by Fine Lingerie Expert Margaret Shrum

An Interview With Fine Lingerie Expert Margaret Shrum

What is a fine lingerie expert and what is The Lingerie Diet?

A fine lingerie expert is a person who understands lingerie fit, style, fashion and how lingerie can enhance the unique needs and desires of each woman she works with. Understanding lingerie is much more complex than clothing because it requires a keen eye, a comfort of the female form and knowledge about intimate apparel that can only be learned over time and from people in the know. It takes a person who is passionate and willing to come up with solutions for each woman she works with. Women’s shapes are so diverse that a woman who wears a 34B can range from being petite to statuesque. It’s no wonder that most women wear the wrong size, since they often select lingerie without proper guidance or with sub-par assistance.

If you look at the profession as having two parts, the first part requires the observation skills of a detective. You must be adept in finding a selection of styles that compliments the woman’s body and flatters her personal style. I’d describe this step as tapping into your sixth sense in order to put a three-dimensional puzzle together. The second part requires the empathy of a good therapist and the confidence of a celebrity to hold space and stand for the woman you are supporting. Being a fine lingerie expert is a profession that might not be fully acknowledged for all the dynamic skill sets involved. Designing the best combination of products for each client is only the beginning. You truly earn your praise when you use your professional touch to relax and reassure your client through discussion in order to help them remove the resistance they’re likely to have about owning their true beauty.

After working with you, your client should not only have the lingerie wardrobe of their dreams, but they should be able to access the self-esteem to match. That is the true goal and it’s what The Lingerie Diet delivers. We have a name for it when a client decides she is worthy of the lingerie I find for her and allows herself to embrace the self-esteem to match the beautiful garments she adorns. We’d say she’s “Living the Fine Lingerie Lifestyle”…everyday.

In the simplest terms, The Lingerie Diet is a means of real transformation, a way for you to rediscover your innate sensuality, glamour and beauty. It’s where lingerie education meets empowerment, support and expert access to my professional moniker, The Lingerie Goddess.

When did your interest in lingerie begin?

My interests began when I was a little girl, playing dress up with my Mom’s glamorous clothes, gowns, jewelry, accessories and high heels. I loved how I looked, especially when I put on a little of my Mom’s signature perfume, Chanel N°5, and her bright red lipstick.  My favorite thing to do was get all dolled up and walk through my sunny San Diego beach neighborhood—I was a courtesan at age 5! I flirted with the little boys, the neighbors and even the dogs! What bliss it was to feel as though the entire world was waiting for me, Margaret, to appear.

Yes, my journey as The Lingerie Goddess began back then, and my love of all things feminine and sensual became my life’s passion, one that has sustained me through my own life struggles. And today, I can think of no greater delight than to teach other women how sensuality brings not only great pleasure—but transformative strength!

I have been working in fashion, particularly “boudoir fashion,” for over two decades. My unique combination of life coaching/lingerie consulting—what I call The Lingerie Diet—which has been transforming the lives of busy New Yorkers for the past few years. Now I am bringing my means of transformation to women everywhere through my online membership site called ‘The Circle’.

We created the 30-Day Lingerie Diet Challenge, so that every woman, no matter where she lives, can discover her own glamorous sensuality. In addition, our Circle membership site offers support, coaching, advice, community, and a wealth of regularly-updated news, profiles, and information about living life the way you were meant to: in your own decadent sensuality.

The message of The Lingerie Diet is to feel every day should be about being in touch with your sensuality, about feeling confident, sexual and sensual, and about experiencing pleasure. We should always feel deeply sensuous in our own skin, even when we’re running to the store for milk. Especially while we’re running to the store for milk!

How do you take a lingerie wardrobe from good to great?

First of all I think you have to take the time to assess what you own and make some decisions about how it looks on you. Does it still fit? Does it look great on you? Do you love it? Once you sort out what you still love from the rest, you have to purge the pieces that don’t work for you anymore. The next step is to take a look at the quality of the lingerie you own and see if it matches the quality of your clothing and your style. Then you must make a conscious decision to upgrade which I explain as going from quantity to quality.
Finally, you create a plan from a list of what’s missing from your lingerie wardrobe making sure to include some truly beautiful pieces, not just the practical ones. You should make the decision to go up at least one notch to the higher quality brands.

You’ll take better care of your pieces and you’re going to value what you bought much more because of it. The end result for all of your efforts is that you feel amazing and worthy of the beautiful lingerie wardrobe that you created for yourself.

The bottom line is you get what you pay for. You’ll end up sacrificing proper fit and quality. I mean, if it doesn’t fit well, what’s the point? When you buy cheap, you’ll either end up spending more because you’ll either have to replace it or you just don’t wear it. There’s a lack of education about quality lingerie. Many women think Victoria Secret is quality lingerie and while that might be a step up from shopping at Target or wearing Hanes, it’s a far cry from what I’m describing when I say ‘fine lingerie’.

How do you think women perceive the word ‘lingerie’?

Lingerie still is a word that brings up a lot of highly sexualized images and ideas. Most women don’t have the right information about lingerie and the availability of lingerie possibilities that exist. More to the point, they don’t fully understand the importance of wearing high quality, well-fitting and beautiful lingerie. Some women don’t feel worthy to wear expensive lingerie; it’s just not something they think about.

What women seem to have a hard time grasping is the idea that fine lingerie can be a practical investment. Not only is this true because it’s functional and to be worn every day, but high quality pieces can also lift one’s sense of value and self-esteem. Once a woman accepts that concept and begins to live her life on par with the quality of fine lingerie she wears, her confidence goes through the roof, as it should. A large part of what I do as a compassionate lingerie consultant is through discussion I try to remove the resistance a woman has which prevents her from accepting this notion, allowing her access to what’s known by the French as her “Amour Propre”. You could say part of my role can be considered ‘Lingerie Therapist’. When a woman hires me, it is my goal to ensure that in her experience not only did we upgrade her wardrobe and personal style but we upgraded her mindset.

I try to teach women about valuing themselves when it comes to purchasing lingerie. Sure you can buy a 6 pack of Hanes but you can’t compare that to the way you feel if you invest in 6 lingerie sets from La Perla. It’s like going from eating fast food and upgrading to fine dining. Today, there are many high quality brands that are affordable for all budgets-so if La Perla is too much of a stretch, there are plenty of lovely options.

How do you know a particular piece of lingerie is right for a woman?

To begin with, it has to fit properly. It’s been said that 80% of women wear an improperly sized bra. How a woman feels when she looks at her reflection speaks volumes. Does it play up her assets and flatter her figure? Does it match her personal style and is it age appropriate? Is it the best quality that she can afford within her budget? More importantly did she make a conscious mental and emotional decision to accept fine lingerie as her new way of life along the greater self-esteem that must accompany it. Other then that, after a while working with as many clients as I have, you develop a sense for when a woman feels good in certain styles. The obvious signs are that her face lights up, she smiles, she feels playful and flirty. But over time you get a sixth-sense for what she’s experiencing on the inside.

So what advice would you give a woman who wants to work with you but can’t get to Manhattan?

In short, the goal is to always wear beautiful lingerie that you feel great in. It is one of the most enjoyable parts about being a woman. Why settle for boring underwear when you can invest in fine lingerie? That question alone bring me a lot of business and no one is happier then the client after working with me. What a client experiences when she works with me has been described as: “wearing all that beautiful lingerie with Margaret by my side was a feeling of elation for me. It’s like the feeling of excitement one would have if they’d fallen in love with their body for the first time”.

Just because you can’t work with me in person at this time, doesn’t mean that you can’t begin your journey. I describe that journey as woman’s ‘lingerie rite of passage’ which is when she first learns about proper lingerie, and second, transcends beyond her natural resistance to accepting the higher level of self-esteem to appropriately match the fine lingerie she adorns. It is exactly this reason that I created an affordable online membership site called ‘The Lingerie Diet’s Circle Membership’. It’s the first ever exclusive lingerie education and empowerment site for woman. Now women everywhere can get access to me as a member.

Find out more by visiting: http://thelingeriediet.com/the-circle-membership

By admin | Published in: blog