A little known fact about blogging conferences: they can be good for your bottom line. And I’m not talking finances.

Badum-Bum. It’s possible I have an inner vaudevillian or Catskills comic lurking in me.

But seriously folks, if you’re looking to meet brands and find new products, there are few better places than a blogging conference. Among my favorites from Blissdom was Jockey^®.

Before we ever got to the conference, Jockey^® reached out and offered to send some of their shapewear for attendees to try. I can’t speak for everyone, but this girl would never turn down a slimmer, firmer backside.

{No, silly, that’s not me. I know it looks a lot like me. A lot. But I don’t model anymore. I blog instead.}

ALERT: If you’re a man, like my Dad, just for example, and you’re actually still reading, now would be the time to move on with your day. Okay?

At first I was delusional and requested the wrong style. Turns out that the Plunging Bra Cami Shaper is not for everyone. My one request to Jockey is that they look into larger and more supportive cup sizes for their cami shapers.

Ahem.

So we regrouped, and I ended up with a Hi-Waist Mini Shaper and a Hi-Waist Mini Brief Shaper. Let’s talk a minute about the experience of putting on shapewear. I’m guessing there is a handful of women out there who have never done the shimmy & wiggle dance into a pair of slimming panty hose or a slip that guarantees to make you one size smaller. Most of us, though, have probably experienced the shimmy and the ensuing discomfort for the rest of the night. There’s nothing like a rubberized, gripping waistband sticking to your body to make a girl feel pretty.

The beautiful thing about the pieces of Jockey^® shapewear that I tried? No rubbery grippers. And while it’s snug (what would be the point, otherwise?), it’s soft and comfortable. I didn’t feel like I was trying to pass off a wet suit as a shaper. I barely registered the extra layer under my clothes.

Once we all got to Blissdom, shapewear safely tucked into our suitcases, Jockey^® surprised every attendee with more gifts. One was a coupon for a free pair of panties, and while I did get a pair, I’ve never worn them. I had to lend them to a friend, but that’s a story for another day.

The other gift was a code that we entered into a computer at their booth. Every code revealed a different prize, varying in value. I have to tell you I rarely win anything, so I was stunned when I hit the jackpot at Jockey’s booth. My prize allowed me to pick out a pair of pants from their new Sport collection.

I’m a gym-wear, sportswear, yoga pant addict, so this, truly, was like winning the lottery. A whole pair of pants! For free! I selected the Relaxed Pant, because I thought I would try dressing for who I want to be. Let’s go for relaxed, rather than stressed out and wound up, shall we?

These pants? I am in love. They are on a wear-wash-wear-maybe wear again-wash cycle. I’m guessing they’ve been washed six to eight times over the last three weeks, and so far they are holding up beautifully. I do think the waistband shrunk a tad (It cannot be that my waist grew. Cannot. Be.), so I recommend drying them on the lowest setting or hanging them up to dry. Other than that, they have held their shape and the length is perfect.

I also ordered a shirt (out of my own budget) from the Jockey Sport collection. I had to have the Active Tee with Pockets, because, well, it has pockets. How great is that? The shirt just arrived, so I can’t speak to how it holds up through the wash, but I did try it on and cannot wait to wear it to the gym. It’s by far the cutest workout shirt I own.

Are you ready to get to the giveaway portion of our program?

I don’t blame you. It’s time for you to try Jockey^® for yourself. So here’s the deal:

Two, yes TWO (2), lucky readers will get a $50 shopping spree at Jockey.com!

And there’s more: your $50 shopping spree will also include FREE shipping, up to a $7 value.

Not too shabby. Your prize will be in the form of a gift code that can be used on Jockey.com only, and it will be valid for a one-time use through 12/31/11. If you’re really generous and organized, you could even use it for next year’s Christmas shopping. But I recommend indulging and using it for yourself.

How to enter:

I don’t want you to have to jump through hoops, but I would like you to get to know Jockey^®. Therefore, you will get one entry for each of the following actions. To get your maximum number of entries, please leave a comment for each thing that you do.

1. Just comment here. Say whatever you want, about whatever you want to talk about. If you do, however, have a Jockey-related comment, I would love to hear it and so would they.

2. Follow Jockey^® on Twitter.

3. Become a fan of Jockey^® on Facebook.

This giveaway will close on Friday, February 25, 2011 at midnight. Two winners will be drawn via random number generation and the winners will be notified on Saturday, February 26, 2011. Jockey^® will send the coupon codes to the winners.

The fine print:
I was compensated with free products to review, but the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.