It’s Clare here, one half of the Boudiche co-founding team. I’d promised I’d do a blog update while I’m over in NYC on a trade visit – The Herald wrote a piece on it which you can see here…  Thanks to the SCDI (Scottish Council for Development and Industry) for funding my visit.

Victorias Secret is so huge over here, but they still don’t even make my bra size and tried to fit me into a 34B! Even so, I still love to check it out when I’m over.  There are some gorgeous other lingerie designer brands in New York  if you look hard enough to find them:

The Lake and Stars is one of Boudiche’s favourite designers, and Boudiche have stocked The Lake and Stars for two years now. It’s so Sex and The City – Carrie Bradshaw / SJP wore one of their pieces in the first SATC movie.  I met up with Nikki Dekker and Maayan Zimberman, The Lake and Stars founders, this week.  The new A/W 2010 collection is ordered and is stunning.  I can’t wait for it to arrive in!  We have some Spring Summer 10 Lake and Stars collection left, but it flew out fast when it arrived, especially the Curveball range.

Nikki from The Lake and Stars (Right, short blonde hair) Clare (middle) and Sadie from Dolly Leo

This week’s Time Out NY Magazine featured these two quirky designers: Brulee – gorgeous camis, bodysuits and loungewear in rich satins and jersey, and also T-Luxe, an Eco Friendly organic cotton range of bralettes, robes, bustiers and sleepwear.

I’m in NYC with Sadie Jean Sloss, an internationally trained Make up Artist and founder of Dolly Leo, who has just launched her online website at www.dollyleo.co.uk – gorgeous website, check it out.  It’s great staying with her – I’m never short on beauty products, we have Becca make up everywhere in her Soho apartment, and Dr Alkiatas skin potions all over the bathroom. It’s girl heaven.

There are some very talented Scots over here in NYC too, including David Eustace, an amazing photographer. He’s looked after us, and shown us some of the real New York city, including how to get lunch for under ten bucks, and he’s even taught us how to use the Subway.  Earlier this week I had a lovely lunch with Ashley Jeanne Granata, who introduced me to a fab new website out here www.fashism.com – if you’re ever stuck on an outfit and need another opinion you simply upload a snap of you and users ‘vote’ love it or hate it.  Ashley has her own collection of gorgeous scarves she designs which are hand-made in New York.

Spring may not yet have sprung, but underwear as outwear hit the catwalks big-time during Fashion Week. Proving that it’s one of Spring’s hottest looks, designers including Roberto Cavalli and Marc Jacobs both mirrored what we’ve known for years at Boudiche; that lingerie is just too gorgeous to always hide underneath your clothes! Layering is key to making lingerie as outerwear work, and Boudiche have some fabulous pieces to help you achieve this versatile look:

New York brand The Lake and Stars are perfect for achieving this trend.

Key pieces from their collection include their stunning pastel-colouerd romper suit, currently featured in Grazia magazine, and the geek-chic Franklin Cami, with it’s cute glasses design. Made from fine-knit, these would both be ideal teamed with flats and jeans for daytime, and dressed up with heels for evening. For those of you who dare to bare a little more flesh, the Curveball bustier would also look great teamed with high-waisted jeans or a high-waisted skirt.

Scottish brand Bebaroque are also experts at making underwear outerwear.

Their bold prints and sumptous embroidery have had them featured in Vogue recently, and we love them! Their current collection, ‘Married to a Mermaid’, references all things nautical, so unleash your inner sailor-gal or mermaid! The Ursulla Nude Bodysuit features exquisite embellishing and would look great teamed with jeans or a skirt for a night out. The Pricilla Bodysuit is luxuriously hand-embriodered and embellished, and will certainly make you stand out from the crowd, and the sheer Saylor bodysuit with the tattoo design would look great worn on a night out.

On her recent tour, Britney Spears wore the Lascivious Candy Bodysuit, which you can buy here at Boudiche.com. Featuring a striking colour palette of hot pink and tan, this is perfect for those of you who like to show some skin. The Pussy Cat dolls would rock this piece!

These exquisite Boudiche.com options will hopefully help you work your lingerie as outerwear, and not just underwear!

On January 25^th 2010, the independent consumer advice company Which? published a report on bra fitting services, after trying and testing major high street and specialist lingerie retailers. Which? had 11 researchers, aged 25 to 70, hit the high street (department stores and shops) in search of finding the perfect fitting bra – not a difficult task, you would think? It would appear that this is in fact very difficult, with the report’s shocking findings showing that less than one in three bra fittings accurately measured up.

Overall, the survey made very distressing reading for us at Boudiche, knowing that so many women had been so badly fitted on so many occasions! The report exposed an alarming reality – that amongst many lingerie retailers, there is a severe lack of fitting knowledge and expertise. Surely an excellent fitting service is an essential, if not basic, component to any retailer specialising in, or selling lingerie?

That’s where we at Boudiche hope to help. As a small, independent company, we take our fitting service very seriously, because we know how important it is for you, our customer, to be properly fitted. In our boutiques, we have our trained, expert advisors ready to fit you, and if you are an online customer, then we also have trained fitters available at the other end of the phone to offer advice. We understand the absolute importance of helping you find the right fitting bra – wearing the wrong size can result in posture problems, acute back-pain, and even breast pain.

As well as being able to actually fit you accurately, Boudiche also offer a large range of cup sizes (from an A to GG), and our back-sizes also start at 28” – we know that every woman has different dimensions and requirements, and we want you to find the perfect-fitting, supportive lingerie for every occasion. Here are some of our favourite-fitting Boudiche brands:

• Mimi Holliday, the fabulous little sister brand of Damaris offers 28” backs available in B-FF cup-sizes – perfect for those of you needing a snugger back-band.

• For those of who are able to get away with a little soft-cup bra, then Fleur of England also combines comfort with beautiful styling with her non-wired soft-cup bras.

• If you are size DD+, you have the pick of fantastic brands including Miss Mandalay and Pleasure State VIP, offering you excellent support and style.

• If you are heading down the aisle, then Boudiche have gorgeous bridal bras and bustiers to ensure you look and feel great under your dress on your special day – Marie Jo and La Perla are popular bridal brands.

To make a fitting appointment at one of our Boudiche boutiques, you can drop by, but at weekends when it gets busier, it’s recommended that you call and book in advance: the Glasgow boutique is available directly on 0141 2216477 and the Edinburgh boutique is available directly on 0131 2265255. Boudiche.com advisors are also available on 0845 475 0250 from Monday-Friday, 10-5pm.

For those readers that do not live near our Glasgow or Edinburgh boutique we are big fans of indpependents  Kathryn Rolfe in York, Rigby & Peller in London and of course the mighty Harrods department store in London.

Boudiche recently attended the Scottish Winter press day in Edinburgh where we had several interesting chats with journalists about Elle Macpherson Intimates now going up to a G cup.  It seems there is a buzz about this coveted brand now (finally) catering for those ladies who are considerably blessed in the bust department. However, there is a bit of confusion as to which styles are available in a G cup and how well the Elle Macpherson Intimates signature style transfers?

So we thought we would share our Braoligists knowledge with all you current A-D Elle Macpherson Intimates enthusiasts and those soon to be D-G’s.

Having inquizically examined the new styles on the Autumn Winter 2009 buying trip we can confirm that the same luxurious fabrics and fashionable styles have remained for the new D-G sizes. In fact the only real differences are those adaptations which offer additional support such as wider straps, higher coverage and a more rigid supportive lace.

Elle herself said “Our research and customer feedback has shown that our breasts are getting bigger! I’ve been working with our design team to take our sizing beyond an E cup and up to a G cup on both beautiful new designs and some of our popular existing ranges. It’s great news for the fuller-busted women who need comfort and support but want beautiful, covetable lingerie options”

At Boudiche, we currently have two Elle Macpherson Intimates D-G styles available with a further two arriving in the coming weeks. The ‘Artistry’ range is a favourite style which is one of the first to be introduced as a D-G and is perfect for everyday wear available in both cream and jet.

Elle Macpherson Intimates D-G Artistry Retro Cream

Elle Macpherson Intimates Artistry D-G Jet

Folllow Boudiche on twitter to be the first to find out when the next Elle Macpherson Intimates D-G ranges (shown below) arrive at Boudiche.

Gorgeous lingerie is an investment, and the better you look after it the longer it will last you.

Due to the delicate fabrics in fine lingerie, it is not designed to be machine washed, tumble tried, or last for years and years with endless wear.  A guide time for the life of a bra, is six months assuming regular wear.  It is continually providing support and shape, and to enable it to do this comfortably an element of ‘give’ or stretch is built into the bra.  Eventually, with continual wear and washing, this stretch will start to give.  You will notice the support around the back looses tension, and the shape may be not what it once was.  By this time if you have bought well, your bra should have served you well up until this day when it has to go to the bra graveyard.  And be replaced with a gorgeous, new bra. What better excuse to go and treat yourself…

However to ensure that you get the longest life possible out of your underwear, here are some washing and care basic guidelines…

Never machine wash lingerie.  If you machine wash a bra, you risk overheating the underwire, which then expands with the heat and can result in the wire poking out, either getting into your washing machine and breaking it, or poking through while you are wearing it. Ouch!  Here’s a more detailed explanation… Underwires in bras have small moulded plastic caps on the ends of them, that smooth off the rough wire edge, and provide a smooth end to the wire preventing it from ‘poking’ through the pocket that it is cased in.

Machine washing can cause this plastic moulded ‘tip’ to overheat and melt off – exposing the raw edged wire.  Heating the wire in a washing machine can also cause the whole wire to expand, as it’s metal and when you heat metal it expands.  So, combine melting off the plastic cover on the end of the wire, with expanding the wire as it is overheated in a washing machine, and you have a good risk of a metal wire finding it’s way out of your bra and either into your washing machine filter (many a cause of a broken washing machine).  Or sticking out into the side of your boobs the next time you wear it.

Lecture on machine washing your lingerie over.  So here’s how you should care for it.

Don’t use a harsh washing liquid or powder, not only is it harsh on your hands, but imagine what it’s doing to your silk and lace undies.

Do invest in a special delicates or lingerie wash.  The one I use and love is The Laundress.  It’s more expensive than supermarket delicate wash brands, but it’s super concerntrated, and leaves your lingerie and your hands clean but still soft. It’s phosphate free, non toxic, and doesn’t use the harsh chemials that big brand mainstream supermarket laundry brands use.

Tips for washing your lingerie

Always check the washing label of garments, to make sure if it specifies cold water, or even dry clean only!  But for most hand wash lingerie:

Fill a small bowl of hand warm water, and add your delicates wash.  The Laundress is great for this but you only need a small squirt.  Add your underwear to the bowl, ensuring not to mix colours.  If you have whites, do these first and don’t add any coloured bras or knickers in until the whites are safely out the way.  Gently lather up, and leave to soak for a short while.

Give another squeeze through, and drain the water, and rinse with cold water.   If you are using a good quality delicates wash such as The Laundress, you shouldn’t need fabric conditioner.  However if you prefer to use fabric conditioner rinse again and add a small amount to the water, ensuring it’s not put directly onto the underwear fabric.

Hang up to dry away from direct heat, don’t leave on a radiator or in front of a fire.  Hang on an airer, or over the batch or in the shower, ensuring that you don’t mix colours when the lingerie is still damp.  If any of your lingerie is two tone, i.e. black on white or ivory, spread the knickers or bra out ensuring that the black is not touching the lighter areas, I’ve ruined an £80 pair of knickers this way before and it broke my heart.
Don’t dry over a carpet, ideally a wooden or tiled floor, as you won’t have spun it in a machine it’s likely to still drip however much you squeeze it out.  Here’s the trick, keep an old towel and place it under the airer, to catch the drips.  If you’ve done alot of hand washing at once and lots of water, you may even need 2 towels.  Make sure you pick up the towel as soon as the washing has stopped dripping so it doesn’t mark the floor, or replace the first towel with another dry one after the first couple of hours.

Once you have mastered the art of hand washing your lingerie, check back to our Boudiche Blog soon for our guide to organising your underwear drawer.