Earlier this week, I was lucky enough to get to attend the Curve Expo (a semi-annual buyer/seller geared lingerie convention) in Las Vegas (CurveNV). All sorts of lingerie brands attend Curve, and for press/bloggers like myself, it’s a great place to get a “first look” at upcoming lines, designs, and trends, as well as get a chance to talk in person with brands.
The New York Curve show (CurveNY) is traditionally larger, longer, and more well-attended by brands, buyers, and press than the one held in Las Vegas, but CurveNV definitely had a good mix of brands and was a great place to go and “dip my toes in”. Several of the bloggers who attended the recent Curve Expo in New York have great series of overview posts on their experiences there – give Sweet Nothings, Miss Underpinnings, and The Lingerie Lesbian a read to find out more about CurveNY!
Miss Shapen from Weirdly Shaped & Well Photographed and I were the only two bloggers (“Press”) to attend CurveNV, and we spent the two days dashing about, making appointments, snapping pictures when we were allowed, talking to brands, and just taking it all in! A spotlight post or two are in the works, but in the meantime, here are a just a few quick pictures of some of the brands we got a chance to talk to while at Curve NV.
Parfait by Affinitas/Affinitas
Of course, we had to seek out and see for ourselves the upcoming new color (Wild Pink) for Parfait’s Charlotte bra. Bright pinks seem to be a very “in” color currently in general; the Wild Pink Charlotte set in particular is lovely and bold without being overly bright.
I also managed to get a very quick snapshot of the ethereal Alexis Babydoll, which is set to be available in the newly-expanded size range of 30-40 D-K. Exciting stuff!
Affinitas also had some lovely offerings for the A-DD crowd.
Body Hush
Shapewear-specific booths abounded at Curve, and a lady from BodyHush was kind enough to model a lovely set of their Glamor Lace line for us. I’m not really one for shapewear, but the pieces from BodyHush were very comfortable-looking!
Contorno
New brand Contorno not only had some really neat vintage/corset-inspired shapewear, but also some lovely little bra and panty sets! At this point I believe they only cater to the A-DD size range, but they seemed very open to possible future expansion.
Empreinte
Tried-and-true brand Empreinte did not disappoint with its beautiful offerings. As a high-end lingerie line, their pieces are on the pricier side and their pieces are stocked in smaller stores and boutiques (such as Intimacy and Jenette Bras). Their designs are light and sophisticated-looking, and the bra shape works well for those who need deeper cups/narrower wires. If I had all the money in the world, much of it would go to Empreinte purchases, even though I’m not quite in their size range. *want*
Erica M
Brand Erica M had an amazing booth with still more amazing pieces, from stockings to delicate bodysuits. Miss Shapen and I were entranced!
Eucalan
Sadly, I didn’t manage to snap a photo of Eucalan’s super cute booth, but they were nice enough to give me some samples of their lingerie wash, including their new Wrapture scent. Can’t wait to try it out!
Karen Luu
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| Miss Shapen modeling a super cute robe |
Karen Luu had THE SOFTEST EVER bathrobes! Miss Shapen and I were enamored and couldn’t stop feeling the robes. The owner herself was very sweet.
Besides robes, the Karen Luu booth also displayed some baby items (towels, blankets, mini-robes) and lavender eye masks and sachets.
Nude Barre
Nude Barre’s slogan is “Nude comes in all shades”, and they provide a wide variety of “nude” colors for their tights in a variety of types (nude fishnets! sparkly tights!). Apparently their “guava jelly” shade would work well for me.
Panache
We had a great chat with a rep from Panache, and learned that they’re coming out with a tankini and swimsuit (both based off the popular Panache Sport bra) next season. Hooray!
Sunday Intimates
After hearing about the brand-new Sunday Intimates from bloggers who’d attended CurveNY, we just had to check out all their lovely things! I came away completely enamoured with their line, which is set to be available in the (are you sitting down?) 28-34 D-H size range! Very impressive for a start-up company. Also, they had *the cutest* robes and lounge sets:
Hopefully we’ll be hearing and seeing more from Sunday Intimates in the very near future!
The Little Bra Company
Check it out – a babydoll based off TLBC’s popular Lucia bra! How neat is that? And it even comes in a variety of colors:
Great news for petite-busted ladies who want a babydoll that offers the support and structure of a well-fitting bra!
Eveden Fit School/Workshop
Eveden hosted their famed Fit School (geared towards store owners/fitters), which was quite educational to attend. Many of the bra store owners in attendance didn’t know a whole lot about proper bra fitting techniques, and Fit Specialist Freddy Zappe enthusiastically worked with them and went over the basics of proper fitting. It was a good overview for me as well as a chance to learn tips about how a fitter can best interact with and help customers. I definitely recommend attending an Eveden Fit Seminar and/or Workshop should you get a chance.
There were certainly LOADS more brands at Curve, but hopefully I’ve been able to give a sense of what we were able to see while there. I hope to do a Spotlight post or two on certain brands in the upcoming weeks; in the meantime, let me know if you have any questions or were curious about anything regarding Curve, upcoming trends, or the brands mentioned!