Fun and fantasy are popular reasons to wear lingerie. Aside from the practical value of lingerie, many women are wearing lingerie to spice up their lives in other areas. In fact, Dreamgirl’s 2008-2009 Red Diamond Collection is available to help women carry out their fantasies.

The collection boasts the standard nurse’s outfit, bar maid costume and sailor suit but what is really cute is the playing cards bra and thong set. Thinking of playing strip poker anyone? Dreamgirl thought of everything. Each individual card is attached to the bra and thong and held on by Velcro enabling the players to remove each card one by one.

The leopard printed Lycra net sleepwear is perfect for a wild night in the jungle. Halter top bra with a fringe just long enough to cover the right spots, matching thong with cute little frill on the back and front and a pretty arm tie sash.

Then, the mesh and faux leather sleepwear babydoll is really sexy. Two red appliqué roses strategically positioned on the bosom, matching thong and open backed skirt make this babydoll hot property.

Check out the Dreamgirl website for the newest collections and find a retailer to indulge your fantasies.

Hmmm…. splinters in the derriere. What kind of lingerie label is this? Actually Sophia Young, the French designer, in response to her daughter’s allergic reactions, has created a line of lingerie made of wood. The collection was recently released by “By Nature”, a company known for promoting products for organic and ethical living.

Sophia describes the collection as being “as soft as silk with the feel of cashmere and the coolness of linen”. It is very comfortable, easily maintained and keeps its shape well. The material itself is called Lenpur and is made from white pine tree clippings processed with enzymes. Apparently, the fibre is able to regulate temperature keeping one cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The raw materials are renewable and sustainable resources while the finished fabric itself is biodegradable.

In addition to the eco-friendly material, By Nature believes in responsible manufacturing. This eco-friendly lingerie label is produced in Angers, France, a small community that cherishes the planet and provides a long-time and well-known craft.

Ethical underwear, indeed!

Lingerie generally goes hand in hand with celebrities. Whether one endorses the product by wearing it and creating a fashion fad or whether one creates the line or models the line, stars are important to the lingerie industry. So here are a couple quick notes on celebrities, stars and models.

• Nell McAndrew, model and mom, has been named the face and body of Adore Moi, replacing Kimberley Stewart. Sold exclusively at Debenhams Department Store in the UK, the collection is pretty satin and lace, comfortable to wear and inexpensively priced.
• Eva Mendes, actress and already the spokeswoman for a Calvin Klein fragrance, will be wearing Calvin Klein’s new line of lingerie called Seductive Comfort when the advertising campaign begins in August 2008.
• Many of Sydney, Australia’s celebrities and stars were present for the recent launch of Berlei’s newest range Undetectable. A unique blend of invisible lace, super fine foam cups and seam-free and stitch-free technology will make this a very popular line.

Whether modeling the lingerie or previewing a new collection, stars are always on hand when a new line reveals itself to the public.

Victoria’s Secret introduces the bra that’s soft like a dream: New! Dream Angels Demi. Made with a special memory lining, the bra reacts to your body heat and conforms to your every curve. Soft, cushioned cups provide ultimate comfort, while intricate lace details add a light, feminine touch. The romantic look and dreamlike comfort of Dream Angels make it the bra that feels like no other.

The bra comes in sizes 32A-38DD and in a variety of pretty, soft colors like champagne, seafoam green and cherub pink. The price is $42-45.

2008 also marks the 10th anniversary of the Victoria’s Secret Angels. To celebrate, Victoria’s Secret unveiled a retrospective exhibit at the Herald Square store commemorating the Angels’ landmark moments.

Relive their runway debut in 1998. Follow them as they travel to Cannes Film Festival. Be there as the Angels receive their Award of Excellence with a Star on Hollywood Boulevard. Plus, view the iconic Angel wings, video montages of past fashion shows and even more Angel milestones. The elegant museum-style display allows visitors to revisit all their favorite memories of Angels past and present with superstars like Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks, Helena Christensen, Gisele Bündchen, Adriana Lima and more.

To kick off the release of the Dream Angels bra and the unveiling of the anniversary exhibit, Supermodel Miranda Kerr appeared at the flagship Victoria’s Secret store at Herald Square.

Found the photos right here thanks to The Lingerie Post!

Lingerie and jewelry were meant to go together. The dazzling, sparkling effect of gemstones against the skin complement pieces of lingerie to make them spectacular. And one does not have to wear expensive authentic jewellery to look gorgeous. Fine fashion jewellery completes the ensemble nicely. But what if the lingerie was luxurious enough that it included its own jewellery? Specifically, the jewels were actually part of the lingerie or the lingerie itself.

Jules Jewels Lingerie and Swimwear focuses on the use of Swarovski crystals, pearls and gemstones in her collection with items such as the “Jennifer” boy short and the “Sienna” thong. The swimwear collection offers a gorgeous “Giselle” white bikini with purple raindrop Swarovski crystals. Heads will turn when wearing this eye-catching collection on the beach.

For those who choose to accessorize their own lingerie, it is becoming quite popular to buy Hot Fix transfers and add one’s own design to a garment. Pretty beaded bra straps, pearl covered camisoles and rhinestones down the front of corsets are all the rage.

And for the real luxury fanatics, who think a few pearls on a bra strap or rhinestones outlining a waistband are not enough, they must see the incredible creations from both Rhinestone Heaven and Body Body, of all rhinestone bras, crystal thong belts and the ultimate crystal vest. Long stunning strands of crystals flowing down the back and around the arms to the sides of the breast looking magnificent with the delicate crystal nipple covers.

One item that immediately catches attention is the crystal snake bra. A stupendous display of clear rhinestones and genuine Austrian Crystal set in a sliver tone finish. Cleopatra, herself, would be green with envy.

Truly, when the original pearl thong was created, everyone wondered “what will they think of next?” Now the biggest question is “what does one do for an encore?”

Lingerie Calendars are always very popular. Certain types of businesses add their logos, pretty women in gorgeous lingerie and distribute the calendars to customers as promotional materials knowing that the calendars will be seen and kept for the year to come.

Another up and coming use for the lingerie calendar is raising funds for charity. Many older lady volunteers have decided to wear tactfully selected pieces of lingerie and pose for the camera in order to sell the calendars earning money for their organization. Residents of the community and those whose families have benefited from the chosen organization usually rally behind the women making the sales drive a very successful venture.

Hips and Curves’ lingerie calendar has been given home page prominence in order to promote their line of Glamazon looks. The calendar entitled “The Glamazons” is meant to inspire bigger ladies to look fabulous and embrace their curves. The calendar’s photos show how sexy, bold and daring the four models look and you can too.

Lingerie calendars are nothing new. Men have always had pinup calendars in their lockers for years but the now calendars are not just for the men to admire but they serve a practical purpose as well for women.

How does one describe just how good silk feels on the skin? Smooth, dreamy, soft, rich, elegant, delightful and luxurious come to mind. Whether it is raw or finished silk, there is no question that silk lingerie, silk pyjamas and silk sheets make people feel good. The thought of wearing silk allows one an air of haughtiness or snobbery. And even better, wearing silk lingerie next to one’s body is absolutely regal.

Silk is an indulgence of which most luxury lingerie companies are aware. Beautiful silky fabrics made into exquisite garments, which become the trademarks of many high-end brands. Designers such as Iris Silks, Nichole de Carle, Spoylt and Madame V skillfully perform the work of artists by incorporating the very best of silk fabrics into their pieces.

Iris Silks is particularly noteworthy as their entire collection of lingerie and sleepwear is made from silk. In addition to regular sizing, they offer women’s plus sizes and an equal collection of men’s lounge pants, boxer shorts and robes. As an extra special treat, they have matching sets for both women and men. The adorable heart print camisole and matching tap pant look sweet on women but also masculine on men with the kimono robe and thong.

Madame V’s sophisticated, provocative and sensuous lingerie includes silk in their Femme Fatal lines of “Tie Me Up” and “Miss Mermaid” as well as their Romantica line “Quilting Me Softly“. The silk satin and devore halterneck tie slip is feminine with the solid colour accents, forceful with the bold print design and yet sexy with the mostly open front and halter back.

It is equally important to mention that luxury silk designers would not be successful without luxury silk fabric manufactures such as Bennett Silks, James Hare Silks, Henry Bertrand and HOH (Hoferhecht Stickereien).

Bennett Silks, a family run business for over one hundred years, is known for the luxurious silk fabrics used in many high-end lingerie items. Spoylt collections are examples of the fine workmanship of Bennett Silks’ treasured fabrics.

Henry Bertrand has recently launched their Spring Summer 2008 Collection of silks. They offer a new collection each season and this newest release underlines the key element for 2008 as Plain Silks. Looking at these glorious fabrics, I cannot even fathom calling them “plain”.

HOH (Hoferhecht Stickereien) focuses on embroidery. Another very old company dating back to the 1800s, HOH provides some of the most beautiful embroidered silks imaginable.

Without question, silk makes one feel like a king or queen. Having at least one silk garment in the closet or lingerie drawer is a privilege to which one should aspire.

For all the embarrassment and commotion about lingerie, it seems Poland is in the news again. A recent exhibit at the Museum of Industry in Opatowek, chronicling the evolution of women’s underwear, has inspired some elders to wonder why this particular aspect of history needs to be on display. In fact, the attitude is reminiscent of the Koniakow lace affair.

A few years ago, villagers found that they could make more money by selling handmade Koniakow lace thongs and g-strings. The lace, a symbol of their heritage and used primarily in Catholic religious garments, was suddenly turned into a booming lingerie business. Tourists envied the fancy lace thongs and the ladies of the village found that thongs were much faster to make than tablecloths and doilies. Plus, the tourists were not interested in the heirloom cloths. But they loved the thongs. The elders of the community and many church officials, however, were not happy as they felt the ancient profession of lace making was being degraded.

And through the months of January to March 2008, the older community, again, must deal with the blatant viewing of lingerie. The display has gone as far back as the early 1900s with tight corsets and knee length knickers and moves through time periods right up to the tiniest thongs of today.

For the most part, though, the visitors are curious to see the display for different reasons. The young want to know what it was like before their time, the older people want to know what is popular today and then others yet just want to remember what they used to wear.

Well no one really starts a conversation about panties, do they? But we do here, since all we talk about is lingerie. So what is there to say about panties?

Well the first thing to note is the broad array of words used as synonyms of the word panties - thongs, bikinis, briefs, boxers, tangas, boy shorts, underwear, underpants, underpanties, skivvies, g-string bikinis, g-string thongs and shapewear versions.

Moving on to the endless supply of designs and colors, when I was growing up, there were two types of underpants; bikini or brief. Then you had to choose between a cotton gusset and no gusset. Life was so simple then. I chose the bikini style until I went to work and then I had to use the briefs with a cotton gusset because the bikinis were not comfortable moving around all day in my skirt uniform.

Even the choice of color was limited. There was always white in every package and if you were lucky, you might get a pair of pink, blue or ivory. Of course, nowadays, it will take hours just choosing the right color of panty.

Whatever your choice of terminology, whatever your choice of fabric and color, panties are something that should be talked about because keeping these pretty little numbers all locked up like national security secrets is just plain crazy.

Unfortunately, most women wear the wrong size bra. Much has been written about the high percentage of women not knowing their correct bra size or not being able to find the correct cup size. Indeed, ill fitting bras are a dilemma and companies are finally trying to help women find better sizes by producing better sizing.

Apparently until recently, the biggest bra cup that companies made was an H cup size. Not being very large in the bust myself, I have not really paid much attention to this fact, but the current trend in women’s sizes suggests that some women require a J or L cup.

In the 1970’s the average North American woman’s bra size was 34B progressing to a 36C in the 2000’s. The average UK bra size in the 1990’s was 34B, whereas now it seems to be closer to 36C and 34E. And while these numbers may be the national averages, there still may be thousands of women who require sizes that are not the exact average. And this market has been hugely untapped leaving women feeling uncomfortable and incorrectly sized.

One of the misconceptions with bigger bra sizes, in the past it was assumed that if a woman was big breasted; she was therefore, a plus size. There is a vast difference between being full-busted and full-figured. Many petite women have large breasts but small backs that require bigger cup sizes. And so the need for J and H cups for many body shapes and sizes.

In this vein, I have taken a peek around the internet trying to ferret out good companies who now make and distribute bigger cup sizes as well as companies that promote specific labels that cater to bigger sizes.

Bravissimo’s tag line is perfect and no company could make this fact any simpler. “Lingerie, swimwear and clothing for big boobed women.” I love it!

Fantasie, a seventy year old lingerie company from England, just released their pretty Spring and Summer 2008 collection including the delicate Belle rose embroidered bra in JJ cup size. The range also includes the pretty Sophie, with Swiss embroidery and size G cups. This item is expected to hit stores in April 2008.

Elila, the New York City intimate apparel line, offers their Jacquard Softcup with Cushioned Strap in cups up to L sizes.

Prima Donna is another company whose mission or motto is one I respect. Their single goal is “the production of perfectly fitting lingerie for naturally shaped women”. They expect their beautiful Deauville line to reach stores in February or March of 2008. The wire bra comes in five colours and will offer the H cup size.

As you have seen, if you are full busted and have had difficulty in the past finding the right size cups, now is the time to start looking for your spring wardrobe. Many fine lingerie companies have created a bra made just for you.