IN FORM®

By Adam Welsch
Naomi & Nicole®

Have you been down on your luck recently?  Have the world’s economic problems hit you and your family particularly hard?  Are you having trouble finding your prince amidst a sea of frogs, or are you looking for a little extra assurance as you begin a new life with someone special?  Or, have you just found it impossible lately to hit a curveball?  Don’t reach for a worn out rabbit’s foot, wilted four-leaf clover, or rusty horseshoe.  These are easily lost, too fragile, or can set off a metal detector at the airport.  A better solution is on offer at your favorite lingerie department.  Many people believe that the best way to attract good fortune is to wear the right women’s undies. (more…)

By Adam Welsch
Cupid Intimates

Are you tired of spending Labor Day weekend at the pool, your neighbor’s backyard barbeque, or your local mall trying to finish your back-to-school shopping?  Do you want to experience something new, perhaps act a bit crazy, just once in early September?  How about jetting to Paris this weekend for the annual Interfilière and Mode City trade fairs?  They’re premiere international intimates trade shows, held jointly, that bring together the world’s leading lingerie makers and their fabric suppliers.  This will be your last chance.  Next year, this event is being moved to mid-July.  And while Paris is always a great place to visit, it’s best to see it outside the height and heat of the tourist season. (more…)

By Adam Welsch
Cupid Intimates

News out of the Middle East last week held relevance for these pages.  It seems that in an effort to placate the more conservative elements of its society, the government of the Gaza Strip turned its attention towards dealing with the disruptive force of women’s intimate apparel.  Its police instructed owners of stores selling bras, panties, and other types of undies to remove lingerie-clad mannequins from their windows and storefronts, and take down marketing materials showing women wearing the items they’re trying to sell.  As experienced readers of this blog know, this isn’t the first time that the complexities of women’s underwear have made news in the Middle East.  Earlier this year, a movement in Saudi Arabia gained worldwide attention by protesting the convention that prevents women from selling intimates to other women in stores.  So, just how often has lingerie mixed with current events to make the evening news?  The answer is more times than you might expect. (more…)

By Tony Angelino
Cupid Intimates

Many years ago the apparel industry started leaving the United States.  The common public perception has always been that its cause was the corporate search for cheap labor, but those in the industry know that the principal reason was that Americans didn’t want to sew any more.  Sewing was considered to be an unattractive labor career, less interesting and less rewarding than higher-paying ones in the automobile and steel industries, and more physically demanding than those in the service sector.  Jobs in those industries were more highly prized, and applicants stood in line for them.  Yet willing applicants for sewing positions were impossible to find.  Manufacturers were merely trading operators.  Very little new talent was appearing at plants, even though the signs were always posted advertising “OPERATORS WANTED.” (more…)