Meet Cora Harrington
Credit: Nomi Ellenson
“The labor that goes into our intimate apparel is not only invisible, but it’s also minimized and dismissed as inconsequential...which, of course, is related to larger conversations about how we devalue the labor of women. ”
Hi All!
I had the pleasure of interviewing THE lingerie expert, Cora Harrington of The Lingerie Addict. I’ve been meaning to share this interview for a while, but you know, life (read working full-time, trying to collaborate on a lingerie line and applying to business school) kinda got in the way. In fact, this was supposed to be published in February of 2018. Better late than never right?
Anyways, Cora Harrington is the Founder and Editor in Chief of The Lingerie Addict, the world’s largest lingerie blog. She recently released her own book, In Intimate Detail, and the illustrations in it are BEAUTIFUL! I’m a little ashamed I haven’t read the book yet, but I plan on doing so this summer!
Cora Harrington has been featured as a lingerie expert on The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Teen Vogue, Racked, CNN, and Forbes. She is definitely an inspiration and voice in the lingerie community. I particularly love how she advocates for small businesses, gender equality, diversity, and educates individuals on the value of lingerie.
Without further ado, here’s an inside look on how Cora first started The Lingerie Addict.
KN: Have you always been an admirer of lingerie? What prompted you to start writing about lingerie?
CH: I wouldn't say I've always been an admirer of lingerie. Like a lot of people, I found lingerie to be an intimidating and confusing world. In April, I will have been blogging for ten years, and I think it's easy to take things like shopping online and lingerie Instagrams and lingerie blogs for granted, but those resources weren't available when I became interested in lingerie. It was a very mysterious world, particularly if you lived outside of a big city. I started my blog because I wanted to buy some nice lingerie, but I couldn't find any reviews or advice. So I just started reviewing stuff I bought and sharing things I was interested in buying. And it turned out a lot of other folks were looking for the same!
KN: What has been the most rewarding part about having a blog and running a popular Instagram?
CH: I think the rewarding part is two-fold. One, I see TLA's mission as helping people think of lingerie as something that's relevant to their lives - whether that means shopping guides and trend reports or articles about lingerie history or the intersection of lingerie and society. Even though The Lingerie Addict is rather small in the grand scheme of things (the most popular fashion and beauty bloggers are many times larger than we are), I do feel like TLA has contributed to the conversation and been a part of the larger movement towards making lingerie more accessible and relatable. The second part is that I get to make a living doing something I love. I'm aware of how special that is, and I don't take it for granted.
KN: Before you made the transition to full-time blogging, were you ever apprehensive about posting photos of yourself in lingerie online (scared of what future employers might think, etc)? How did you overcome?
CH: I was, which is why it was years before I shared any photos of myself or even my name online. I had a full-fledged career before I started my lingerie blog, so I was acutely aware of the potential consequences of having photos of myself in lingerie online. For me, it wasn't so much "overcoming" this apprehension as being willing to make my blog my new career, and once I did that, my priorities and my concerns naturally shifted.
KN: Today, what do you think is the biggest misconception about lingerie, and how do you think we can change that perception?
CH: This is a difficult question because there's so much I could talk about here, but I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that lingerie should be inexpensive because it doesn't use a lot of fabric. People don't think of their lingerie as something that has to be designed and constructed by highly-skilled humans. The labor that goes into our intimate apparel is not only invisible, but it's also minimized and dismissed as inconsequential...which, of course, is related to larger conversations about how we devalue the labor of women. I think one of the best ways to change that misconception is through education. I don't fault people for not knowing. I used to not know, and, as I said earlier, lingerie is a mysterious world. But I also believe an informed consumer is a better consumer, and I believe part of my role is to help create informed consumers.
KN: What’s your ultimate goal for yourself and/or business?
CH: Right now, a lot of my goals are centered around my debut book, In Intimate Detail: How to Choose, Wear, and Love Lingerie, set to launch this August. I'm hoping it becomes a bestseller and the first book of many!
Quickies
Favorite book (besides your own): Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser
If you could get a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world where would it be? Hong Kong or Singapore.
Woman you currently admire: Kima Jones of Jack Jones Literary Arts
Words to live by: Everyone doesn't have to like you.
Tea or Coffee? Tea
Lace or cotton? Silk.
Describe your favorite photoshoot you've done TLA's first magazine-style editorial is my favorite
Favorite lingerie style (boho, romantic, sexy?): Minimalist. Comfortable.