You probably heard the saying; I want to be Barbie because that bitch has everything. Well meet the new female everyone will want to be, the vital to being an addict known as CEO Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Lingerie Addict, Cora Harrington!
Lingerie is a bit weird in that people don’t think of it as part of the larger fashion industry. But intimate apparel is under fashion. It doesn’t have to be about sex or romance or the boudoir (though those are all perfectly valid reasons to wear and love lingerie). Lingerie can also be about expressing your sense of style, your personality, and your point of view. And that is the underlying message of TLA.
Here is how Cora Harrington used her addiction to knickers 2 become The Lingerie Addict.
What inspired you to become a lingerie blogger?
I started because I was interested in buying lingerie, yet there were no other websites offering advice, product reviews, shopping guides or any of that. The success of my blog was very much an accident, it started with me just sharing things I liked or reviews of products I’d recently bought. What I didn’t know was that lots of other people wanted that exact content. I was filling a niche I wasn’t aware even existed.
How do you protect yourself from internet trollers that can use your images for adult x-rated websites? (Sometimes you post images of yourself in intimate apparel.)
While this hasn’t been a significant issue for TLA, my content, like all content, is protected by relevant copyright, trademark, fraud, defamation, and publicity laws. Were my content or my image to be used in a way I did not authorize or approve of, then I would pull upon the relevant statute to address it.
When you host lingerie giveaways is the merchandise purchased by you or donated from by the brand?
Items in lingerie giveaways on TLA are provided by the brand.
What do you look for when hiring writers for your website?
A strong point of a view, a familiarity or comfort with discussing intimate apparel, and an ability to look beyond the typical or the usual and find a unique and interesting story for our readers.
Why do you feel viewers should become a lingerie addict when you can’t see lingerie it is under your clothes?
I don’t feel anyone should do anything they don’t want to. If someone doesn’t want to become a lingerie addict or if someone feels lingerie is pointless because it’s hidden beneath clothing, that’s their right. However, if someone is interested in lingerie but has never felt like it’s for them, or if someone wants to wear more lingerie but wonders how to get started, well, that’s where TLA can help. But no, I have no interest in adding to the ever-growing list of things women “should” do. Wear lingerie if you want. Ignore it if you want. Both are fine.
Who is your favorite lingerie designer and why?
I love Karolina Laskowska (Disclosure: she’s also a columnist for TLA). When your life is looking at bras and panties, it’s very easy to get jaded. Things start to look the same, and that’s not helped by the fact that most brands tend just to follow the trends. Karolina Laskowska is one of those rare visionaries who sets the trends. Her pentagram harness, which she debuted while still a college student, kicked off an international trend. She’s constantly pushing the boundaries of what lingerie can be and what it can look like, and that’s both admirable and inspiring.
“we’ve been a Body Snark Free Zone since 2012.” Why not in 2008, when you started?
TLA’s stance on body snark and negative body commentary have always been “Don’t bring that here,” even in the very earliest days of the site. However, officially and explicitly making The Lingerie Addict a Body Snark Free Zone was a way of centralizing the site’s core mission of making TLA a safer and more accessible space for all.
I love that your site has a mastectomy, LGBTQ, and maternity section!
Those sections emerged gradually as the site grew and as my awareness of other topics to talk about in the world of intimate apparel grew. While I won’t claim that TLA has perfect representation, it’s always our goal to share diverse topics that apply to a wide range of lives, perspectives, experiences and discussing options for maternity, mastectomy, and trans people is a part of that.
Make sure you follow Cora Harrington on Twitter.
