Which manufacturers would you visit at CurveNY next week? If you wade through Curve’s super un-user-friendly 13 pages of exhibiting brands and find someone interesting that isn’t on Leah’s or my list below, please let us know and we’ll add them.
The purpose of Curve trade shows is for companies to take orders from lingerie store owners. This is why it is extremely important for you to let your local lingerie store owner know what you are looking for: the best way to get a manufacturer’s attention is for a store owner to be willing to purchase inventory that she believes her customers will buy.
However, some of your local lingerie stores–gasp!–don’t attend trade shows to keep abreast of the market. Perhaps it’s because they feel they can’t take time away from their stores, and the reps will come to them anyways, so what’s the big deal? It’s a very big deal to those of us who wear D cups and up. How likely is it that a rep is going to enlighten an account about a competitor’s advancements in the D+ market? I’ve actually had a store owner tell me that 32 bands are being phased out, and we’ve all had stores tell us that they don’t carry anything above a DD . . . this when developments in our size range are exploding!
If your local store owner isn’t doing her due diligence, then let us do it for you. Give us questions to ask the company reps (I learned so much from the questions you asked last year), and tell us what you’d like us to be on the lookout for. We’ll show you the finds that excite us, and if they excite you, too, then tell your store owner about them.
Affinitas (including Parfait) (L*)
Amoena (D*)
Anita (D)
Chantelle (D)
Claudette (B*)
Conturelle (D)
Corin (D)
Curvy Kate (B)
Elila (D)
Empreinte (D)
Eprise (D)
Eveden (including Freya, Fantasie, Fauve, Elomi) (B)
Goddess (D)
Grenier (D)
Jane Woolrich (D)
Janine Robin (D)
Kris Line (D)
Le Mystere (L)
Marlies Dekkers (D)
Panache (L)
Prima Donna (including Cleo and Masquerade) (D)
Simone Perele (D)
Wacoal (D)
*L = on Leah’s list; *D = on Darlene’s list; *B = on both of our lists
Oh goodness I could write a novel full of questions! I’ll just stick with my top three. 🙂
1. Plans for sub 28 bands. Personally, I am in dire need of 26 bands, preferably in a HH/J range. I’d love to know if anyone has plans for smaller bandsizes. I know the Big Bra Bar released a trial, but I’m pretty sure their 26H won’t fit me.
2. On that, I know Parfait by Affinitas has some bras that run small in the band, they have a 30 that is perfect for a 26 band. I’d love to know if they have any plans on expanding into the G+ market.
3. On the UK exclusives (Curvy Kate, Kris Line) and the US exclusives (Claudette and Affinitas) I’d love to hear any news about plans for retailing across the ocean. I personally have quite a few friends looking for a US Curvy Kate online retailer.
Personally, I’d probably stay at the Eveden table harassing them until they included large cup sizes in 28 bands, more styles and started adding 26 bands too. I may have a problem, though… 🙂
Oh, and I’d bother them too to see if they plan on adding a bikini to their Freya Active Swimwear (and if so when).
I’d also be curious to know if Curvy Kate is planning on working on standardizing their sizing more because there is such a difference between the Show Girl line and their other bras.
I’d also love to hear about when Panache will be coming out with their 26 bands and in what range.
I still have to look through your list to see if there is any other name of interest. 😉
Oh, I’d also ask Eveden why Panache is apparently the only brand that feels the need to make soft cup/nursing bras in 28 bands…
Because I think it is such a discriminatory practice, please ask the manufacturers about more options in nude, where nude does not mean ivory or beige.
For more information:
http://www.thelingerieaddict.com/2012/02/whats-your-nude-more-brown-bras.html
You should include Damaris/Mimi Holliday, they do 28 backs and go up to G (or F, not sure about the cup). Would like to know why is it so hard to find their bras online, I know it’s luxury and bla bla bla but it would be nice to be able to buy something I know exists.
This also happens with specific sizes of some other brands, it seems some retailers don’t buy the whole size range; an example is Masquerade’s recent bra Persia, which is very hard to find in 28 back sizes. It defeats the purpose of brands making a broader size range. A way to solve it might be brands having their own online shops (like Damaris does, even though they usually don’t have all sizes available).
More questions:
To Panache: Why don’t they make more swimwear in 28 sizes?
What’s the point of adding 26s when most of Superbra’s range this season isn’t even available in a 28?
To Freya: Why 28s only get to use balconnet style bras? and no soft cups or nursing bras? Can’t small frame girls have children?
To Parfait: Please make it easier for us in Europe to have access to your bras, would love to try them.
To most luxury not made to measure brands: WTF makes you think someone will spend so much on a pretty bra if it doesn’t fit? It can have the greatest design and fabric in the world, but if I pay that much for a bra I surely hope it fits! Luxury brands should have a broader size range, not all “rich” people have broad backs and small breasts… (by rich I mean any possible client, even though most people would probably save pennies for it for a long time)
To soak (not lingerie brand I know…): Do you have any plans on being available in Portugal?
You might want to ask some of the questions/make suggestions with a more polite tone though 😛
Thanks for that last suggestion, lol.
I had NO idea that Damaris/Mimi Holiday went up to an F (and hopefully a G). Will definitely look into them now that I know.