Big things in small packages
Screw penis envy. There are really times when you’re just extremely thankful that you were born female: anatomically rounded, naturally sensual, and desirous of delicate things.
That’s what I thought when I entered La Senza, the lingerie store franchised by Suyen Inc. from Canada, now open at Bonifacio High Street. Thank God for breasts, else those bright, wonderful, skimpy, delicate things being displayed in the store would all go to terrible waste. Forgive me if I sound like a perverted man peaking on a double dose of Viagra. I am actually trying to sound like a woman who is constantly amazed by the strong pull of underwear on our material desires and purse strings.
Each time I’ve had to write about lingerie and underwear, I am bewildered by how much money and effort is put into little scraps of things that hardly experience any viewing beyond the catwalk, store displays, and the odd romantic rendezvous now and then. Underwear is a huge market. Take La Senza, for example: nearly 850 stores in 45 countries. That’s a lot of panties. It’s American sister company,
La Senza president Joel Teitelbaum explains the phenomenon thoroughly (18 years in the business so he would know), “Woman buy underwear primarily to please themselves, for fashion, and comfort. Second, they buy underwear to show off to their friends. And third is to impress a man. I think the misconception is women buy underwear for men but that’s really pretty low on the list.” I can just imagine the hordes of redeemed women agreeing with this statement.
Plain and simple, lingerie makes a woman feel like a woman. La Senza’s variety of fabrics and cuts are designed not just to enhance a woman’s assets, but also to make her feel that she’s not exerting much effort into doing so. (The word “senza” is, appropriately, Italian for without.) Their Ultra Soft collection includes bras made of the supplest modal cotton, some of which come with removable push-up pads. The Extreme Weightless bra collection feels just as it suggests — really light push-up bras that amp up your cleavage minus the bound breasts feel. There are also bras with gel inserts, panties made of moisture-wicking fabric (check out the sports line), and super-soft terry cloth robes that are more plush than any of those in a five-star hotel room’s toilet and probably as cushy as the best baby blanket there is on the market (really, it’s that soft).
The Canadian brand, however, is not just about feel-good delicates. It also takes aesthetics into great account. Says Teitelbaum, “La Senza is all about taking the current fashion trend and interpreting it into underwear. For example, for this season, yellow is big and so you see yellow on a lot of our merchandise, on our bras and nighties. We also have a lot of fashion variations: different colors and prints on different fabrics.”
Technology is another point of difference La Senza boasts. The ITEC bra is made up of a single piece of molded fabric: no seams, no stitching, no tags, i.e. no ghastly bumps showing through even the slinkiest jersey dress. La Senza explains it as a one-piece technology; think of how plaster looks when it’s pulled out of a mold: smooth and completely whole. In the past year, the ITEC bra has been one of the brand’s best-selling styles. Pair it with one of their ultra-thin, ultra-sexy seamfree panties. These delicious pairs are precisely laser-cut instead of stitched which, if you’re not a fan of string thongs, give the best no-underwear look.
“The biggest difference between La Senza and your typical lingerie store,” explains Teitelbaum, “is that we do so much more than lingerie.” The store also sells daywear through a line called Lola & Coco by La Senza, which has pretty, trend-driven candy-colored cotton dresses that will easily take to the beach. The Love La Senza collection offers up those boudoir-style lingerie that imprints every male fantasy and is a hit in every bridal shower: lace and chiffon teddies, ribbon-lace corsets with ample push-up capabilities, ruffled bustiers and the barest of satin nighties. La Senza also addresses what Teitelbaum calls a “gap in the fashion market.” A lady might come home from the office and would want to wear something light and comfortable before slipping into her pajamas. This is where La Senza at Home loungewear comes in, a collection that has pretty robes, comfortable drawstring pants, and tactile tunics. The lingerie temple also has nightwear that can be easily donned as clubwear: sequined tank tops, asymmetric jersey pieces or lightweight chiffon camis that can be worn over tank tops. “Underwear has actually become outerwear.”
Hearken back to those times when you bought underwear and didn’t feel at least the smallest thrill at the thought of wearing it. Lingerie is a universal stress reliever for females. Men have their video games, women have their underwear. La Senza understands both the female body and psyche, and has become a temple to everything that makes women feel and look good.
La Senza is located at
