The Thong: The great divider

Sensuality and lingerie have always gone hand in hand. But who is sexy underwear for? This week, fashion journalists Kate Finnigan (FT, British Vogue, The Gentlewoman) and Emily Cronin (Elle, Telegraph, Grazia) take a look at the fe/male gaze to ask how sexiness has changed and if underwear is ‘empowering’ or something much more profound. Who are the next generation of underwear makers and wearers? And how does body positivity shake up the rule book? “We are essentially saying, screw the male gaze!” – Chelsea Mtada, founder of Nightstand Service  “It used to be that when it came to lingerie, there was only one question that mattered; what does he think?” – Kate Finnigan  “It’s what we were born with, the best we can be is ourselves. That to me is sexy.” – Serena Rees, founder of Agent Provocateur and of Les Girls Les Boys Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellogirls_pod/ Written and presented by Emily Cronin and Kate Finnigan. Produced by Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio production and music composed by Jade Bailey. Music mix and production by GXL Music. Art direction by James Perrett. Image courtesy of Savage X Fenty. Lead Producer: Anne-Marie Luff. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Hello Girls is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did you know that a good bra can make you run faster? It begs the question – why do trainers get all the limelight? Asking if sports bras are for everyone or just athletes, underwear obsessives Emily Cronin (FT; Elle) and Kate Finnigan (FT; vogue.com) meet pioneering scientist Joanna Wakefield-Scurr, England rugby superstar Rosie Galligan, and Charly Wright, brand manager for the company who supply the British Army’s female recruits. Plus they conduct the ultimate (completely non-scientific) sports bra test run at the London Marathon.  “If I can’t have a sports bra I will not be playing. For me it’s part of my kit bag.” - Rosie Galligan “It’s an area where once again women’s physical needs have been overlooked, if not disregarded and certainly under-protected.” - Charly Wright “If you wear a good sports bra it can actually improve your heart rate.” - Joanna Wakefield-Scurr Follow Hello Girls on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellogirls_pod/ Send us your underwear disasters and triumphs: [email protected] Whatsapp your voice notes to: 07770 182925 Written and presented by Emily Cronin and Kate Finnigan. Produced by Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio production and music composed by Jade Bailey. Lead Producer is Anne-Marie Luff. Music mix and production by GXL Music. Voice notes from Lauren Stevenson. Image courtesy of Sweaty Betty. Art direction by James Parrett. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Hello Girls is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are you ready to pull on your big girl pants? This week: It’s time to get comfortable! Fashion journalists Emily Cronin (Elle; Grazia) and Kate Finnigan (FT; vogue.com) say no to stringy, flimsy fripperies and ask– why are big knickers the butt of so many jokes? Do they mean the death of sex, or is being snug the new sexy? “The big knickers were emblematic of our sexless relationship… neither of us were putting the effort in.” – Bella Hull “So what if your big knickers aren’t sexy? That doesn’t have to be a priority.” – Kate Finnigan “Big knickers are the thinking woman’s sexy knicker.” – Emily Cronin “There’s a trend emerging of not being too overt in your sexiness.” – Georgia Larsen Follow Hello Girls on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellogirls_pod/ Send us your underwear disasters and triumphs: [email protected] WhatsApp your voice notes to: 07770 182925 Written and presented by Emily Cronin and Kate Finnigan. Produced by Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio production and music composed by Jade Bailey. Lead Producer is Anne-Marie Luff. Music mix and production by GXL Music. Voice notes from anonymous contributions. Art direction by James Perrett. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Hello Girls is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Because underwear is the foundation of everything. This time: The Corset - from busty Bridgerton to Madonna’s pointy-coned creation, the corset has always raised temperatures. Fashion journalists Emily Cronin (Elle; Grazia) and Kate Finnigan (FT; vogue.com) discover how this controversial piece of clothing has evolved from being the cause of fainting fits and broken ribs to reshaping the body into a work of art. “There were ideas that the corset caused your liver to split in half and crushed your internal organs, some of the accounts are quite crazy.” – Valerie Steele “Corsets are having a resurgence - there’s a global movement with young girls reclaiming their bodies.” – Michaela Stark “Women would buy rubberised ‘Tango’ corsets so they could bend backwards.” – Valerie Steele “Corsetry never goes away, people just keep pushing and evolving it for whatever the current generation needs.” – Emily Cronin Follow Hello Girls on Instagram: www.instagram.com/hellogirls_pod/ Send us your underwear disasters and triumphs: [email protected] Whatsapp your voice notes to: 07770 182925 Written and presented by Emily Cronin and Kate Finnigan. Produced by Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio production and music composed by Jade Bailey. Lead Producer is Anne-Marie Luff. Music mix and production by GXL Music. Voice notes from anonymous contributions. Art direction by James Perrett. Image courtesy of brownsfashion.com. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Hello Girls is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Because underwear is the foundation of everything. This time: Bra Fitting – embarrassing or empowering? Fashion journalists Emily Cronin (Elle, Grazia) and Kate Finnigan (FT, vogue.com) take us into the emotional world of the bra department. Can exposing herself to a stranger in a cubicle mirror convince a woman who hasn’t worn a bra for ten years that the only way is cup?  We hear more of your closet confessions and reveal industry secrets from the best in the bust-lifting business. “A well-fitting bra can make all the difference in the world. It’s also a vulnerable interaction.” – Lucy Milligan “What better way to convince women that they need a new bra, than to tell them their old bra is wrong?” – Kate Finnigan “it makes you very perceptive to what that woman might need from that fitting. She might need a therapist, she might need a friend.” – Lucy Milligan Follow Hello Girls on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellogirls_pod/ Send us your underwear disasters and triumphs: [email protected] Whatsapp your voice notes to: 07770 182925 Written and presented by Emily Cronin and Kate Finnigan. Produced by Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio production and music composed by Jade Bailey. Lead Producer is Anne-Marie Luff. Music mix and production by GXL Music. Voice notes from Anna Glowacka of Moon Women's Health, and anonymous contributions. Art direction by James Perrett. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Hello Girls is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A journey through the secret life of pants. This time: The Thong captivated the world in the 2000s, whether it was the “whale tail” peeking out above All Saints, Christina Aguilera or Paris Hilton’s jeans – or just riding up over your Juicy Couture velour tracksuit. But was its heritage more classy than trashy? Tom Ford, anyone? How about a story that goes back to indigenous Brazil and ancient Greece? Fashion journalists Emily Cronin (Elle, Telegraph, Grazia) and Kate Finnigan (FT, British Vogue, The Gentlewoman) plunge back to the Noughties… and look at the shape of thongs to come.  “Isn’t it always the best thing to be a little bit naked?” – Annie Doble of Annie’s Ibiza “The whale tail accentuates how perfect that ass is – the one you’ve spent 15 hours a day working out and perfecting.” – Kate Finnigan “Hayley Bieber, Dua Lipa, Florence Pugh… but it’s not only celebs embracing the return of the visible thong.” – Emily Cronin “A thong is either a special occasion or a worst-case scenario.” – Bella Hull Follow Hello Girls on Instagram. Written and presented by Emily Cronin and Kate Finnigan. Produced by Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio production and music composed by Jade Bailey. Music mix and production by GXL Music. Art direction by James Perrett. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Hello Girls is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Adventures in underwear – a brand new series that celebrates our most foundational garments. In Episode 1: “Hello boys!” In the 90s the Wonderbra changed everything, kicking off an up-front age of supermodels, sex-positive post-feminism and ladettes in clubwear. How did a humble 1940s bra become the underwear that changed the world? How does that iconic Eva Herzigová poster look to us today? And is the world ready to lift off with the Wonderbra again? Join fashion journalists Emily Cronin (Elle, Telegraph, Grazia) and Kate Finnigan (FT, British Vogue, The Gentlewoman) on the first step in a journey through the secret life of pants… and more. “In Britain we didn’t really have sexy, expensive, rock’n’roll lingerie.” – Sarah Shotton, Agent Provocateur “The push-up bra dominated the era of Friends, the Spice Girls and Loaded magazine.” – Kate Finnigan “Nobody counted on how much airtime and how many column inches the Hello Boys ad would earn…” – Susanna Hailstone-Walker Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellogirls_pod/ Written and presented by Emily Cronin and Kate Finnigan. Produced by Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio production and music composed by Jade Bailey. Music mix and production by GXL Music. Art direction by James Perrett. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Hello Girls is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Adventures in underwear… In this fascinating, fun and body-positive series, fashion journalists and underwear obsessives Emily Cronin (Elle, Telegraph, Grazia) and Kate Finnigan (Financial Time, British Vogue, The Gentlewoman) take listeners through the secret life of our most foundational garments. From the advent of the thong to celebrity lingerie brands and the dark art of bra fitting, Emily and Kate lay the world of women’s underwear bare. Every week they hear real-life stories and insight from expert guests including fashion historians, psychologists, and the people behind some of the most innovative developments in the world of underwear. That’s Hello Girls – because underwear is the foundation of a good conversation. Image courtesy of Dora Larsen. Hello Girls is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices