable recycled chopsticks that can be stashed in the sides of the bra and removed to eat a meal of rice and soup or while eating out. "The product comes with removable, traditional cases on the shoulder straps and a detachable 'chopstick rest at the centre of the bra that is made of paper recycled from wooden chopsticks. The idea is to highlight the need to reduce waste and establish a recycling -based society".
• The 'No More Plastic Bags' bra can contains folded-up reusable shopping bags within the bra cups, made from recycled polyester fibre. "When worn the folded shopping bags act as padding and they can be removed and unfolded to be used for shopping!," claims the company. "The left and right parts are then clasped using fasteners and attached to the bulk of the bra using hooks. The shoulder straps are then tied onto the top of the bag as ribbons and the lace used on the cup area functions as an attractive and stylish feature on this cute shopping bag, it adds.
• Recycle PET' created from recycled bottles
• the Warm Biz bra introduced last year again in Japan in a bid to reduce energy consumption during winter. The bra can be heated up in a standard microwave, and contains a heat-retaining gel.
• The Eco globe bra, on the other hand, uses fabrics that biodegrade into compost and revert to the soil. "The turquoise-blue material used is an eco material based on corn and designed to biodegrade via the activity of micro-organisms and change into compost over several years and revert to soil. it maintains low-combustible energy when burnt and does not emit harmful gases," says a company official.

Bra Fun

Check out pogloss's list of the 24 weirdest bras on the internet.

For more lingerie fun check out my earlier post "Panty Fun".

Update 14 June 2008:

Weird bras? how about Bacon? or lettuce?--no tomato yet. From foundshit.com.

The First post-Maternity Panty

A panty designed for the post-cesarean birth parent as reported in the Tonawanda News:

the C-Panty, a special underwear designed specifically for women who recently have undergone Cesarean sections. The panty is designed to minimize scar appearance, promote comfort and to lessen the “fluff” or bulge around your scar, sometimes called the “c-shelf”

For information about Cesarean scar management and the C-panty visit www.cpanty.com. A shaper panty will soon be introduced (according to the newspaper.

Etam French design house celebrate 100 years

Etam Developpement, with origins dating back to 1916, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a free fashion show.

Visit the show's website to learn more & win tickets--brush up on your French.

The company website is very well done. Three affordable, attractive options are available for the working woman (Etam lingerie ranges and 1 2 3 business fashions) and the Undiz for teens (lingerie).

Economic Trends:

"According to the Port Washington, N.Y.-based market-research firm NPD Group, sales of bras, panties, slips -- not to mention corsets and even garter belts -- were $10.6 billion for the 12 months ended in November [2007]. That's a 2.9 percent growth rate over the prior year's the same 12 months." cite

Made by Niki lingerie, a new look for VS & also some competition

Made by Niki is a collectible lingerie brand featuring limited edition pieces.

Brand Overview: 'Niki', which was voted a top 20 brand alongside major players Cacharel, Galliano and Diesel [1], has exploded into the global lingerie arena. Customers can have their purchases personalised, and for the more discerning customer, Niki also offers Numbered Limited Editions. [1] Source: WGSN from Paris, Salon International de la Lingerie February 2007 About Niki: Niki McMorrough was formerly a diarist and writer for Lingerie Buyer magazine and The Sunday Telegraph, and was Head of Marketing for Ministry of Sound and Turner Broadcasting. She trained in lingerie design and business at London College of Fashion, London College of Printing, De Montfort University and Royal Holloway University of London, finally giving up an award-winning career so that she could launch her own label.

National Geographic video overview of the bra--history & fit

In unglamorous Fayetteville NC a new look for Victoria's Secret stores is abut to be unveiled (as reported in the 26 JAn 08 Fayetteville Observer:

Victoria’s Secret revealed

There was another revelation at the mall this week — although this one was kept under tight security.

The new Victoria’s Secret opened Friday. Photographer Cindy Burnham and I were escorted by the mall’s marketing manager to see the new digs, although taking photos of the store was a no-no. I guess they were afraid we’d run a photo of someone in their skivvies.

Anyway, the store is a new prototype for the lingerie and sleepwear purveyor and has more space for its frilly unmentionables.

For the first time, the company’s entire beauty line will be available for sale here. It includes makeup, skin care, hair care and perfume products.

There is also an expanded line of PINK apparel and an exclusive line of Italian lingerie called Intimissimi.

The new store is very hip, colorful and bumpin’ with loud pop music.

Bravissimo!

Some competition for VS?

The most recent retailer to announce its entrance into this competition is Abercrombie & Fitch. They recently announced their new Gilly Hicks Sydney store, an Australian-themed line that is expecting to rival competitors. Abercrombie & Fitch is being very secretive about this new line. However, its Web site, www.gillyhicks.com, suggests that the store intends to reach an older and more sophisticated clientele compared with Aerie and Pink.

Did Victoria Secret open the door for a competitor to become the new name for sexy lingerie? Gilly Hicks' Web site has an 18-and-older disclaimer prior to entering the site and viewing the promotional video. If you think Victoria Secret commercials are too racy, you should steer clear from viewing Gilly Hicks' promotional video. Will Gilly Hicks compete with Victoria Secret and draw them back to their roots? Only time will tell.