Brides-to-be go lingerie shopping, sans the blush

The underthings might have been ‘unmentionables’ in the Victorian Era, but for brides-to-be in town, shopping for lingerie is as important as the wedding trousseau

Till some years ago, honeymoon shopping for an Agra girl meant picking up skirts and dresses which, with her chooda and mangalsutra, would make for the perfect beach honeymoon Facebook album. The other kind of honeymoon wear, the to-be-worn in the bedroom kind, was an embarrassing secret. Cut to 2014, and we have lingerie stores across malls, markets and online spaces – with screaming banners promoting their sexy bridal collections and honeymoon must-haves – and equally enthusiastic brides for whom lingerie is as important as saris and suits for their bridal trousseau. Sexy costumes and dresses, also known as babydolls, do not intimidate anyone anymore and instead, have become the ‘cool’ gift to give to girlfriends and even daughters! We spoke to some brides-to-be and their friends about the growing popularity of the wedding lingerie gift pack and to retailers, who are probably happier than the husbands of these bolder, experimental brides!

My mom was convincing me to experiment with lingerie
For Avantika Sharma*, lingerie shopping was never an event and she would just pick up products whenever she was out in the mall. But before her wedding, she received lingerie shopping tips from everyone around her, including her mother. She tells us, “I was excited about my entire bridal trousseau including my honeymoon outfits. But as the D-Day approached, I started receiving lingerie shopping tips from even my mother. We were shopping one day when she asked me if I had my honeymoon wardrobe ready and before I knew it, we were in the lingerie section with her convincing me to experiment with colours and fabrics and cuts and what not. I have to agree it was scandalizing at first to do this with my mother, but she very coolly said, ‘Sharam kya karni hai. Shaadi ke baad toh pehnoge hi’, and we ended up buying some really interesting things.”

My soon-to-wed cousin demanded lingerie as her gift
Unlike in the past, when no one would discuss anything remotely associated with their honeymoons, brides now are clear about their wardrobe for the after-wedding life and have no qualms demanding the right kind of products as gifts. Pashmeen Kaur, a marketing professional, who recently went lingerie shopping to gift to her cousin, says, “It’s the most apt thing one can gift to a bride-to-be. In fact, my cousin very specifically told me the kind of nightwear she would want as a gift. So, I along with my friends gifted her six-seven sets of sexy lingerie and nightwear on her D-Day. She would have definitely put them to good use!”

Shrishti Kulshreshta, a college student, recently went lingerie shopping with her friends to gift it to her soon-to-wed elder sister. “I know this might sound odd, but I didn’t find anything wrong in gifting lingerie to my elder sister. In fact, she is the one who asked me to check out some of the stores in the city for the best inner-wear. I got her two sets of lacy babydolls, a black sheer corset and three sets of satin nightwear in cute colours like baby pink, mauve and peach. Now, I have the experience of lingerie shopping and I can totally do it for myself when my shaadi approaches!”

Brides are bolder, know what they want: Lingerie brands and sales portals
According to online shopping portals, lingerie sales have doubled in the last month with bridal products becoming the most researched items on their websites. For these experimental brides, shopping online gives them the privacy they need to buy the more sensual, romantic lingerie. Vinay Mangalgi, merchandising head at Zivame.com, says, “We have specific products under the bridal category and the collections has been receiving the maximum attention in the last few weeks. Brides have become bolder and spend a lot of time exploring products of these category, which include more sensual items like lace and satin sets, babydolls and more. These days, brides know what they want, and to match up to this demand, many brands on our website have launched special collections for the wedding season. The clicks per page have gone up by 50% resulting in sales like never before. And the top three cities that buy our bridal collection of lingerie are Agra, Allahabad and Jamshedpur.”

Suchi Mukherjee, CEO and founder of LimeRoad.com, adds, “Our sales, in line of lingerie range, have risen by 75% in October, compared to that in September. Online shopping experience allows the buyer to enjoy the luxury of discretion, and so women now can venture out to a vast selection of sexier items within the comfort zone of their homes.”

Smita Murarka, spokesperson for Amante, says, “We’ve seen an increased interest in lingerie with sales going up by 40% in this season. Our special collection of premium lingerie sees a surge in this period and so do luxurious fabrics like silk, lace and microfiber in jewel tones.”
Neha Shah, marketing and sales manager at Shopimagine.com, tells us, “When we started out a couple of years back, we realised that 80% of our lingerie was bought during wedding seasons. That’s when we began our special catering to would-be brides. Our products are sent in beautiful pink boxes. Sales also almost double during the wedding seasons. We have customized glittery trousseau boxes in case it is bought for the purpose of gifting. This year, black lacy lingerie is in demand and customers also place online orders for skimpier and daring styles in fabric like silk and satin.”

Girls come with pictures of lingerie on online portals to buy similar stuff from us: City retailers and shopkeepers
The city’s shop-owners say they have many girls coming with the screen-shots of lingerie available on online portals. Says Kishore Kumar, owner of Lavanya Apparel, a store at Civil Lines Market, “Our lingerie segment is witnessing a boom like never before. During the wedding season, the footfall at our stores increases and sales go up by 50%. These days, girls know what they want and they do their research online, before coming to us. We have customers coming with screen-grabs of the products available online. Pehle itna craze nahi tha lingerie ka, and girls were mostly accompanied by their mothers. But now they don’t shy away from asking for a particular kind or colour of lingerie – be it silk, satin or lace.”

A thought seconded by Abhishek, owner of Sunny Stores at Fatehpur Sikri Road. He adds, “We are already witnessing a 30% increase in our sales. For most lingerie stores, business goes up during the wedding season. But what’s new is that now we have more girls coming to our stores to do their own shopping. They come with their friends and ask for specific brands, colours and fabric. Their choices have also become bold – they pick up sheer and net lingerie in colours like shocking pink, bright red and black. This is a new trend in Agra, and I think, it’s also because so many online portals now offer a variety of stuff, giving girls the opportunity to experiment with lingerie.”

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