Posts in category "bare necessities"

5 Perfect (Stocking) Stocking Stuffers

Category: bare necessities, featured, laura, laura, leggings, mytights, pantyhose, sheer stockings, stockings, thigh highs, tights, tights. shopping guides, wolford
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Posted 167 days ago

I know. Stockings INSIDE of stockings? Your head may have just exploded. But piece it back together and consider how happy any lingerie addict would be to wake up on Christmas day and instead of finding in her Christmas stocking a deck of cards, chap stick, Hershey’s bar or lump of coal, she pulls out a gorgeous pair of stockings!

First, a little about the tradition of Christmas stockings. Considered ahistorically, it does seem a bit odd to hang things that normally contain feet, in expectation of receiving gifts in them. There doesn’t seem to be a definitive written history of the tradition, but I’ve come across a few legends that do a bit of explaining.

In one, a fourth century European nobleman is reduced to penury after years of crop failures and famine on his property. While he had begun his promising adulthood handsome, wealthy, and in love, he now must support the peasants nearby as well as his family. When he suddenly finds himself a widower and sole guardian of his three beautiful daughters he is distraught not only over his wife’s death, but because he does not have enough money to pay for his daughters’ marriages.

He is a good man, and sympathetic words spread about his plight. An unknown traveler named Nicholas hears and in the quiet of night comes to the man’s house in order to make a gift of gold coins to the man and his daughters. When looking for a secure place to leave the gold, he sees the daughters’ stockings hanging on the mantel to dry, and fills them each with gold.

An early mention, possibly the first, of Christmas stockings being hung near a chimney was by the poet Clement Clarke Moore in the poem “T’was the Night Before Christmas.”

“The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there”

Around the same time, Santa Claus made his debut as a fully realized character in satirist Thomas Nast‘s illustrations for “Harpers” in the mid 19th century.

Now that stocking gifting traditions have evolved from gold coins to fruits and nuts to more personal goodies, I’ve collected a few of my favorite combinations of Christmas stockings (the hang-by-the-chimney type) along with their hosiery-stocking counterparts to share with you. So whether you’re playing Santa this year and need some stocking stuffer ideas or you’re collecting items for your own wish list or you’re a bystander in this Christmas affair and are simply a fan of hosiery, here are goodies for 5 tastes: Classic, Cute and Cozy, Pin up, Playful, and Burlesque.

Classic:

The Classic Christmas stocking, $17.50

Ah, the classic red stocking. Always a winner. Here’s an equally reliable winner in the hosiery department. I like how the red bows are festive and fun but not overstated.

Ooh La La Cherie stocking from MadamGirl, $13.50

Cute and Cozy:

Gingerbread girl personalized stocking, $29.95

This is so charming and cute, it deserves a similarly adorable stuffer inside. These tights are cozy and bring a fun spirit to winter while not being too juvenile.

Snowflake leggings, $16.99

Pinup:

Pinup Girl Christmas Stocking, Etsy, $50

So this may not be the right choice for every household, but its tongue-in-cheek sauciness is irresistible to me. This pin up stocking deserves fishnets.

Jonathan Aston fishnet hold ups, Mytights, $12.95

Playful:

Etsy striped stocking, $200 for 4

These handmade modern interpretations of the traditional stocking are so bright and pretty I would want leave them up all year around. Fun striped socks are also good for year round romps.

Striped Socks, SockWizard, $9.99

Burlesque:

Burlesque Christmas stocking, Etsy, $40

The grand finale! This comic-sexy leg Christmas stocking is ingenious. In homage to its clever creator, I would fill it with a lacy, delicate patterned stocking. I love this one from a favorite brand, Wolford, because its lace-lookalike patterning is actually peacock feathers, which is a little unexpected and very cool.

Wolford Paradise Peacock tights, Bare Necessities, $42.99

What are your stocking traditions? Share your wish list with us!

Laura a.k.a. Lola Haze

I’ve loved lingerie since before that was reasonable. I taught myself drawing, designing, and sewing, and after graduating from Harvard with an English degree, immediately went to work disregarding it and following my passion for fashion. After a few years designing for a big company, I went off on my own and started Lola Haze TM, (named after the title character in “Lolita,” my favorite book). Lola Haze is playwear for the bold woman who loves fun and dresses for herself! I feel happy and lucky that I get to love my job so much, and am thrilled to share my lingerie enthusiasm with The Lingerie Addict!

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Weekly Lingerie Sales: 11/3/12

Category: bare necessities, featured, fredericks of hollywood, journelle, leggings, legwarmers, lingerie sales, made by niki, sale, sales, stockings, stockingshq, yummie tummie
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Posted 201 days ago

Freya ‘Carys’ Long Line Underwire Bra from Nordstrom

10% off at Pampered Passions w/ code SAVE10
15% off when you buy 2 Nylonica stockings at StockingsHQ
20% off at Made by Niki (ends 11/9/12)
20% off when you buy 2 leggings from Yummie w/ code buy2andsave20
20% off select Felina and Parfait by Affinitas items at HerRoom
20% off at Babygirl Boutique with code VOTE12 (ends 11/6/12)
25% off at Frederick’s of Hollywood
30% off winter tights at Pretty Polly w/ code WARMERS30 (ends 11/6/12)
Up to 40% off lingerie and hosiery at Nordstrom’s Half Yearly Sale
Buy one, get one half off on Pretty Polly Nylons at MyTights (ends 11/7/12)
Free shipping at Journelle Lingerie (11/4/12)
Free shipping on all orders at Bare Necessities (ends 11/12/12)
Cosabella lingerie on sale at Gilt. (Ends 11/4/12)
Hanky Panky, Between the Sheets, Mimi Holiday and Cosabella Lingerie on sale at MyHabit. (End times vary)
Sale on Cosabella lingerie at MyHabit starting on Monday, 11/5/12
New sale items at Secrets in Lace

Mike

Category: bare necessities, bra, bras, featured, full bust, guest writers, herroom, nordstrom, plus size, shopping guides
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3 comments
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Posted 255 days ago

Nicole, aka “Fussy Busty”

Today’s guest blog post blog post is by Nicole of Fussy Busty. Nicole has been fitting customers, friends and family for bras for 4 years and it’s one of those things that she’s really passionate about. When not writing for her blog, Nicole stays busy with her husband and three large dogs, while also finishing up her M.S. in Psychology and maintaining a wedding favors business on Etsy. She loves all things creative and loves helping women to see that no matter what size they are or what they look like, THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL!

You can find Fussy Busty on Facebook and Twitter @Fussy_Busty, and also at www.fussybusty.com where she reviews lingerie for the plus size, full bust woman and pioneers for equal access to beautiful lingerie for everyone.

On my blog, I write from the perspective of the plus size full bust woman. Right now, I wear a 40J, but no less than a year ago, I wore a 46 G? H? At the time, I didn’t even know what cup size I wore because I couldn’t find a bra that fit my plus size figure AND my full bust. So, here I present to your plus sized readers a list of choices that they can turn to that provide not only a wider range of plus size bands, but also a full bust cup range. All sizes are UK sizing unless otherwise noted. I’m not endorsed by Nordstrom’s in any way, I just happen to know that these stores carry some of these brands and make note of it so that readers know where they can go to try things on.

Elomi ‘Caitlyn’

Elomi

Elomi is a really great brand that has come a long way, even in the few years that I have started wearing them. The bra shown is the Caitlyn – available in fashion and continuity colors – which has a size range 38-42 DD-K; 44-46 DD-HH. This style is definitely full coverage, but it is truly wonderful. The lift and fit of the Caitlyn are great, especially for a full bust. Elomi caters to plus size women’s shapes with wider wings, wider straps, and comfortable underwires. You can find the Caitlyn through many retailers, and if you’re looking in the US Nordstrom’s is a great store that stocks the Caitlyn in many sizes (if not all in the range). It runs about $56.00, but you may be able to find older fashion colors on sale, or maybe great deals on eBay.

Elomi “Tamarie”

The Tamarie is probably one of my favorite Elomi bras because not only does it provide great full coverage and support, but it is also pretty. Something you might love is that the wires don’t come up very high under the arm, which is really quite wonderful. The Tamarie is available in continuity colors, with a pretty amazing size range including: 36-42 DD-HH, 44 DD-GG, 46 DD-G, and 48 DD-FF. This wonderful bra has all of the great features that Elomi brings to plus size bras. This also usually runs in the $50 range. While I haven’t seen it at Nordstrom’s lately, I know you can find this style online.

Of course, Elomi offers many different styles, including a few padded bras, a gorgeous plunge (The Betty), a sports bra, wirefree bras, a strapless and even a basque. The price range and quality of Elomi is what makes it so accessible, and is usually the first brand that I suggest to women who are looking for a nice plus size, full bust bra.

Goddess

**U.S. Sizing**

Goddess “Rose Banded”

Goddess is definitely one of those brands that has seemed under the radar to me, but ask many bra bloggers and they recognize Goddess as a plus size brand. They offer many different styles and colors to suit your personality, and something I really like about Goddess is that they often offer multiple frames or styles of the same bra. The bra pictured is the Rose Banded Bra, and this is also offered as a bandless bra, and as a soft cup (though the size ranges are different for each style). This Rose Banded is currently offerred in continuity colors and some fashion colors, and has a wonderful size range, including: 36 DDD-K, 38-42 DD-K, 44 DD-J, and 46 DD-I. As I note, these are U.S. sizes meaning that a K = UK H, J = UK GG, I = UK G and so on. For info about sizing, click here Goddess Sizing. Goddess is definitely a more budget friendly option for women, coming in mostly under $50 for a new bra.

Goddess “Alice”

The Alice full cup bra boasts the Goddess “M” frame for maximum bust lift and separation (yay!). The Alice is also available as a soft cup bra, though again, the size range is different. It is available in continuity as well as fashion colors. For the underwire bra, the size range is: 34-44 G-N (N = UK JJ cup), 46 G-M, and 48 G-L. I know that the sizing can be confusing if you are used to the UK sizing but it’s not too complicated, and as noted with the Rose, Goddess does provided a conversion chart on their website. Again, the price is around $46.00 for this bra.

Goddess “Marilyn”

The Marilyn is a gorgeous strapless bra! It is available in continuity colors and a somewhat smaller size range than some of the other Goddess styles. Sizes available are: 34-46 B-H, 48 B-DDD. What’s great about this strapless is that Goddess taps into another underserved end of the bra size spectrum, the plus size-small cup community. The strapless is available on Bigger Bras for only $38.00! Wow!

PrimaDonna

**U.S. Sizing**

Primadonna “Deauville”

Primadonna is definitely one of those brands that can make you fall in love with luxury bras. Their bras are made with amazing fabrics, including beautiful stretch laces, yummy embroidery, and are constructed so beautifully. Many of their bras have elegant accents (like crystals and bows) that elevate the brand to an even higher level. Before we fall in love even further, I think it’s definitely important to note that PrimaDonna bras range in price from $90-165.00. But you definitely get everything you pay for. PrimaDonna as a brand has full collections that offer matching panties, garters, shapewear and various bra frames.

The pictured Deauville Undewired Bra is gorgeous! It is available in continuity as well as fashion colors, and comes in a fair size range. Sizes offered are: 30-44 FGH, and 32-40 I. Price point for the Deauville is roughly $139.00. If you need help converting sizes to UK sizes, the size chart for Goddess is the same for PrimaDonna bras. This bra is part of the holistic Deauville collection which includes different styles of bra (strapless, spacer, balconnet, etc.), panties, garter belts, shapewear and so on. Again, sizes for different styles do vary.

Primadonna “Madison”

The Madison full cup bra is the first that I ever owned from PrimaDonna and I cannot say enough positive things about this bra! The shape of the Madison is really great! It lifts and supports a full bust, and it definitely pushes tissue forward (instead of wide and under the arms). The top of the cup is stretch lace which really helps for those of us with slight differences in breast size. The straps are wide and supportive, and it is adorned with pretty bows and a checked fabric on the lower cup of the bra. This style is available in continuity colors as well as fashion colors, and is available in sizes 32-46 FGH, and 32-44 I. This bra is $113.00 and worth every single penny.

There are not many stores that carry PrimaDonna in the U.S., but I do know that the chain of Intimacy stores do carry PrimaDonna.

Elila Lingerie

**US. Sizing**

Elila Full Coverage Lace Bra

Elila Lingerie provides many choices for the full figure, fuller busted woman. While many of their styles are softcup bras (and the size range for softcup bras includes up to a 54 G), their underwire styles are simple and beautiful. Pictured here is the Full Lace Underwire Bra, available in both fashion and continuity colors. The size range of this bra is 36-46 DD-I cup. Price range for Elila is similar to Goddess, typically hitting under $50.00.

Elila as a brand offers shapewear, panties, nursing bras, sports bras, longlines and so on, with panty sizes being offered up to a 5XL. It is a well rounded brand that seeks to offer options to a wide range of customers.

I hope that these options help plus sized, full bust women to find a best fitting bra that is not only supportive, but also comfortable and attractive. If you’re a plus size, full bust woman, what are some of your favorite bras?

Treacle

Lingerie Blogger. Sugar Junkie. Sci-Fi Geek.

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The Curvy Kate Spring Collection Review!

Category: bare necessities, bra, bras, curvy, featured, full bust, garter belt, garters, holly, plus size, reviews, team
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Posted 416 days ago

By: Holly

Image via Curvy Kate

Samples for this review were provided by BareNecessities.com, the UK Curvy Kate team, and the US Curvy Kate team. All opinions are my own.

I’ve always been a fan of Curvy Kate’s Star in A Bra Model Competition, but I hadn’t tried their bras until recently. Most of this was due to proximity, or lack thereof. If you’re a full busted woman, bra shopping can be hell.

After a large period of shipping bras that didn’t fit back and forth to Poland, the UK, and lands beyond I was a little sick of international shipping. This is one of the reasons I’m really excited that BareNecessities.com has picked up Curvy Kate! No international shipping, no waiting two weeks to a month for my bras to show up, and no problems returning them if they don’t fit.

I was lucky enough to be able to put together a review of lots of the new offerings, most of which are already up on Bare Necessities. I tried to go for a mix of basics, but had to give into my need for more brightly colored bras in the end. Before I get started on the individual bras, here are some general observations about Curvy Kate lingerie and how it fits.

1) The bras are well constructed, and built to last. I had one for about two weeks when I had no others that fit, and it held up during every day wear and washing beautifully. Curvy Kate’s designs are also trendy and young, which is great if you’re tired of feeling like you’re wearing your grandmother’s bra that comes up to your neck.

2) The sizing within the line is a little idiosyncratic, but it’s worth figuring out what works for you to be able to wear this line. If you’re US based, you’ll now be able to return things easily, so this shouldn’t be as big a deal as it once was.

3) Panties run almost a size smaller than many brands, so size up for comfort and muffin-top avoidance.

Image via Curvy Kate

The Portia:
This bra was a lifesaver for me. I changed sizes fairly recently and this was the first bra I found that fit me perfectly in my new 32J size. I loved it so much that I wore it every day for two weeks until I found some more options that fitted perfectly. If you’re new to Curvy Kate, the Portia in white or black is a great place to start.

Image via Curvy Kate

The Lottie:
The Lottie bra comes in white and black as continuity colors, but I couldn’t resist the clashing lavender and coral colorway. This was the set I was most nervous about, as I felt like it had the potential to make me look like a giant Easter egg. I was relieved to discover that the lavender and coral colors are actually really flattering, at least on my pale skin. Pictures don’t really do it justice. This bra doesn’t give you as rounded or as uplifted a shape as some of the others, but it’s incredibly comfortable and very supportive. The boy shorts that go with it are cute and practical, and the sheer panel in the back gives them more sex appeal without sacrificing coverage.

Image via Curvy Kate

The Angel:
The Angel set this year comes in a Bluebell color way, which has white trimming and pink bows. This is one of the few sets that has two styles of underwear that go with it, as well as a matching suspender belt. I love this set, but it was one of the trickiest in terms of sizing. If I hadn’t had help from the lovely Cheryl and the UK Curvy Kate team, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have figured it out. I ended up with the bra in 32JJ, so size up a cup if you’re planning on buying it. I went up a size in the panties, but the suspender belt worked in my regular size.

The suspender belt surprised me by pulling me in like light shape wear, which was a delightful discovery. I love both the thong and the boy shorts, although I’m obviously likely to wear them for different occasions. The bra fit just as well as the others, although it did take more wiggling and strap adjusting to get it to that point.

Image via Curvy Kate

The Romance:
The Curvy Kate Romance bra is the most vintage looking of all their offerings this season, and I love the purple swirl design that they’ve used. This bra also fit well in a 32J, and was very easy to mix and match with things in my lingerie drawer. The fit and feel was very similar to the Portia.

I’m looking forward to the rest of the line coming out in the US so I can pick up some newer silhouettes like the Daily Boost! Until then, I’ll happily wear my current collection on a regular basis.

Image via Curvy Kate

If you’re interested in learning more about Curvy Kate, their offerings, or the US version of Star In A Bra, BareNecessities.com has lots of information. Even more details can be found on the Curvy Kate site. I’d love to see tons of entries for Star In A Bra this year, so start taking your pictures! The modeling competition begins in the US on April 5th.

Holly

The Full Figured Chest provides creative and elegant copywriting for the high end lingerie industry.

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The Lingerie Addict 1 Million Readers Giveaway!

Category: bare necessities, giveaway
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367 comments
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Posted 489 days ago

A couple of days ago, The Lingerie Addict officially passed 1 million visitors, and maybe I’m just a little bit weird, but I think that’s something worth celebrating. So today, we’re kicking off the 1 Million Readers Giveaway, and I think it’s one of our best lingerie giveaways yet.

Bare Necessities volunteered to sponsor this giveaway on super short notice (thank you!!!), and they’ve shown how much they love Lingerie Addict readers by offering not 1, not 2, but 3 prizes. And that makes me happiest of all, because I really wanted more than one of my readers to win a prize this time…especially for an occasion that you are directly responsible for.

But enough chit-chat here are the details…

My dear, lovely, amazing Lingerie Addicts, you have the opportunity to win one of the three following prizes:

a $200 gift certificate to Bare Necessities
a $100 gift certificate to Bare Necessities
a $100 gift certificate to Bare Necessities

That’s not a typo. Whoever wins this giveaway is getting at least $100 worth of the lingerie of their choice. And since Valentine’s Day is coming up…well, let’s just say this is excellent timing. The super easy widget we used in the last giveaway seemed to work very well, so we’re using it again for this one. Just follow the instructions below to get your entries in. Every person can enter up to 7 times. The giveaway starts today, January 19th, and runs through next Friday, January 27 (a.k.a. when I return from Paris). The winner will be chosen at some point over the weekend (a.k.a. when I’m not quite so jetlagged).

Best of luck and, as always, thank you for reading The Lingerie Addict!

Giveaway Partners:

Bare Necessities (please follow them on their Facebook and Twitter!)

admin

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Introducing Bare Necessities’ New Curvy Lingerie Boutique! (sponsored)

Category: bare necessities, curve, curvy, featured, full bust, plus size, shopping guides, sponsored
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Posted 518 days ago

As you can probably imagine, I get a lot of lingerie questions in my inbox everyday. But one of the questions I’m asked most often by far is “Where can I, as a curvy/full bust/plus size woman find gorgeous lingerie–that won’t break the bank–in my size?”

Well, Bare Necessities, the world’s premier online lingerie boutique (and InStyle Magazine’s favorite place to shop for lingerie online), has heard you and put their all curvy girl selections in one easy to navigate section on their website.

Whether you’re looking for bras, panties, sleepwear, camisoles, or sexy lingerie, there’s something here for every occasion…from the everyday to the extra special. Best of all, they actually use a full busted woman (Ashley Graham, in case you’re wondering) in many of the product shots…something that doesn’t happen nearly enough in the lingerie world.

Here are a few of my fave selections from the 81 brands and 1000+ styles in the curvy boutique:

Hanky Panky Leopard Print Thong (fits up to 20W) – $24