coutorture --

Body-Con By Urban Outfitters

coutorture — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 09:19:55 -0700

This 38 dollar Urban Outfitters slip kind of looks like a Jonathan Saunders dress. Now, we're shopping online here so we can't say for sure but hear us out. You buy this 38 dollar slip in a size larger than normal (our new favorite non-trick) and you pair it with opaque black tights, black ankle boots, a lean blazer, and a men's watch and you might just have a totally killer outfit on your hands. Wearing a slip as a dress brings us back to our undergraduate days (oh, the shame) and we can't say that doesn't, for many reasons, make us nervous, but it just might work. Either that or you put it on and the fabrication is lousy and you look like you're going to a Madonna concert circa the Blonde Ambition tour but in a bad way and you decide 'body-con' is one trend you might actually invest in because, you know, there's a fine line between looking like a modern body-con warrior and a tootsie roll. We like the first idea better so we're going to pretend that that's how these kind of things roll out in the world of e-commerce. Hey, at least it's an adventure and one that, thankfully, won't leave you walking around with a slightly shaming Urban Outfitters bag on your wrist.

National Underwear Day

coutorture — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 08:32:23 -0700

Intimate Apparel Market week is in full swing in New York. A week of disturbing paunchy male lingerie executives coupled with darling designers and models with actual tits makes for some fairly interesting people watching. Curve is at the Javitz Center and Lingerie Americas is at the Altman. Last night the Waldorf played host to the Contours International Lingerie Awards 2008 Gala and fashion show. Needless to say National Underwear Day is not idly placed in the calender, or at least not for the intimate apparel industry. Its a delightful and kitschy fake holiday that reminds us that the foundation of a good wardrobe is made up of garments few people ever have the privilege to see. Yes OK its also to promote underwear ecommerce site Fresh Pair but you know any excuse to celebrate the naked form.

We have a few choices for you should you be in a spending frame of mind and if not we have plenty of photos of models ambling down the catwalk at the CILA awards last night. As they say in the science fiction business, we are doing a bit of fan service today. Who those fans are we can't quite say but it was fun to say!

Fifi Chachnil For Topshop

coutorture — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:33:43 -0700

Lingerie designer, Fifi Chachnil, will be designing a capsule collection for Topshop which will hit stores at the end of July. When it comes to shopping at Topshop, lingerie is often an afterthought, one of those add-ons that sets your total just over a million pounds sterling (okay, maybe not that much). Although the retailer stocks a slew of cute cotton basics, there is typically a small but attractive selection of boudoir style lingerie. This naturally includes silk bathrobes, printed nighties, and totally impractical corsetry. As opposed to Jonathan Saunders for Topshop, which drove many customers to shop for the name alone, it seems more likely that the shopping experience won't be dictated by the collaboration.

It's more likely, that is, that while shopping the lingerie section at Topshop, Chachnil's lingerie, said to include much in the way of black lace and coral bows, will just naturally seem more attractive. Women don't buy lingerie the way they buy shift dresses. They buy lingerie when it strikes there fancy, when they are in a certain mood as it were.

Below, you'll find Fifi Chachnil's current look book, where lingerie is priced between two and three hundred euro. For Topshop, you can expect to pay between thirty and seventy five pounds. That involves a little bit of conversion math on your part but the you get the picture. Like any capsule collection, we're sure the 'real thing' feels a hell of a lot better on the skin, but that's a luxury not everyone can afford. When it comes to choosing between cotton panties and some sexy, lacy numbers, however, the choice seems obvious and so this collaboration (though it won't inspire lines at seven o'clock in the morning) should be a success.

Immaterial: Vena Cava Myrna Camisole

coutorture — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:16:22 -0700

In the Summer, it is hot and that means ditching your thermal underwear for some sexy lingerie. Go ahead, sleep with the windows open, take that fur throw off the end of your bed, and get yourself some Vena Cava lingerie. Our favorite piece from the collection is the Myrna Camisole. As with most high end lingerie, the trick of wearing it past your bedroom door can be difficult. This camisole is as thin as rice paper and, paired with the matching shorts, can easily be worn with wide leg loose trousers or flowy summer frocks. There is no better confidence booster than wearing something sexy under something sexy. This 100% silk number also has underwire cups so you need not worry about any bra-on-camisole-on-blouse action. The idea is to say cool, baby, and there 'aint nothin better than a thin camisole and some bloomer-like shorts to get you though it. Our spread of Vena Cava's Spring 08 lingerie below.

You're My Wundervoll

coutorture — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 05:58:59 -0800

Looks like boudoir lingerie and songs from seventh grade are making a comeback. We never quite figured out what a Wonderwall is, but the Oasis song has been stuck in our heads ever since we discovered Wundervoll, a new underwear label out of Berlin. We're fairly certain the brothers Gallagher weren't crooning about undies, but after seeing this stunning collection, they may as well have, because these lovely looks are definitely something to sing about. Wundervoll's much lauded first collection, for S/S '08, debuted at Berlin Fashion Week, and its arrival in stores is being hotly anticipated by the fashion bloggerati. Designer Matthias Jaschke uses slinky, modern materials like silk jersey to create barely there bras and lace-up panties that veer less towards frilly and more towards minimal, with a slightly vintage bent. The highlight of the collection is a pair of silky, high-waisted panties featuring rows of buttons along the front. Now that we're wearing high-waisted pants again, how apropos that someone should make us some underwear to suit our new look? No word yet on which retailers will carry the line Stateside, but we'll be keeping an eye out.

We also have impressive designer video interviews and original editorial spreads. May we cordially suggest perusing our selection? Enjoy New York Fashion Week Designer Video Interviews from Oscar De La Renta, Donna Karan for DKNY,Michael Kors, Isaac Mizrahi, Nicole Miller, Erin Fetherston, Ashleigh Verrier , Adam Lippes, James Coviello, John Varvatos , Monique Lhuillier, Joanna Mastroianni, Tory Burch, Neeam Khan