I recently had the pleasure of discussing the Pamela Couture Stocking Collection by Secrets in Lace with legendary sex goddess, Pamela Anderson. I have seen an abundance of celebrity licensed goods in my journalistic travels, but the images of Pamela’s detailed stocking collection stopped me in my tracks. I have always had a penchant for old world glamour and the lost art of seduction. Everything is just too easy these days, and a pair of vintage stockings with heels promises unbridled romance while still leaving something to the imagination.
Pamela Anderson’s rhetoric is not linear; she thinks in zigzag patterns and she loves to relay double entendres and visually humorous anecdotes. What I actually find endearing about Anderson is that nothing is off the table when it comes to injecting serious topics with facetiousness. She’ll even crack a joke at her own expense, but she looks hot doing it, and that’s what ultimately matters.
The Pamela Couture Stocking Collection is a line of 1950s and 1960s inspired, and manufactured, nylon stockings that help us to remember why we bother with all of the female bells and whistles in the first place. With stocking patterns like Swiss dots, sexy black seams and feminine pink stocking tops with nude colored legs, there is something for every woman… and man.
During our interview, Pamela told me what she looks for in a business venture that has her famous name attached to it, what she’s learned from her mom about being a woman, her ultimate self-indulgent fantasy (it involves chocolate!), and how she maintains those gorgeous stocking-embellished gams.
PR. com (Allison Kugel): Your legs look amazing in the promotional shots for your new stocking collection. Is it refreshing for people to be focused on a different part of your body for once? And did that aspect of the lingerie appeal to you, the opportunity to emphasize your legs?
Pamela Anderson: It’s hard to answer that question, but thank you. My Auntie Vie is 86 years old. She's danced her whole life and has the best legs, so maybe I've inherited a great idea. As for focusing on another part of my body, it really hasn't crossed my mind. It’s a package deal. I've always had my legs, fortunately!
PR.com: They look super-toned in this lingerie campaign!
Pamela Anderson: Dancing and walking my four dogs keeps me in pretty good shape.
PR.com: You had set out to create a lingerie line once before. What happened with that line?
Pamela Anderson: I've actually never had a lingerie line before. This branding business has its downsides. There were some overall licensing deals pitched to me, but I was unable to design what I loved. I used to get the whole, "trust me. You'll make a lot of money if you listen to us" speech. And it just wasn't me. If you only knew the offers I've turned down or had to walk away from… I don't want to put my name on something I wouldn't wear, so I butted heads with the people purely concerned with mass sales and money. I'd rather keep my line boutique and unique and authentic.
PR.com: What attracted you to working with Secrets in Lace to develop The Pamela Couture Stocking Collection?
Pamela Anderson: I love my stockings! And I love to wear lingerie. I will do a few pieces to go with stockings like garters, bras and a panty sets with baby dolls. It's in the works. But I'm not a company, I'm a person. So I have to [have] the final answer. I don’t think anyone took me that seriously. They didn't realize that I'd be a handful and get very involved. Dan from Secrets in Lace has been great and he has his vision, but he has been flexible with me. I love retro, but with a modern twist and still keeping it simple and flattering for today’s bodies. I’m not reinventing the wheel. We know what works and is tried and true.
PR.com: You once mentioned, awhile back, that you never wore pantyhose and you preferred to go bare legged. What is different about the old-style vintage stockings that should make women want to start wearing them under their dresses, business suits, or in the bedroom?
Pamela Anderson: I've never worn pantyhose, but my aunt and mom swear by them. My stockings are for making love in. They’re real nylon stockings. It’s a fantasy. They feel incredibly sexy. They aren’t for every day, but they are so gorgeous and they’re historically pleasing. If stockings could talk…
PR.com: What are your trade secrets for looking so slim, fit and toned all of these years, and after two kids?
Pamela Anderson: I'm not obsessed with working out or with food. The worst thing I can tell myself is that I have to eat less, and then I'll instantly think I'm starving. I've never gone a day without eating or going for a walk. But I'm a vegetarian and I eat healthy. We are what we eat and pigs don’t look good in stockings! I'm 44 and I feel like my body is hangin’ in there. I feel great and I accept my imperfections.
PR.com: And what about your exercise method of choice?
Pamela Anderson: Not too many people can keep up with me. Energy is abundant in my house. We don’t eat junk food and we cook our meals together, laugh and enjoy each other. I think when you’re happy when you eat it digests better and happiness is a great workout. We are not into deprivation of any kind and we don’t waste. I'm good at cooking exactly what we need to feel nourished, but not stuffed. Lifestyle is key, and I know my kids will take this into their lives and families. That's the best thing we can do is to teach our kids to take what they need.
PR.com: You mean not being conspicuous consumers...
Pamela Anderson: Right, and it’s a good starting point. I admit we fail at it daily and can be guilty of over indulgence. And as for myself, no one teaches us how to handle money or fame. It’s hard to see that some people have so little, while others have so much. We get caught up. The American dream seems like a nightmare at times, but greed is not sexy. I have to remind myself to be grateful. Opportunity, health, and clean water are our rights as Americans. It’s not the same everywhere.
PR.com: Lately, it seems like 40-something is the new 25! What are women of this generation realizing about beauty, fitness and sensuality that the previous generations didn’t?
Pamela Anderson: I think women seem more youthful these days and the youth are aging quicker. I'm happy to be in our generation. When I was 20, I looked 10. People seem to live harder and there is so much over-stimulation. Texting and computers, it just all seems less human and our sensuality has to be cherished and restored.
PR.com: How do you remain conscientious about staying in touch with your own sensuality?
Pamela Anderson: Well, I love my role as a woman. As women we are blessed. We get to do the fun stuff, so why do we want to behave like men? Let them do that.
PR.com: Tell me which style from your stocking collection you would put on for a red carpet event or a dressed up evening, under your formal wear.
Pamela Anderson: Red carpet, dinner or meetings, when I dress with stockings I'm only thinking one thing, "When is this dress coming off?" It makes the day or evening fly by.
PR.com: In your opinion, what is the sexiest color? And what is the sexiest fabric?
Pamela Anderson: Black is always sexy, and so are seams and Cuban heel [stockings]. It depends on your mood. I really love the copper, the polka dots, and the nudes with pink tops that are almost like a sock. Those are fun and inspired by winter in Whistler (in Anderson’s native, British Columbia, Canada), reading Anais Nin by a fire with a big yummy sweater on and a box of dark chocolates.
PR.com: How would you describe your overall “brand?”
Pamela Anderson: I don’t like the word brand, but if I had one I think it'd be inventive with a sensual heart, hopeful, sweet and surprising. I live life like it may not last and I like to do everything now.
PR.com: What are your thoughts on so many women having tried to emulate your look over the years, both other models and actresses, and regular everyday women, alike?
Pamela Anderson: (Laughs). I'm not sure how I feel about that! Except that it’s kind of funny going to a party at the Playboy Mansion. David LaChapelle goes nuts looking for me when we’re there, because from the back… I'm everywhere.
PR.com: What did your mom teach you about looking and feeling beautiful? What has been her advice in that area, both when you were in your teens and twenties, and now? And how has your mom’s beauty advice translated into the style you’ve created over the years?
Pamela Anderson: My mom is very sarcastic and she has a great sense of humor. But she has no problem telling me that my ass looks bigger, since over the years as I’ve fluctuated, she was always there to reel me in. She taught me how to walk, one foot directly in front of the other, so you lure men with your hips.
PR.com: She sounds very direct and honest.
Pamela Anderson: We've had fun being women; being raw, honest and silly. Life is short for most of us and it’s refreshing to be around women who don’t complain, raise our men up and build confidence and nurture, and stay sexy. I know my mom still wears lingerie and jumps out of closets to scare my dad. She's always joked that she tries to give him a heart attack so she can get [his] coin collection. But now she’s actually worried that she might give him a heart attack. And the coin collection may not exist, so she's being gentler on him. They watch a lot of CNN and she also Twitters all her complaints about politics, but does it looking fabulous. She loves Elvis and hates that they invented Viagra. She says at their age she finally feels comfortable leaving my dad alone for a few weeks. They are messing with fire; let nature take its course.
PR.com: You’ve often mentioned your dislike for flat shoes, saying that you prefer to always wear heels when possible. If you were to dress up in a pair of stockings from your collection for a significant other, would that include high heels or bare stocking feet?
Pamela Anderson: I fall off flat shoes… I'm used to high heels or bare feet. But just remember that when you’re not in shoes, to point your toes!
PR.com: On the Secrets In Lace website, your stocking collection is described as having been “manufactured on the same machinery, with the same techniques as were used in the 1950s and 1960s.” Can you tell me a little bit about that? What is distinctive about the manufacturing and craftsmanship of stockings from the 50s and 60s?
Pamela Anderson: There are only a few of these stocking looms left. They are very rare and it’s a great process. It’s beautifully done with a lot if care. Each pair is special.
PR.com: Tell me about your creative input on the Pamela Couture Stocking Collection. How did you choose the styles, colors, detailing? Is there one stand-out style you are particularly proud of from the collection?
Pamela Anderson: I'm very involved. Dan and I just chose what I love. And we're designing a few more pieces. I've got a great idea for a modernized sexy bullet bra.
PR.com: How has living a coastal lifestyle on the beach in Malibu shaped your ideas about fashion, style and sensuality, in general?
Pamela Anderson: The great thing about Malibu is that it’s fashionless. Just wear what’s comfortable. And then peel yourself slowly out of the pool with stockings soaking wet. That’s a great look.
PR.com: Is it ever time for a woman to hang up her garter belt and thigh highs, or should she dig in and wear those items ‘till the day she dies?
Pamela Anderson: I want to be [buried] in lingerie. You never know who’s waiting on the other side.