Plus Size Intimates

The world of plus size intimates comes in many varieties, materials, colors and styles. Whether you're looking for a bra, slip, nightgown or something racy, you'll find a lot of variety in the intimate apparel market.

Because intimates, or lingerie, are usually worn next to your skin, there are some important considerations to keep in mind when buying these pieces. Some of the things you should look out for include:

• Feel: Intimate apparel should feel good on you, whether it's made of silk, satin, nylon, polyester, lace, leather or another fabric. While some lace may be scratchy, you want soft lace trimming on pieces like slips, panties and bras. If you can feel the lingerie before you buy it, you're much more likely to make a good decision based on how the piece feels to the touch. This is important for lingerie such as bras and panties, which you may wear all day long. The last thing you want is to be stuck at work for eight to nine hours in a scratchy pair of underwear!
• Support: A good bra may or may not be attractive, but it definitely needs to be supportive. Women with large busts especially need the support a well-made bra provides. This is one area where you need to consider quality. When it comes to bras, you often get what you pay for and skimping on this lingerie piece isn't the best way to go. While you can shop for inexpensive panties and slips, spend the money on bras, girdles and body shapers. High-quality pieces like these will provide the support you need in a comfortable way.
• Comfort: No matter how beautiful an intimate apparel item is, if it's not comfortable to wear, there's no point. Naturally, you don't want to wear anything that pinches or digs into you while you're wearing it. While women in past decades wore uncomfortable items like tight corsets and confining girdles all day long, today's plus size woman has more options in shape-defining intimates. Spandex and lycra are much more comfortable and easy on the body than boning! Whenever possible, take the time to try on your plus size intimates before buying. Bend to the side, to the front, squat, twist around – move in a number of ways to see how the piece feels. Chances are, you'll wear these lingerie items beneath your work clothes and casual outfits. They need to move with you easily and comfortably.

While online shopping helps many women who are too busy to visit store after store, one disadvantage is that you can't try on items before you buy. When purchasing this way, make sure to look at measurement charts that all good sites should provide. Take your own measurements (ask a friend for help if you need to – it can be tricky to measure your entire body alone) and compare them to online charts. It's very important to be honest with what your measurements are and not what you want them to be. By taking the time to do this beforehand, you minimize the chance of getting intimates that don't fit you perfectly and having to return them.

So should the full-figured woman buy her plus size intimates from a department store or should she frequent retailers who cater to the plus market? You can certainly find plus pieces in the Women's section of department stores, but you'll find a much bigger selection at shops that are aimed at the plus size woman. Plus, these stores understand and usually address concerns such as posture-enhancers, extended size wear and the like. Sales staff are also knowledgeable about what curvy women need, like thick and supportive bra straps.

Whether you're looking for functional intimates such as bras, panties and slips to wear beneath your clothing, or you're in the market for racier items for romantic encounters, there's a whole world of intimate apparel made for the full-figured woman who wants to be comfortable, sexy and feminine.

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