babybloomr

OK, now that I’ve got your attention.

This is a review for Jockey’s new Staycool line of, ahem, undergarments for men and women. And yes, it wasn’t until I agreed to do this review AND received free sample products to ‘test drive’ that I suddenly realized I would be talking about the personal underwear preference of RUSS AND I in a blog post!!! So let me make it clear that I totally understand if that kinda weirds you out a little, and you just ran screaming out of the room. If you’re still here, however, don’t worry– I promise there will be NO pictures of the two of us in our unmentionables unless I decide to Photoshop our heads on some models’ bodies.

So now that you’ve been reassured, here’s what you need to know: this underwear rocks!

I’ll go on record and admit that I’ve personally never been a huge consumer of Jockey products heretofore because frankly, I’m more of a fancy panties kind of gal. (Russ however, is a big Jockey fan.) (And I’m going to use these red parentheses every time I talk about Russ and his underwear, because this is the writing equivalent of whispering and I’m all respectful of his privacy and whatnot.) But Jockey was one of the major sponsors of the Blissdom conference I attended last January, and in our swag bag there was a coupon for a pair of free underwear redeemable at their booth– and since I am a fan of all things free, I redeemed that sucker. To my pleasant surprise, they did not have a bunch of generic, utilitarian-looking products to choose from. This was not your grandmother’s Jockey underwear! There were bright colors and lots of styles–I walked away with a sassy little pair of leopard print bikinis that I just love. So when the opportunity came to review their new line, I was dang ready to participate.

When my sample package arrived, the first thing I noticed was the silky-soft, 100% cotton feel of the material. Now granted, the particular pairs of underwear they sent me were pretty plain and simple– no leopard prints here, just classic white. But I do always keep several pair of neutral, no-panty-lines underwear on hand to wear with those skirts or jeans that fit a little closer than they probably should, so even though these weren’t all tarted up, their sleek, classic lines totally earned them a place in my drawer. Now since I am not a scientist AND have never actually considered taking the temperature of my underwear (how exactly would you do that, anyway?), I will have to take Jockey’s claim that this new breakthrough Outlast technology keeps your body 3 degrees cooler on faith. To be honest, I didn’t really notice anything radically different when I first wore them, but then again I’m a delicate Southern flower who only occasionally ‘glistens,’ NEVER sweats. (Russ, however DOES sweat– you’ve seen him use his big ol’ Vestal Goodman-type handkerchief on stage to mop his brow, right? Well, he totally swore that he indeed DID notice a difference with the Staycool line. And yes, he will probably kill me for writing that.) At any rate, I can tell you that this underwear is so comfortable and ‘non-invasive’ that you forget you are wearing them– absolutely no riding up/ bunching up/killer wedgies to report. I’ve worn both the bikini and the regular brief styles, and even though the word “brief” automatically translates in my mind to “granny panties,” theirs also come in a ton of colors including a lovely midnight black, so you can feel kind of sultry as well as sensible… SCORE!

Behold the briefs:

Jockey also sent me their Staycool V-neck tee shirts to try, and they are winners, too. This is a great little shirt, folks. It feels lightweight, but it’s substantial enough that it’s not too sheer or see-through. Don’t you just hate it when you have a nice, comfy tee shirt that you love to wear around the house but then while you’re making a quick run to the grocery you look down and suddenly realize that you are like, ONE STEP AWAY from looking like you’ve just entered a wet tee shirt contest in Panama City on spring break? No? Just me? OK, never mind. But my point is, this is outerwear not underwear, and I venture to say you could even kind of class it up and wear it with something other than just jeans or shorts.

For example, this is a picture of me on my way to the opera:

(OK, I’m totally lying about that. And yes, I’m aware of the fact that I’m NOT gonna be America’s Next Top Model.)

Here’s something else– they’re reversible! So if you happen to do something like, oh I don’t know, accidentally get a small red lipstick smear on the front of your shirt while you’re trying to take an glamor shot on the balcony of your daughter’s dorm room, you can totally turn it inside out and keep going. Or so I’ve heard. I also got one of these in black, and I wore it while we were doing that marathon cleaning session at the lakehouse a couple of weeks ago. I DID notice that whole ‘3 degrees cooler Outlast technology’ deal that day– I got more than a little hot, grimy and sweaty, but I was able to just reverse the shirt (in the car in a Walmart parking lot– because I’m classy like that) when we decided at the last minute to go grab something to eat, and I looked absolutely fresh as a daisy! (I guess technically you could also turn the underwear inside out too, but I’m not recommending it. Because ewww.)

So here’s the bottom line: This Staycool line is the real deal, I am officially a Jockey fan and can wholeheartedly recommend these products. According to their website, the Outlast fabric is “a Certified Space Technology originally developed for NASA over 20 years ago, which works by absorbing excess heat to maintain your optimal body temperature and help keep you cooler all day long.” (Which I guess answers the question, “If they can put a man on the moon, why can’t they invent underwear that doesn’t stick to you on a hot day like a wet paper towel?!”)

Which brings us to my favorite part of the program…. FREE UNDERWEAR FOR EVERYBODY!!!

Well, at least three of you– Jockey is letting me do a giveaway!! And I have details!

GIVEAWAY:

The Prize– THREE, count ‘em THREE lucky winners will get a coupon code that entitles then to one top and one bottom style FREE from the Jockey Staycool collection–for men or for women, your choice.

The Rules:

• Required: Leave a comment below and somehow work the word underwear into it– be creative! (But not creepy– it’s just underwear, people, everybody wears ‘em.)
• For an extra chance to win: Tweet on Twitter or post on Facebook (or cut and paste this and post on both!) the following: “Win @Jockey Staycool products via @Babybloomr ! Check out the details: http://babybloomr.com/?p=5302 #staycool (You can do this once a day for the length of the contest– that’s a lot of extra chances, amIrite??) IMPORTANT: You’ve got to leave me your email address in your comment (or send it to me separately at tori@babybloomr.com if you’re shy) so I can notify you if you win– don’t forget!
• Contest ends at midnight next Monday, August 22. You will be notified by me and have 48 hours to respond and claim your prize!

YAY, we love giveaways!!! So comment, dang it!

And as for Russ? Well, I’m not going to answer any “boxers or briefs?” questions, (*cough cough* both *cough*) but I will tell you that he is absolutely sold on these products too. And since he ungraciously refused to let me take a picture of him in his underwear, I’ll do the next best thing: here’s NFL quarterback Tim Tebow in his! (Actually just the tee shirt. But still.)

DISCLOSURE: I received  both men and women’s tee shirts and underwear from Jockey for the purpose of this review, as well as a gift card worth $25 towards the purchase of more product from their website. As always, the opinions expressed in my reviews are 100% completely my own, with no obligation to the company I am reviewing. Because as you know, I’VE GOT OPINIONS– and none of them are for sale. I will never endorse a product that I do not honestly believe in.

(Trust me, if I was gonna compromise my integrity  it would cost way more than a couple a pair of panties… I’m thinking more like a new house or a trip to Paris. You know, if anybody’s interested.)

Don’t forget to go comment! RIGHT NOW!

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and LG Text Ed

Thanks to all of you who sent in such great questions for our Resident Teen Experts! I had toyed with the idea of videotaping their answers, but unfortunately there is some kind of Evil Virus from Hell floating around Chez Taff, and Madi Rose nixed the idea of going on camera with a red nose and circles under her eyes– so sadly, I’m gonna have to wait for another opportunity to commit those little darlins’ to film.

I sat the girls down and went over all the questions with them, and they gave me some further insights into the world of teens and texting. They kept it short and to the point (unlike their mother)– here’s what they said:

1. Do you enjoy texting rather than talking and hearing a voice talking back to you?

Madi: I prefer talking and hearing a voice speaking back to me because that’s what real communication is, but texting is just a lot more convenient.

Charlotte: I enjoy talking more than texting. The only reason I text is when I can’t see my friends in person.

2. What are the pros and cons of texting?

Madi: Pros—fast and easy.  Cons—you can’t really pick up on people’s tones… Sarcasm doesn’t transfer well on text!

Charlotte: The good news– it’s easy to keep up with friends you don’t get to see very often. The bad news is it can take over your life.

3. How did you learn text speak? When you first started texting did people have to tell you what things mean?

Madi: I learned it from the internet when I was a kid, like in kid’s chat rooms on AOL, because that’s what kids did then. But it’s kind of common knowledge now.

Charlotte: Sometimes you catch onto it after a few times, and sometimes you need to ask if you’re not sure.

4. Have you ever had any  embarrassing situations caused by confusion about what people were texting you?

Madi: Every day!

Charlotte: Yes, but I don’t want to talk about it.

5. At what age do you think it is best for a child to get their first phone?

Madi: I think that kids can handle cell phones at a pretty young age if they are basically just using them for safety’s sake, but they ought to wait to start texting until they are like, 12 or 13.

Charlotte: When their parents think they’re ready, because there are different levels of maturity in each person

6. Do you try to control who gets hold of your phone number?

Madi: Not really, because I have a lot of friends and my circle is really big so it gets passed around a lot; but if there ‘s some creepy guy trying to hit on me, he’s not getting my number! I think there’s a way to go to your phone service and block people, but I haven’t ever had to do that.

Charlotte:  Yeah, I do, you don’t want some stalker getting a hold of it. Technically if you don’t want someone to have your number just don’t give it to them in the first place– or maybe you could secretly steal their phone and then delete your number!

7. Have either of you had typing classes?

Madi: I had to take a computer typing course in 5^th or 6^th grade.

Charlotte: Yes, for 6 years but they didn’t really teach that much, I think. After I started playing computer games that involved typing I learned much faster.

8. Have you girls ever had an inappropriate text message?

Madi: Yes.

Charlotte: Not really, because I keep close tabs on my friends who are on my phone.

9. What did you do about it?

Madi: Ignored it.

10. Do you feel comfortable coming to your parents and letting them know?

Madi: If someone was harrassing me I’d come to them, but if it’s just someone being a brat I can take care of them myself.

Charlotte: Yes.

11. Someday when you have children of your own, what are YOUR rules going to be concerning their cellphones and texting?

Madi: They probably won’t have cellphones when I have kids, they’ll probably have something totally different!

Charlotte: I’ll probably base it on their maturity and take away privileges that I don’t think they’re ready for yet.

12. And what will you tell them when they whine that all the other kids they know don’t have such rules?

Charlotte: Too bad!

13. How many minutes a month do you feel is adequate for a teen your age?

Madi: We have unlimited texting on our plan, so it’s not an issue.

14. Do you pay your own phone bills?

Madi and Charlotte: No

15. Do you know kids that you think are on their phone way too much?

Madi: No, not really.

Charlotte: Yeah–Madi!

16. What do you girls think about the theory proported by some experts that cell phone use may contribute to brain cancer?

Madi: I think that may totally be true!

Charlotte: Well, with texting you don’t have to hold the phone up to your head, so that’s another advantage!

17. How old were you both when you first had your own cell phones?

Madi and Charlotte: Twelve.

18. When you’re away from home, do you feel safer having a cell phone with you?

Madi and Charlotte: Yes, absolutely.

19. Who do you spend the most time texting with?

Madi: My closest friends.

Charlotte: Mostly friends of mine that go to different schools that I don’t get to see very often.

20. If Charlotte got interested in a boy, would she start texting him to break the relationship ice, or expect him to?

Charlotte: Depends on how manly he is, because if he’s like, a shy guy he might want the girl to text first.

21.  How important is texting in a teen dating relationship?

Madi: Very important!  Back in the day, like in the 70’s or something, when people dated they’d see each other at school and then go home and call each other and talk for hours. This is kind of the same thing; it keeps you connected.

Charlotte: I don’t really know, but I thought the main thing about dating is that you’re supposed to be with him, not be on the phone with him! But I guess it would be a good idea to text sometimes, so you’d know what was going on in his world.

22. Do Christian teens try to ’spread the Gospel message’ through text messages?

Madi: Yes– I do. I have one friend that sends me random scriptures when she comes across a good one.

Charlotte: Sometimes.

23. Do you girls ever make up a code to use when you’re away from home and want to communicate with your parents but don’t want the kids around you to know you’re texting them?

Madi: We’ve kind of done a version of that before—it’s a good idea.

Charlotte: No, but we should probably try that.

24. Do you get nervous if you have to put your cell phone away for some time/reason?

Madi: Yes! Because I get a lot of texts all the time and I’m afraid I’m going to miss something, so I have it with me at all times.

Charlotte: I lose mine every day, so I’m used to going without it!  But if it gets dropped, then I worry about it.

25. Do you girls ever just want to get AWAY from the cell phone?

Madi: Yes. Sometimes I really miss the days when everything wasn’t on the computer, but these days it’s kind of impossible to get away from it.

Charlotte: I usually am away from it because I really don’t use my phone a whole lot, but I do try to keep it in one place so I can check it at least once a day and see if anybody texted me.

26. Are any teenage girls of today into cooking, or guys for that matter, and if so, would they ever swap a recipe or two via a text message?

Madi: Yes, I’ve texted people while cooking stuff before to get help with it!

Charlotte: Rarely, but it sounds like it would be a fun idea.

27.  How many texts a day do you think the average texter sends?

Madi: Well, everybody’s different, so I guess it varies.

Charlotte: Depends on how attached they are to their phone–Madi’s never leaves her hand!

Remember that BlogHer is matching LG’s  donation of .50 to dosomething.org for every comment on this post, so please feel free to weigh in!  I hope you’ve gotten some ideas on how we can all get the conversation going wit kids/grandkids/nieces/nephews about their texting habits. It’s important for all our families, AND dosomething.org will get a $1.00 for every comment, question or suggestion!