According to my great friend Google, way back in the ancient mists of time, the Roman Emperor Claudius II decreed that young men should be forbidden to marry because single men made better soldiers. A romantic young priest named Valentine defied Claudius, secretly marrying young couples. For his troubles he was martyred in 496AD and Saint Pope Gelasius set aside 14 February to honour him.
So as the day fast approaches, you will notice men in suits and men in jeans wandering around with troubled looks unsure whether to buy you the dozen long stemmed roses, the heart shaped box of chocolate liqueurs or the red satin nightie and negligee. The latter was my husband’s gift of choice last year – both in two sizes too big. Two sizes too big! As you can imagine the rest of 14 February was a fairly frosty day.
In my experience men want to buy lovely underwear for their partners but are troubled by it and don’t know how to go about it. Whilst I feel that women should buy their own underwear, preferably using their partner’s credit card! If you think your partner is going to be tempted to go the lingerie route with the gift buying, then show him this article first which is about things he needs to consider when buying your bras and knickers.
The colour
Choose lingerie in her favourite colours – don’t be tempted by red or black (both too temptress!) or white (boring!).
The brand and type
Do have a look in your partner’s underwear drawer. What brand does she favour – is she and M and S lady? Does she favour Empreinte, Victoria’s Secret, Bravissimo? The label will tell you the brand. Check out if she wears a full cup or balcony, underwired or not.
The size
We ladies go to a lot of trouble ensuring we are wearing the right size bra, we usually get measured by professionals. The rules here are the bridge or centre of the bra should rest on the rib cage and the breast should fit within the bra cup fully (otherwise the cup size is wrong). Also, you should only be able to get one finger up the back of the bra and under the strap (otherwise the bra size is wrong). Again look at a recently purchased bra and the size and cup size will be on the label. They vary depending on the brand so you need to buy the same brand and size/cup size as on the existing label. Take it with you, if in doubt.
The knickers
The first point here is they have to match the bra – again in a favourite colour. Secondly does she wear a full brief to cover her tummy (more Bridget Jones) or does she favour a mini-brief or thong (more Pamela Anderson)? Buy what she wears most, based on more research from her underwear drawer. Always buy at least three pairs so she can wear matching underwear on a number of days. It’s amazing how fabulous a girl feels when she knows she is wearing matching underwear!
So, in conclusion, your partner should be a bit wiser now – fingers crossed! If when you open that red tissue wrapped parcel on Valentine’s Day expecting some luxury lingerie and find he was still tempted to buy you a fluffy dog with ‘I wuff you’ embroidered on its belly (more sinner than saint), blame Saint Pope Gelasius not him!
Written by Shan Williams, Personal Stylist.
If lingerie doesn’t appeal then ask for a consultation from one of our consultants click here to look up who is based in your area. https://www.colourmebeautiful.co.uk/consultant/search/ Afterwards you will know exactly what suits you and make wise decisions when shopping.