Thursday 30 October 2014

Lingerie pillage, word power and pin-up style - a roundup of the best in lingerie …

Underwear transgressions

A New Zealand estate agent has appealed a misconduct case which cost him his job and his licence. What’s this got to do with sexy underwear? Well, he was caught going through the lingerie drawer of a client during an open house called to try and sell their property … not once, but twice.

On the first occasion the man had apparently taken knickers and a brassiere from the drawer and was holding them in his hands - he was asked to leave the room to talk to potential buyers and then, later in the day, returned to the drawer and again took items from it and handled them.

His defence was ‘I looked in the drawer more out of curiosity and intrigue than out of malicious intent’ but the tribunal found his behaviour to be ‘a gross invasion of privacy and a severe breach of trust.’  Now he’s appealing the suspension of his licence for six months saying that he feels his human rights have been abused and his privacy breached … which is quite a claim, from a chap who had his mitts on somebody else’s lingerie!  But there’s an interesting point here - if, like us, you’re building a nice collection of special underwear, and you’ve got people regularly visiting your home, think about just how enticing your lovely undies are and perhaps keep them somewhere a little secluded, to remove the temptation for others to rifle through your lingerie!

Lingerie Exhibition



Zoe Buckman is a feminist artist, and she’s also a fan of hip-hop who’s used her love of the genre to create a groundbreaking exhibition called EVERY CURVE, which links vintage underwear and hip-hop lyrics to highlight the contrasting roles of women as sexual objects, love objects and creative beings.
                       
Her work, which has lyrics from The Notorious B.I.G and Tupak Shakur machine embroidered onto vintage lingerie, makes a fascinating and thought-provoking exhibition, currently on show at the Allen Koppel Gallery in Chicago until 31 October.

Whilst Buckman’s approach is deliberately to challenge preconceptions, the idea of personalising lingerie is one that we’re totally in tune with. Much of the beautiful underwear we sell is already personalised, like the Gilda and Pearl Goddess babydoll* which is made to order, but any item of underwear could be further personalised, for example by adding ribbons, trims, and even personalised items of jewellery to create a completely unique and personal look. If you’re handy with your needle you could even monogram your lingerie or embroider a special message on it, for your loved one’s eyes only!

Lingerie tips for the Pin-Up Look

If vintage underwear and the Pin-Up era are your passion, we’ve got a couple of tips to help you achieve the Pin-Up look.

   Work on your hair. While it’s traditional to have long hair, it’s not essential and a bandana or fascinator can be a great way to ‘vintage up’ a short modern hairstyle. Alternatively there are fantastic vintage wigs that are comfortable to wear. If your hair is long enough, pincurls and Victory rolls are the classic hairstyles.
   Classic make up. The Pin-Up face has flawless pale skin, structured brows, strong lips and natural cheeks. Choose a foundation with medium to high coverage, and as pale a colour as you can wear. A simple natural blush in soft pink (cool toned skin) or soft peach (warm toned skin) should be gently brushed just over the cheekbones. Brows are well shaped and relatively dark … the Scouse brow is too far one way, the Cher tattooed line too far the other! Use an eyebrow pencil to maintain definition, and a really good eyeliner to get a smoky, sultry look. Lips should be soft bubblegum pink or strong red and well defined - use a lip liner and blot the first coat before adding another to get long-lasting colour.

   Underwear. You knew we we’re coming to it, didn’t you! Great glamour comes from the best underpinnings and that means perfect undies for you. Not for anybody else, or for the public gaze, but so that you feel like a star whenever you wear them. From silk stockings to hand-made corsetry, your lingerie should give you the boost that allows you to walk into every room like the star you are.

Friday 10 October 2014

3D, Royalty and Pregnancy - a week of lingerie news

We’ve seen the future of lingerie - and it’s printed



Remember that a few weeks ago, we reported on a strict new ruling about lingerie that insists that in Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, nothing lacy could be sold. The theory was to stop retailers selling poor-quality synthetic underwear that could harm women’s reproductive health. Well, a German lingerie brand, Lascana, has just developed a new lingerie line that is definitely synthetic but will escape the ban. Why? Because it’s not woven or sewn - it’s printed on a 3D printer! The clamshell lingerie set was inspired by Botticell’s ‘Birth of Venus’ and features a clamshell bra and panties.

The Russian lingerie market is around £3 billion in value, which means that any company that can find a way to get its sexy undies to Russia legally is likely to make an absolute killing. It’s not even out of people’s price range, although you might have to save up for it - the bra and knicker set will probably retail at around £60.

A future royal in Britney’s knickers?


No, not a scandal about her love life, rather, a bit of astute marketing. When Britney Spears was in London last week to launch her new underwear collection, she is reported to have said that she would love to see Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, in her designs, and to that end she’s going to send every single item in the new lingerie line to the Duchess. Kate, who’s currently expecting her second child and wrestling with terrible morning sickness, just as she did when carrying Prince George, hasn’t commented on the offer and we don’t expect to see any underwear selfies of the Duchess in Britney’s scanties any time soon!

Oddly, Britney chose to comment on the role of men in her life when she was interviewed in Denmark, suggesting that women don’t necessarily need a man - just a good bath and some nice underwear! Of course she’s got to sell her line, but it’s a bit of an odd approach, we think. Perhaps she’s just a bit jet lagged.

Perfect underwear for pregnant women



Dita von Teese has been pondering the pregnant form and its underwear needs too, apparently. She has designed some undies that work for expectant women, based on the experience of friends of hers who wanted sexy but comfortable lingerie. Of course every woman wants to look good when she’s expecting, and many men find this an alluring and appealing stage of a woman’s life, But finding underwear that works can be difficult. Our recommendation for an investment lingerie item that will take you from your first weeks to beyond childbirth is the Lise Charmel Splendeur Inca robe which rides magnificently over any size of bump and has a rich pattern that flatters any shape or size.