Let’s Talk Lingerie
by Devon Ellington

Summer’s coming, so we’re wearing less. What we wear under the little we’re wearing becomes even more important. The correct lingerie makes or breaks a look. There are several elements to take into consideration.

Fit. Most women wear lingerie that doesn’t fit them properly. Even if you’re only wearing a whisper of silk or lace, if it’s cutting into you, leaving track marks or pushing fat around, it is not attractive and it’s certainly not sexy. Go to a lingerie specialty store and get a private bra fitting. And then buy the right size. Don’t obsess on numbers when it comes to panties, thongs, etc. Obsess on fit. You can have the loveliest, most expensive lingerie out of the best fabrics under the most beautiful designer outfit, but if it doesn’t fit you properly, you ruin the line and come across as a $15 hooker.

Fabric. Try to stick with natural fabrics that let your skin breathe. You’ll be more comfortable. The peek-a-boo lace is fine for a hot date, but will chafe and get in the way if you’re running a 26K marathon. Suit the fabric to what you’ll do when you’re wearing it.

Line. This also ties in to fabric. Take the fabric of the garment you’re wearing over the lingerie into consideration. Lingerie is supposed to be subtle, a tease of what’s beneath the clothes, not a presentation. If you’re wearing a clingy fabric, your lingerie should be as light with as few seams as possible. Your bra straps should not stick out, they should not sneak away from your tank tops. Again, this isn’t a sexy look. It’s careless. If you’re having a hard time keeping your bra straps where they need to be, create lingerie straps on your tank top straps. You do this with tiny, invisible or clear plastic snaps and either a thin fragment of grosgrain ribbon that matches the tank top or a swing tack made out of thread, again, that matches the tank top. If you don’t know how to make a swing tack, a good sewing book or online site will teach you. One snap goes onto the garment strap, at the inside edge of the tank strap, but hidden. The swing tack is created directly beside the snap, on the garment, and ends in the other snap. When you put on the garment, you fasten the bra strap into the lingerie strap, snapping the swing tacked snap around it, capturing it, and it stays in place. Or, if the straps are so thin, you can’t use lingerie straps, wear a strapless bra under the top. If you wear low rise jeans, wear low rise panties. Even if you really like a particular style of bra or panty, have a selection in different fabrics, different colors,and different styles to give you flexibility. In each style, have one set in black, one in white, and one in a color close to your skin tone. From there, add colors you like.

Price. There are lots of reasonably priced thongs and panties, but go ahead and spend a little more on the bras. You want a good fit, a comfortable fit, and an attractive line. For sports, you’re going to need something designed specifically for comfort, fit, and support. If you invest in a few really good, top of the line bras, they will more than pay for themselves over time.

Care. Your lingerie needs special care. All your family’s undergarments need special care in order to be genuinely clean and to last. Underpants should ALWAYS be washed separately than the rest of your clothes to avoid bacterial/fecal contamination with other garments. If the garment is not colorfast, hand wash it in water as hot as you can, rinse it, and hang it out. For colorfast garments, wash them in hot water, and add a scoop of something like Oxyclean or Arm & Hammer washing soda in along with your regular detergent. If you get blood on the garment, wash it in COLD as quickly as possible to keep the blood from setting, and then wash in HOT once the blood is out the way you normally would. Most bras, especially delicate ones, should be hand washed.

The chorus girls from one of the Broadway shows I worked a few years ago had some bra issues and went, en masse, to one of New York City’s lingerie pros for individual bra fittings and garment care. As the woman instructed, when you hand wash a bra, you prepare the bath and the detergent, and then it’s “dip, swish, swish.” You rinse them, squeeze out excess water by rolling it in a towel (do NOT wring bras out), and hang up the bras to dry.

If it’s a bra that can go in the washer, fasten the hooks and place it in a lingerie bag. Toss it in with the appropriate color load, and hang it up. Avoid putting it in the dryer most of the time. It’s fine to cheat occasionally and toss a bra in the dryer once in awhile, but you prolong the garment’s life but letting it air dry. Every once in awhile, if I feel a bra is getting loose, I’ll toss it into the dryer, but dryer heat wears out elastic and is especially bad for underwire garments.

Before people start screaming they don’t “have time” to do these extra loads of “underpants only” or hang up garments to dry, remember it’s a health issue as well as a money issue. It makes me laugh when house dwellers with a washer and dryer onsite scream about not having time for laundry. Most apartment dwellers have to use laundromats, which actually does take time away from other activities, because you have to sit there with it, or send out their wash. House dwellers can toss in a load and go do something else. Plenty of people don’t wash them separately and are surviving just fine, but it’s an extra step that’s worth it. If you really are so germ-aware, taking the time to run an extra 8 minute cycle on hot for the underpants is worth it in the long run. These garments touch the most intimate parts of our body. They’re worth the extra time and care.

–Devon Ellington publishes under a half a dozen names in both fiction and non-fiction. She spent over twenty years working in the wardrobe departments on Broadway, film, and television.