Halloween tricks, bra secrets and David Cameron’s underwear - a week of surprises in lingerie

Dressing for Halloween

If you’re planning a Halloween costume but feeling self-conscious about the amount of flesh on display - don’t despair. It’s certainly true that many Halloween outfits have become skimpier and skimpier and more and more revealing as the years go on, but you can still rock the Halloween lingerie look with our tips and tricks:

•   Focus on the face - there are some astonishing looks that you can create with Halloween makeup. Brit+ Co have pulled together a wonderful set of ideas that you can play with and by ensuring you have a dramatic face, people will focus on your makeup artistry and not your costume. Not good with makeup, no matter … the next tip is for you

•   Cover up with class - opt for some long gloves, patterned tights or stockings, a vibrant mask and then you can cover up your basic look with a long cape or even a black coat, because your accessories create points of focus that make it clear you’re in costume without you having to bare too much body

•   Wig your way through - a great wig will always draw attention to your face and head, not your bod. Neon wigs are fantastic but don’t stop there - embellish your wig with a few focus points such as large fake spiders, tiny vampire bats or even rubber rats weaving in and out of your tresses - you’ll look fantastic and yet you won’t be over-exposed.

The way you put on your bra tells us everything about you

A body language expert claims that there are four personality types revealed by the way we do everyday tasks such as putting on underwear:

1.    If you wear a back fastening bra and you put it on then fasten it with your hands behind you, you’re a supporter - you like to stick to what you know and you generally get on with people pretty well

2.    If you put your back fastening bra on with the fastening at the front, then swivel it round and slide your arms through the straps, you're an influencer - you like to be appreciated and you take pleasure in making statements or experiencing new situations

3.    You opt for front fastening bras? You’re a driver - you are super efficient and make good decisions, but you don’t hang around.

4.    If you fasten your bra and then slide it over your head with the clasp or hooks and eyes already fastened you’re a corrector - a personality type that likes to do things exactly right and don’t feel the need for frills or fusses.

The Prime Ministerial underwear …

It turns out that the Camerons had a gift from Michelle Mone, CEO of Ultimo lingerie brand. In August 2014, a bunch of her merchandise arrived at Downing Street. Was it for Samantha … or Dave? Sadly we’ll never know, because gifts of over £140 in value must be declared and are then held by the Cabinet Office, so the sexy undies (whoever they were meant for) never made it to the bodies in question!

Cate Blanchett’s scanties, the lingerie sales problem in Saudi and how to pick Halloween lingerie

 Cate Blanchett’s shameful underwear

According to Cate Blanchett, her underwear doesn’t match up to the designer gowns she wears at film premieres. What she claims is that “[people] would be horrified if they could see my underwear drawer” and she goes on to say that the only reason she does photo-shoots is to get more underpants. Wow!

First, we can’t remember the last time anybody called women’s panties underpants - knickers, pants, undies, ‘bottoms’ and scanties yes, but underpants - straight out of a 1950s boarding school novel. Second, Cate goes on to say that she’s still wearing lingerie her mother made for her when she was in high school and we can certainly get behind that - there’s something very special about handmade underwear that makes it both durable and comfortable but that’s not the only reason it lasts so long. We also think that when we’ve got made-to-order lingerie like our Jane Woolrich range, we tend to treat it better by washing it more carefully and storing it with more love, which makes it last much longer.

Saudi undies at risk

Then again, there’s a genuine problem with underwear in Saudi Arabia - changes in legislation that required Saudi fashion and lingerie boutiques to employ only Saudi females have led to around 40% of those shops closing, according to one report. Owners of underwear shops have called on the Ministry of Labour to change the rules because Saudi women are said to fail to turn up to work for weeks on end and to quit jobs without notice.

On the other hand, the Ministry suggests that the failure to provide staff rooms that are female only, and the lack of provision of toilets for women are contributing to the problem. We can definitely see that having no female only toilets would cause women to give up work!

Choosing lingerie for Halloween

Maybe you're aiming to dress up and go full out as a Halloween witch, vampire or some other sexy spectre - if so, good for you! On the other hand, many of us are still quite reserved about Hallowe’en, or consider it to be a celebration for kids rather than adults - we’re equally comfortable with that approach. One thing we would like to urge though, is the opportunity to view Halloween as a chance to try some lingerie shades that might not normally strike you as your first choice, such as … orange.

The hue of pumpkins is rarely considered to be particularly sexy in the west, although as ‘Persimmon’ it’s a highly popular shade in South East Asia in particular. We’d like you to reconsider this particular colour as part of your lingerie palette. The harvest orange shades of the Lise Charmel Vibration Sutracamisole make it work for every skin tone and the beautiful bias cut of the design and the gold embroidery give it an autumn richness that could the ‘Night of the Dead’ into an evening that’s very lively indeed!