Wind, women footballers and winning the lingerie gift game - post-Christmas lingerie stories

Windy undies?

Online specialist publisher Marketing reports something quite fascinating - according to their marketing expert the future of advertising is going to depend, in large part, on using real time information to adjust what we see from advertisers. The example he used is that Asda sells more lingerie when it’s windy …

We’re still trying to work that one out too! Is it because people think of washing their scanties when they can line dry them (we all know not to tumble dry our precious silk underwear, don’t we!) or is it because women expect their skirts to blow up and reveal their less than glamorous knickers? We have no idea and that’s not the only question on our minds, we’re wondering about the thought processes of the computer expert who spotted that statistic too …

Lingerie league outclassed?

In a week when Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs have been lauded (again) for letting squatters stay in their Manchester hotel, the legends, plus Gary’s brother Phil, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt are under fire for hosting a Lingerie League match at their Hotel Football. Oh, just to be clear, it’s not the Man U dream team who are out in their non-regulation kit, it’s women. This week saw two women’s football teams strip off to underwear to play football to advance the future of the game.

According to the UK founder, Gemma Hughes who says, ‘I want to see a football revolution in my lifetime’ this event is going to return income and investment to the women’s game. Well, we’re not so sure. In a week where Serena Williams because the first Sports Illustrated's female "Sportsperson of the Year" since 1983 - and wore a lingerie inspired dress to pick up her award, we can’t help noticing that Serena and her sister Venus never played lingerie tennis. There is a difference between lingerie and technical underwear, and the whole point of technical clothing is that it helps you do whatever it is you’re doing a bit better. Whether that’s a control panel undergarment or a set of compression socks for marathon running doesn’t better - it’s designed for performance first and appearance second. The other way round is lingerie, designed to be comfortable for sure, but primarily, and we thing, vitally, designed to look awesome. So you look awesome wearing it. Once those boundaries start to blur, it’s difficult to know how to respond - are we looking at sportswomen in lingerie or lingerie models playing sport? So we like to keep our lingerie where it belongs - on our bodies, when and where we want to display it, and them. Not on a sports field.

Choosing lingerie for your lover

Another survey, by Debenhams this time, shows that in the UK 78% of women are thrilled to receive a gift of sexy lingerie at Christmas but that for a third of those women the feeling of being flattered becomes one of disappointment when the garment in question turns out to be the wrong size.

Overwhelmingly, our men buy us underwear that is too small. We have a great tip to help you get the right lingerie from your loved one - our wish list!  Simply save the items that appeal to you into your wish list and then your partner can pick from your selection, confident that you’re going to love their choices. This year, for example our plus size tuxedo redbaby doll has been flying off to destinations around the world, and that’s no surprise as this uber-sexy lingerie with its black trimmings is both gorgeous to look at and easy to wear … a winner in every sense of the word.

Appropriate and inappropriate underwear gifts this Christmas season!

 Inappropriate underwear the Kardashian way

Before we show you how to choose the perfect naughty gift for your partner, let’s talk about what’s really not so appropriate - Caitlyn Jenner, 66, giving her 18-year-old daughter, Kylie, lingerie. Most people might find that a little strange, given the age difference and Caitlyn’s recent and very public gender change. But that’s not what makes it totally uncool - it’s the fact that (a) Caitlyn choses to make the gift on live TV (well, this is the Kardashians after all) and (b) the undies in question have Caitlyn’s own face printed on them.

Kylie is herself a model but her shock, and clear distaste are obvious as she handles the bra and panties covered in Caitlyn’s portrait. It takes her a few seconds to sum up the situation, and then she nails it, “I have my dad on my underwear,” she says. Exactly!

Women who don’t want lingerie for Christmas

A survey by CouponCabin in the USA claims that not only do 61% of American women NOT want lingerie for Christmas but that 68% prefer to buy underwear on solo shopping trips.

We know for sure than many women prefer to buy lingerie online, but we suspect that’s because it’s easy to browse a lingerie site with a partner, without having the pressure of trying garments on and (literally) exposing yourself in changing rooms. Not only that, intimate conversations, jokes and teasing are natural when pondering your underwear choices in private with your lover, but much more difficult to enjoy when you’re in a lingerie boutique or the underwear section of a department store.

How to choose the perfect Christmas underwear gift

Picking a naughty present for your loved one can sometimes seem a high stakes exercise, but we can take the risk out of it. Here’s the perfect gift buying guide:

1.    Pick a gift that is appropriate to the stage of your relationship - if you're relatively new to each other, then something too intimate will carry a lot of baggage, whether it’s a guy buying underwear for a new girlfriend or a woman choosing a gift for her new lover. 

2.    Choose a gift that allows you to share an experience - if you’re hoping your lover will model their new underwear for you, don’t just buy undies - invest in a scented candle, a box of luxury popcorn and a romantic DVD … the collection of gifts, together, suggest an intimate evening with special moments and nothing could be easier than parading in a gorgeous new undergarment in such a setting.

3.    Don’t opt for  an item that suggests you’re trying to change your new partner - if you love thongs but your partner loves briefs, then buy him or her briefs! Investing in what you love, rather than what they love, is clearly an attempt to change them and that’s going to be badly received - buying gifts that are more for you than for the recipient is always a little creepy and controlling. It could even end your relationship!

“Santa baby” and other Christmas lingerie stories!

Underwear phone-in sparks lively debate in Dublin

When Dublin’s 98fm talk radio station hosted a call-in that asked if lingerie is an appropriate Christmas present, they got some surprising responses - one lady rang in to say that, a woman should receive a gift that says, “I  love you and NOT I want to mount you. I would be disgusted if my husband bought me lingerie for Christmas.”

Well that really provoked some debate with many other listeners stating that they would be delighted to receive lingerie for Christmas, not least because it would help “keep things interesting”.  As an online lingerie shop, we know just how interesting lingerie can be at any time of year, but there’s no doubt that we sell more sexy underwear at Christmas than at almost any other time of year.

Perhaps the funniest part of the whole proceedings for us was when the presenters began to ask the listeners what was on their list of Top Ten things Women Want for Christmas - to whit!

1.    Xbox 360

2.    Dyson Vacuum Cleaner

3.    Make-up

4.    Perfume

5.    Engagement ring

6.    Pyjamas

7.    Mop (!)

8.    A weekend away

9.    Hair products

10.  Concert tickets.

We’re frankly amazed - who wants a mop for Christmas? But when it comes to pyjamas we definitely have a recommendation - Jane Woolrich pyjamas are made to order so they are stunningly well made and they couldn’t be more capable of ‘keeping things interesting’ as they make wonderful boudoir garments but are sophisticated enough to be worn around the house too - a perfect Christmas gift. 

Golden undies

China’s super-rich have been having a good year, for many reasons, not least of which is that designers all over the world have been looking for ways to help them spend their money. In the summer we saw shirts for men made out of gold mesh being shown in Chinese catwalks. At a cost of £40,000 per shirt (which looks a bit like a gold string vest) there was very definitely a sense that this was clothing for the man who has everything.

But that’s not all. In Pingliang, China, some amazing underwear went on show at the weekend - a jewellery shop was hosting a catwalk show with a difference, which included a golden bra and pants set weighing 700 grams. The brassiere in question was handcrafted and featured gold chains flowing down the back of the bra, matched by chain links in the panties. The cost for this extravaganza? Around £310,000 in total.

Of course it’s an utterly gorgeous outfit but 700 grams is a lot of weight to be carrying - we think it would get very uncomfortable pretty quickly. If you want some jewelled underwear that doesn’t either cost the earth or weigh a ton, why not invest in something equally stunning but a little more realistic - our Unique Design Venus by Lola Luna is a beautiful G-string with gold accents, decorated with genuine semi-precious stones.