Hola!

Just back from Chile and Argentina, and I have some news for everyone: we are SO lucky to live where we do, and to have the selection in lingerie that we do!

I went to many lingerie stores in Buenos Aires, and they literally ONLY carried B-cups. That’s fine for me, but over 80% of my customers would not be able to find the right fit. I thought, maybe that’s just the market, maybe it’s all they need. NOPE! Walking the streets, it’s clear that the range in sizes down south is not much different than what we have up north.

Lucky for us, we have fantastic fitting brands like Prima Donna, Fantasie, Chantelle, Simone Perele, and Antinea, to name a few that offer up to as large as an I- cup! And with our lovely fitting experts at Inside Story and Inside Story II, you’re sure to find the right size to make you feel comfortable inside and out.

The trip was fantastic, but, for an average North American woman, lingerie shopping would mean a tighter squeeze than the middle seat on the 12 hour plane ride home.

Adios for now!

Your Ultimate Swimsuit Guide

By: Tracie Brown – TrendSpotter

It’s time to get you prepared for the oh so dreaded bathing suit shopping experience. But not to worry, I’ve already handled the stressful part for you. Read on to learn the swimwear style tips for different body types, see the best of what styles are available online and in the boutiques and make this the year that you rock the hottest suit just for you!

First, it is so important to hit the stores prepared, by that I mean knowing your body type and zoning in on the right style of suits to flatter you. Don’t forget about colour either, that’s something I always tell my clients when we do colour analysis. After I’ve discovered your ‘wow’ colour, the one that makes your eyes sparkle and does the most for your complexion, go out there and find it! If you are lucky enough to find the ‘wow’ colour and right style for your shape, you’re laughing all the way to the beach.

Another ‘must do’, shop for bra sized swimwear. I had the good fortune of trying on swimsuits at Inside Story in Oakville. Before I could even get started with selecting suits, I was measured. Hallelujah! As just about every other woman who has shopped for bras and swimsuits before being measured, I was shocked. I had never worn the correct band size. What a difference, life changing ladies. Imagine being able to wear a strapless style and move freely!

Also, the bathing suit is not an item in your wardrobe to skimp on. Shop wisely and invest in great quality swimwear. Previously, my ‘go to’ was always shopping from Victoria’s Secret on-line. Thankfully now that the super store has set up shop in Canada, not only do they carry all of their fabulous lingerie but also swimwear too! However, right here in downtown Oakville, there are also some great boutiques that offer an array of designer swimsuits well worth the money. Their personal service does not compare to the bigger stores. When shopping for something as personal as a new swimsuit, I’d go with the experts from our local boutiques. From the second I started my swimsuit shopping experience I was made comfortable and had a wonderful sales associate from Inside Story guide me through the whole journey with honesty and obvious know how. Trying on bathing suits and having someone by my side that was knowledgeable, tactful, candid and sensitive was the best possible scenario. Thank you to the amazing team from Inside Story!

Try on the trends. The same great fun spring fashions trends in our day-to-day clothing are the same for swimwear. You’ll find polka dots, neon brights, watercolour patterns, retro, high waisted bottoms, florals colour and more colour.

Body Type Swimsuit Tips

Hourglass shape:
•With your va-va-voom proportions and curves, you can get away with many different bathing suit looks. Show it off!
•Look for halter tops, string bikinis with enough coverage for a larger chest, and anything that will give you extra support up top. This is when having a proper fitting done really matters! I’ve become a huge believer of bra sized swimwear. Try it ladies.
•If you’re a thin hourglass figure, you can wear the classic string bikini with no problems. If you have a larger chest, be careful of skimpy suits as they have minimal support.
•Wearing different colors on the top and bottom could make your balanced body look disproportional. Stick to bikinis that match.

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Triangle shape:
•Boy shorts may offer a little extra coverage, but be warned; they do actually highlight and add volume to your hip area. Something you are trying to avoid.
•The right way to balance your figure is by keeping eye-catching details, prints and colours on the top. Dark, solid colors can minimize your bottom.
•Finding different sizes for your top and bottom is key.
•Go wild when choosing your bikini top. Try strapless, string, low cut or skimpy and you don’t have to worry about looking offensive.
•Padded cups are another great option for you.
•Use cover-ups and accessories to your advantage. Be sure to wrap your cover-up on an angle for a hip slimming effect.

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Inverted triangle shape:
•Being more top heavy, support should be #1 for you when choosing a bikini.
•Look for mix and match options. Brighter coloured bikini bottom, and dark coloured bikini tops will help to balance your body type. .
•Boy shorts put more emphasis on your lower half making your hips appear to be slightly wider. This is actually great for you as I will help your bottom keep up with your top half.
•Look for places that sell separates since you’ll probably wear a bigger size up top than on the bottom.
•You can also wear a string bikini bottom without a problem, since you don’t carry your weight there.

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Rectangular shapes:
•If you want to add curves to a boxy frame, ruffles, ties, and girly bow details create volume and draw attention to your hips and bust.
•Girly details and patterns are your friend. Go for florals, crochet detailing, or even lingerie-inspired bathing suits to visually balance out a more athletic frame.
•If you’re on the skinny side, look for tops with ruching and padding to add volume. You might also want to go for a side-tie bottom that will draw the eye to your hips.

Never before have I worn a strapless that stayed put! All I can say is get fitted and invest in the best quality suit for you. Know your shape, know your colours and have a trusted professional on your side! Get ready to stun them at the pool and walk confidently down the beach. Come on sunshine!

Be sure to ‘Like’ Ultimate Image Consulting on Facebook to be eligible to win a $50 Gift Card every month.

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Tracie is a certified Image & Style Consultant and owner of Ultimate Image Consulting. Growing up in northern Ontario, Tracie is known for her honesty and down-to-earth nature, while wowing everyone with her incredible styling talents and impressive knack for putting outfits together. Her previous work as a crisis counsellor, child & youth worker and teacher has helped to shape Tracie into a warm, nurturing, encouraging and vivacious image consultant. She always brings her professionalism, commitment to fashion, and her fun and friendly disposition to every client. Tracie has been a guest fashion expert at various events, and has hosted numerous fashion shows at boutiques within the GTA. MOST magazine has recognized her talents and added Tracie to their team as their Fashion Columnist. She also writes for Balance My Life, as their fashion ‘TrendSpotter’. All clothing collected from Tracie’s wardrobe audits are donated to INCITE, a support group for single moms in Burlington.Keep up with Ultimate Image news, events, style tips and all things fashion on her Facebook page, ‘Ultimate Image Consulting’. Tracie is a member of AICI, the Association of Image Consultants InternationalTracie Brown 647.297.0350

Tracie is a member of AICI, the Association of Image Consultants International
Tracie Brown 647.297.0350
www.ultimateimageconsulting.com
tracie@ultimateimageconsulting.com
Twitter – @definingstyle
Facebook – Ultimate Image Consulting

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I was fortunate enough to see the Prima Donna/Marie Jo facilities in Belgium recently and the experience has heightened my appreciation for the value of quality lingerie.

The process that goes into manufacturing lingerie means that we are often asking small scraps of lace and fastenings to do a big job – one that, when done properly, requires engineering and design as well as artistry.

The sheer magnitude of the different raw elements involved in producing a brassiere, for example, can be surprising – but to see the operations of one of the top quality brands in action is eye opening, even to someone immersed in the trade.

Once the company has gone through its process to determine which lines they will move forward for production, they create a book that specifically outlines each product in minute detail, in order to guarantee uniformity. The book goes to a level of details that mandates not only the color and thickness of thread used, but the exact kind of stitches required and how many stitches per centimeter. For fabrics and lace, the exact pattern is determined, so that every single garment has an identical appearance in its size. This means that for a patterned fabric, every garment will be cut in exactly the same place in the repeat of the pattern.

This photo represents all of the elements in a single Marie Jo bra.

When you take a minute to contemplate the challenges of maintaining continuity while minimizing fabric waste, the complexity is staggering – particularly when you consider some of the company’s annual numbers:

1,000 miles of embroidery
18,500 miles of shoulder strap
6 MILLION cups

What’s fascinating is the mixture of technology and manual labor that goes into creating Prima Donna and Marie Jo quality lingerie. On the one hand, machines are used to unspool and respool every single bolt of fabric that comes into the factory, to ensure that all fabric being used has the same tension. As the fabric is goes through this process, it is examined for imperfections – this is done by a person with good eyes and a roll of tape, and they are only allowed to perform this task for 3 hours per day, maximum. Machines are used to test the tensile strength of each piece of fabric the company is planning to use, to ensure it has the ability to hold up under the strain of use, especially for fuller busted women. At the same time, wear testing is done with a series of consumer-grade washers. (I did note that they don’t even attempt to test their fabrics in the dryer. If you’re a consumer putting your lingerie through the dryer, you’re venturing into uncharted waters, and it’s about as highly recommended as swimming with hungry sharks wearing a chum-drenched swimsuit.) Finally, to achieve maximum uniformity with minimum waste, computers are used to generate exact cuts on each piece of fabric. Cuts are designed into the bolt of fabric, with a razor-thin margin between cuts. Lace, on the other hand, is hand cut with a press die designed for each specific garment.

You know something is a trend when its synergy begins to creep into your daily conscious. I am not sure why or how, but I sense a sea change in our cultural atmosphere: a slow shifting of the tides. It was apparent at the Paris shows and reinforced again last week at CURVENY. There is always a broad sweep of interesting ideas, but I like to zero in. Nothing spoke louder to me than the infusion of vibrant colors prevalent throughout the show.
Color everywhere – this is a good and very positive sign. I’m sure you’ve noticed the brightly-colored jeans out there for spring. Traditionally, this is a sign the economy is picking up. Just like hemlines were once a precursor to the economic climate: short = good times, long = not so good. Alas, as this may be disputed these days, let’s just focus on how happy it makes it to see color! Yes, even a brightly colored bra under your white tee! OR, how cool is this? Red is the new neutral – believe it or not, you don’t see red under ligth colors! In fact, you’ll see white or ivory much more than than red that tends to blend with the tones of our skin. Come in and prove me a liar! I dare you! That’s why we have so many reds in our shops at the moment – how refreshing it is to wear a color underneathe our clothing. Aaaaahhhh…….

Just heading back to Toronto, stuck in LaGuardia (weather) from the CURVE show in NYC – beautiful sleepwear collections – silks, luxurious cottons and fun modal PJ Salvage. Christine Vancouver was sooooooo beautiful! I can’t wait to have the silk gowns in the store!

Dare To Be ~ Marlies Dekkers
I wrote my senior thesis in college on Vincent Van Gogh. The major theme was the impact of vivid color and the intensity of his brushstroke. Was he mad as the pundits claimed? Or did he, in fact possess a confident audacity to defy the artistic traditions of his time and risk acceptance in order to make his own personal statement. My obsession with Van Gogh began in 1970 at The Philadelphia Museum of Art while viewing a retrospective of his work. So it is very interesting that this same bastion of fine art is currently showing another perspective of these extraordinary masterpieces,Van Gogh Up Close. In this exhibition, his creative genius is defined by the individual elements of his work. When we look at the details, we understand their contribution to an entirely new vision of the world.
Just as Van Gogh experimented with painting, Marlies Dekker’s UNDRESSED Collection dares to expose lingerie with a groundbreaking attitude. Not only does it clearly embrace the innerwear as outerwear credo, it presents the bra as a dynamic piece of body art. The bras and panties created for this brand are meant to be seen. What makes them so powerful is not only the bold colors but also that they are engineered for all day comfort and support, with certain styles available to an F cup. Personally, it is a welcome and unexpected addition to my own intimate wardrobe. However, it is the distinct and innovative details of these pieces that catapult these designs into a class by themselves. Witness here the sexy, seamless Triangle Push Up Bra (16291). When Marlies Dekker’s first entered the North American foundations market, her collections were interpreted as edgy high fashion. But dig deeper and you will find a stylish basic with uncompromising fit that is gaining fans in every store willing to take the leap. Sometimes you get much more than you bargain for.

“What Would Life Be If We Had No Courage To Attempt Anything?” Vincent Van Gogh
Available At:

Lida

Inside Story Fine Lingerie
107 Reynolds St., Oakville
905-845-1210

Inside Story II
1900 Dundas St. W., Miss.
905-855-8880
Sherwood Forest Village

Just finished an unbelievable workshop on the history, fit and evolution of the fabulous Marlies Dekkers brand. It was held at their flagship Paris store in St. Germain. I was wearing my favourite Triangle bra and felt right at home! Marlies Dekkers is truly an artist – the best part is she knows how to fit a woman’s breasts like a glove.

My first day at the famous lingerie trade show in Paris has been nothing short of extraordinary! Every year I wonder how will they be able to ‘wow’ me and so far, the collections I’ve seen have been absolutely exquisite. PrimaDonna, MarieJo and Aubade collections were breath-taking…..Fantasie and Freya so very pretty and feminine. The atmosphere at the Salon is very upbeat with fashion shows going on every half hour. Can’t wait to start day 2!

2 more sleeps and I’m off to Paris to see the newest collections, for, believe it or not, the 2012 Fall and Holiday collections! I’ll be updating you from the Chantelle factory and a wonderful workshop at the flagship Marlies Dekkers store where the designer herself will be sharing her creative ideas. Very excited!!!

The Best of Intima Awards
The Best of Intima Awards, for the first time ever, were open to Canadian retailers in the lingerie industry. To clarify, these are like the Oscars of independent lingerie boutiques. Inside Story Fine Lingerie located in Downtown Oakville was nominated in the “European Flair” category. Lida Lisney, owner of the lingerie boutique said this nomination is quite the honour. The awards gala also coincides with the CURVE show in New York City. CURVE is the clever name given to the bi-annual lingerie trade show that Lida makes her yearly pilgrimage to the mecca of lace and knickers to see the seasonal collections. In this case, the August trade show, in actuality, is when the buying for next Spring and Summer 2012 begins. Congratulations Lida and Inside Story on your nomination! Visit Inside Story Fine Lingerie at
107 Reynolds Street and now OPEN a second location at 1900 Dundas St. West in Mississauga in Sherwood Forest Village.