Love it or Loathe It: A Lady Must Endure Close Encounters of the Lingerie Kind

My grandmother had very precise rules about what she referred to as "a lady's lingerie." For example: "a real lady never leaves the house without her girdle and pantyhose in place," grandma once told me.

I recall the occasion well: for my 13th birthday, my family had planned a beach barbecue. My mother and I had even persuaded my grandmother to borrow a pair of my mother's slacks. "I don't feel like myself if I'm not wearing a dress," my grandmother hesitated. Finally she agreed -- with one condition: "I have to wear my girdle underneath those slacks," she insisted.

And then there was the garment that my grandma insisted on calling a brassiere. "They refer to them as bras now, " my mother attempted to explain to her. We were in a department store, and the salesclerk didn't understand my grandma's request.

"Well, if they can't call them by their proper name, then I need to go to a different store," Grandma said calmly.

Every so often, though, particularly on hot summer days, Grandma became rebellious. "They can send a man to the moon, but they can't invent a comfortable girdle and brassiere," she would mutter, tugging at her undergarments.

In Search of a More Comfortable Corset and Beneficial Brassiere
We're a long way from Grandma's lessons in lady's lingerie, of course. We have fancy "body shapewear" garments (which my grandmother probably would term "corsets and girdles). And we have every imaginable type of "brassiere," from strapless to bandeaux, from minimizing bras to push-up and padded bras, not to mention the convertible types that require gyrations just to figure out how to configure them appropriately!

I don't want to admit how many different brands and varieties of lingerie I've tried. There are the ones that look fabulous on the mannequin -- and feel horrible on me. There are some brands that seem to run a size too large -- and others that run several sizes too small. And then there are the garments that are made of such scratchy, itch-inducing materials that you have to wonder if the originator ever bothered to try one on!

Welcome to Wacoal
Recently, however, I discovered the Wacoal brand. I was shopping online for a guide to finding the perfect fit, and was impressed by the Wacoal-america.com site's detailed, helpful information. The proof is in the fit, of course, as well as the feel, when it comes to fashion. I decided to try two different lingerie items: a brief and a bra. The brief was a full brief, a style that prevents that horrible "riding up" feeling, and the size M fit me perfectly. I also appreciated the smooth feeling of the garment.

My second choice was the Halo lace Strapless Underwire Bra. Usually, when I see the word "underwire," I assume that the fit will be uncomfortable. I was pleasantly surprised, however, by the way in which this bra is designed. The underwire is light, just enough to offer support without any pressure. And the attractive lace resulted in a bra that actually felt as good as it looked.