IN FORM®

By Adam Welsch
Cupid Intimates

Have you ever had trouble sleeping late at night, turned on the TV, and run across one of those shapewear infomercials that promised that one revolutionary garment could solve all of your figure-improvement needs?  Or, have you ever browsed through a lingerie department and thought, “Why do they make so many different kinds of shapewear?  Who’d ever need all of that?”  The fact is that the wide variety of products available to shape, control, and smooth a woman’s figure serves an equally wide variety of purposes that no one garment (or even a few) can serve by itself.  Shapewear’s no different than the outerwear fashions it complements – it’s a category of apparel that’s most useful and enjoyable when its many different components are collected as an ensemble and worn on different occasions. (more…)

By Marcy Montgomery Jones
Naomi & Nicole®

Whatever happened to good ol’ sensible 100% cotton panties? All of the fabric names and blends that you might see today on your panty’s label can make your head spin. Let’s decode the mystery so you know what’s up down there.

• Organic Cotton is cotton grown without pesticides and is derived from plants that haven’t been genetically altered.
• Pima Cotton is a generic name for premium, extra-long-fiber cotton that’s grown mostly in the U.S., Australia, and Peru. Pima was previously called American-Egyptian cotton but was renamed for the Pima Indians who were growing it for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Arizona. The primary difference between Pima cotton and regular cotton is that Pima has longer and stronger fibers. It feels silk-like and has a very fine weave. It’s also very absorbent.
• Mercerized Cotton goes through a finishing process that swells the yarn of the fabric to give it a round, smooth surface and prevents the cotton from shrinking further. This process results in a stronger and more lustrous yarn that’s more easily dyed and is capable of holding brighter, deeper colors.

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By Lynn B.
Cupid Intimates

As an intimate apparel merchandiser, I’m in department stores most of the day, five days a week.  When trying to help customers, I never know what I might see, hear, or learn.  Most conversations I have with them deal with the body part they’re trying to lift, smooth, firm, or preferably make go away (without using liposuction).  Much of the time, I help customers find the garments that will do the trick.  And more often than not, I walk away with a cute story about the encounter that I’m able to share with others in the form of advice.

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By Adam Welsch
Cupid Intimates

Try before you buy.  That’s a pretty ironic statement to make in the online world, where purchasing items usually requires a bit of faith, backed up by an accommodating product return policy.  But whether you purchase shapewear from a website or a traditional brick & mortar retailer, investing some of your time in a store’s dressing room first is sure to make you a more satisfied customer in the end.

Why?  While all clothes come in sizes and fabrics that fit differently from person to person, shapewear has more “satisfaction variables” than other apparel (due to the functions it performs) that consumers must take into consideration and assess.  Trying on shapewear, therefore, may be more important than trying on any other type of apparel.  Each garment combines a fabric, silhouette, and level of control to produce a specific look, feel, fit, and function.  You know from experience that if an item of clothing doesn’t look right, it’ll end up sitting in your closet or drawer.  Imagine how infrequently a piece of shapewear will see the light of day if it’s unattractive, uncomfortable, and doesn’t do the job you thought it would do when you bought it.  Trying on a garment will tell you how it’ll look, feel, and function on your unique body. (more…)