IN FORM®

By Adam Welsch
Naomi & Nicole®

If various media outlets are to be believed, the worst winter storm in the history of humankind just swept across the United States.  Coincidentally, sixty-four years ago today the record-low temperature for North America – 81 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (-63 degrees Celsius) was recorded in Snag, a village located in Canada’s Yukon Territory.  Despite Punxatawney Phil’s prediction yesterday of an early-arriving spring, all of us in the Northern Hemisphere find ourselves in February’s usual cold embrace.  So what’s a woman to do to stay warm?  A quick, easy, and relative inexpensive strategy is to wear some shapewear. (more…)

By Adam Welsch
Naomi & Nicole®

Last month, it was the Golden Globe®, People’s Choice, and Screen Actors Guild Awards®.  Later this month, it’ll be the Academy Awards®.  But tonight all eyes of the intimate apparel industry will be focused on Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City for the 2011 Femmy Gala.  Presented by the Underfashion Club, Inc., the Femmy Awards recognize the achievements of members of the intimate apparel industry. (more…)

By Marcy Montgomery Jones
Naomi & Nicole®

Why is the body of one woman often shaped so differently from that of another?  Though our figures are greatly affected by a variety of factors, perhaps the most important one is the way in which our body fat is stored.  Though body fat distribution varies from one person to the next, enough similarities can be found among large groups that women can be placed in one of several different body-type classifications.  In a recent post, I wrote about pears .  This post is dedicated to a second, fruit-shaped group known as “apples.”  Who are apples?  Apples are women whose fat is primarily located in their abdomens, and who are proportionally larger on top than they are on the bottom.  This top-to-bottom imbalance often makes it difficult for them to find clothing that flatters their figures.  Apples also often have excess upper and lower back fat, and usually have poorly-defined waists.  But, they also tend to have slim legs and thighs.  If you’re an apple, you can count Elizabeth Hurley, Drew Barrymore, and Rosie O’Donnell among your ranks. (more…)

By Adam Welsch
Naomi & Nicole®

Two days ago, the godfather of fitness, Jack LaLanne, died at his home in California.  He was 96.  Pioneering the movement of eating healthily and exercising every day, via his long-running television show, chain of health clubs, sensational stunts, and juicing infomercials, LaLanne paved the way for the popularity of personal fitness in all of its forms.  He was also, perhaps, the first and most vocal advocate for women’s fitness.  He not only developed a program that could be performed by any woman in her own home without any special equipment, he also encouraged women to lift weights – something that previously had been considered taboo.  Not surprisingly, the passing of such an icon has caused me to reflect on the inadequacies of my own diet and personal exercise regimen.  But it’s also forced me to think about shapewear.  As an advocate for women’s fitness, LaLanne always encouraged women to exercise, and not depend upon girdles, to maintain healthy, good-looking physiques.  So the question that’s been rattling around inside my head is this: Does the use of shapewear discourage exercise and healthy eating habits? (more…)