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The Hidden Power of Underwear

Underwear is your secret weapon. We’re serious. It’s the most private place you have to express yourself no matter what is happening on the outside. You can wear bright red panties for courage, strength—a rebellion even, while on the outside you may be dressed head to toe in professional navy blue. You can wear all black for power. Lace it up for sexiness. Shades of green for kindness and compassion. Skin tones for simplicity. Or go full-on leopard for a wild streak. There’s even Wonder Woman underwear for days you need superhero powers. The idea is to use the colors, cut, textures, and prints that inspire you, that will be a private affirmation between you and you for the day. There are no rules in the private world of underwear and that’s why it’s so much fun.

But even more essential than self-expression and inspiration, the most vital raison d’être for underwear is that it supports your outerwear.

That’s why foundational garments is the technical term for undies. These delicate bras, panties, slips, stockings, and shapers were created to support the body so that the outer clothing could drape beautifully. Think of it like this: undergarments are the scaffolding upon which the spectacular architecture of clothing rests.

Historically undergarments were notoriously complex, uncomfortable, restrictive and sometimes even harmful (did you know that women used to suffer broken ribs getting laced into corsets?!). But over the last century tremendous innovation and design coupled with body positivity have changed the nature of foundational garments. These days you can find underwear to harmonize with the body instead of fighting it. Today, when you select the right undergarments for your body, they optimize your form without sacrificing movement or comfort. As a result you feel smooth and seamless on the inside while the clothing you layer on the outside looks spectacular.

In the spirit of underwear empowerment for all, The Stylery teamed up with Soma Intimates for an event featuring foundational garment education. As The Sylery Founder, Chanmuny Dy, put it, “building a great wardrobe and building confidence starts with great foundations—figuratively and literally!”

A major focus of the event was proper fit, as most women are actually wearing the wrong bra size (!), which impacts both comfort and appearance. Attendees were measured and fitted by expert Soma associates and then tried on different cuts, styles and colors to experientially see which undergarments were optimal for their unique body type and wardrobe needs/goals. And, of course, there was plenty of time to indulge in color, texture and cut for self-expression!

 

If we missed seeing you at the event, we want to be absolutely sure you have access to the shared nuggets of gold wherever you may be!

Lingerie takeaway tips:

  • We recommend that you take the time to get measured and fitted (most undergarment shops will offer this service for free if you ask) and to shop according to what types of undergarments would optimize your outwear wardrobe.
  • Always have a nude set of undergarments to wear under whites, light colored clothes and thin fabrics that could possibly be see-through. (Please note that white undergarments under white clothing is NOT invisible!)
  • Build a bra wardrobe. Soma recommends having at least three bras in rotation: one that you wear, one that you are washing, and one that is resting. This rotation cycle helps bras last longer. Another benefit of having three bras is to be prepared for different body and wardrobe needs. For example, a dependable neutral bra for practical use, a comfortable bra for lounging and a beautiful or wild bra for self-expression.
  • Always try to make time to hand wash and line dry bras and panties. Alternatively, machine wash undergarments in a mesh lingerie bag on delicate cycle and line dry. Never expose them to heat as this breaks down elastic and shortens undergarment lifespan.
  • Just FYI, bras should last a year or two, depending on frequency of wear and care.
  • Pay attention to underwear lines! Seek out panties with flat seams or seamless edges for a marvelous effect.
  • Don’t forget to use your undies as a private source of inspiration, affirmation and self-expression – ENJOY!

Download infographic below!

 

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Branding Yourself Through Personal Style

This year the stars aligned for Washington DC Start-Up Week and New York Fashion Week to converge on the same stretch of September. While we enthusiastically attended the former and obsessively followed the latter, a sort of love-child insight took form:

What if we started thinking of our lives as start-ups and our style as our personal brand?

 

One of the most heavily discussed topics at this year’s DC Start-Up Week was branding. According to Ally Fouts , Creative Director at Viget, “Your brand is how you communicate: who you are, what you do and why you do it.” It’s a cohesive collection of elements including logos, taglines, images, symbols, colors and words that serve as a clear calling card to the public. Brands with worldwide recognition are Coke, FedEx, Starbucks, Louis Vuitton. A brand that does particularly well in communicating values we cherish is Patagonia. Excellent branding allows a company to be instantly identifiable, distinctive, aesthetically pleasing and consistent over time. Branding is absolutely crucial to a company’s success.

Now here’s where things get interesting. If you imagine your life as a start-up that would make YOU the face of the brand. No matter what you are trying to do—land a job, secure a promotion, succeed in school, make a speech at your community center, run for office, impress your in laws—how you speak, relate, present, engage and, yes, how you look is how you are branding yourself. Moreover, every single time you step out of your house and interact with people, how you are branding yourself impacts your achievements that day, big and small.

At the conference we asked (on the record!) two esteemed presenters for DC Start-Up week if they each consider personal appearance as representing their personal brands. They both agreed. Panelist Moderator Kim Cayce, CEO of Vitamin E, believes it is important to present with a consistent image and noted that this takes some discipline. She also emphasized that personal image needs to be authentic and should reflect one’s “true self” for it to be successful. Panelist Aurelia Flores, Managing Member of Athena Digital Group, agreed in the value and necessity of “putting thought into creating how you want to be seen.” She noted that no detail is too small to consider, “eyeglasses, jewelry, body language, voice, all of these influence brand.”

There seems to be consensus that how we come across to others impacts how they hear what we have to say. That is why personal branding in the form of appearance is so important to your success. You may be a spectacular human being bursting with potential but if you are not presenting in a way the world wants to engage with, you will not receive the attention you deserve.

Of course, this does not mean there is a cookie cutter approach to personal styling, or that you need to put on a three piece suit when you hop out of bed each morning. Remember creativity and authenticity are vital here. But it is worth thinking through your goals and responsibilities for each day and what look would best support you in accomplishing these.

Really branding yourself, however, involves more than daily consideration of how you are presenting yourself. Branding asks you to develop a master plan or a vision about how you want to be perceived and why. How can you begin to develop said master plan? We learned from DC Start-Up Week presenter Kelly Miller, Director of Banner Public Affairs, that excellent branding is:

1) Specific (not vague, or mixed messaging)

2) Unique (is it differentiated?)

3) Simple (not too much, not overly complex)

4) Data Supported (you’ve tested it out and know it really works)

5) Interesting/Memorable (this is where authenticity and creativity come in to play)

6) Consistent (doesn’t mean you wear the same thing every day, but that there is a recognizable signature to your look across time)

An excellent example is Marla Beck, co-founder and CEO of Bluemercury, who has successfully (and stylishly!) mastered branding. She wears her signature blue at nearly every single pubic appearance she attends, a creative and distinctive way to use her personal styling to feed back into her company’s branding.

Marla, hosts Halcyon Fast Forward talks with visionary women leaders, such as Sallie Krawcheck of Ellevest
Marla is on the panel of judges at a Vinetta Project Venture Challenge
Marla, as CEO of Bluemercury at one of her stores.   Image source: bluemercury.com

So, if you like the idea of your life as a start-up and your style as your brand, begin to think through these six principles. This will lead you to begin developing a brand for yourself and guide you to make personal styling choices that authentically reflect what you want to communicate to the world. Personal branding is a process over time, and it evolves as you grow and change and learn what works (and what doesn’t).

Building upon our Style Knowledge is Power thought, the core idea here is to be smart about it, to be intentional, even visionary in your personal branding, and of course to deeply enjoy the success that comes from it – because make no mistake, it will work for you if you put in the work!