IN FORM®

By Adam Welsch
Cupid Intimates

In his fascinating 1999 book, Why We Buy – The Science of Shopping (Simon & Schuster, New York), retailing-environment consultant Paco Underhill describes which strategies work and which ones don’t in encouraging consumers to buy merchandise at brick & mortar retailers.  Thinking about this book made me wonder, “Are lingerie stores and intimate apparel departments doing the right things today to entice customers to purchase more bras, shapewear, and panties?”  While the answer will be different at each location you enter, there are some questions – based directly on Mr. Underhill’s research – you can think about to grade your favorite store the next time you shop for intimates. (more…)

By Adam Welsch
Cupid Intimates

As demand has grown in recent years for shapewear that targets the upper body, new silhouettes have been developed to meet it.  One such silhouette has become the hottest thing in shapewear today.  It’s called the torsette.  If you’ve never seen a torsette, it’s shapewear that resembles the black garment worn by the St. Pauli Girl.  While off of the body it looks a bit odd – as if something’s missing from its front – torsettes can do a great job of transforming the way your upper body appears under clothes. (more…)

By Adam Welsch
Cupid Intimates

“Music has Charms to soothe a savage Breast.”

From Act I, Scene 1 of William Congreve’s The Mourning Bride (1697)

The inclusion in last Thursday’s post of Bette Midler’s song from Beaches about a fictitious bra inventor, Otto Titzling, got me thinking.  I wondered how many other songs had been written about bras, panties, shapewear, or any other kinds of intimate apparel.  After doing a little research, I found out that the answer was “quite a few.”  What follows is an eclectic sampling of the ditties I found. (more…)

By Adam Welsch
Cupid Intimates

It’s mid-March.  That means it’s tournament time.  The fashion world is on the verge of madness, eager to learn which problem will emerge victoriously in the 2010 Inspiration for Intimates Tournament and be recognized as this year’s number one reason that women buy intimate apparel.

As you know, hundreds of causes vie for the chance to be part of this field each year.  The tournament selection committee, as always, had a difficult job minimizing the number to sixty-four.  But early Sunday evening, they did just that.  It’s noteworthy that only fourteen of the Preseason Top 25 reasons ended the season by making it to the dance. (more…)