Fotografo de Bodas, Santiago

October 12, 2008

CONTEST. DO NOT FORGET TO ENTER. It’s easy, just link back to the original post in your blog and then leave a comment on the original post so I know you did it, or send an email out to 10 friends with the link and copy me on it! Win makeup and t-shirts and help me out for a good cause!

I threw a bachelorette party for the lovely Tamsin a few weeks ago and of course, as gifts, we needed lingerie. The only problem was that sexy “ropa interior,” or “lenceria,” as it’s called in Spanish is hard to come by in Chile.

Emily, while a little bit harsh in her style judgments, did make a really good point the other day when she wrote about fashion in Chile — do women here really own the way they dress? How many Chilean women do you notice that look like they wake up in the morning, and put on an outfit because it makes them feel hot?!?

In this country the Catholic church still wields it’s power with an iron fist (i.e. the fact that divorce was only recently legalized. I don’t remember when, but I know it was sometime while I was here, meaning in the past 4 years or so. Or the fact that the day after pill sales have basically been cut off). Women are supposed to be sex objects for men on the street but virginal and pure for their boyfriends (even though judging by the stats that the amount of teen pregnancies has actually gone up in the past year, nobody is waiting to have sex).

Basically, what I’m trying to say is that, Chile, by appearances, wants you to think that they’re a conservative society — even though they’re really not.

So searching for sexy lingerie in Chile isn’t an easy task. Like most shopping experiences in Santiago what you find is way overpriced and very poor quality. Then add to that the stigma upon women openly reveling in their sexuality and you are just asking for disaster to strike.

I first trolled the streets of Providencia hoping to stumble upon a cute boutique or two which would give me some good options. There are a few underwear stores, but they were all selling mostly boring, bland bathrobes and full coverage nightgowns — nothing that screamed, “Wedding night!” to me.

Then I passed by a sex shop. Since it couldn’t hurt to look I stopped in. While I did pick up some penis straws, a penis candle and a penis chocolate for our night out, I decided that any lingerie made out of plastic and feathers wasn’t exactly the look I was hoping to find for Tamsin.

So, I continued on to Almacenes Paris. This is one of the two biggest department stores in Chile. While the shopping there isn’t totally horrendous, if you do find something cute, every other woman in the country is bound to have made the same find, so you’ll cross paths on a regular basis with women dressed identitical to you if you buy clothes there. But with lingerie, individuality wasn’t as big of a factor so I thought I’d give it a try.

Rather than wander around aimlessly I went straight to a sales woman and asked her, “What options do you have that I could buy as a bachelorette party gift for the bride, or is there anything you have that would be good for the wedding night? I’m looking for the sexiest lingerie you have.”

She was an older woman and she looked at me with bewilderment on her face. “Let me ask someone else, I’m not a spring chicken anymore (ya no soy tan jovencita) and a girl your age might have a better idea,” she said. Her coworker walked up at this point, a woman no more than 35 years old and the older woman explained what I was looking for. The younger girl’s face lit up and she said, “Ah! I know, you want something really fun right?!?” I said, “Yes!” excitedly, because she seemed like she actually understood what I was hoping to find. In my mind, “fun,” lingerie means corsets and stockings and other more extravagently sexy underwear.

This woman led me over to a rack filled with Mickey Mouse nightgowns, bras with the ears on them and full coverage underwear that even my own grandma would consider to be conservative.

I didn’t have the heart to tell her that she’s off her effing rocker so I put on my most enthusiastic fake smile and told her, “You’re so right, this is exactly what I’m looking for. What bride wouldn’t want the adorable Mickey Mouse accompanying her on her wedding night?”

This whole experience to me really seemed to sum up women and sexuality in Chile to me. Women might be freaks behind closed doors (or not, I don’t know, I’ve never slept with a Chilena) but in public their image is childlike, dependent upon men and innocent among other things. Forget openly expressing sexuality in public!

What do you think about the subject of sexuality and women and self expression through fashion in Chile?

Again, enter my contest and help out a good cause and you’ll have my undying love for the rest of your life.

20 Comments

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20 Comments

I know a 75 year old *grand mother* who took her 29 year old grand daughter to buy her some sexy lingerie. They went to Patronato.

Lesson 1: not all chilean chicks know about sexy lingerie, but some do and there are places where you can buy them in Santiago.

Lesson 2: As for fashion, in Canada or in the US you can find great articles in the malls. I think that in Chile (like in Paris) one rather goes to confection shops to get original and (modern) fashion articles. -> Patronato rules.

Lesson 3: it feels quite *wrong* to imagine the grand mother pimping her grand-daughter (who physically does not need any pimping)…

PS: I did get to see the lingerie and found it sexy enough…

Comment by jyby — October 13, 2008 @ 3:56 am

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I think Chilean women rule!
They elected a woman president before we ever did!
They must be doing something right!
My wife was always excited to buy lingerie in Brazil, they are the opposite of Chile, you find very sexy lingerie all over the place!

Comment by Ray Adkins — October 13, 2008 @ 5:56 am

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loved this post

Comment by cavils in chile — October 13, 2008 @ 6:54 am

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Haha, I just can’t get over the woman suggesting Micky Mouse pj’s for a wedding night.

Comment by Emily — October 13, 2008 @ 8:07 am

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I think there are women who express their sexuality very openly. Turn on the TV and look at all of the bad TV shows. Its all a bunch of chana girls running around with fake boobs, tight shirts and short skirts. If thats not expressing your sexuality, I am not sure what is. I think the average chilena girl is prim and proper in daylight and probably a freak in the bedroom, but I think there are a lot of sexually open girls out there too.

Comment by Cachorrita — October 13, 2008 @ 8:11 am

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Cachorrita, I guess I didn’t really explain myself very well. Those girls are the TV are sexual, yes, but are they expressing THEIR sexuality? I personally doubt it. I think running around with their boobs hanging out is a way that the girls are expressing the way they think men want them to be sexual. I’m talking about a woman who dresses sexy for herself, not to be a sex object. Does that make any sense?

Comment by Mamacita Chilena — October 13, 2008 @ 8:18 am

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mickey mouse, hahaha i need that for my wedding night, Ro would laugh his ass off!!! As far as buying sexy things here, I just donÂ´t do it. Everything seems so cheap, not to mention the fact that the 36D bras here are very hard to come by!!

Comment by Shannon — October 13, 2008 @ 8:36 am

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Another problem with buying underwear here is the sizing. I went to a store once and they swore up and down I was a small (which I’m rarely even a small in the US), so I bought a medium. It was the smallest, tightest, pinchiest medium I’ve ever worn. I have no idea how women larger than me could ever find anything cute that fits if I can’t even do it.
I’m so excited to go back to the US and stock up on Victoria’s Secret.

Comment by Sara — October 13, 2008 @ 1:08 pm

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Unfortunately, what you write is true. I am a Chilean who owned a whole sale lingerie store in Vina del Mar and I was always surprised of how conservative are Chilean women. Nevertheless, you can take a look at Roman Diaz St. in Providencia. That is a wholesale store (they have catalogs) and they sell different brands and products. You can also go to Arturo Prat where you can find different wholesale stores. For quality of underwear you should go for Leonisa. For pijamas and teddys you should look at Lady Genny. For corsets take a look at Flores and Vestal brands. All these brands you can find them at the wholesale stores I mencioned.

Comment by Veronica — October 13, 2008 @ 3:31 pm

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I laughed so hard when I read about the Minnie Mouse suggestions! This rings so true for some Chilenas I know who are obsessed with Winnie the Pooh and Disney characters. I’m not sure if they are that way in the bedroom or not, but I totally would not be surprised.

From what I’ve learned talking to F., I think that what you write is true. He has said that the Chilenas he has known have not been as “free” with their sexuality as certain gringas he has also known.

Comment by Abby — October 13, 2008 @ 5:09 pm

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Aren’t the “sexiest” women on TV argentinean anyway?

Comment by Amanda — October 13, 2008 @ 5:13 pm

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Ok. That probably looks mean like that… but my female, Chilean history professor said that Chilean TV has argentinean women as sex symbols. I don’t watch chilean TV so i Don’t know….

haha.

Comment by Amanda — October 13, 2008 @ 5:14 pm

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Veronica, thanks for the tips! I’m definitely going to have to check out the places you suggested. Do you still own the store in Vina, should I come do some shopping there too?

Comment by Mamacita Chilena — October 13, 2008 @ 9:04 pm

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Hey girl, you don’t need to come to Vina to get the sexy products!! (unless you would like to get together and have some pisco sours). The lingerie wholesale stores in Santiago work pretty much the same as the one I owned in Vina del Mar. I recomend you to take a look at the Lady Genny store in Arturo Prat 855 (between Copiapo and Coquimbo St), Vestal in San Diego 1344 (very beautiful and lots of lace) and Leonisa at the wholesale store in Roman Diaz.

Comment by Veronica — October 15, 2008 @ 6:26 am

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What about all of those “Miss Triumph” billboards that I see all over Santiago?

(I don’t buy sexy underwear, so I suppose that that qualifies as sexy enough for me.)

Comment by marisalouie — October 15, 2008 @ 7:43 pm

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Mickey Mouse for a honeymoon. Interrrresting.

I had the same thought as Amanda–the women in the telenovelas are probably Argentinean!

Comment by stilllifeinbuenosaires — November 15, 2008 @ 5:46 pm

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I am a Chilean woman living in the US for many years. I think Chilean women are just now starting to accept they also have a sexual side to be discovered and enjoyed without feeling guilty. Before, in general, sexuality was considered to be a “man’s thing”.

Comment by Lilian — November 15, 2008 @ 8:40 pm

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Comment by raag — December 16, 2008 @ 3:20 am

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do you think will sexy lingerie will sell???

Comment by cecy — April 13, 2010 @ 10:31 pm

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do you think will sexy lingerie will sell???

Comment by cecy — April 13, 2010 @ 10:31 pm

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