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I Went on National TV in My Lingerie. It Changed What Body Positivity Meant to Me.


Sure, it was a little weird to stand next to Kathie Lee and Hoda in my sexy pajamas. Sure, I was a little uncomfortable. Sure, I was having visions of accidentally projectile vomiting on Kathie Lee Gifford. But I went with it. And the world kept spinning. (Also, important to note: I did not vomit on anyone.)

I wish I could say I walked off the set feeling empowered and confident. But the truth is, I went to watch the clip after we wrapped and my stomach dropped. I immediately started picking myself apart: My cellulite was visible; I looked angry (my default facial expression when I’m feeling most high-stakes emotions); I kept fidgeting. This reaction wasn’t new for me—it’s been my knee-jerk response to seeing images of myself that I wasn’t in control of for the last decade.

Still, there was something different about this.

I had heard a voice screaming in my head to stop, to not pass go, to turn around—and I tuned it out, walked onto the set of the Today Show, and modeled sexy pajamas. I had professional hair and makeup done and stood in great lighting for 10 seconds. I didn’t feel embarrassed or horrified. I felt like I had just woken up.

For so many years, my choices (in fashion, and in everything else) weren’t affected just because of that loud, angry voice telling me what my body was and wasn’t allowed to participate in. It was because I trusted it. I thought it was saving me—from ultimate humiliation, from embarrassment, from someone thinking I wasn’t good enough. Now, I knew that voice was a fucking liar.

The thing is, when you do that big, ridiculous, scary, terrifying thing that every part of you insists you’re not supposed to do—because of how you look, because of what you weigh, because of the size of your clothes, because you might fail—and the world manages to go on, you wake up. You wake up to the fact that for a long time, you’ve been saying no to opportunities both big and small.

You remember saying no to pool parties. You remember wearing a cardigan in the middle of summer and sweating for no reason. You remember deleting thousands of photos, millions of memories. You remember it all. And then, you say no more. No more of that. You say it’s time to make up for lost time, and then? Then you start saying yes.

Olivia Muenter is a writer and editor based in Philadelphia. Follow her at @oliviamuenter.





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Liberté Is the Size-Inclusive Lingerie Brand You've Been Waiting for


Amber Tolliver has modeled for lingerie brands for 17 years, working with companies like Jockey and Aerie on various underwear campaigns. (She appeared in the latter’s first-ever un-retouched #AerieReal ad back in 2014.) In the almost two decades she’s spent in the industry, she’s vacillated between being considered straight-size and curve. And that made a real difference, both as a consumer and as a model, in what lingerie she was able to wear.

“When I was a straight size model, I had tons of options in terms of lingerie brands that carried my size,” Tolliver says. “But as my body changed and my bust grew, the options grew to be almost nonexistent.”

She recalls one instance where she had booked a modeling gig with a store that carries multiple lingerie brands. She was curve at that time, and says she immediately noticed a difference between what she would be photographed in versus what the straight-sized models were going to wear. “I just remember walking up to one of the racks and [saying] wow, all of this lingerie is really beautiful—it’s colorful, it’s lacy, it’s feminine. And they said, ‘Yeah it really is, but that’s not your rack.'” Her rack, she tells Glamour, was pretty much exclusively “black, white, and nude panties and bras that came up to my clavicles. At that point, I was like, ‘This is it. I’m not going to be a bystander.'”

That experience drove her to launch her own intimates brand, where size doesn’t limit what product you have access to. And so, Liberté was born.

Courtesy of Brand

At Liberté, there aren’t any plain-old nude undies. Instead, the bras have playful mesh and lace accents, the undies have sophisticated panels, and all pieces come in several different colors. The collection feels mature, but not matronly; supportive, but not overly constructed. The price point is sweet, too, ranging from $45 to $130.

A woman models a black bra and panties from Libert's first collection
Courtesy of Brand

From launch, the direct-to-consumer brand has offered an expansive size range, with a special emphasis on products for larger busts. Bras start at 32C and go up to 38H, while panties are available in sizes small to 2X. Tolliver’s intention was this was to offer sizes that shoppers couldn’t typically find in stores: Too many brands, she says, promise to expand their sizing without following through, so “it was a part of the brand ethos to let women know that this is who we are out of the gate. You don’t have to wait; you can get your size.”

A woman models a white bra and panties from Liberte's first collection
Courtesy of Brand

“Aerie allowed me to recognize a very large opportunity in shifting the paradigm that exists within the lingerie market when they launched their Aerie Real campaign; that took off like wildfire,” she says. “Knowing that doing something different could also be successful […] opened the door for me to design and curate a collection that spoke more to myself versus a younger demographic.”

Two women model black lace bras and panties from Liberte's first collection
Courtesy of Brand

Liberté is French for “freedom,” and it’s a word that has special significance to the brand’s founder. “I go to Paris twice a year for this trade show, and I have an unbelievable love of the language, [as well as of] my Haitian roots,” Tolliver explains. “Just coming up with the French word, liberté, made sense to me,” she continues, given the brand’s goal to offer shoppers a specific type of personal freedom: “The freedom to love who you are as you are.”

Down the line, Liberté hopes to expand into other intimates-adjacent categories, like sleepwear and swim—all of which would be size-inclusive, like its core lingerie. That way, “if your body changes you don’t need to change your brand,” says Tolliver. That’s pretty freeing, too.





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How Turning 30 Has Made Me Rethink Lingerie Shopping


I’ll never forget getting measured for my quinceañera dress and being horrified that my hips were double the size of my chest. I felt uneven, incomplete. Here I was—literally preparing to be presented to God as having officially entered womanhood—feeling the complete opposite of womanly.

Those feelings stuck with me well beyond my 15th birthday. And they’re largely why I’ve always struggled to view myself as sexy, especially when it comes to shopping for lingerie. That’s partly because I grew up surrounded by hypersultry, hyperstylized underwear ads broadcast everywhere from mall store windows to primetime television. I needed bras and underwear, but I was intimidated by the prospect of walking into a store and buying them—hell, I was repelled by it. Gisele Bündchen was sexy. Tyra Banks was sexy. Me? I was a work in progress.

Something is changing for me, though: I’m turning 30 in a few months, and I’ve started to feel like I’m running out of excuses to be flippant about what I wear underneath my clothes. I’m supposed to be “thirty, flirty, and thriving,” so shouldn’t my bras make me feel grown-up? It’s a doubly significant milestone for me, because it marks 15 years since my quince. (Some Latinas celebrate a doble quince when they turn 30.) Considering how the singular experience of getting measured for my dress led to so much insecurity about my body later on, it seems fitting that I begin to take that power back now. And that begins with my underwear drawer.

The process was easier than you might expect, in part because the ads and marketing we see for lingerie are changing: Indie brands like Lonely Label and TomboyX, as well as buzzy names like Aerie and Savage X, release campaigns that feel personable and welcoming, with different types of bodies and faces. They’ve inspired me to think about this type of fashion in a new way.

Models at Savage x Fenty’s show during New York Fashion Week

Presley Ann

BROOKLYN NY SEPTEMBER 12 Model walks at the Savage x Fenty September 2018 New York Fashion Week at Brooklyn Navy...
Presley Ann

“The turn away from supermodels to more relatable, everyday models for intimate apparel has been significant,” says Cora Harrington, founder of the blog The Lingerie Addict and author of In Intimate Detail: How to Choose, Wear, and Love Lingerie. “When I first started The Lingerie Addict over 10 years ago, this conversation was just starting in the lingerie blogger community, and now it’s a part of our everyday dialogue when we’re discussing lingerie brands.”

Her advice to me on how to build my lingerie collection? “Only buy things you love and want to wear,” she says. “It’s easy to go a little overboard, especially when you’re first becoming interested in lingerie—I know I did. It’s equally easy, especially if you’re a hard-to-find size or if you’re not used to having options, to feel like you have to just buy everything. But you don’t want a drawer full of things you never wear or—God forbid—that you hate.”

Up to this point, my underwear drawer has been filled with rather blah bras I’ve picked up in bargain bins over the years. My focus this time was on finding everyday bras that were comfortable first and foremost, but that also felt feminine and sexy.

Harrington recommends starting with a little bit of research, if only to have a realistic understanding of what you need and what you’ll find. “Most of us aren’t really taught or exposed to much in the way of lingerie education,” she says. “A lot of people don’t understand that bra construction must change as the breast size changes.” For example, an F or K cup can’t be built the same way as a B or D cup is. “It’s not that manufacturers want you to have ‘ugly’ bras—it’s that a flimsy wire, thin straps, or too-delicate lace is simply not supportive enough.”



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Lingerie Fashion Trend: How to Get the Look For Under $100


“Innerwear-as-outerwear” isn’t a new concept, by any means—for a bit there, it even felt a bit tired. (Another silky cami on the runway? Really?) But lately, designers have started offering up antidotes to lingerie fatigue, with bedroom-inspired pieces that not only can be worn out of the house, but also feel legitimately feel cool, not cringe-y: mustard-yellow lace, sheer bodycon, marabou trims… They’re meant to be shown off. In fact, they look best when paired with your cold-weather staples—your chunky knits, your midi skirts, your oversized coats. Need proof? We styled four of our favorite lingerie-adjacent runway trends to show you how to wear them in your day-to-day (with picks for coping the look for $100 or less.) Check it out.

Photographs by Nicholas Riley Bentham. Fashion stylist: Amy Hou. Models: Carlotta Kohl and Sahara Lin at Elite Model Management; hair: Brittan White; makeup: Joseph Carrillo at Atelier Management.



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What It Costs to Be Me: Lingerie Designer TyLynn Nguyen


These days it’s nearly impossible to know what women are spending on the way they look. Someone with Instagram-flawless contouring might have honed her craft using the finest from the drugstore aisles, and the utterly makeup-free type might be spending thousands on laser treatments or face serums. Enter our series “What It Costs to Be Me,” where we’re asking interesting women for radical transparency.

Up this week: TyLynn Nguyen, 31, a lingerie designer and mother of three from Calabasas, California. Her annual total? $9,585

There are few people to whom the adjective “luminous” can be applied 100 percent unironically; TyLynn Nguyen is one of them. (Go peruse her Instagram; it’s simply a fact.) This truth is all the more extraordinary given that Nguyen has three kids (an eight-month-old, a three-year-old, and a six-year-old) and runs her gorgeous lingerie line, TyLynn Nguyen. Her pared-down, radically sleek aesthetic seems effortless, but her particular brand of self-care does take rigor, especially when it comes to her skin care routine (regular facials, scrubs, masks, et al.) and exercise (intensive one-on-one ballet lessons). That said, it isn’t about cloaking reality. “I’m really about looking like yourself,” she says. “I’m for accentuating whatever greatness God’s already given you.”

My Simple Morning Skin-Care Routine: $155

My general philosophy is consistency. I always wash my face twice a day: In the morning I usually use Chanel La Mousse ($45) and then follow with an oil moisturizer. True Botanicals Renew Pure Radiance Oil ($110) is so, so good. I like that the ingredients are very clean. It doesn’t feel heavy, but it’s definitely there, and most important, it doesn’t feel like you’re getting your skin dirty. I love the smell too—even the color.

My (Triple!) Cleansing P.M. Skin Ritual: $610

I wash my face again at night with an oil cleanser if I’m wearing makeup during the day. Chanel L’Huile Anti-Pollution Cleansing Oil ($45) is incredible at taking off makeup. The oil cleanser is mostly just to lift and release the makeup, and then I’ll cleanse again, either with the Chanel cleanser from the morning or African Botanics’ Buchu Enzyme Polish ($75) to really wash my face. Then I go to a scrub; I scrub every night. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m a black woman or what (my mom is a mix of German, Dutch, Swiss, and Ukranian, and my dad is Sudanese African and Cherokee Indian), but I think with the combination of all those beautiful ethnicities, maybe my skin just turns over more quickly? Omorivicza’s Facial Polisher ($95) is gentle, but it does the job really well. Then I use Biologique Recherche Lotion P50W ($67)—it just zings dirt right out of my skin. Last I layer on Crème de la Mer ($325) to moisturize.

My Two Fail-safe Complexion Fixers: $460

If I’m home with the baby and I have a small breakout, I’ll go the whole day with a mask on wherever those problem areas are. Yeah, I’m so extra—pimples, begone! I spot-treat with the African Botanics Mineral Cleansing Mask ($85) anywhere there’s a bump and literally leave it on all day.

I also use the La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Sleep Mask ($375) twice a week. It is so good. Because I live in Calabasas and it’s the desert, I need a lot of hydration. I’ve never spent money on Botox, and I feel like my skin looks the way it does because I think about moisture. That, and food—I try to stick with fruits and vegetables. It’s about eating what you like but making sure it’s good and from the ground.

My At-Home Face Massager: $25

I’ve been loving using this rose quartz flat facial tool called gua sha ($25)—one side has three carved indents; the other side is shaped like a fin of a dolphin. I got it from Julie Civiello Polier, who does shamanic facials in L.A. You can use it to massage your face with whatever moisturizer you usually use—I like to use it with my True Botanicals oil. I just kind of push it around my face in an upward motion. Julie says when you’re finishing the massage to sweep the flat side of the stone from the middle of your face outward and then down your neck, which helps to drain your lymphs. It boosts circulation in your face, and it feels so good. I use it almost every night now. And so does my husband!

My Crucial Shower Regimen: $297

I shower twice a day. I just really like being clean. That’s probably annoying and I could save water, but I’m basically always juggling something—either running around for work or the kids during the day, then up all night with the baby. Plus, my metabolism’s fast, so I sweat. For my body I use the Oribe Côte D’Azure Body Wash ($42) and Body Scrub ($65). They smell like the French Riviera. And I’m using this razor by Mave ($75). It looks like a little sculpture.

Then there’s my hair. My mom has blond hair, my dad has really fine curly hair, so mine ended up somewhere in between. It’s pretty curly, but when it’s straight, it’s like baby hair—it’s strong, but it’s thin. I don’t know how else to describe it. I shampoo only twice a week and condition four times a week. Right now I’m using Obliphica Seaberry Shampoo ($24) and Conditioner ($26); they’re great to my curls. Every three days I leave a deep moisture mask on my hair for 15 minutes. Leonor Greyl Masque Fleurs De Jasmine ($65) is amazing.

My Low-Key Hair Maintenance: $1,704

I usually wear it slicked back in a low bun—pretty low-maintenance. When I get out of the shower, I put Leonor Greyl Secret de Beauté Hair and Body Oil ($66) in my hair right away. Then I use Oribe Star Glow Styling Wax ($42) and Oribe Airstyle Flexible Finish Cream ($42) together with a Mason Pearson bristle brush ($150) to achieve the comb-down for my flat little bun. Finally I spray Oribe hairspray ($38) in the front to toothbrush-comb down the flyaways. It’s an old wooden toothbrush by Goodwell Co. ($6), and it’s wonderful.

Twice a month I get my hair blow-dried because I like it straight sometimes: $40 at the new DryBar here in Calabasas. Twice a year I get a haircut at Spoke and Weal (about $200)—I see Lindsay or Chelsea, and they’re both fantastic at cutting and blow-drying. I’ve never colored my hair.

My (Mostly) Subtle Makeup: $288

I have a lot of makeup, but I don’t wear a lot on. Right now the foundation I’m using is Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in Number 50 ($50), which goes on like a tinted sunscreen. It has a very slight luminescence, not overbearing, because I don’t want to look like a lightbulb, and I think this does it without shouting, “Look at the shimmer on my cheekbones!” They’re really pronounced as it is. When it comes to blush, I’m into Kosas Tropic Equinox ($34)—the darker color in the cream duo, not the illuminator. I think cream disappears into your skin more easily than powder; it’s that little touch that still feels natural, where you can still get that flush to your skin without being too extra about it.

I don’t like that whole super-dark-eyebrows look. So I use Josie Maran The Good Brow in Medium Deep ($24), but I don’t smoosh it on. I use it very lightly to reinforce areas that are sparse. On my lashes I use the Utowa eyelash curler ($22) and follow with Chanel Inimitable Mascara ($32). Sometimes I wear Chanel Les Quatres Ombres eyeshadow quad in Candeur et Expérience ($64), which I apply with my fingertips. It’s super easy and saturates your lids nicely.

On my lips I like Pat McGrath’s lip pencil in Done Undone ($25), which is pretty close to my actual lip color. It feels great on and looks very natural. When I put on my face oil, I include my lips so they’re really moisturized. And I color in my whole mouth with the pencil like it’s a lipstick. I also wear a red lip often, depending on my mood. I love Chanel Rouge Allure Ink Matte Liquid Lip Color in Choquant ($37), which means “shocking” in French—that particular red looks so good on my skin.

My Must-Have Body Products: $346

I love my deodorant: Aesop Herbal Deodorant Roll-On ($35). I like the way it smells, that it’s good for you, and that it feels great going on your skin. And you don’t smell like a flower garden. No offense to anyone who does, but it’s not my thing.

For body moisturizer, I use one of two things depending on the day. If my skin’s super dry, I use La Mer The Body Crème ($275) or I use Topicrem ($36), a French moisturizing body milk I discovered in Paris. I went to a pharmacy there because I needed some lotion, I picked it up randomly, and I was like, This is amazing! I’ve been using it ever since. It smells like a baby bath, like a clean, fresh baby in the bathtub.

My Favorite Facials and Body Treatments: $4,800

I get facials once a month from Camille Fields. She uses only Biologique Recherche products, and I spend anywhere from $200 to $500 on my treatments. But she’s just so good with skin—the way she extracts, the way she builds her treatments. I think that’s such a huge thing, finding someone who understands your skin.

I like to do a sauna or a massage occasionally. I think it’s good to be massaged, to just move blood around your body, make sure your muscles aren’t tense. With three kids I’m always carrying somebody, so I want to make sure things aren’t out of line. I’ve been trying to find somewhere out here in Calabasas and the only spa I’ve liked so far is Burke Williams. It doesn’t exactly give me the vibe I want but it does the job. I go for an hour to 90 minutes, which is about $100 to $200. It’s so important to go a couple times year. I also try to see a chiropractor maybe once a year to get my body aligned correctly. Those appointments are about $300 but can be less depending on your health insurance.

My Splurgy-But-Necessary Return to Exercise: $900 so far

For a long time now I haven’t been doing anything exercise-wise—I’ve been adjusting to having three children. I mean, all praise to God because I was given good genes. But I love working out, and I used to take ballet before my kids and when I was pregnant. I love how it stretches your mind and body. Now I’m taking ballet again two or three times a week with a private trainer named Romi. She’s the owner of Ballet Bodies—it’s $900 for 10 classes a month. I think I’ll probably stick to that frequency. The discipline, poise, and sculpting is important to me, and I enjoy the rigor and precision that having a one-on-one trainer provides. It teaches you mind control too. There are a lot of life lessons you can learn from being in a position you don’t enjoy. Ballet does that for you.





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Rihanna Designed a Savage X Fenty Lingerie Capsule to Benefit Her Foundation—And Everything's Under $100


With her inaugural Savage X Fenty lingerie show, Rihanna really flipped the script on New York Fashion Week—with an incredibly diverse cast (and immersive performance experience), a model in labor, impressive social media engagement… And she’s riding all that buzz to announce a brand-new launch for the label—and one with a deeply personal meaning for the performer and designer.

Savage X Fenty released a limited-edition capsule collection benefitting the Clara Lionel Foundation, the non-profit Rihanna founded in 2012 (and is named after her grandparents) that benefits education and emergency response programs globally.

PHOTO: Courtesy of Savage X Fenty

There are three pieces: a cotton tank top, logo bikini bottom, and satin robe. They bear a custom logo (which you can see most clearly on the robe) that marries the world of Savage X Fenty with that of the organization.

PHOTO: Courtesy of Savage X Fenty

“This sleepwear set is stylish and comfortable. But more than that, when you wear it you know you have taken a stand and given back to an incredible cause,” Rihanna said in a statement. As with all Savage X Fenty drops, the capsule comes in a size-inclusive range of XS through 3X. The tank top and bikini bottom are sold as a set for $63, while the robe retails for $68.

PHOTO: Courtesy of Savage X Fenty

Rihanna has used her companies and brand affiliations to benefit the Clara Lionel Foundation in the past. This Savage X Fenty capsule joins the Fenty Killawatt Diamond Ball-Out, Fenty x Puma Clara Lionel Women’s Creeper, and Dior’s We Should All Be Feminists T-shirt in fundraising for the organization.

You can shop the CLF for Savage X Fenty capsule online, or at the brand’s two pop-up U.S. shops: in New York (577 Broadway) and in the Mall of America (60 E Broadway, Suite N166.)

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All the Curve Models Who Walked the Spring 2019 Shows at New York Fashion Week 2018



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