We’re doing a photo shoot tomorrow for some of our new spring merchandise, so soon you’ll finally be able to see those new Araks pieces that we won’t shut up about!  It’s about time. Sheesh.

xo

Today we have a guest blogger. Loren from Boomtown Boudoir (a brilliant perfume blog that puts my shallow description of a fig scented candle to unholy shame) is one of, if not the, smartest and sassiest chicks whom I’ve ever had the pleasure of calling my friend. She’s also a damn good writer and her affinity for eating hot dogs in public places is borderline disturbing. I love her to death and I want her to come west for a visit very soon.

It would seem that there is a secret war being waged by this country’s
lingerie manufacturers against that most stupidly forbidden of all
delectable and calorie-free fruits: the nipple. Whether coached into
submission by foam-enhanced bras that distort the natural shape of the
breast into a pert, phony half-grapefruit, taped down by band-aids or
one of their more expensive and sophisticated cousins, or denounced as
the source of the type of male attention a “lady” isn’t supposed to
enjoy, the nipple has been maligned for years as an imperfection that
must be stamped out, concealed, or looked upon with derision. But
behind all of these obnoxious politics lies a simple truth: a nipple
never hurt no one, never. Is it not time to treat them with the respect
due? Ladies, whether they be gumdrops, pencil erasers, silver dollars,
or teeny little bee stings, the time has come for you to celebrate
your breasts in their entirety, controversial nipple and all. Even if
it’s just around the house.

Should a brisk wind blow through your window, the Liberty Camisole by
Poet isn’t going to do much to hide the fact that it’s a bit cold in here, darling.
Beneath its unassumingly demure construction, it’s incredibly soft, thin
Pima cotton blend will reveal your every contour, even (especially!) the
controversial ones. Even the dog won’t be able to stop staring, but that’s
hardly a problem, is it? After all, nipples are something every mammal
understands. And while we do all have them, only the human female has the
option of dressing them up.

I’m not really a scented candle girl.  I think that the Yankee Candle Co is the most disgusting place on earth, I dont know how people can work there.  I’ve walked into one and had a full blown headache within minutes.  Maybe their candles are nice in small doses, but I’ll never know since I’m afraid that my brain would hemorrhage before I could get my credit card out to pay for one.  I do, however, have one candle in my bedroom that I like to light occasionally, the Cote Bastide Figuier (a.k.a. fig) candle.  The fig scent is green.  Very green.   It’s definitely not the sickly sweet scent of a Fig Newton, it smells more like a young ficus in the early summer who’s delicious little figs are just starting to ripen, but aren’t quite ready to eat yet.  It’s woody and earthy and fresh with the promise of good things to come.  Ah, I love complicated scents, they are so much more fun than things that smell like “Strawberry”. (more…)

Part Eight: The Chemise

Defining the modern-day chemise is tricky - some purists insist that the term can only refer to a loose shift or slip worn under a dress to protect the garment from body oils and perspiration, while others lump all sleeveless nighties into the category. (more…)

With all the hubbub of exciting new spring arrivals going on, I’d like to take a minute and talk about one of our not-so-new arrivals. The Bodas Smooth Tactile set. We got this set because we were in love with the color, Maquillage.

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The Fall Fashion Show here at Lille Boutique was a great success, so we’re thrilled to announce the next one: we’ll be holding a Spring Fashion Show on Friday, April 25th to coincide with our one-year anniversary. In addition to the show, we’ll have a live DJ, panty giveaways and much more to celebrate the birthday of Lille! RSVP at info@lilleboutique.com with Spring Fashion Show in the subject line, and you’ll be added to the VIP list. Space is limited, so the sooner the better!

The Araks Y-Thong just doesn’t get enough credit. Sure, we’ve blogged about it extensively, but I think customers sometimes overlook it as a practical panty option. It could be women’s aforementioned aversion to thongs/g-strings, or it could be the snazzy packaging it comes in - a cute square paper package with a small window to show off the color. As much as I love these little envelopes of panty goodness, it does manage to hide the Y-Thong from plain view. (more…)

Whether you’re a bride looking for undergarments for that special day or a bridesmaid trying to find a present for a shower or bachelorette party, Lille Boutique is definitely the place for the most elegant wedding lingerie. Our luxurious Kumi Kookoon silk nightgowns, sheer cami/boyshort sets by Vera Wang, vintage knit thigh-high stockings and lovely Araks soft bras all fit the bill for the discerning bride wanting a better boutique experience. The Social Hour panty by the Lake and Stars has to be the best “Something Blue” we’ve seen since the Delicate set by Princesse Tam Tam.

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Here’s a fun and informative little excerpt from one of the countless and epic IM chats between Sarah and myself:

Sarah:do you really have 50 pairs of panties?I don’t even have that manyme: more Sarah: maybe 30 but I throw away a lotme: a lot of them should probably be thrown awayme: i tend to not get rid of them when i should. i get a little sad when i have to throw them outSarah: yeahme: we’ve been through so much together. they’re like old friends. (more…)

I don’t know about you, but I prefer the bra on the left. (Judging from the look of distress on the model’s face, I’d wager that she does too!) I’m in favor of a soft, natural bustline over one that looks like the business end of an AAM-4 Japanese missile. The interesting thing is that this ad from the 50s is targeted towards the “small or less-than-average” bust, which certainly wouldn’t need the crazy support the bra would offer. But I guess they were pitching falsies without the padding to women who wanted to seem more well-endowed. Such was life in the 50s. Torpedo tits were de rigueur because fashion dictated it. I think it had to do with the rigid notions of gender identity, formal codes of etiquette, and overall uptight attitude of that era. It stands to reason that they wanted their breasts to be as firm and unyielding as their convictions.

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The other day I did all of my laundry, and I mean all of it. It had been a long time since my last trip to the laundrette. Since my closet was nearly depleted I took it upon myself to completely clean out my underwear drawer. Re-fold, re-organize, the kind of thing that I never do.

As my entire panty collection lay clean and folded in front of me I noticed a few things.

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There’s a beautiful camisole in the store that just doesn’t get enough attention. The Delfine cotton cami by Araks is a lovely marriage of lace and sheer cotton crepe. Delicate but durable, it’s the kind of garment you have a hard time taking off, thus it translates well from day to night. (more…)

The new Araks shipment that I was just talking about includes a black Lily Teddy in it too (picture to come). We usually call the 1-piece lingerie designs “rompers” because the term “romper” is more appropriate for what we carry. The rompers are looser fitting and are more for looking cute while hanging around the house. This Araks piece is too sexy to be a romper; no, it’s definitely a Teddy. But not at all what comes to my mind when I hear the word “Teddy”, you know, one of those disastrous lacy ruffle explosions that one might find at Fr*dr*cks *f H*llyw**d. This Teddy is clean and simple and highly tailored to fit the form snugly and accentuate curves. It may not look like much on the hanger, but, I must say, as a girl with a booty, this Teddy is going to impress booty men. The cut is similar to what a vintage bathing suit might be like (complete with a little ruching at the bust), the back is low-slung and the cut of the hip is very low, but the rump slides off the hips and fits like a boyshort… can you say cheek cleavage? It’s hot in a subtle way, but aren’t all the hottest things in life subtle? You might be wondering if the Lily Teddy is still appropriate for relaxing around the house in. To that I’d say yes, but if you’re going to do that you should set aside at least a little time for having immense amounts of attention paid to how fantastically sexy you look. Just a suggestion.

We have these pieces from the spring Araks line. The are designed like the Uma/Jasmine sets. Well, actually, they ARE Uma/Jasmine Sets, but they are in new colors. Don’t get me wrong, I love the line that the Uma/Jasmine are in, and I always did. It’s great in any color, but this one. This one. It’s yellow. So yellow. A solid, strong, bright yellow. Like a dandelion. It’s pretty incredible. Don’t believe me? Thinking “Ew, a yellow bra? that’s crazy!”? Well take a look at it here:

awesome yellow Uma Bra and Jasmine Panty by Araks

The New York Times Magazine featured it recently in their Style section. Apparently the photographer found this woman who’s modeling it on the street. He just picked her out. She could be anyone, and, I must say, she looks fantastic in that wacky colored bra. Don’t you think? Yeah… a yellow bra isn’t so crazy sounding anymore, is it? You kind of want one, don’t you? Well, you should. I do. But if you want it you can have it, I’ll just take the yellow Jasmine panties and the yellow Jaqueline cami instead.

Today we received the first in our exciting new array of lingerie made with organic cotton! There’s much more to come, but our first new piece is a fun little floral printed babydoll chemise by Eberjey. I’ve taken the liberty of snapping an oh-so-artful cell phone picture of it just to give you a taste.

This chemise is like a really good thrift store find, except without that whole “used lingerie” thing (ew). The organic cotton jersey is super thin and the dye appears to be faded, so it has that awesome ‘worn in’ look. The print is reminiscent of very old printed sheets. It makes me think of the bedding at the old summer cottage that my family went to every year when I was growing up. Light, cool, organic cotton and a summery print is pretty much the perfect sleep accessory to the impending warm July nights. I can almost hear crickets when I look at it!

The cut is simple, but a little frilly. Very much like a 70’s nightgown. The cotton is offset by understated white lace trim and there’s a tiny ruffle at the bottom. It’s definitely girlie, but not quite twee. Yes, the Sea Island is a nice little way to kick off our new series of Organic Cotton lingerie. (And the price tag isn’t too shabby either.)

Thanks to an article in the Mercury highlighting our crime-fighting activities, Lille Boutique will be featured on the KATU news channel 2 tonight at 4pm and 6pm.  The interview will cover our recent attempts to catch a serial shoplifter who targets Burnside businesses. The story came to light after we circulated a flyer to alert our neighboring shops of the suspect’s repeated attempts to shoplift lingerie, whereupon the realization was made that she had targeted other small boutiques on the street, as well. The message to shoplifters: Don’t even think about coming to Burnside, because we have banded together!

The g-string. Less than a thong, more than nothing. Friend to pole dancers, panty line haters, sun seekers, and ancient warriors alike. How did these shockingly comfy little undies come to be known my their modern day moniker? G-sting. I get the string part. The string part is abundantly clear, but what about the G?

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Today, we received the first shipment from the Araks Spring Lingerie Line, which includes the gorgeous Martina cami in milk with alpine trim and sexy black Lily teddy pictured above.

The colors this season are spectacular - everything from canary yellow (”sun”) to intense royal blue (”lapis”) in the same styles we came to love the last two seasons. The sheer cotton crepe bralettes with silk trim and matching panties are all here, along with some spectacular new cuts like the Susie Chemise (remember the Uma bralette…picture that in a nightgown!) and the aforementioned teddies. As before, quantities are limited to one of each size, so act fast if you want to snap them up.

On a warm, sunny day like today, I thank my lucky stars that I don’t live in the ’50s.  If I had to wear this getup and be subject to the philosophy of Lift, Mold, Correct and Hold, I can’t even imagine what I would do.  I would probably be a very cranky girl.  At the very least, I’d be far less comfortable than I currently am in my Eberjey Pima Goddess Deep V Camisole Bra and matching low-rise bikini.  Let’s all take a moment to thank the panty gods for modern lingerie!

Part Seven: Garters

Simply put, garters (or suspender belts in the UK) keep stockings up. They’ve been around since the 18th century, when they were typically attached to the bottom of corsets. You can still find this style in the form of a merrywidow or basque, which is less confining than a corset but serves a similar purpose. (These are very popular among brides whose gowns require special lingerie.) The dancing flappers of the 1920s started rolling their stockings over band garters - essentially a piece of elastic tied around the leg - out of pure necessity. These undergarments gained popularity and became more embellished as the years went on. They’ve come to represent sexuality in a number of connotations, from the symbolic removal of the garter during the wedding reception, to the cheeky pin-up girl aesthetic embodied by Bettie Page.

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