Lingerie booklet to brief the lads on frills and thrills

THIS is one type of homework grown men won’t complain about.

‘Lessons in Lingerie, Volume II’ is an A to Z educational tome with the underlying mission statement of “it’s time to be uplifted”.

The world of double J cups, racer backs, memory foam bras, invisible support and second-skin cleavage is explored in a 45-page booklet launched by Brown Thomas on Dublin’s Grafton Street.

The booklet aims to take the mystery out of buying lingerie — both for women and men.

With eight out of 10 women buying the wrong-sized bra, underwear ignorance is not limited to men straying nervously into lingerie departments on Christmas Eve in search of “something red”.

Size matters, and an A cup in one bra may be a B in another brand. So what’s a guy to do?

The number of male shoppers is increasing, according to BT’s lingerie buyer, Roslyn Ellis, who recommends that they raid the underwear drawer and come armed with some insider information on their girlfriend’s bra size and colour preferences.

It’s not hard to be blinded with science — the plunge bra versus the push-up, the balconette versus the underwire. Add in pre-formed cups, bra wings and seamed stay-ups and the world of lingerie shopping becomes mesmerising.

Seductive

A fashion show in store yesterday featured seductive sirens wearing coquettish ensembles, ranging from Oh La La boudoir pieces to innovative shapewear discovered to hide lumps and bumps, while making a girl look alluring in and out of her clothes.

The new name on the block is French brand Scandale, whose €89 contouring dress slip (seen left) mixes controlling panels with sexy lace and satin, which aims to create “a smooth line from bust to thigh”.

Fashion fans who loved Stella McCartney‘s sheer black spotty dresses last season will find an encore in her lingerie range this year, in particular her €55 ‘Fiona Poppin’ bra.

- Bairbre Power

Irish Independent

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