You wear white under white and black under black

 a new London-based lingerie/hosiery business that opened online last week, is creating quite the splash with its answer: Four shades of lingerie and hosiery that range from a golden caramel to a deep brown with just a hint of rose.

Maybe even cooler? Founder Ade Hassan has keyed each to mainstream makeup lines’ foundation colors. So if you wear Mac’s NW47 or Bobbi Brown’s Warm Walnut, Nubian Skin’s Cinnamon is the shade for you. If you wear Bobbi Brown’s Golden or Bare Minerals in Warm Tan or Golden Tan, consider Caramel. (Your mileage may vary, of course. But it’s more help than we’ve seen anywhere else.) Other shades are Berry, the darkest, and Cafe au Lait, the lightest.

Charlotte’s Lashawnda Becoats calls the foundation-match idea “fantastic” – and the business overall “a really exciting thing.”

Becoats, recently named editor of Pride Magazine in Charlotte and a woman who’s written about fashion and lifestyle for years, says, “Most people probably don’t think about it.

“You wear white under white and black under black. But to have something and to not worry ‘Hey, can you see my underwear under this?’ would be fantastic ... Every woman of color can definitely relate.” (Yep: Hollywood’s Thandie Newton and Kerry Washington have both posted about the place, even before sales began: “am excited!” and “Awesome,” respectively.)

Joelle Purifoy, 23, a stylist, fashion designer and blogger ( thecolorsofjoelle.com) in Durham, agrees that this is a huge deal for women of color.

“I’m so ecstatic to see more inclusion for us in the apparel industry,” Purifoy said. “It’s companies like Nubian Skin and designers like Louboutin ... that are taking steps in the right direction.” (The shoe designer Louboutin last year released a shoe collection called The Nudes, which included 5 shades ranging from fair to dark to match a broader range of women’s skin tones.)

Purifoy, a recent graduate of N.C. State’s College of Textiles who also works at J.Crew, says her workaround for the lack of “nude” shades when wearing white blouses has been a black or gray bra – and gray, she says, is the way to go.

“Heather Grey is actually the best option for anyone to wear under white, as it reflects less light than white under light-colored shirts,” she said. “It practically blends right into your skin just like a nude colored undergarment would!”

Kierra Leggett, a Raleigh-based fashion blogger ( sophistikated1992.blogspot.com), also noted last year’s Louboutin line of nude pumps as an important turning point in fashion. “The ability to purchase ‘nude’ undergarments that actually match one’s skin tone should be the expectation, not the exception,” she said.

Leggett, another recent graduate of N.C. State, says the lack of true “nude” shades doesn’t keep her from wearing white.

“Despite the fact that the standard ‘nude’ is not a true nude on me, it is typically the color undergarment I wear beneath white,” Leggett said. “If I’m wearing something that is sheer, I typically put on a black camisole or slip to make it more opaque. ... The closest I’ve come to finding lingerie that really matches my skin tone is a brown Wacoal bra that I purchased earlier this summer.”

Nubian Skin prices

Prices range from about $50 to $60 for bras (which run 30B to 36DD/E, with more sizes promised) and $16 to $25 for briefs, etc. That’s not too far outside mainstream upscale lingerie prices – but shipping to the United States tacks on roughly $25.

Hassan told British website Black Ballad she had worked in investment banking and finance before launching this company, at age 30: “When wearing clothes, especially in a professional environment, a large proportion of women’s tops are sheer. When you are in that context you want to be taken seriously and not worrying if someone can see your black bra strap.”

Says Becoats: “We’ve (been) missing out on a whole market of women who have needs but who have taken for granted that they have had to fit into the status quo. When you create a market that allows those women to see themselves, they’re going to move toward that market.

“I’m going to look into it, so I can get out of wearing only black underwear!”
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