By John Festa
I passed Victoria’s Secret on Fifth Avenue the other night and noticed the bras on display in the window. They all had such a wide side wings and back bands that I exclaimed to my companion “These would be great to combat back fat” — only to look up at the signage and see these bras were being sold as just that: Back smoothing push-ups.
It is very noble to address the … Read More
By John Festa
On May 31st of this year, the New York Times wrote a piece on a new bra sizing system developed by Jockey. I applaud Jockey in their effort and innovation in the area of bra fit. But what struck me most was the 427 comments left by readers in a matter of hours. Bra fitting remains an enigma and a source of anxiety for many women.
For a variety of reasons, it … Read More
By John Festa
In olden days, a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking, but now heaven knows, anything goes.
So wrote Cole Porter in 1934. And it seems ever more appropriate when we consider the exposed bra trend.
What once was edgy and daring now seems commonplace and thoughtless. Are exposed bra straps and bra bands simply acceptable now? Does this trend speak to a woman’s owning her sexuality, being comfortable in … Read More
By John Festa aka Johnny Lingerie
The wire-free soft-cup bra constitutes a small percentage of bra sales in the United States, somewhere around 20%. Europe, on the other hand, sees about 40% of sales being soft-cup. Why such a stark difference? Does Europe know something we don’t?
First, let us begin to understand how it is that you now have wire in your underwear.
Howard Hughes is often credited with inventing the underwire bra for … Read More
By John Festa aka Johnny Lingerie
Recently I was with a very good friend who was wearing a skirt. While I would never be this crass with a stranger, I said ‘Diane, you need a slip with that skirt’. She replied by saying she never wears slips. Me: ‘Doesn’t the fact that I know you’re not wearing one mean you need one?’
Now I know many women are wearing these cute summer dresses to … Read More
By John Festa
Rago
Recently, I conducted an unscientific survey on women’s thoughts on shapewear; just a bunch of questions on the topic. I was happily surprised by the quantity and quality of the responses. It was spectacularly enlightening and actually very entertaining. Some of you broads are funny! (Can I say that?) My sincere gratitude to all respondents for their time, their forthcoming and for sharing intimate information.
Shapewear is a wonderful tool to … Read More