Sweet Pins
a girl's guide to the fabulous world of stockings and lingerie
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Happy May Day to all our European friends!
Wherever you live there is a May Day treat for you this Monday from Sweet Pins.
15% off all Lingerie using the special code HAPPYMAYDAY
The promotion is valid until Tuesday 7 May at 9AM (Sydney time)
Happy shopping.
http://www.sweetpins.com.au/lingerie/
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I’m so excited about a recent new addition to our collection - Angela Friedman is a New York City based independent luxury lingerie and corset designer.
She is most known for her work at the New York City Ballet, where she ran the ladies’ department of the Costume Shop for several years, working with renowned fashion designers and choreographers to clothe all of the company’s ballerinas. Her work in the delicate world of the Ballet has inspired many of her design details, color palette, and the overall feel of the line. She aims to bring the beauty and grace of that world into her lingerie line and to women all over the world.
Angela’s vintage-inspired designs are distinguished by an acute attention to detail and quality materials. A real “return to handmade luxury” as the brand has been defined by the Lingerie Addict.
The first drop of this stunning collection will be around late July. Not long to go, I can’t wait!
We will be reviewing some of Angela’s designs soon, so watch this space.
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A light-hearted look at some the developments of the lingerie industry through the ages.
By Gillian Proctor, De Montfort University
Part one – 1,600BC to 18th CenturyFor centuries the human figure has been crammed, squeezed, manipulated and reshaped in order to achieve, at any one time, the desirable outerwear silhouette demanded by fashion and culture.In most instances, the greatest responsibility for this has fallen on the corset, but, as with all aspects of styling and development, where fashion dictates, underwear must follow. In effect, we are talking structural underpinning for the outerwear silhouette - not surprising, then, that the term ‘foundationwear’ has been so aptly applied.Researching the development of this aspect of fashion clothing, it soon becomes clear that underwear is no less subject to innovation and fabric technology as the wider fashion world, not to mention the idiosyncrasies of the simply bizarre through the centuries.It will come as no surprise to discover that ancient women were no more in favour of bouncing, jiggling and potentially sagging breasts than the contemporary woman, and consequently they took measures to avoid it.The Snake Goddess from Crete, which dates to around 1,600 BC is often associated with the famous Cretan female bare-breasted warriors. Infamous for their heavy maquillage and fussy flounced garments, their décolletages were supported by an underbust corset. As precursors of fashion style, if the trendsetting women of Crete varied the drape of their loincloth, the Phoenician and Egyptian women followed suit.In 1,000 BC, Greek women wore the apodesme, a strip of (often) red fabric rolled under the breasts which aimed not to make breasts prominent but to offer support and prevent bouncing when walking. Later Greek developments led to similar bras with various names such as mastodon and strophian.Meanwhile, Roman women bound their breasts with a bandage like garment or fascia to restrict growth, while those more generously endowed adopted the mamillare, a cross-over system of ribbons along the lines of the original Playtex ‘Cross your heart’ bras.With Olympics in mind, Sicilian mosaics reveal bikini like two-piece garments consisting of a brief loincloth and a bandeau style bra top, potentially made from soft leather and worn during active sport.Moving on to the early medieval period and the favoured silhouette featured small, high breasts and a full rounded stomach, not dissimilar to a pregnancy silhouette. Fashion desired an elongated silhouette, echoed in long pointed shoes and sleeves as the tips of feet or fingers were considered sexually stimulating. The torso was contained within a cotte, or bliaunt, which was a forerunner of the corset.Decorative iron corsets were brought to Britain by the Crusaders from the Middle East and were worn initially to correct poor posture, referred to by Catherine de Medici as ‘those torturous devices of steel’. They continued to be manufactured and worn as late as the Victorian era but by then had generally become representative of the ‘corrective dress’ of the S&M followers (Christian Grey take note).The Elizabethan silhouette was noted for an elongated and exaggerated pointed corset worn with a circular wooden, wheel-like device called a farthingale, which focused the attention on the hips, creating a seductive swaying motion when walking. Children had to wear the same styles as adult women.This obsession with volume in dress was echoed in the menswear of the period. The voluminous sleeves and breeches were counterbalanced with the male focus of sexual styling, the codpiece. This was a wooden pouch padded with horsehair and worn in a not dissimilar way to a cricket box. The codpiece was even incorporated into armour.Jean Paul Gaultier and Vivienne Westwood both incorporated the codpiece into their collections in the 1990s.Post the English civil war, the Restoration period saw the reinstatement of sexually directed fashionable dress, which made particularly the female attributes more available.Corsets were widely worn by all classes, and busks were worn to separate the breasts. These were also given by lovers as a promise of love, often with inscribed love notes, and worn close to the heart. For women of society, busks could be embossed and carved in silver and ivory, while for the lower social classes, turkey cartilages were commonplace.The most infamous pair of stays or corset was the Hussy. This claimed to ‘contain the strong, sustain the weak and bring back those who have strayed’. It was worn with a series of petticoats called teasers, tumblers, and tempters, which summarised the open and relaxed attitudes to fashionable dress.The promotion and care of the breast at this time was so extreme, that French Queen Marie Antoinette was said to have bathed hers in milk to maintain their softness. Sevres produced porcelain breast bowls complete with nipples for her for that express purpose.The early 18th century extremity of dress, wigs, face patches etc was summarised in the ultimate silhouette statement of dress, the mantua. The mantua, built around a flattened wooden set of panniers, could be as wide as four feet. Some corsets had to have hip panels built in to support the weight of the skirts.As with all extremes of silhouette, its life was short-lived, resulting initially in smaller side panniers and ultimately moving the focus to the derriere, creating the bustle and leading to the question asked by women worldwide: ‘Does my bum look big in this?’Part two of the history of lingerie, coming soon! -
Have you ever wished for glamorous, comfortable and snugly alternatives to sweat pants and hoodies? Beautiful garments you can lounge in around the house, that make you feel a million dollar? Or maybe you are a burlesque star looking for a true Old Hollywood style dressing gown.
Well, you know we are always on the hunt for new designers and we are thrilled to finally have found one that will make your wishes come true. It is Betty Blue’s Loungerie.
Exclusive to Sweet Pins, Betty’s aim is to provide gorgeous girlies of all ages and sizes with snugly, and most importantly glamorous, garments to recline and relax in –just as those stars of Hollywood did in the 1930’s to 1950’s old fashioned films did!
The highlight from Betty’s latest collection is the Nell Robe. A stunning full length robe/dressing gown in buttery soft red jersey fabric and beautiful sheer lace panels around the waist.
Have you ever seen the 1952 film “Don’t bother to knock”? It starred Marilyn Monroe, as Nell, and she was wearing a seductive robe that was the inspiration for this.
The jersey is oh so comfortable whilst the lace shapes your curves to show off your figure to its fullest, in a corset-like effect. Slip into this robe for a romantic night in. Wow effect guaranteed.
The Nell Robe is now on sale at Sweet Pins. http://www.sweetpins.com.au/lingerie-sets/the-nell-robe-dressing-gown-p393.html
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Christmas is just a few weeks away and it’s time for you gentlemen to carry out some lingerie detective work!
Simply abandon any visions of a pre-canned gift idea that you might be clinging to. Instead buy her a sumptuous, glamorous and unique gift from the heart - an object of desire which could be transformed in something fun for you both in the boudoir!
Here are some golden rules to help you find the perfect gift for your fabulous significant other (ladies, feel free to forward this email as many times as you like. Or print it and hide it in his pocket - wink!)
Tip1 : Women generally do like red. Men THINK women love red. To choose a colour that she will love and feel comfortable wearing, have a sneaky look at her lingerie drawer. What do you see? Lots of black and neutral tones: Stick to the same colour for stockings and suspender belts. Black is sexy and easy to wear. Black suspenders and black stockings is a winning combination. White garter belts look beautiful with nude sheer hosiery. Leopard prints: Yay! Your girl probably prefers the glamour of vintage or vintage inspired. Experiment with eye catching prints and bold colours. Yes, you are allowed to buy red stockings, if you really want to.
Tip2 : Buy suspender belts with metal clasps, not plastic. Cheap plastic straps will allow stockings to come loose and fall down the leg. All our suspender belt have metal clasps and are fully adjustable for a perfect fit. To find the right size check her undies - it is very likely to be the same size as her knickers.
Tip3 : Seamed stockings are sexy. And slimming. Chances are your lady will love them! Fully fashioned stockings have a seam sewn in (rather than printed), are ultra sheer and more expensive, but also more durable and a special treat.
Tip4 : Practical lingerie is generally not sexy lingerie. Ditto for stockings. Get her something that will make her feel fabulous!
Finally, don’t be scared to ask the experts if you are still not sure. Here at Sweet Pins we are always happy to offer ideas and advice and we’re just a phone call or email away..
