First Mad Men, Now BBC's The Hour, is the Hourglass making a comeback?

First there was Mad Men, now we have here in the UK, 'The Hour' a TV series set
in 1956. Although less obvious in its portrayal of period lingerie, this
programme has like Mad Men caused a flurry of activity within the Lingerie
Industry with the focus being on the hourglass figure.

So the question is, is there a genuine return towards women wanting to have
the hourglass figure or is this something that is more media and industry
hype?

The answer in truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, there is
definitely more retro style lingerie on the market, including a variety of
corsets, girdles and more modern shapewear all designed to nip in the waist and
give that desired hourglass shape and women of all ages are buying.

Many women are looking for smoother lines and the type of look put forward by
Trinny and Susannah and more recently Gok Wan. Primarily this is based on the premise of getting your underwear right, then you can look good in any outfit. However, when you go shopping to to buy something for under that dress, you will find, the choice of
solutions is a little wider than it was a couple of years ago, with the more
retro style 'shapewear' adding that little bit of glamour and sexiness that was
sadly lacking from the very functional shapewear of the last few years.

A by product of this is that you are likely to be introduced to shapewear that is designed to enhance that hourglass figure and many women are liking what they see. Of course there are women who are directly inspired by these programmes, but when it comes to the more retro
looks, including the hourglass figure there is another big influence and that is the current
interest in burlesque. Many women are looking for underwear that they can wear for a burlesque themed fancy dress party or because they have joined a burlesque class and this is defintely a current craze or fad.

So the reality is that the hourglass is gaining a new and growing foothold
within the market, but it has someway to go before it becomes the universal
look.

About the Author

Richard is the lingerie buyer for Just Bras Lingerie Outlet and www.JustBras.co.uk. He regularly blogs on the latest trends in the lingerie world at www.JustBras.co.uk/blog