The History of the Bracli Pearl Thong

The Bracli Pearl Thong - just saying it would send a shiver of excitement down any woman's spine. After all, it has become the Holy Grail of lingerie pieces, a beautiful piece that any lingerie connoisseur would want in her collection.

The Bracli Pearl Thong is designed and produced by Bracli, the Spanish lingerie and accessory company owned by Luis Alvarez. Bracli was already producing and selling the Bracli Pearl Thong since its inception in Asturias, Spain, in 1999, long before it ever made its way to American shores. It first started out as the brainchild of Luis, then a banker in Asturias, who first designed the beautiful piece of lingerie for the use of immediate friends. The very first public offering was in the boutique of a 5-star hotel in Tenerife, the largest of seven Canary Islands in Spain. Tourists immediately snapped them up; the Pearl Thong had passed its baptism of fire in the open market. Bracli continued producing and selling it, with Luis Alvarez stating that the Bracli Pearl Thong was a success in Spain and that "we know customers are satisfied, because we see their faces the next day".

It was only when it reached the United States of America did it start its spiraling rise towards being a luxurious lingerie piece that was on the wish list of legions of women around the world.

It all began when Rebecca Apsan started importing these pearly wonders from Bracli, all the way from Spain. Rebecca Apsan is better known in American circle as "The Lingerie Evangelist"; she is the owner of La Petite Coquette, in New York City, and is a font of knowledge when it comes to the intimate apparel industry. Her high-flying list of clients includes superstars along the likes of Angelica Houston, Britney Spears, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Britney Spears, Salma Hayek and Cindy Crawford...just to name a few.

It all began when Rebecca was chosen to provide all the intimate apparel on the hit TV series, Sex and the City. The series has been a hit with women from all across the globe, in almost all age demographics. This is because the show features four middle-aged women and their every-day struggles, and the one firm message that it sends out appeals to all women: you can enjoy life, and still have a great sex life, no matter what age you are. It was not surprising that the show resonated with a lot of working-age women. A large portion of the show was dedicated to the sexual adventures of the four leads, and Rebecca Apsan, with her thirty years of wisdom in the lingerie business, was deemed to be just the right person to play the role of lingerie provider.

The Bracli Pearl Thong fell into the hands of the series' writers, and was woven into one of the episodes. This famous episode was Episode 69 of the series, titled 'Luck Be an Old Lady' and was first aired on 4th August 2002. One of the four lead women in the show, Samantha, who is well known for her healthy sexual appetite and vibrant personality, was given the pearl thong as a gift from her onscreen boyfriend, and thus, the Bracli Pearl Thong was forever immortalized in popular culture. It has also been featured in the famous pages of Playboy, and a host of other Spanish magazines.

Each Bracli Pearl Thong is hand-made in Asturias, Spain, ensuring top-notch quality and design, and is made from very soft-stretch French lace and has a strand of Mallorcan pearls that run from front to back. Why Mallorcan pearls? These are pearls that are specially cultured in the Baleric Islands in Spain, using a process that is a very well-kept secret. Mallorcan pearls are superior to natural ones because they are far more durable than the more fragile natural pearls, and can withstand perfume, make-up and perspiration; these pearls are definitely world-famous and very in demand by customers due to these characteristics.

The elegant and sensual design is patented worldwide, so cheap imitators will never offer the same pleasures as a genuine Bracli Pearl Thong.

A genuine Bracli Pearl Thong comes in its own gorgeous presentation box, with a special care card. The Pearl Thong comes in two sizes; regular for ladies between the sizes of 4-12 and plus size for ladies between the sizes of 14 - 20. They come in black, ivory, blue, pink, white and red.

Chemise Information and History

Chemise, Information and History. A chemise is a modern type of ladies' undergarment that is also widely known as shift or classic smock. It is also considered as a dress characterized by great simplicity; although before its classical use was to protect women's outer clothing from bodily oils and sweat.

The word chemise is actually the French terminology for "shirt." In other languages such as Spanish or Portuguese, it's called camisa, while in Italian it's camicia. Its origins can be tracked from the early tunica, which is a Roman version of Greek toga. It became widely popular in Europe during the Middle Ages. It is loose and measures until the knees, either with sleeve or sleeveless, and is worn by both men and women. Women wore chemises underneath their dresses, robes and gowns and were washed regularly. Men on the other hand wore chemises under their doublets, robes, among others.

Women before would sew their chemises at home out of cut pieces of clothes that are either rectangular or triangular in shape. The poor would sew their own chemises usually from rough cloth but the wealthy would have theirs made from flowy, thin and silky fine linen cloth.

During the early 20th century however, chemises fell out of fashion due to the advent of full slips, brassieres, girdles and panties. Chemises used nowadays no longer resemble the chemises used before when it initially gained popularity. Most chemises nowadays are more delicate and provocative in appearance. They're considered as lingerie now and not just any undergarment that women use everyday. They are commonly worn now as negligee, sleeping clothes, under a business suit for a more feminine touch, among others.

Men's chemises before are what they say what's called common T-shirts now. Men still use T-shirts as undergarments, wearing them underneath a polo shirt or long sleeves. It is also said that the men's chemises have been transformed to what they call smock-frocks. Smock-frocks gained popularity in the early 20th century and were used by the English laborers. The term smock is still being used in present to refer to military combat jackets in the UK.

Chemises available nowadays in lingerie shops are sleeveless or have spaghetti straps and fall straight off the shoulders. They are made of fabric or materials that are thin. It could be the simplest cotton or smooth expensive silks. Sometimes cups are also sewn into the chemise and embellishments are added for the trim.

Underwear History and Origin

Underwear is an integral part of today's clothing. Ever wondered, about the origins and history of underwear? Primitive man used leaves and animal skin to cover himself. However traces of first underwear would rather be the loin cloth which was passed between the legs and tied around the waist. Underwear has evolved since then.

Underwear is known by different names like boxers, knickers, panties or lingerie. Boxers and knickers fall in the men's category while panties and lingerie fall in the women's category. In Earlier day's underwear's were made of soft leather. Women would drape the leather in a way to cover their bosom and men would drape the leather either between their legs or would drape it around the waist like a skirt.

Underwear has evolved from there on to its current form. Presently underwear is available in cotton, Lycra, silk, mesh etc. Companies like Triumph & Wacoal are leading manufacturers of women's undergarments, where as Jockey leads the sales in men's section. Manufacturers have come up with undergarments for different occasions. Designers have launched their special lines for undergarments. Wacoal bra has launched its special line for petite women. That explains how essential undergarments have become. Undergarments are now been customized to fit women with different body structures. Chantelle has bra's available from size AA to size G. Men's underwear has also undergone significant changes. From basic underwear to thongs, undershirts, corsets there is a wide range to choose from. Has the industry seen the best underwear yet? Or is the best yet to come?

History of Corsets

This article is designed to provide you with a history of corsets. Corsets originated from the French word 'corps' which means body. It's a binding article of clothing that encloses the middle torso for the purpose of pushing up or flattening the chest or to give shape to a woman's waist, or even both. It's greatly associated by many with the Victorian era, as this period is when corsets have gained popularity.

Tracing back the history of corsets, it's said that corsets originated in ancient civilizations as illustrated by the drawings discovered at the Neolithic archeological site at Norfolk, England. The said illustrations showed women wearing bodices made from animal skin laced down at the front part. Early corsets were suspected to had been molded to the woman's body while the material's still fresh. Also unearthed in the same site were primitive stone dolls dressed with corsets made from bird and other small animal ligaments. Other evidences of the corset's origins are paintings by other ancient civilizations in Egypt, Rome, Greece and Assyria, of women wearing corsets. It's been documented that women from these cultures commonly participated in activities like gymnastics and bullfighting, which called for the need for garments that provided support.

In ancient civilizations, particularly in ancient Greek, Cretan, Minoan and Theban societies, both men and women used corsets. Most of them wore corsets for needed support for the waist and back as they take part in strenuous activities like sports. In Egypt, women wore a garment in the form of a band, just under their bust area, as part of their outer ensemble.

In the 16th century, and continuing to trace the history of corsets, they were seen as a symbol of one's position, rank and wealth. Corsets gave both men and women a dignified posture, keeping them standing upright and with a smooth flat torso. In the next century, corsets in Italy evolved into those that had an additional busk beneath the lacing of the corset for a smoother look than the earlier ones.

When 17th century came, tides have changed and large flowy dresses were more favored. Politics all over Europe demanded less extravagant use of cloth fabrics, hence the gradual decrease in popularity of the use of corsets during this time period. However, as the 19th century approached, corsets found their way back atop and since then has never gone out of fashion.

Though corsets are no longer seen as a necessity as opposed to how things used to be centuries ago, corsets are still worn and are still very much in fashion. Madonna made them even more popular in the 80s. Now, corsets are also seen as fetish lingerie.

Bustier History

A bustier is a type of lingerie that is form-fitting and resembles a basque. It is tight, single-piece and sleeveless, that comes with cups and a flexible boning to give the wearer a more flattering silhouette. Bustiers are worn by women who would want to make their breasts appear fuller. Bustiers push up the bust by tightening around the upper midriff, pushing the breasts up and at the same time giving the waist a slimmer shape. Bustiers are best worn with low-backed dresses as substitute for push-up bra. Nowadays, they can even be worn as a camisole for outerwear, or a half-slip under top garments if midriff exposure is not intended.

The term bustier is based on the French word buste, which of course means bust. It was originally called a long line brassiere in 1950s because it is essentially a bra that extends down to the stomach area. Bustiers are said to have developed out of corset, just like basques. It is for this reason that a lot would confuse basques to be bustiers. The fashion designers during this time focused on designing long line bras that feature exaggerated smooth and bullet shaped breasts, which was achieved by stitching conically the bra cups.

Bustiers are actually shorter compared to basques. This is the primary difference between the two although they two look almost exactly the same. Both the origins of bustiers and basques can be traced to the trends that surfaced during the 1980s and 1990s.

There are so many types of bustiers available in the market today that cater to different kinds of occasion and would look good in different types of outer garment or clothes. If you are to wear a backless dress, the best type to wear is a strapless bustier. For bedroom wear, see-through bustiers are extremely popular.

Modern fashion designers also found a way to introduce bustiers in outer garments such as dresses. Here, bustiers are attached or incorporated as tops of dresses or even just an upper outerwear piece. Apparently, what used to be underwear can now be worn outside the bedroom as a fashionable outerwear too!

Modern bustiers are crafted with mesh panels as opposed to traditional boning. To connect each end, hooks and eyes, cords and ribbons are used, similar to common corsets. Almost all bustiers available in the market right now are strapless, which makes them a perfect undergarment when you are wearing low cut or even backless dresses or upper outerwear.