Thong Sung Blue

Polish Lace Makers Turn To G-Strings Instead

What do lace artisans do when the market starts to shrink? They make sexy lingerie instead! This story on bbc.com caught my eye, about how the famous lace makers in the Polish village of Koniakow have boosted sales by turning out flimsy underwear.
Artisans who used to create gowns and altar cloths for customers such as the late Pope now craft G-strings and other lingerie. They say the underwear is quicker to make and easier to sell than traditional goods such as tablecloths. But not everyone in the deeply Catholic village is happy with the changes to the 200-year old industry.
``Our lace is well known in Poland," said Mieczyslaw Kamieniarz, whose family has made lace for five generations. ``We have made it for John Paul II, for the Queen of England, for church altars. It's shameful and humiliating for Koniakow that this very same lace is being worn on people's backsides," he said.
It seems some craftswomen apparently had doubts about the change. According to Anna Barska, a 47-year-old lace maker, "The priest told me that a woman came to confession and asked him if it was a sin to make G-strings.''