What Types of Underthings Do You Need?

Under Your Things Things

You need one MAJOR thing as a woman.

A bra that is fitted to you PROPERLY. It fits your size, your breasts and your body.

Look, I get it,  Buying a bra is like paying for a new roof on your house.

No one sees it.  Just you.  But like a proper foundation for your home, you NEED it.

Wearing a Bra that fits you properly will do 3 things for you:

1. Boost your breasts up and make you look taller and improve posture.
2. Help you look thinner by having your breasts raised, instead of drooping.
3. Help control and eliminate the FAT that sometimes is around your back and next to your underarm.

Places to go? 

1. Nordstrom - great selection at varying price points and great service
2. Neiman Marcus - more luxurious brands - go here if it is a special occasion or to get your bridal ware
3. SOMA (Chico's intimates shop) - their brand only but their t-shirt bra is the shit and it has no underwire to it (which feels a-mazing)
4. Your local lingerie store

Just go anywhere where you walk into a dressing room, take your bra OFF and let the saleslady measure you.  

Feeling modest? Don't.  They see it all.  You are just another set of boobs that they don't even look at anyway.

Then , buy 3 of the style you like the most.

Next thing you need is a bra that can handle plunge and is wireless, which you can find here and is pictured above.

I am a 36DD.  I didn't think a bralette like this could support me.

It can, and now I have a sexy bra to wear with low cut things that my MOM bra really can't.

You also need a strapless bra and a racerback or t-back bra. 

Above is the racerback, I figure you know what a strapless looks like.

This is it.  This is all you need for bras.  If you have these 4 types, you can wear anything and look GOOD in anything.

I'll make you a list again:

1. proper fit bra - underwire or not - I prefer this one 
2. bralette
3. strapless
4. racerback

How to take care of your BRAS

This is the ONLY wash I have ever used and I hand wash all my bras.

I don't use a lingerie bag and put them through the washer.  This might work for underwear, but not for bras.

This is not a liquid, it is like a bath salt in its consistency.

You add a teaspoon to water and let your bras soak, rinse and hang dry. Easy Peasy.

 I found some here on Amazon, but it is sold in lots of lingerie places.  I swear by it.


And look, I don't receive things from companies to post about them or to link to them.  This is just something I do because, heck, I want to help ladies feel the best they can.  There are so many choices out there, you need someone to navigate the waters with you.

Need a Shirt Longer Than Your Shirt?

Shirt Extenders

I don't know about you, but when you find something that revolutionizes your life ...

don't you want to tell others about it?

I'm in my 50's and pear-shaped (smaller waist and larger hips).

I'm also short - 5'2" - it's a blessing and a curse.

So, if I want to wear SKINNY JEANS and a short crop top.... guess what?

This can make me look like a BOX.

And LONG TOPS to hide my hips?  They can make me look SHORT and DUMPY.

Enter the shirt extender.  It's a small amount of lace that hides

your stomach, your hips or that problem area of your bottom.

You can Google "shirt extender" and get a whole list of pictures.

I like how this one  is a slip, and found on ETSY.

You can also find tanks that are extenders.  I found this EXACT one at a local boutique.

Pictured below is the one I am wearing (up above) and here is the link.

Comes in 5 colors.  It's made by Deletta, available at Anthropologie and I suggest you buy a size down.

This is a MEDIUM, and I bought it because I thought it would have room to move like the model pictured below, but mine stretched. But that's not a problem, I promise, it still looks great.



I now have about 5 shirt extenders that I can add and am looking for more.

I'll keep my eye out for you too.

What Types of Jeans Will Fit Your Shape

Gap jeans - come in every color and last a long time

These are my tried and true experiences of jeans from watching women try them on to trying them on myself.  Of course, there are exceptions to every rule based on how YOU like your jeans to fit.

Hourglass or Pear-Shaped Girls (Smaller waist and Larger hips)

I'm one of these girls.  And universally, I have found 4 jean brands that fit me the best: Citizen Jeans, GAP jeans, Pilcro (which is the Anthropologie brand), and some cuts of Paige denim.  Current Elliott is not bad either, but only the boyfriend cuts..  Not every cut of Gap jeans, fits this type, but there are many that do. 

Athletic Build (Long and lean with waist and hips almost the same)

The brands that will knock it out of the park for you are J Brand, J. Crew, Mother, Current Elliott, Seven jeans and Gap.  I know I mentioned Gap above, but I swear they have a fit that will work with your body type.

You'll notice, I only described 2 body types.  That is because if you are slender, the athletic brands will fit you will and so will every other jean out there.  Curvy, pear-shaped and hourglass - all jeans will fit you the same.

Curvy Frames that are not like the ones above

NYJD denim is A-MAZING and so is Cookie Johnson's CK denim line, Cookie is Magic Johnson's wife and boy is her denim premium. This line looks amazing on pear-shaped women and skinny women as well.  It is just fantastic.

Not every denim out there is mentioned, because I don't have experience with EVERY denim line, and there are also denim lines that I don't like, because the denim is fantastic, but the fit not-so-much.

Most I have ever paid for a pair? $225.00 and worth every.single.penny.

Places I find jeans?  I mostly buy mine at the Gap or thrift premium jeans at second-hand stores.  I started doing the latter because because I could find a wide variety of makers, they are already broken in and I find a lot of amazing deals.  Like the jeans with hand embroidered birds on them that were sold at TOOTSIES when I worked there and sold for $425.00.  Two years later, I found them for $56.  People stop me at the gas station while pumping gas to praise them, they are that beau-ti-ful.

I'll suggest some national places to buy next time and places to get help.  I'll also suggest some local Houston women that I think are good at listening and helping you find the jean that is right for you.

PILCRO jeans - Anthropologie jean - come in solids & patterns

Things You Thought You Knew About Your Jeans

Paige Denim jeans - found at a secondhand store

Nothing feels better than a great pair of jeans.

But do you know how to fit yourself? Do you know their proper care?

Here are a few tips:

1. Buy them as TIGHT as you can.
Jeans stretch more than a lot of fabrics.  Customers often complained that they bought a pair of jeans at the store, they looked good there, and then after they wore them, they got baggy in the leg, especially under the butt, and in the waist.  They also lost shape in the thigh. I explained that they need to buy them according to the stretch, which I'll explain next.

2. Know how much stretch is in them.
Look at the tag.  Premium jeans will have 2%, but most jeans have 1% and most jeans that won't ever look good on you have 0% (so please don't buy these unless you are gardening in them).  If it is two percent, and you are a 6, buy a 4 for sure.  If 1%, then use your best judgement.

3. Limit how often you put your jeans in the dryer and for God's sake, NEVER dry clean them. You might dry your jeans all the time to get them back into shape.  I do the same thing sometimes, but it's not good for your denim or for the stretch in the denim.  The more premium the denim the less you should put it in the dryer.  So, I dry the ones from the GAP, but not my Citizen jeans.

4. Jeans can go in the freezer.
I got to be good friends with the JOE'S jeans rep in Houston.  He and I would talk a lot of nerd talk about jeans.  Jeans should not be washed often, and really probably never (I know you are grossing out now).  If you spill something on your jeans, put them in a baggy in the freezer over night. Tomorrow morning, pull them out and that gunk on them will just flake off.  if it is something oily, you need to wash them.  Pairs I have with embellishments on them, freezer treatment only and I promise, they look great.

5. Size does NOT matter.  I have jeans in my closet that fit that are size 10 and size 4, and I am probably closest to a 8.  Nothing annoyed me more than someone refusing to BUY a pair of jeans because they were not going to go a size up, i.e. they thought they were a 4, but won't buy the brand if they fit in a 6.  Silly rabbit.

Later, I'll tell you what jeans fit what types of bodies, where to go and where to get help.