The Cool Dish on Furious Viola (now "undergoodies") Materials
I've long been a fan of clothes that feel like pajamas, even before the 2020 work-at-home situation. I admire the hay out of Sara Blakely and her brilliant resolve to make Spanx happen, but for me, any improvements shapewear might make below my face are dashed by the scowl up here on my face. Absolutely no offense to shapewear or the wearers thereof, but while some of our garments have been known to lightly smooth, comfort reigns here.
I've lived mostly in warm-hot, humid-soupy climates, where dresses and skirts serve as crucial components of my personal air conditioning ensembles. My beautiful and stylish mother taught me to opaquen my frocks with a slip. At some point in the last couple of decades, half slips landed on the endangered undergarments list. When I was able to find them, they were only beige, white, or black ... mmmmaybe off-white. We like all of those colors, but we also like a lot of other colors! And, the long and the short of it is --- three layers is a lot on a hot, humid day; one layer is better, so here we are.
We make light and airy, comfortable, full-coverage one-and-done underthings for your dresses and skirts. Some of these double or triple as loungewear and pjs. Nobody's going to tell you how to or not to wear your undergoodies.
For all styles so far, we are using an American-made semi-sheer stretch nylon. We've begun our journey with this one for a few reasons:
It's airy and cool, (temperature-cool, and also figuratively-cool, IOHO), it's quick-to-dry ... from both sweat and washing
It's semi-sheer, but we are pretty sure it is magic and opaquens slightly when fashioned into undergoodies and worn on the body. Yes, I think I made up that word.
It's easy care! Machine wash gentle, and while we recommend hanging or drying flat, there are absolutely times in life when we confidently speed up the drying process on low heat in the dryer. A couple of minutes on low heat can eliminate minor wrinkling, too. Steam and/or light ironing works quick magic, but please avoid steaming appliqués and trims as much as possible.
It comes in more colors than the basics, which we love and cherish nonetheless.
For Pearl (and her future sisters and cousins) we have employed an organic, breathable, and wicking bamboo and cotton blend in our signature hot pink to line the gusset. It's a hot pink secret!
Our laces, trims, and appliqués come from a delightful and wide variety of sources. We salvage and repurpose as often as we can. My favorites are the vintage deadstock selections from the Ribbons & Lace store my Grammy owned back in the day in Texas. I may run out of these someday, but right now the end is not in sight. These one-of-a-kind (OOAK) embellishments are used to fancy up OOAK Magnolias, and they will be employed for future OOAK styles.
Other laces, appliqués, and trims we love come from flea markets, estate sales, domestic and overseas suppliers, and I'm not even sure where else. My favorite of these at the moment is an embroidered cotton tablecloth I uncovered at a barn sale while I was also mooning over the horses. This is surely a good place to note that we always clean deadstock and vintage pieces prior to employing them.
We've got two new fabrics on deck for upcoming designs - a glossier, more opaque stretch satin and an impossibly soft jersey knit. Stay tuned!
On that note, we've got more than a dozen brand spankin' new designs you haven't even yet met in the works for after that! (They've told me they can't wait to meet you!)
Our fabric is American-made and shipped to us from a family business in New York. Our garments are sewn at a woman-owned factory in Texas where we visit regularly. Our recycled packaging comes from Eco-Enclose in Colorado. We know and care about the people and partners who work with us to bring you your comfortable and stylish new undies.
As always, we strive to take the best care of you and the earth while bringing you the most stylish, comfortable under-/lounge things imaginable, always with gratitude and harm to none. Please never hesitate to contact us with questions or to let us know how we can better meet your underlying needs.