For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Rigby and Peller has created the Alondra range in a soft, pale pink. During the month of October, 10% of the sales price (less VAT) of any pink Alondra pieces will be donated to the Breast Cancer Haven. They anticipate donating £3,000 in total. Get yours here.

Bridal underpinnings can be a daunting task for many women because it is outside of their realm of knowledge of lingerie. Generally, we know the size we should wear and what style is more appropriate for our bodies, taste and outfit. For instance, the padded plunge bra has been warmly welcomed with the popularity of low cut tops.

When buying lingerie for the wedding day, the bride needs to take the dress into account. There are different necklines or strapless dresses or low back styles that come into the picture. The bra options can seem overwhelming to some brides. Here is a breakdown of bra options for different dress styles.

Bustiers work well for strapless, low back dresses. A bustier is a one-piece garment that uses flexible boning to give a desired shape. Its length varies, going from the bust to anywhere between the rib cage and the hips. A bustier is an ideal option for low back dresses as well as for full bust women. The boning and structure offer the much needed support. There are two popular styles of bustiers, a seamless version and non-seamless.

Felina’s Essentials Bustier is wildly popular seamless, smoothing bustier. The essentials bustier is such a “go to” garment that giant wedding gown store David’s Bridal brought the garment into stores for resale. Sizing is from a 32A thru 42D, but next season Felina will be offering DD cup sizes.

Goddess, renowned for their commitment to providing bras and bustiers for the fuller figured, has some great options with bustiers. The Smooth Merry Widow and the Lace Bustier both provide support, are strapless and have a low back. The Merry widow, which is longer hitting at the hit, has detachable garters and is available in white and ivory. Sizes available 32DD to 48DDD. The Lace Bustier will come in handy long after your wedding day, with strapless dresses and flirtatious tops. Size range here is a little better with 34D thru 48FF.

Good Strapless Bras can help make you feel secure in strapless gown. Have you seen the blooper of the bride throwing her bouquet up and exposing entire chest? Well with the right bra, that won’t happen to you because it will move with you. There are many options out there, but some of the features you should look for in a strapless dress are a silicone lining around the top and bottom of the band. Once again, Felina’s Hint of Skin is great staple that will prove useful not just on your wedding day. For Fuller Busts you can’t go wrong with a Goddess Strapless because they offer secure support.

Convertible Bras have straps that are detachable in the front and the back of the band of the bra. The strap itself is also adjustable so that it can accommodate the style that is needed. Convertible bras are perfect for dresses with a halter neckline or dresses that have an asymmetric sleeve.

Some dresses are just too tricky to try and work with a conventional bra. That is where the innovative bra accessories become very useful. First, I have to tell you about Fashion Forms Low Back Strap. This is a band that connects to the hooks on your favorite bra and then you wrap the band around your waist. It makes your bra into a low back bra. You may be able to use this with a convertible bra and really customize your bra to work with your dress.

Next, there are the adhesive bras from Fashion Forms which offer support but are completely backless. I hear all kinds of feedback both positive and negative. Personally, I like them and I think they work great. My first time using them was as a bridesmaid and I danced all night and they stayed put. Here is how they work, there is a bra cup and the inside has adhesive on it. You take the cup and place it on your breast and you are literally stuck in place. There are several variations, the NuBra Featherlite, NuBras Divine Body, Extreme Silicone Adhesive bras, Silicone Cleavage clasp bra. Many of these variations are reusable (like for cute tops on your honeymoon).

There are also clear bra straps that you can attach to your bra. While they are clear, they will leave an indent in the skin. I think these would work best as the strap used for a halter, it is discreet while being covered. Lingerie tape has long been a fashion secret for the famous. It is double sided tape that has so many uses, from fixing a hem to keeping a flimsy dress in place.

Now that we have the support part of the underpinnings taken care of, lets discuss some of the fun stuff. Garters are a tradition and a fun place to put your “something blue”. If you are going to have the garter toss, remember that you use a “dummy” garter to toss and you save the garter as a keepsake. So that means you need to buy 2. GigisCloset.com has a number of beautiful garters that are definitely keepers. This is the Rigby & Peller Opulence garter that is available in Diamond (white) and Pearl (Ivory), included is a keepsake pouch.

Kristina Haas – Gigi’s Closet
Kristina Haas is co-owner of GigisCloset.com, an online lingerie boutique specializing in fashion lingerie. Armed with a passion for beautiful intimates and a desire to share it with the world, Gigi’s Closet captured the boutique feel to be enjoyed by all on the internet.

Read all posts by Kristina Haas right here!

There are also plans in the pipeline to reintroduce a Rigby & Peller lingerie brand following the recent end of an agreement with Eveden. However, when it does happen it will be exclusive to the shops and not available to wholesale. “The agreement with Eveden had worked well since 1993, but we both felt that it caused a little bit of confusion in the market place,” says Kenton. “We’re retailers first and foremost, but watch this space.” (Rigby Peller News)

Now is the time to pick up your bargains as stockists are clearing their inventories. Find deals from:

• Lauren Silva
• Undercover Experience
• Figleaves UK (Not on sale yet)
• Boudiche (Not on sale yet)

Pictures of the Opulence and Grace collections:

Readers who have not yet heard about Pudding can be forgiven for thinking it’s an odd name for a lingerie shop! That’s because Pudding is far more than the average lingerie shop. Its owners, Helen and Paul Masters, describe it as ‘a luxury lingerie salon, where shopping should feel like a real treat…they want their customers to indulge!’

Their opening catwalk show featured an exclusive range of the world’s best brands, most of which are completely new to Reading. As Helen described, “Shoppers in Reading told us that they’d love to be able to treat themselves to world renowned luxury brands like Rigby and Peller, La Perla, Myla and Roberto Cavalli but until now that has meant a trip to Harrods or maybe an out of the way lingerie shop. There’s also a real demand for expert fitting and a wider size range than other high street stores offer – that’s where Pudding can help.”

Pudding was created to bring luxury lingerie to the high street for the first time and to offer a retail therapy treat for the woman who wants the best fitting and best looking bra , a divine pair of knickers or a stunning piece to wear on the beach that no-one else will have! Bras start at £32 so Pudding also have made luxury affordable to lots of shoppers.

Helen says she is very keen to encourage the women of Reading who haven’t been professionally fitted by a lingerie specialist to come and give it a go : ‘It’s free, fun and can instantly help you look half a stone slimmer and give you a trimmer waist . People often walk out of the salon wearing their new bra after a fitting because they love the change in shape it gives them so much that they don’t want to take it off!’ says Helen.

With more than 50% of Pudding’s research group admitting to having returned lingerie bought for them by their partner, Pudding also offers a tailored gift buying service for men, complete with gift buying advice; luxury gift wrapping and beautifully presented gift vouchers. As Paul, co-owner says “We also have a wish list that our customers can fill in to give some hints to their partner…so now there’s no excuses for buying dodgy gifts in the wrong colour or size!”

Pudding ~ Lingerie that’s good enough to eat

Additional notes
The Pudding range includes lingerie, swimwear, nightwear, hosiery, corsets, accessories and pamper products.
Brands stocked include: Le Mystere, La Perla, Myla, Pleasure State, Roberto Cavalli, Spoylt, Chantal Thomass, SPANK, Verde Veronica, Verdissima , Moontide, Maryann Mehlhorn, Hoola, Barbara, Edencoeur, Amoralia, Plie, Purelime, Girl From Ipanema, Esbelt, Soyelle. Free fitting and gift service available. The website: www.puddinglingerie.com, will be fully transactional from later in the year.

The strength of Figlevaes.com has always been their huge stocklist, and their sleepwear stock is continuously growing… Big names such as Eberjey, Elle Machperson intimates, Bodas, PJ Salvage, … but also a lot of smaller labels!

No images, just two links: FIGLEAVES UK and FIGLEAVES US Sleepwear!

FIGLEAVES US

First up: this Rigby & Peller Grace underwire demi cup bra. Beautifully scalloped edges and delicate leaf embroidery make this bra a classic Rigby & Peller design. Great support, but without ever losing the sexiness. It’s down to $79.80 from $114, which isn’t too bad if you ask me

My own personal favorite: the Aubade Piraterie De L’Amour padded plunge bra. A beautiful lace plunge bra that is down to $75.60 from $108. You can’t go wrong with Aubade!

Figleaves UK

For anyone not living in the United States, the Figleaves UK website is the place to be.

First pick is this beautiful Le Mystère Nu Claire low plunge bra. At £30.10 this is an absolute bargain for daily wear. We haven’t discussed this brand before on The Lingerie Post but I promise to do so in the near future, as they have some great classic styles!

Last but not least the somewhat unexpected Tommy Hilfiger Denim padded underwired bra. This is a ‘wear to the beach’ or a ‘wear with jeans and nothing else’ kind of bra. The Hilfiger Denim collection needs no introduction and the bra is just a good addition at just over £20.

Happy shopping!