A short time after I was reborn a 30DDD, the founder and CEO of True&Co. told me that my boobs had a, shall we say, westward leaning—as in they were more separated than other girls in my geography usually like. As in they were more L.A. than New York.
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I
wasn't offended because I still don't know how to handle whatever's
going on here ::gestures at chest helplessly::, but she did bring up an
interesting divide that deserves further exploration. So here, nine more
lingerie experts interpret the chasm, based on sales data, customer
feedback, and their own experiences dressing belles poitrines across America.
For One Group, It's About Comfort (and Showing Off)
"We
can't deny the popularity of the yoga culture in the west, and I think
this has given us designers more opportunity for creativity in
bralettes, as the bralette now gets to be 'seen' more during the
daylight hours and not just kept undercover." —Susan Beischel, founder of Skin
"Women
on the West Coast are completely happy to let their underpinnings
show—women have no qualms about the straps of their bra or the entire
bra itself showing through their outerwear. Women on the West Coast also
seem to be shifting away from underwire brassieres. Natural is the
order of the day out here!" —Liseanne Frankfurt, designer of LFRANK
"The
West Coast is all about wearing lingerie as a part of your outfit
instead of just as underpinnings, though the East Coast has been getting
on board with this more and more. We see a lot of bodysuits
being sold out West, in part because of the recent trend of wearing
them with jeans (Khloé Kardashian and Emily Ratajkowski)." —Pascale Leclere, owner and director of Gooseberry Intimates
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For the Other, It's About Function (and Not #FreeingtheNipple Just Yet)
"The East Coast loves more structured pieces and 'traditional' styles. More people out East buy balconette and full-coverage
bras. Your underwear is the foundation of your everyday wardrobe, so
what is socially acceptable to wear to work has a massive influence on
the kind of bra a woman will choose to buy. The types of jobs and
workplaces that have sprung up out west have been less traditional than
those in the east. Of course, an attitudinal shift is taking place all
across the nation so we expect these trends to level out in the next few
years." —Michelle Lam, CEO and cofounder of True&Co (also the inspiration behind this story)
"The
Chantelle purchase behavior (from our e-commerce) shows a very
different style approach when our customers select their lingerie. We
have found that the East Coast (especially New York) prefers 'no
frills,' or seamless/smooth products, whether they are T-shirt bras or
minimizers." —Sonja Winther, president of Chantelle USA
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Some Really Specific Info About Knickers
"Generally
speaking, the Northeast (excluding Florida) opts for comfort, with
briefs, boy shorts, and hipster styles leading the way. On the other
hand, the West Coast (Los Angeles and Southern California, but excluding
Portland and Seattle) prefers skimpier styles, like thongs." —Alexandra Popa, founder and designer of Bordelle
"In the past year or so, we've seen the high-waist underwear trend really take hold on the East Coast." —Marissa Vosper, cofounder of Negative Underwear
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Color vs. Non-Colors vs. Both
"L.A.
women are more adventurous in the colors and styles they chose, while
N.Y. women tend to purchase the basics and classics." —Astrid Unwalla, founder of Nudwear Lingerie
"Typically,
we always saw our West Coast clientele gravitate to light colors,
whereas our East coast clientele would gravitate towards darker tones.
But now that more women feel comfortable exposing their lingerie and
layering it as part of their wardrobe, darker colors are becoming more
popular with our West Coast clientele as well." —Christina Remenyi, founder and designer of Fortnight
"This
autumn/winter season, the East Coast favorites are wine, dark peacock,
and navy. For the West Coast, navy sells almost as much as black, which
is surprising, and in shades of nude, they tend to go for more
blush/pink tones. Color preference has a lot to do with skin tone:
People tend to have a little more glow out west, so they feel more
comfortable, and perhaps even look better, in bright colors or pastels.
In N.Y. (and the East Coast), where bright and sunny is not necessarily
the mood year-round, black is king." —Helena Stuart, founder and designer of Only Hearts
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A Tale of Two Boob Philosophies
"The
East Coast was always a bit more about perfection, polished from head
to toe—and all things 'on point.' I'd say the East Coast is more about
the perfectly poised rack, pushed up, out-in, and purposeful sculpting.
West Coast breasts are free—you can be in a room full of women and have
before you on-point perfection to just hanging by a thread. Generally,
the Wild West is more diverse, and there is acceptance of breasts being
presented however the owner feels like it." —Sharleen Ernster, CEO and designer of Hot-As-Hell
"Women
are owning their femininity and making bra choices accordingly. On the
East Coast, where work environments are more traditional, women still
look for nipple coverage and support, although they have allowed their
bras to become an accessory through lace trims, color, and visible
straps. On the West Coast, there's an overall feeling of naturalness. In
bras, that means bralettes and less structured fabrics. They worry more
about health and mindfulness, even if that means nips are showing and
the girls are less structured. The trends are different, but women are
wearing what they want to feel happy, healthy and sexy. Another big
thing going on in the world of intimates: *women* are designing bras
now!" —Jenny Altman, CEO of iloveagood.com
