Secrets From Your Sister

From the Associate Press:

Venus Williams’ tennis dress cheers lace industry

PARIS — When Grand Slam champion Venus Williams stepped onto a French Open court in a see-through black lace dress with a red-trimmed top, the beleaguered lace industry let out a cheer.

Williams’ corset-like outfit — reminiscent of a 19th-century Parisian cancan chorus costume — startled many sports fans and prompted wolf whistles and catcalls. But it also intrigued fashion insiders, and lace designers are now hoping Williams’ bold ensemble might boost their game.

“Seeing a tennis woman of Venus’ caliber dolled up in lace and resembling more of a figure skater will hopefully revive the industry at a time when French lace makers are going out of business one after the other,” said Isabelle Tartier, director of Paris-based Frank Sorbier, one of the few fashion houses that still uses lace.

The lace industry better enjoy this while it can. Williams said Friday that once she leaves the French Open the dress will be “retired.”

Williams designed the dress and has run her own fashion line Eleven since 2007.

“Lace has never been done before in tennis, and I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time,” she said after her victory over Patty Schnyder on Sunday.

Williams’ burlesque outfit, with its tutu and frills, didn’t do much to disguise her skin-tone underwear and its “illusion of bareness,” as Venus described. That illusion — suggesting that she was naked under the lace — is what set tongues wagging and photographers snapping wildly at her muscled, taupe-covered derriere.

“What’s the point of wearing lace when there’s just black under? The illusion of just having bare skin is definitely for me a lot more beautiful,” Williams said.

Marcellous L. Jones, editor of Fashion Insider.com magazine, agreed.

“I thought she looked sublime,” he said.

“Her mix of cancan and pompom girl look brought cheer and entertainment to a tournament that has become dully predictable. I think it’s great publicity for Roland Garros and great for the female tennis players who have become sidelined by the men,” he said.

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Our Rack of the Week, Monica, is confident and carefree in her Piege Bonded strapless bra. After a successful graduation party with no ’slip downs’ or ‘pull ups’ necessary, Monica praised this bra like no other!

Under her beautifully draped bandeau top, the Piege Bonded bra offers not only an amazing shape, but trustworthy support. The bonded edge provides smooth seamless shape. In the summer heat, a reliable strapless bra is a must. There is nothing more uncomfortable than a strapless bra that is too big (so it slips down and rubs) or too small (so it pinches and burns). When worn in the right size, a strapless can be completely comfortable and will make you feel like a million dollars.

Pictured below are four different strapless bras, all convertible, which means they come with straps to create endless options! We’ve shown just a few of them here; at top left is the Panache Superbra, top right is the Fantasie Strapless (a personal fave!), bottom left is a Passionata style showing the cross back option (great for racerback tops!) and finally, Monica’s favourite,  Piege is at bottom right, shown as a halter bra. The Piege is also a plunge style, which means it dips way down in the front to create va-va-voom cleavage and opens up even more exciting options with your wardrobe. This bra is truly multi-functional and will be a favourite for you.  We have so many strapless, convertable and halter bra options, the best way to find out what one works best for you is to try them on. TIP! Bring a top you want to wear with your new bra and try it out instore to see your results. Actually, bring a few! (We love to droll over your clothing purchases too!)