From top: Chestnut, Cappuccino, Suntan, Taupe, Chai, and Vanilla
Skin-tone lingerie is often cited as a wardrobe staple. If the color is right, it can blend with the wearer’s skin color and disappear under just about anything they might have on—even the most lightweight or light-colored clothing. But often, the selection offered to shoppers is extremely limited outside of mid-tone beiges. Cora Harrington of The Lingerie Addict has covered this issue extensively.
Hanky Panky’s Head Designer Makeda Scille recently posed this question on her Facebook page, “How much does nude/skin tone lingerie mean to you? Do you buy it, how do you wear?” The question inspired many insightful and passionate responses from women for whom the lingerie industry default beige was anything but an invisible match. Here are a few of the responses:
“Because it can be quite hard to find a nude to match my skin tone, I’ve never ventured into purchasing any. Perhaps if I found a shade that came close I’d give it a try.”
-Jiovannie Adams
“I would like to be able to wear “nude” and achieve the desired look.”
-Renee Moore
“I think lingerie targeted to darker skin could be quite liberating.”
-Karen Hartley
“You know my struggle. I would love nude lingerie…I haven’t purchased any because there isn’t really much out there.”
-Oliveene Whittaker
“I love nude anything. I love skin tones and blacks I either mismatch with black or other colors if I feel like being fun.”
-Designer & Stylist ImanTheBrand
Being a diverse company, we’ve shied away from naming any of our skin-tone colors “nude,” since it’s such a problematic and unhelpful description. Hanky Panky has long recognized that there is no one color that works as “nude” on all skin tones. In fact, when we launched our Concealers line in the early 2000s, the semi-sheer mesh pieces were available in three general skin tones: Lite, Midtone, and Deep, alongside basic black and white. While limited, this was a step in the right direction.
Our most popular collection, Signature Lace, currently features an expansive range of neutral hues which can blend with almost any skin tone: Vanilla, Chai, Taupe, Suntan, Cappuccino, and Chestnut. All six colors are currently available in our Low Rise Thong, Original Rise Thong, and Boyshort.
From top: Vanilla, Chai, Taupe, Suntan, Cappuccino, and Chestnut
Our increasingly popular Retro Lace thong is currently available in four of our best-selling skin tones: Vanilla, Chai, Taupe, and Cappuccino.
From Top: Cappuccino, Taupe, Chai, and Vanilla.
Shortly after launching our BARE collection of smooth and invisible lingerie in 2012, we expanded the offerings to include four skin tones: Vanilla, Taupe, Toffee, and Mahogany.
From Top: Vanilla, Taupe, Toffee, and Mahogany.
What’s YOUR opinion on skin-tone lingerie? Let us know in the comments!
The post Nude is Not a Color. appeared first on Life, Love, Lace: the Hanky Panky blog.
