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Lingerie IQ

Barbara Lingerie: Your Best (French) Friend Forever

It’s an Old World French tale that sounds like a New World California reinvention story: In the 1930’s, an enterprising French astrologer named Charles Fossey, otherwise known as “The Burmese Fakir,” decides it’s time for a career reboot. With a robust social network of high-brow women, Fossey asks himself: What interests all women all over the world? The answer is simple: their bodies.
November 17, 2015 

Lingerie IQ

The Unbearable Beauty of Blue

In the early 1960s, French painter Yves Klein rocked the art world when he drenched naked female models in blue paint reminiscent of lapis lazuli and made full-body imprints on canvases that sold for millions. Klein used blue so pervasively in his work that, during his so-called “Blue Epoch,” he trademarked his own ultramarine pigment, calling it “International Blue.” Of the color’s expansive radiance, Klein once said : “Blue has no dimensions. It is beyond dimensions.” (Anyone interested in Klein's masterpieces will enjoy this short video of Klein's models drenching themselves in blue to the sound of live symphony musicians. Oh those wild sixties!)
November 12, 2015 

Lingerie IQ

5 Empreinte Bras You Can't Live Without

If you had to live on a desert island, you’d want food, water, and Empreinte bras. Five of them, to be precise: The Melody, the Thalia, the Grace, the Cassiopée, and the Kaela. These five bras are the BMWs of lingerie for full-busted women, defying the misperception that French lingerie is only for small busted women and that if it’s beautiful, it can’t be comfortable. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
November 26, 2015 

Lingerie IQ

Spotlight on Maison Lejaby & Sneak Peek at 2016 Collection

In the 1930s, Marlène Dietrich captivated audiences when she appeared in stockings and suspenders in the film The Blue Angel. Among her admirers were Marcel and Marguerite Blanchard, owners of a small cinema in the French département of Ain, along with Marguerite's sister Gabrielle who was known as 'Gaby'. Swept away by this glamour, Gaby began to sew lingerie and bras that her brother-in-law had made. 'Bras by La Gaby' were renowned in the area. The brand was named after her in 1930 and Lejaby was born.
November 16, 2015 

Lingerie IQ

The Sumptuous World of Rosy Lingerie

Since 1947, Rosy Lingerie has been regaling French women. Resolutely modern with a vintage touch, Rosy rode the wave of exalted sensuality that characterized the 1950s with lingerie that accentuated women's curves. Its advertising campaign at the time celebrated a new French girdle with the slogan: "Rosy has the secret of the perfect shape; the Rosy girdle proves it."
October 09, 2015 
You Say You Want a Revolution?

How the bra was born

For centuries our busts were supported by whale and steel boning. Women could barely walk...

Color Me Gorgeous

Color Me Gorgeous

The real reason “lingerie” is a naughty word in English and how color is connected to our...

A Brief History of the Corset

A Brief History of the Corset

Find out why women suffered to be beautiful at all costs. The real reasons will surprise...

The Big Reveal

The Big Reveal

Remember when simply revealing a bare ankle caused a sex scandal? Here’s the short sexy...

Liberté, Egalité, Lingerie

Liberté, Egalité, Lingerie

French Women Talk Lingerie: They Own HOW Many Bras?

They Own How Many Bras?

Get out your calculator: We asked French women on the streets of Paris how many bras they...

Couples Therapy à la Française

Couples Therapy à la Française

French men riff on who and why they buy lingerie for their partners. Imagine if men all...

French Women Talk Lingerie Everything but Nude

Everything but Nude!

We asked French women on the streets of Paris what color bras they wear. We asked French...

The Secret Powers of Lingerie?

The Secret Powers of Lingerie?

“My little personal pleasure.” “Like jewelry, only hidden.” “It gives me confidence.”...

You Don't Have to Be French to Wear French Lingerie

You Don’t Have to Be French to Wear French Lingerie

French women explain why they prefer French lingerie – and encourage American women to...

French Panties With a Twist

French Panties With a Twist

How many panties and different panty styles do French women wear? French women riff.

From Corsets to Crazy Comfort

From Corsets to Crazy Comfort

The French have been innovators in lingerie for the last 200 years: New fabrics and...

From plunge to push up

From Plunge to Push-Up

French women wear them in all styles: Demi-cup, balconette, triangle bra, plunge bar,...

From Solo Shopping to Group Sprees

From Solo Shopping to Group Sprees

French women buy lingerie with their partners, with their girlfriends, or solo. The point...

Lingerie: A His and Her Gift

Lingerie: A His and Her Gift

French women love to receive lingerie as a gift. Men love to give it. It’s the ultimate...

Lingerie Is An Integral Part of Fashion

Lingerie Is An Integral Part of Fashion

It’s unanimous: For French women lingerie is fashion and not strictly utilitarian....

Bra Fitters Are a Woman's Best Friend

Bra Fitters Are a Woman’s Best Friend!

The butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker – AND the bra fitter. A good bra fitter is...

The Alchemy of Lingerie: Beauty + Comfort = Power

The Alchemy of Lingerie: Beauty + Comfort = Power

French women agree: There’s a certain je ne sais quoi that happens when you wear lingerie...

All Grown-Up: The Thrill of Your First Bra. French Women Talk Lingerie on the Streets of Paris

All Grown-Up: The Thrill of Your First Bra.

We asked French women to recall their first bra. They shopped with mom or dad, wore that...

French Women Talk Lingerie on the Streets of Pa

To Match or Not To Match?

French women love to match – and they do so for themselves, generally on a daily basis....

French Women Talk Lingerie The Naked Truth About Seduction

The Naked Truth About Seduction

French women on the streets of Paris reflect on the art of seduction, feeling good in...

Passionata's Playful Passion

Passionata’s Playful Passion

Spring/Summer 2016

Simone Pérèle making of

SIMONE PERELE: BEHIND THE SCENES

Spring/Summer 2016

Barbara Edition culotee

The Icebreaker

When very cold is very hot: Barbara breaks new ground

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