PrimaDonna
PrimaDonna has existed for more than a century. Since its inception it has sought to design perfect-fitting lingerie for naturally curved women who take a large cup. Available all the way up to a J cup, PrimaDonna gives women the right support, always fits perfectly and creates an elegant female form.
Today’s Hanky Panky garments are made from the best materials and both the fabrics and final garments are 100% sourced and manufactured in the U.S. We love Hanky Panky thongs and panties for their comfort and for the hundreds of beautiful colors. One of our most common buying activities at Ela is to order new Hanky Panky merchandise – our customers love them too.
Marie Jo
Marie Jo is the younger sister of PrimaDonna. Designed by a team in Finland that is dedicated to the creation of beautifully detailed and expertly engineered pieces, Mary Jo lingerie features refined designs for today’s fashion conscious women.
Chantelle
Another venerable French line, Chantelle, established in 1876, is known for creating beautiful and hand-crafted lingerie made of rich fabrics and precise fit, but at moderate price points. Chantelle has been an international brand of premier French lingerie found in the most beautiful stores around the globe.
Simone Perele
Simone Perele is known as the “Coco Chanel of lingerie” throughout France for its use of the world’s most beautiful fabric and lace. The brand focuses on chic, beautiful fit and function, as well as fashion. Simone Perele is the largest selling lingerie line at Galeries Lafayette in Paris and, like Chantelle, at a more moderate price point than many of the quality French brands.
Cotton Club
Despite the Anglophile name, Cotton Club is another small Italian designer with fewer than a hundred employees. We love their unique Rubino line of simple, smooth-without-embroidery designs, which are realized in microfiber, micro tulle and cotton. These designs are especially well suited to the smaller figure. A number of our customers wear nothing else, ordering their Cotton Club pieces year after year.
Marlies Dekkers
One of the only lingerie designers we can think of to have been asked to serve as a major museum’s guest curator (at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum), Marlies Dekkers hit the fashion world like a bomb with her first “undressed” collection in 1993. We bought our first Marlies Dekkers pieces soon after opening Ela, and were among the first boutiques in the US to carry her lines. We love the refined, edgy look and the exquisite and sophisticated design, engineering and construction that beautifully fit just about every body on the planet.
Worn by celebrities on both sides of the Atlantic, The Marlies Dekkers signature collection of lingerie designs has become iconic. As an early pioneer of the “innerwear as outerwear” trend, Dekkers’ designs are seen nationally and internationally as trendsetting, innovative and pioneering.
Hanky Panky
35 years ago, the founder of Hanky Panky created a handmade lingerie set for a friend, crafted out of embroidered cotton handkerchiefs. The design impressed retailers and a new brand was created for the lingerie business. My partner bought some of those first products many years ago. Less than 10 years later, Hanky Panky’s designer invented a new Thong that reflected a revolutionary level of comfort and beauty. The Wall Street Journal featured the underwear on its front page and described the thong as “lace butter.”
Because of the functional requirements of supporting larger breasts, PrimaDonna bras are complex garments, carefully engineered to provide the correct balance of comfort and support. A single PrimaDonna bra can consist of more than 40 pieces, and can take from 30 minutes or more to stitch a completed garment. Cheap bras have fewer than half the parts and typically take at most 10 minutes to stitch.
While famous for fit and support, PrimaDonna also features beautiful materials and a spectrum of colors and styles. 10 years ago, the brand introduced the Spacer bra, constructed with a unique material that produces an attractive shape without making the bosom appear larger. The Spacer rapidly wicks away perspiration, making the bra comfortable on hot or busy days.
PrimaDonna offers bras suitable for everyday use, as well as fashion lines suitable for any special occasion. The company also introduced the Twist line, which emphasizes lined foam cups, young styles, and a range of colors and prints.
The designer also recently introduced its new PrimaDonna Swimwear collection. Women requiring large cups can now take advantage of PrimaDonna’s legendary fit, quality and gorgeous designs at the beach and at the pool. Once fitted at Ela, custom ordering can provide beautiful swimsuits for women with cup sizes up to J.
Cosabella
Also founded more than 30 years ago, Cosabella is a U.S. company founded by an Italian husband and wife team. Started with a $120 order and six styles of lingerie, Cosabella (“beautiful thing”) now sells more than 1,500 styles of lingerie, daywear, loungewear, sleepwear and sportswear in more than 90 countries. The company is managed by the son and daughter of the founders. The products are designed in the U.S. and produced in Cosabella’s own factories in Italy. We love the fabrics and the beautiful colors and the fact that Cosabella is committed to continual improvement and innovation. We love the moderate price points too.