Student
Cora Harrington
- School of Graduate Studies
- Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice
In Intimate Detail
How to Choose, Wear, and Love Lingerie
In Intimate Detail is a comprehensive guide to all things lingerie, from bras to underwear to shapewear to loungewear. With dozens of vivid watercolor illustrations and gender neutral language, In Intimate Detail provides answers to underpinnings for everyone, including people who are pregnant or nursing, have had surgery or other physical concerns, or are trans/non-binary. It even addresses essential care and shopping advice, such as how to hand wash lingerie, how to pack for travel, or how to create a lingerie wardrobe.
In this beautiful and empowering guide, lingerie expert Cora Harrington demystifies intimate apparel, making it accessible to all sizes, ages, and budgets so you can confidently buy, wear, and care for the underpinnings of your dreams.
How did you first come up with the idea for this work?
When Ten Speed Press first approached me to write In Intimate Detail, I had been covering the lingerie industry for almost 10 years as The Lingerie Addict. In that time, I built a reputation as a trusted, knowledgeable resource for lingerie, not only on my own site where I offered trend reports, shopping advice, and product reviews, but also with other publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Women’s Wear Daily, Vogue, and others.
What was your research process like?
My research process pulled heavily from my own work and experience. In my time as The Lingerie Addict, I’d developed an approach to discussing intimate apparel that was positive, welcoming, body neutral, and inclusive. In places where additional research was necessary, books like Fashioning the Body by Denis Bruna, The History of Underclothes by C. Willet and Phillis Cunnington, Corsets and Crinolines by Nora Waugh, Exposed: A History of Lingerie by Colleen Hill, and Fashion in Underwear: From Babylon to the Bikini Brief by Elizabeth Ewing were all useful, among others.
How long did you work on this before it was published?
From the day I began working on it to the day it arrived in stores was approximately 18 months.
Does this work relate to your role at FIT? If so, how?
Absolutely! For one, it’s made me want to explore the idea of putting together an Intro to Lingerie course to continue the themes of my book in a more formalized and educational capacity.
What was your biggest challenge? What was most rewarding?
The biggest challenge of any writing project is the completion! A book deal is one thing, writing the book is something entirely different. I found that visiting bookstores and libraries did a lot to keep my motivation high. “If all these other people could write a book,” I thought, “then I could too.” The most rewarding part was seeing it in stores and on library shelves and written about in publications I’d admired for years. There’s nothing like walking through a book shop and seeing your name on the shelf.
Is there other information we should know?
It’s an incredible honor to have my book on FIT’s library shelves.
Have you published any other books or have any upcoming publications?
Not yet! But hopefully soon!
- Graduating in 2025
- Book published in 2018