Valentine’s Day Luxury Lingerie. Buying Tips For Men.

February 6th, 2013

Well, it’s almost that time of year again. Valentine’s Day!

Yes, we love choccies and roses, but we also love lingerie! So to help all you guys out (it has to be a little awkward and intimidating for a guy walking into a lingerie shop), here’s a quick quide and some handy tips for buying some sexy knickers for your loved one. We know you like her wearing them, and we also know she loves wearing them, so what are you waiting for?

Something wicked ava half cup bra

Something Wicked Ava Half Cup Bra

Why get Bashful?
If you find the idea of buying lingerie in a shop too daunting, just remember- you don’t have to! One of the reasons online shopping has become so big, is a) it’s got quite efficient and b) it’s perfect for embarrassing situations just like this! But before you wade in, do your research first.

Do your homework
What’s her size? That’s the obvious starting point. Sneak a peek into her lingerie drawer (don’t get caught) and work out what her bra and knickers size is. Most online shops have a size help section as well.

Know your target market
What’s her style? What’s her body type. Good lingerie is sexy and comfortable, so don’t just head to the Brazilian thong section. You’ll get some good ideas from what she has in her knicker drawer already. Note- as example, we have featured a pic of the Something Wicked Ava Half Cup Bra. Now, this would be an adventurous choice! Just so you know….

Lingerie need to be hot AND practical.
It’s no point buying her stuff that she is never going to wear. Make sure the lingerie is made out of comfortable fabric with a bit of lace for that feminine feel. And don’t be cheap!! Cheap = trashy, so dust off your wallet and spend some money!

Avoid flashy or trashy.
Keep it simple, and classic and you won’t go wrong. Trust me, if you buy tarty lingerie, it’ll end up being thrown back in your face. In terms of colour, pastels and creams are a safe bet. Then purples and blacks are a bit more risque. You can get away with red, but only if the lingerie is expensive! Cheap red lingerie looks trashy.

Spend Some Money
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. Spend some money! Quality lasts, so if you’re generous, you’ll be seeing this racy underwear for many years to come.

Keep it personal
Be thoughtful. Remember this is a gift for the love of your life

Fancy Wrapping
If lingerie is wrapped beautifully and is in a gorgeous box from well known designer, you can’t go wrong. Leave it by the bed for when she wakes up with a big bouquet of beautiful fresh flowers and a pretty card.

Tell her she looks amazing!
When she tries on her Valentine’s Day gift, tell her she looks amazing!


La Perla Lauches Flagship Store in China

January 22nd, 2013
La Perla has just opened its flagship store in China, (in Beijing to be precise). The next time you are in Beijing, head over to the Parkview Green mall, and look out for the Italian lingerie label’s fourth store. They already have 9 in China and are looking to expand to 30 across the country.
L Perla in ChinaSince heading east in 2007, La Perla has made China one of its big priorities. The bra and knickers market is now worth over US$4 billion, and growth is around 10% a year.

La Perla Year of the Dragon collection
The Italian label is trying hard to get it right for Chinese customers too- last year they created a limited-edition “Dragon” collection to celebrate the Year of The Dragon.
Here’s a clip looking back on their  Sixties Flair Lingerie Collection (Spring Summer 2012), which are particularly fond of!
La Perla has been known for its beautifully crafted lingerie since Ada Masotti launched the label in 1954.
From its origin in Bologna, Italy, the brand continues to offer gorgeous designs featuring skillful craftsmanship and meticulous detailing, on some of the world’s finest fabrics.

Penelope Cruz and Monica Cruz with Agent Provocateur

October 25th, 2012
Penelope Cruz is one of the world’s most stunning actresses, and she knocks everyone’s socks off when she strides down the red carpets in Hollywood and Cannes. Her newest venture is a luxury lingerie collection with London’s Agent Provocateur .

Monica Cruz Brushing The Carpet

The 38-year-old actress has gone into a partnership with the lingerie brand to design a range of luxury knickers and beautiful bras with her sister Monica Cruz, who promoted AP’s  autumn/winter 2012 ad campaign.

The Cruz’s are bubbling over with excitement at the prospect of creating a new lingerine line together, gushing: “It is so exciting for me and Mónica to embark in this new adventure.”
“We have always been huge fans of Agent Provocateur  and both of us are very much looking forward to this long term collaboration. We feel extremely happy to become part of this great team.”

The Equally Stunning Sister

The sisters will be designing a 15 piece range of bras, briefs and corsets, which will hit the shops next summer.
It will be priced more keenly than the current Agent Provocateur  line up, so you can buy more of it!
Penelope Cruz’s husband, Javier Bardem, is the one in the spotlight at the moment, of course, as he promotes the new Bond flick, Skyfall.
But not for long. The new lingerie line will be called L’Agent and they’ll be developing the range with AP’s creative director, Sarah Shotton.

We can’t wait to see the designs!


Bondage Lingerie. We Look at the Best Sets.

September 24th, 2012

Ever one for jumping on the bandwagon (late), following all of the 50 Shades naughty books and their copies (just how much has that woman made out of those books? Good for her), we thought we’d take a quick look at the lingerie trend that just keeps growing and growing. And that’s the bondage lingerie category.

We are not talking the nasty PVC stuff (eewwwwww). We mean the beautifully designed, luxury lingerie sets that just happen to have a few straps here and there to titilate- you know the ones we mean: Knickers with a Nod to Bondage, if you like.

Well, the most famous lingerie designer to come up with these kind of pieces is probably Agent Provocateur, of course. They have consistently set their stall out on the naughtier side of things, so the bondage category fits well within their range.

Alina Range with Ouvert Knickers

Their Alina range hits most of the requirements for us. A little bit saucy without going into the tacky area, and if you are feeling really racy you can always go for the ouvert knickers option!

We also have to mention (thanks to a very knowledgeable lingerie expert on Twitter) Bordelle and Nichole de Carle, London.

Nichole de Carle is an extremely innovative lingerie label where you can make up bespoke sets. And their bondage lingerie is about as racy as it gets.

Bordelle.

And if you want your other half to go GaGa, head for Bordelle. We are lost for words on this range. Jaw dropping.


Princess Tam Tam

September 4th, 2012

We are always on the look out for gorgeous lingerie that you can buy online, and one French store that we have fallen in love with recently (both with the designs and the prices) is Princess Tam Tam. The site has a .fr version in French, a .eu version in English and a .co.uk version for those who want to buy in pounds.

Their Half Cup bras are to die for- such as The Groovy range in unique pink. These knickers and bras are dead comfy to wear, and they’ll also knock the socks off your other half when you give him a teasing glimpse.

groovy blue bra

Princess Tam Tam: Gorgeous

Princesse Tam-Tam, of course, is a 1935 black-and-white film starring Josephine Baker as a Tunisian local girl who is introduced to Parisian high society. Baker sings two songs (“Dream Ship” and “Neath the Tropical Blue Skies”) in the film. So you can see where they get ther inspiration from, and this 30s chic really comes through in their lovely designs.

You can buy directly from their (excellent) website or head to other retailers such as Fox & Rose who sell their much lusted after swimwear collections, such as Jade & Gaia.

Stella McCartney Summer 2012 Lingerie and Swimwear…Gorgeous

May 31st, 2012
Gorgeous. That’s what we think of Stella McCartney’s 2012 lingerie collection. Floral prints, silk, embroideries, luxury, femininity. It’s an absolute winner.
Girls, if you want to spoil yourself with feminine, luxurious knickers, Stella has hit the spot with a superb and absolutely gorgeous range of luxury lingerie.
Stella McCartney lingerie

Gorgeous!

With a retro nod, the range will get you purring like a Siamese cat in no time. The range includes accessories, lingerie, eyewear, fragrance and skincare.

Stella McCartney is hot on sustainability, and she has worked hard with this range to make sure that they leave as small footprint on the planet as possible.
This undewear is highly desirable, luxurious and beautiful and between 20 and 30 percent of the collection contains some sort of eco element, such as organic fabric or a natural dye. And animal skins or fur of any kind are absent.
The Stella McCartney summer 2012 lingerie collection is modeled by Eastern European beauty Katsia Zingarevich, and sports signature pieces with floral printed silk. And we want some please. Pretty please with sugar on top.

Helena Christensen Models for Triumph Essence Lingerie

August 31st, 2011

If we were looking this hot in our forties, I think we’d be skipping down the road in racy red knickers and a lace corset.

Helena Christensen (born 1968), the Danish fashion model, (former), photographer and self confessed cheese addict, has been showing the world just how good you can look when you are a sixties baby.

helena cristensen

Helena Cristensen

Here, she’s modelling the new Autumn Winter 2011 lingerie range from Triumph (which looks stunning as well, by the way).

The gorgeous model has been working with Triumph to create the all new exquisite collection, Triumph Essence: - the finest designs, the ultimate comfort and the most stunning materials. If your boyfriend bought lingerie for its heart racing qualities AND its comfort, this range would be top of the list.
Dane Helena Christensen has become the brand ambassador and face of the Triumph Essence brand: a strong woman, with creativity, ambition and a deep feminine allure.
She certainly still “has it” in our book. I don’t know whether to smile or weep……

triumph-essence

Triumph Essence


Aubade Lingerie to Open A New London Lingerie Shop in 2011

August 4th, 2011
French luxury lingerie brand Aubade is set to open its first shop in London.
The lingerie specialist will open a 420 sq ft shop with its range of lingerie, swimwear, loungewear and accessories at 4 South Molton Street in the autumn.

aubade lingerie

Aubade

Aubade has been bowling lingerie fans over since 1875 when its founder Dr Bernard created a girdle and corset-making company.
If the new Aubade lingerie outlet goes well, Aubade will open in other Central London areas. Bond Stret next then?
This famous lingerie designer is a French instituation famous for its range of elegant and refined underwear, and has long been a favourite of women in the know.
The new 2011 Winter collection is out now. Check it out and see what all the fuss is about. If you like your lingerie feminine, with a racy edge that will see the menfolk reaching for their heartbeat suppressors, then Aubade will fit the bill.
Aubade Winter 2011

Aubade Winter 2011 Collection


Get Ready for the Beach Girls. New Swimwear from Fox & Rose and Rigby & Peller.

May 9th, 2011

Fox & Rose Launches Online Beachwear Shop For the Summer Dressing With 15% Off at Launch

Fox & Rose, the luxury lingerie store for fashionistas, is heading to the beach for the summer- their new Beachwear collection has just launched. To kick off the site, the online luxury lingerie retailer is offering customers an full 15% off its entire Beachwear collection for a week.

Olivia Pistols

Olivia Pistols Bikini

If you want to stand out from the crowd in St Tropez this summer, you would be advised to check it out. They feature a gorgeous collection of bikinis, one piece swimsuits, kaftans and coverups from brands such as ; Pistol Panties, Olga Olsson, Mouille, Paolita and Sea Sirens. Throw in Lotus London and Tallulah & Hope and you have a pretty impressive line up. The Olivia Pistols set from Pistols Panties is our personal favourite: for the chic look. In a classic navy and white Breton stripe with cute heart detail on the spacer and on the sides of the dainty hipster briefs.

For the classic tie side look, the Riby and Peller collection should increase the temperature by the pool by a couple of degrees.

Rigby and Peller

Rigby and Peller Tie Sides

rigby and peller

Rigby and Peller Plunge


Kate Middleton Bridal Lingerie and Stockings

April 18th, 2011

Kate Middleton will be wearing Aristoc stockings on the Royal Wedding day, according to sources.

aristoc

Kate Middleton´s Stockings?

The British hosiery brand has been picked by Kate Middleton to wear on her wedding day to Prince William. The company has a long and distinguished history and has been supplying ladies with stockings since the 1920s, and it has since styled itself as “The Aristocrat of Silk Stockings”.
The company’s only blip in production was during the war when all silk production in the UK was switched into parachute manufacture.

The company is based in Derbyshire, and if the Kate Middleton rumour is true, Aristoc can expect a massive surge in sales of its  luxury hosiery.

Aristoc stockings are on sale in hundreds of UK shops including John Lewis and Debenhams.

BouxAvenue

Guy Ritchie's girlfriend models Boux Avenue

And her lingerie choice for the big day? Well, that´s still a secret, but we are reliably told it´s NOT Theo Paphitis´ new brand Boux Avenue, although we´d have to say, his new range looks great & it´s certainly fantastic value for money.