Styling Grace & Patience

New in to our mini-brand Peek & Beau are the Grace teddies (one in sumptuous satin, the other in wicked wetlook), and the Patience suspender vest. Peek & Beau's tagline is 'Attire to Flaunt' - and these pieces are certainly flaunt-able! So, to put our money where our mouth is, we're gonna show you how to style these pieces as outerwear! Starting with Grace in Satin and Lace...

The Grace in Satin and Lace is the more girly of the two, which makes it a perfect going-out piece. Here I've simply put it with thigh high boots because it works fabulously as a stand-alone piece! 

As it's England and it will inevitably get chilly, you can layer up the Grace with a fluffy oversized jumper. Finish the look with some hold-up lace tops and Docs and you'll be cosy AND fashionable!

And now, onto Grace Satin's more daring sister, the Grace Leatherette...

Go all-out daring dressy punk realness by layering the Grace Leatherette over a fishnet bodystocking and pairing with some killer platform boots! Even better if your fishnets are ripped.

This is much more of a daytime look! Despite it's rock'n'roll aesthetic, the Grace Leatherette can still be made a little more feminine. I've paired it here with a pink jacket and some spotty flatforms for lots of clashing!

And finally, the Patience suspender vest!

The Patience is super versatile! Here I've decided to show off the garter detail by layering some cut-off shorts and stockings, as well as pairing the Rosaline bra underneath it.

You can also go a bit more subtle by hiding the garter detail underneath a skirt, and simply wearing as a sheer vest which makes a simple but cute daytime look!

Have you got the Grace or Patience yet? If so, how have you styled them?

Announcing: Playful Promises for Bettie Page

Playful Promises is going to be creating an official Bettie Page line of lingerie to launch in November!

Can you hear us squealing with excitement? As the designer behind Playful Promises, I have taken some influence from the rich lingerie history behind us, but I always saw the Playful Promises brand as a place to take these influences and create new styles that the pin-ups of today and tomorrow would wear.  One of the biggest influences on me continues to be the 40s and 50s, so this is a unique opportunity to create a true vintage inspired line that epitomizes and celebrates the rich legacy that Bettie Page left us with.

For those of you that know me personally, you know how much Bettie Page is an icon to me... with my hair styled in ‘Bettie bangs’ and a fine collection of nylons, I am going to revel in the design and manufacturing element of this project.

We will launch the first lines in November and I want it to reflect both the cheesecake cuter side of Bettie Page, but also the darker, and what to me, are equally iconic black and white fetish photos.  I have been researching and using my own collection of vintage suspender belts, briefs, girdles and bras at the time to re-create authentic vintage silhouettes.

The first collection will include a vintage silhouette shaping corsolette, overwire bras, 6 strap suspender belts and boudoir gloves.

Bettie Page was famous for saying ‘I was never the girl next door’ and this is a wonderfully concise way of saying I don’t need to conform. I do my own thing. This statement and confidence is something that women today still live by and strive for - to not be defined by pre-conceptions of how women should behave. 

The Bettie Page Lingerie collection in addition to being available on our website, as well as for wholesale, will also be sold in the first Bettie Page store in Santa Monica, California.

Keep up with the Bettie Page Lingerie line, launching November 2016, here:

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Fuller Figure Fuller Bust for #PlayfulCurve

Here at Playful Promises, we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to do a shoot with one of our fave plus size bloggers, Fuller Figure Fuller Bust, to mark the launch of our debut Curve range! And who better to shoot with than Georgina, who encompasses the Playful Promises brand with her ultra-cheeky attitude!

The shoot day was full of giggles; particularly when I found myself Googling "basic bondage knots" when we found this fetching blue rope to match the Candace set! When I woke up for work that morning, I definitely didn't imagine that I'd be tying up our model!

The Curve collection is selling fast, so if you're planning on purchasing it's best to do so as soon as possible! And it's going to go even quicker when everyone sees how killer Georgina looks in all of it!

The Curve collection is available to buy now, in sizes 38B-G and 40-42 C-G, and UK dress sizes 18 - 24. 

Mudguard-inspired Lingerie...? The Spat!

It might seem a bit strange that something associated with menswear could influence the some of the most feminine of lingerie – but that’s what makes Playful Promises a little bit different (it’s up to you to decide whether or not that’s a good thing…)!

The Imogen set is put together in a sumptuous black satin, but features subtly masculine buttoning detail offset on the suspender belt, in the center of the bra and in a cheeky cut-out feature on the back of the brief. This gorgeous detail comes from something worn predominantly by men in the late 19th century and early 20th century, known as spatterdashes, spatter guards or more commonly – spats.

Victorian Spats

Spats doesn’t exactly sound very glam, and they weren’t to begin with. Starting off as a purely practical accessory, they were made out of white cloth, or in grey or brown felt. They buttoned around the ankle, and were meant to protect your shoes and socks from getting muddy or wet. They later became a little bit more stylish, and reflected the fashions at the time.

A 20s New York Mobster in Spats

In the 1920s, white spats were a signature of wealth and style – infamously worn by New York gangsters and bootleggers. These spats we're more luxurious and featured pearl buttons on the side, and were often worn with a tailored vest. Spats had to be fitted perfectly to the shoe, worn exclusively during the day, and never as evening attire.

Imogen set in Full Bust

What do you think of spats? Can spatterguards be sexy? Or shall we just stick to the beautiful Imogen set to hark back on the days of spats?

Sources:

http://spats-boots.com/the-history-of-spats

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spats_(footwear)

Stockist Spotlight: The Rack Shack, NY

So, tell us about your boutique!

The Rack Shack is based in Bushwick, Brooklyn, an upcoming and artsy neighborhood in New York. We sell flirty lingerie for a very broad cupsize range (28A - 38HH) and funky lady sneakers. Sexiness and comfort are very important for modern women. The Rack Shack understands that New Yorkers have busy lives where they need to walk miles, have multiple jobs and still look presentable at all times. The perfect pair of sneakers and the right fitting lingerie can make the most basic outfit look funky, sexy and chic. Where other specialty lingerie boutiques have a lot of beige bra’s for the bigger cups, The Rack Shack looks for styles that are as attractive as possible; from young and girly to seductive and edgy.

The Rack Shack is based in an upcoming arty neighbourhood in Brooklyn, NY

How did you get into selling lingerie initially?

It started a long time ago in Amsterdam when I was 14 years old, I already had a 34G cup. I am from the Netherlands, born in Rockville, Maryland but moved back to The Netherlands with my family when I was 6 months old, so I have dual citizenship.
In the town I grew up in, a small suburb of Amsterdam, there was one specialty lingerie shop and if I was lucky they would maybe have one really ugly bra in my size. I always left the store with an ugly bra and a body image complex. The older ladies that worked in the store had no idea how to talk to an insecure teenage girl.
When I moved from Laren, the small town, to the bigger city of Amsterdam there where a lot more choices. My first Freya bra changed my life! The fit and the design were appropriate for a young girl and gave me confidence. It made me walk straight and proud.
Four years ago I moved to New York, a city of diverse women and the city that has everything. I was so excited because I thought that the bra choices would be endless, but instead I discovered that the collection of brick and mortar lingerie stores for bustier women is still very small, even in such a worldly city. Don’t get me wrong. You have lovely boutiques in New York, but I was still missing fashionable lingerie above a G-cup, even though I knew the brands that make them, where out there. I always wanted my own business, and I decided that a Lingerie boutique was what it was going to be. I wanted to create an environment where everybody would feel welcome and comfortable. A fashionable store where normally only women with a cup size A-D can shop. The Rack Shack was going to be just as fashion forward but with lingerie for a much broader cup size range.
I added sneakers to the concept to give it a unique feel. Lingerie and Sneakers are both very important foundations in a city like New York and especially in an artsy neighborhood like Bushwick, Brooklyn. The neighborhood is full of artists and a lot of young people that have multiple jobs like working in a restaurant, bar or store where they have to be on their feet all the time, on top of their creative and enterprising endeavors.

Gold everything!

What’s a normal day in the boutique like for you?

I am a one woman boutique and I bartend at night. A normal day in the boutique contains of course helping people finding good bra's, fittings, cleaning, sorting out lingerie, answering emails posting on social media, finding new ways to get the word out, organizing events with other female entrepreneurs and local designers, hanging with girlfriends and regular customers from the bar that come in to check out the store. Our opening hours are from noon-21u (9pm).

The Rack Shack aims to be a LGBT-friendly space

Do you have any special customers or experiences?

Most of my customers are from the neighborhood. I have some burlesque dancers that come and check out what I have new in stock every other week. I would like to have more lingerie in stock that connects with the LGBT community. I have some, but I would like to broaden that selection. I know that there are some lingerie boutiques that are not transfriendly and I want The Rack Shack to be a place where everybody feels welcome, beautiful and comfortable. I know that I haven't felt like that in the past, just because my boobs where big. I have a transneutural costumer and it has meant so much for them that they can shop in a place without any judgement. That is why I opened this store and why I love it. We are in the business of making people feel good about themselves.

We love how our designs have been styled here!

What are your personal favourite lingerie styles that you’re drawn to?

I love Playful Promises loungewear. The teddies are great and I love the Anna Sequin Cape and Suspender Belt. Super excited for
Emily Embroidered 1920s Chemise and Gown to come in. I am a big fan of seductive but playful lingerie, fun colors and prints and not to serious.

You can visit The Rack Shack at 155 Central Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11221