This year the Bali style

 Intimate Apparel company invited 20 fashion bloggers to NYC for their Style Summit. The following day they hosted magazine editors for a similar Summit. There Bali presented company history, corporate culture, new products, philanthropic efforts – and featured celebrity stylist Jen Rade as well as a makeup session with Moani Lee. Attendees had professional bra and shapewear fittings, and received goodies including MAC cosmetics and Bali intimate apparel.

I was thrilled to be included on the short guest list of bloggers at the 1st day Style Summit. I arrived in NYC early on a Monday morning and had the day to roam the city with an old friend. After lunch in Chelsea, photos at Washington Square Park and getting lost in Times Square, I returned to the Paramount Hotel to settle in and get ready for dinner.

12 bloggers and a handful of Bali employees and PR reps broke bread and broke the ice at Thalia. (I had a crab cake appetizer with grilled pineapple salsa, mushroom duxelle ravioli fresh pasta with aspargus, grana madano cheese in a truffle sauce and a bit of creme brulee.) At dinner I sat between Chassity of Look Linger Love and Natalie of She Takes on the World. Nearby were Nancy and Brianna from Bali who loved to gossip about our thoughts on all things worn under there.

On Tuesday we took a van to the Bali offices and started at a breakfast spread. (Obviously they remembered to feed us). As at dinner, we had assigned seating once we entered the meeting space. I was next to the adorable Lindsay from Prior Fat Girl.

Bali had provided iPads for each of us for the day, but they had some kind of password protection so we couldn’t live Tweet, but Lindsay figured out how to circumvent that and we Tweeted away all day! Tables placed in a U-formation not only allowed us to see each other and hear each other, but also created a makeshift runway for models to present Bali products!

The theme for the event was LBD, which in the fashion world often means “Little Black Dress”, so that was the icon for the event, but here LBD stood for “Live Beautifully Daily”. Bali believes in beauty from within – and women finding beauty every day, and in their every day lives, to live richer lives and find confidence in everything you do. As do I!

We started by going around the room to say off the top of our heads what “Bali” made us think of. Many of us had a view of Bali supplying only classic and mature styles, and they were out to prove us wrong today! Although many Bali products stand the test of time and have been top sellers for YEARS, they have also made room for new technologies, styles and patterns while remaining affordable and supportive. One blogger said her mom took her to buy a Bali bra for her very first bra!

My favorite set shown at the Summit

Our brief background history lesson on the Bali Company, part of the Hanes Brand group, included a slideshow of vintage Bali ads that we all loved. Their mission hasn’t changed much over the years – beauty coming from confidence has always been a theme for Bali. The Bali Double Support Bra, which includes 2 layers of fabric instead of foam lining to add shape and support, was introduced in 1980 and is still a #1 seller today! The Skimp Skamp panty introduced in 1993 is a #1 seller as well. It’s high waisted, retro look is imitated these days by Lady Gaga and Katy Perry.

Bali was the first brand to offer “concealing petals” – a bit of fabric at the front of each cup to conceal the nipple. They like to think of their products as providing beauty for her, as opposed to sexy for him – but the models sure looked sexy in those bali products! From new bra fabrics to stretch lace shapewear, the look of things to come for Bali is quite pretty!

Not only does Bali focus on confidence, they do it without breaking the bank. Most of the bras we saw were $32-$36, and are sometimes discounted down to $20. Where can you find Bali? Not often at the high tier department stores like Bloomingdales, and not at the mass chains like Target, but at the mid-tier stores like Kohls and Sears – in most malls across the US.
For the past 3 years Bali has donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and they plan to continue those efforts as well as introducing a new charitable institution that Bali Facebook Fans may have the chance to vote on! To be able to cast your vote, follow Bali today!