Top Twenty Fashion Inventions 2008
From Push-up Bras to Boot-Cut Jeans to Little Black Dress
Mar 23, 2008
According to the Telegraph’s article of 22 March 2008, “Push-Up Bra is the Greatest Invention Ever” a survey of 3,000 women carried out by the large UK department store chain, Debenhams, put the push-up bra firmly in first place, with almost 20% of the vote. In contrast, comfortable trainers, a fashion staple or stylist's nightmare (depending on your viewpoint), came last, in twentieth position.
Women's Lingerie Favorites
When British women were asked to name their favorite fashion invention, the Wonderbra came out on top. Says Caroline Adams of Debenhams, "I'm not surprised to see it in the top spot, push-up bras have revolutionized women's lingerie and remain a best-seller in-store."
Ever since the introduction of this cleavage-enhancing bra, women the world over have been proudly flaunting their assets. Another breast-enlarging tool, dubbed “chicken fillets” (or silicone gel inserts) came fifteenth on the list, with their ability to make mountains out of molehills!
Practical VPL busters; a pair of boys’ shorts, came in at eighteenth place. The growing trend for this comfortable, yet cute underwear, has quickened the decline in popularity of the thong. Sales of G-strings in the UK have fallen to their lowest in five years and medical research has shown that excessive wear can cause damage to your health.
Body Slimmers
Figure slenderizing tools were also firm favorites. Pull-in panties (also known as magic knickers, body shapers or figure forming underwear) came a not-so-surprising third, and leg-lengthening, ankle slimming stilettos, a woman’s wardrobe weapon against the opposite sex, followed in fourth place.
Body shapers no longer have the negative connation associated with wrinkly grannies! The world's largest online retailer of intimate apparel, Figleaves carries an extensive range of shapewear. Figleaves spokeswoman Denise Fraser says, "In the past shapewear was something your mother wore but now there is no longer that barrier."
The popularity of pull-in panties has increased since they found favor with younger fashion icons such as Katie Holmes and Gwyneth Paltrow, holding in their post-pregnancy tums. In her book Style A to Zoe (Grand Central Publishing 2007), celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe swears by these magic knickers, as she gives away some celebrity red carpet secrets.
Denim Jeans
Boot-cut and hipster jeans continued to prove firm favorites with women, although no longer as high a priority, it seems, as figure enhancers. Coming in at second and sixth place respectively, denim still remained high on women’s popularity lists. Note that the recent trend in skinny-legged jeans was conspicuously absent, as only slender hipped-women the right side of 25 look great in them. Otherwise, many are in danger of doing a passable impersonation of a duck!
The Little Black Dress (LBD)
So much has been said about the staple LBD, there is little doubt that it will remain a firm fashion favorite in years to come. Closely following the stiletto, in fifth place, this lethal combination of killer heels and sexy black is an integral part of any woman’s armory.
The Wonder of the Wonderbra
Interestingly, out of the twenty items listed in the survey, around a third came from the women's underwear category, so lingerie manufacturers take note! Stockings, support tights, strapless bras and G-strings are apparently all inventions that British women cannot do without.
The Wonderbra was originally developed in Canada in the 1960s, but initially only enjoyed moderate success, according to the Daily Mail's article of 20 March 2008, "Women Vote the Push-Up Bra the Greatest Invention Ever. " However, in the 1990's, many women will recall the launch of the "Hello Boys" Wonderbra ads (introduced to the American public in 1994), with Eva Herzigova's assets peeping out from billboards and glossy magazines worldwide. Little did Herzegovina know at the time, the dramatic impact she would make on women's fashion!
Faking a Beautiful Body
In the words of Caroline Adams, from Debenhams, "Fashion items that can help create the perfect silhouette have become must-have items for women and there is no shame in faking the body beautiful."
Given the results of the UK survey, ladies around the world can take comfort in the fact that, should they require a little help in the pull-me-in or push-me-out department, they no longer have to feel so guilty!
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