Bridal collection

If you’re getting married and fancy something a bit more naughty than nice, have a look at the “Laura” collection. Simple, sheer and sexy, this set includes a strapless bra, knickers (and ouvert knickers!), crystal nipple tassels, a Swarovski garter, and white stockings. A bride has everything she needs for a beautiful wedding day and a lovely wedding night as well. The bra and knickers are £120 — not too bad considering what you’ve spent on the dress! You can see the whole bridal collection at Lascivious’s (Flash) site.

“The Doll” Viral Video

Following in the footsteps of many others, Lascivious has teamed up with filmmakers Wyld Stallions (great name!) to produce a viral video that frankly, doesn’t suck. “The Doll” is a stylish, edgy short video that’s both sexy and unexpectedly funny – a great combo. We’re delighted to see a viral that’s not just about women dancing around in their underwear (although you do get a bit of that). You can check out the video below (warning, contains nudity!) or see a high-res version (totally worth it) at thedoll.tv.

Even more Lascivious!

If you’re loving the look of all this lasciviousness, you can get a sneak peek of the Lascivious Autumn/Winter collection at our Flickr gallery. These shots are from “The Doll” launch party, and shows off some of the collections you can buy later this year. Enjoy!

As celeb-gossip blog devotees, we’re delighted that Britney is getting healthy, out of rehab and no longer attacking photographers with umbrellas. Even so, we’ve still got a serious problem with America’s favourite train-wreck: girlfriend needs to do something about her lingerie. We don’t mind that she’s romping around LA in her underwear (in fact we expect it), if only she would wear a bra that actually fits her breasts. Frankly, it’s embarrassing that one of the most well-known women in the world is walking around in a state of lingerie ignorance, so we just had to call her out on it:

Britney, please get a bra fitting, because your bra is way too small. Here’s how we know:

The evidence

Brit-Brit’s bra atrocities first came to our attention with this worrying photo. In it, she’s proudly exhibiting a classic case of quadra-boob, or wearing a bra that’s so small, the boobs are pushed out into little mini-boobs, leaving questionable lumps and bumps all over your chest. Here’s the photo, with our annotations:

In the photo, the blue dashed line represents the offending bra’s underwire, and the white dashed line represents where the bra’s underwire should be. As cup sizes go up, a bra’s underwire gets wider to accommodate and support all of the breast tissue — a good bra’s underwire should extend all the way back to below the underarm, encircling the entire breast. The pink bra above cuts off a few inches before the breast ends, and all that boob has got to go somewhere – in this case, down!

How to check for this problem
To make sure you don’t have Brit’s problem, use your fingers to feel your bra’s underwire. Can you feel a bulge of tissue just behind the underwire? Does the wire end halfway along the side of your breast, instead of under your arm? If so, your cup size is probably too small – try on a bra with one size lower in the band, and one size higher in the cup, then do the test again.

Need a few more examples of this problem? Here are a few more Britney photos illustrating a too-small cup size, with illustrated explanations:

Another tell-tale sign of a too-small bra can be found at the bridge, or the panel that holds the two cups together in the centre. If the bridge lies flat against your sternum, that means the cups are adequately covering your breasts and are the right size. If you can put your finger between the bridge and your skin, that means the cups are stretching across your breasts and probably not big enough. As you can see, Britney seems to be having that very problem.

Here’s another angle on the problem illustrated in picture 1. You can see where the bra should be ending, and the big stretch of fabric that’s there instead. This points to Brits wearing too large of a back size, trying to accommodate her larger cups by giving more room along the sides. Typically, women who wear the wrong bra size have their band size too large and their cup size too small, and we definitely think that’s the problem here.

The bright side

At least there is a bright side to all of this — just as Britney has taught us to avoid marrying our backup dancers, avoid walking barefoot in public bathrooms and to avoid velour tracksuits as wedding attire, she can now serve as a shining example to women everywhere for how not to wear a bra. If these photos look familiar, check out our Top 5 Bra Sizing Myths to find out more about how your bra should fit, and how you can find out your proper size.

While we were out, our sports writer Palila started thinking… what can you do with old bras? You know, those slightly-too-small, way-too-fussy, underwire-pokey bras skulking at the back of your lingerie drawer? That one you bought because it was so gorgeous, but digs into your back like crazy? We’ve all got them, and Palila sent us a list of ideas for re-using old bras. That got us thinking, and we managed to find quite a few ways!

28 things to do with an old bra

Repair it

Many bras lose their lives to the cruel spin of the washing machine – they emerge with wires poking out, and you keep forgetting to take them to a tailor (or just bin them). You don’t have to be a seamstress to fix them, though — you just need a paperclip, needle and thread and can sew the wire back into place. If you’re caught at work with a pokey bra, grab a pencil eraser and some glue to keep the sharp edge from annoying you all day.

Pimp It

Got a perfectly healthy, perfectly boring old bra? Try dressing it up in something a little more “you.” This Etsy seller took a boring tee-shirt bra and turned it into a lovely lacy bra, adding French lace along the cups and back (pictured above). You could add sequins and make a belly-dancer costume, or create a burlesque look with some rhinestones. If you prefer something a bit more geeky, why not add electronic silicon LED’s?

Change it

Your old bra doesn’t have to be a bra – it could be a lovely lavender sachet (pictured above), an art installation, a local tourist attraction, quilt, and even a handbag. In fact, bra handbags are very popular, and you can find some lovely examples on Etsy– this is our favourite!

Display it

One thing we’ve always wanted to do was take an old lovely picture frame, pick out our favourite set that didn’t fit, and pin it inside the frame for some instant lingerie art. In fact, when we get a Knickers HQ that’s totally how we’re decorating!

Give it

If you barely wore the bra, why not donate it to a charity? Breasttalk are kind enough to take your old bra and donate it to a wide network of UK and overseas charities, helping out women who barely have anything, much less a well-fitting bra. If you’d prefer to give locally, you could Freecycle any bras to people in your area.

If the bra isn’t in good enough shape, you can donate it to art instead. Heck, you can even turn it into art then donate the art for charity!

Other ideas

Here are some other ideas you can try out:

• Cut off the straps and turn them into earmuffs –Danae’s mom
• Cut off the lace and use it to cover old buttons
• Use them in the garden to support growing vegetables
• Give it to a random stranger on the internet
• Use the cloth to sew an iPod pocket on your sports bra
• Turn it into a hat (ha!)
• Sew it into a camisole for support
• Buy The Bra-makers Manual and use an old bra to practice

What did we forget?

We’re sure we haven’t found all the uses for an old bra — what do you think? Tell us in the comments!

As our longtime readers will know, we love a good charity event. We’ve raised money for cancer charities at our Sample Sale and with lingerie label Made by Niki, and this time, we’re going the extra mile. Actually, make that 6.2 miles.

Despite having no athletic tendencies at all, your faithful editor will be running jogging the BUPA Great Edinburgh 10k here in Scotland, raising money for the Marie Curie cancer charity. This charity dedicates itself to caring for cancer patients through their illnesses, as well as researching potential cures. We can’t think of a better way to jump-start a healthy, happy summer than to do it for a good cause.

As an added bonus, we’ll be doing the ultimate product review during the run — we’ll be wearing the Shock Absorber Level 4 bra (US, UK), and will report back post-race on how it handled a 10k for a G-cup. A quick preliminary review: the back sizes for this bra are really small — we normally wear a 34/36 in the back, but had to go up to a 40 in this bra. Keep that in mind if you order!

The Shock Absorber is one of the few sports bras available for larger-cup sizes, so we have high hopes for it!

How to Donate

The run is next Sunday, 6th May, so we’ve set up a donation page for one week to collect donations. If you’d like to support me in the run (and trust me, I’ll need a lot of support!), donate as little or as much as you like using the links below:

UK readers, Donate to Marie Curie at our fundraising page for the race (our goal is £150!)

US readers, we’ve set up a fundraising page with the American Breast Cancer Foundation, also with a $150 goal!

New Features

• At-a-glance titles: The old newsletter used a fixed subject line for the daily e-mail, so you couldn’t see what the article was about until you clicked inside. Now the article title is in the subject line, so you’ll know exactly what lingerie goodness lies within
• Quicker e-mail delivery: Instead of getting an e-mail summarising yesterday’s articles, you’ll get one e-mail per article, about an hour after we post. So when we post last-minute deals, you won’t be reading yesterday’s news!

What you need to do

To get the new newsletter, you’ll need to sign up for our new list (We’re calling it the Knickers Daily Fix). If you’re already a subscriber, you should get an e-mail asking you to confirm your subscription to the new newsletter (the subject line is “Activate your subscription to knickers”). If you’re not already a subscriber, you can sign up below (existing subscribers can do this too, and just ignore the e-mail).

We’ll keep the old list running for a wee while as we make the transition, and will keep our eyes peeled for any problems. If you have any trouble signing up to the new list or with your new e-mails, just drop Danae a line.

Sign up for the new daily newsletter

We’ve been trying out so many lingerie sets that we’re dedicating a whole week to product reviews — we’ll be covering everything from sexy strings to soft cotton sets, so everyone should hopefully find something useful. We’ll start the Week tomorrow and run through to Saturday, with a new product each day.

Want to make sure you see them all? You can sign up for our daily newsletter and get the full reviews delivered to your inbox. To sign up, just fill in the box below:

Seventh Sin Mag

Before we get started with our reviews, go and check out Australia’s Seventh Sin magazine and their all-lingerie issue! The issue is chock-full of advice, featured products, and even features an interview with Kay Cohen from sultry-chic label Pleasure State. You can flick through the magazine in Flash, and they’ll be publishing a plain HTML version soon.

We know you’re scared of nipple tassels. Sure, they look amazing when worn properly, but you couldn’t possibly wear such a thing, right? What if you looked silly? Don’t they hurt? How do you even put them on?

In reality, tassels can look spectacular as part of a lingerie set, will suit a variety of personal styles, and aren’t going to do anything horrible to your tender bits. Once you try them, you might find that they’re the secret sauce you never knew your lingerie drawer needed. If you’ve got a secret hankering to let your burlesque side out, we’re here to hold your hand and guide you through the world of nipple tassels — from where to buy them to how to wear them. Here’s what we’ll cover:

Where to buy nipple tassels
How to attach nipple tassels
What to wear with nipple tassels

Where to buy nipple tassels

There’s a huge range of places to buy tassels from, although many of them are still relatively “underground.” We’ve done the hunting and picked out some of our favourites from the extravagent land of tassels.

First up is a designer favoured by the lovely Immodesty Blaize and countless other burlesque performers: the nipple tassel designer Titmore & Asspley (what a name!). These crystal concoctions (above left) aren’t exactly what you’d expect from nipple tassels — you might have imagined red hearts, but what about skulls, bows, devils and even snowflakes? There’s an option for any personal style – from edgy to girly, flirty to vixen. Titmore’s site is not up and running yet, but you can see their entire collection on MySpace (requires registration, go to pics, prices are listed below). As a hello to Knickers readers, Titmore & Asspley is giving every Knickers reader 10% off any order — just drop designer Sarah a line at titmoreandasspley@hotmail.com.

If you fancy something a little more simple, check out Agent Provocateur’s collections of pasties and tassels – we love this little gold star set and this sugary pink set is just adorable. Coco de Mer also has a lovely black set (pictured above right), and She Said Boutique has a great collection at reasonable prices.

Tassels haven’t quite hit the mainstream yet, so you can find some really unique ones in unexpected places — craft-site Etsy has beautiful orchid pasties, black hearts, and lovely flowers for around $20, all handmade by independent sellers. Even eBay has a outrageous peacock feathers pastie for the more adventurous.

Make your own tassels!
If all those prices still look too dear for you, there’s a great step-by-step guide at Think Pretty showing you how to make your own tassels. For more information, try checking out this thread at the Ministry of Burlesque forum — it’s chock full of detailed instructions on how to have a go at making your own.

How to attach nipple tassels

To attach your tassels, you’ve got two choices: tape or glue.

Attaching with tape
Some tassels you buy will already come with a “pastie,” or a disposable tape for attaching the tassel. Once those run out, however, you can simply use “tit tape” or “boob tape,” or any other double-sided tape. We recommend Hollywood Fashion Tape from the Useful Chick Stuff Company — we tried out a lot of their products at the big show in Paris this year, and unlike a lot of brands capitalizing on this industry, they really go the extra mile to make sure their products are useful for women.

Attaching with glue
If you’re planning on some serious tassel-twirling or are just nervous about the tassels falling off, you might prefer to use glue — there are two common kinds, eyelash glue and a tackier spirit gum (used by costume departments). Spirit gum requires a remover liquid to take off, and you’ll also need to use the remover on the inside of the tassel to keep it from being damaged. Also, either glue could irritate your skin, so definitely test the glue out on a less sensitive part of your body first!

What to wear with nipple tassels

This is all very pretty, you say, but what in the world would i wear nipple tassels with? If you’re like us, you’re probably not very comfortable with the tassel on its own and want a bit more support (not to mention something to cover a bit more skin!). There are two simple solutions: quarter-cup bras, and underbust corsets.

Quarter-cup bras and nipple tassels
Quarter-cup bras only cup the bottom of the breast, but leave the nipple exposed, perfect for a cheeky tassel. Agent Provocatuer takes the prize for this beautiful ribboned “cupless” bra for £75 (pictured above left). It’s the perfect combination of sophisticated and naughty, and we love the whole look.

For even more quarter-cup bras, GlamAm (who ship to the US and UK) has a lovely set from Valisere (warning, photos is not safe for work!), and here’s another from Frankly Darling. US readers, Azaleas also has a quarter-cup bra available in limited sizes for just over 30 bucks! There’s also a $40 demi bra from Duet that we think would probably work as well, and is just so heavenly you should buy it anyway.

If you can’t find a quarter-cup bra in your size, try this bra from Wicked Tickels that comes in S,M, and L. Sure, it won’t be the best fit, but unless you’re planning on having a very naughty secret at work, the bra probably won’t stay on too long anyway.

Underbust corsets and nipple tassels

The other option for wearing nipple tassels is to wear an underbust corset — these corsets nip you at the waist like normal, but stop right below the breasts to allow you to show off your tassels. Underbust corsets can cut off in a straight line right under the bust like this example, but others will curve right around the shape of the breast (pictured above right), giving the tiniest bit more support and creating a very dramatic look. Corsets will naturally be more expensive than a simple bra, but an underbust is surprisingly versatile — you can wear the corset over a blouse , and we reckon it would look amazing over a dress like this.

The best place to find an underbust corset is at British designers Eternal Spirits and Velda Lauder (pictured at top of article), and there’s also a great selection at She Said Boutique. Most of those shops will ship to the US, but American readers should also check out the selection at Absolute Corsets.

Update: If you’re looking for even more things to wear with your tassels, we’ve written a follow-up post with more burlesque-inspired picks.

Phew! Hopefully you’ve found something to suit you in the variety above, but if you haven’t, just leave us a comment with your questions and comments. And if you’re a tassel-wearer yourself, feel free to chime in with some expert advice!

Everyday bras will not get cheaper, ever: Lily of France microfiber bralette – two for $8.

Lovely midpoint between pretty and utilitarian: Rampage Rosey bra, a demi bra of stretch mesh and velvet accents. On sale for $10.

Bargain Cat: Puma Sheer Cat Soft bra on sale for only $13 (75% off).

Must-have boy pants: Elle Macpherson Intimates french knicker on sale for $17.

Don’t be fooled by the boxer label, these are as girly as it comes: Daniel Hechter Tiffany’s boxer on sale for $20.

For the vixen on a mission (and a budget): Felina Gia Rose Balconette bra on sale for $25. The matching panty is on sale for $15.

Sweet deal for those with serious cleavage: Freya Dolly Mixture Underwire Balcony bra for D cups, on sale for $27.

Button buster : Felina Marlena Bustier on sale for $30.

Luxury steal: Lisi Valle Lili soft bra with silk charmeuse, on sale for $42.50.

Stunning blue, not so much under sheer white tops: Aubade Promenade du Couchant demi cup bra on sale for $45.

Winner of this week’s best sale set award: Elle Macpherson Utopia soft triangle bra, on sale for $49. The matching thong is on sale for $20 (or here for $17.50).

Polka dots and velvet for aspiring pinup girls: Mimi Holliday by Damaris silk chiffon polkadot bra on sale for $50.

We’ll start off with something stunning — if you want to go all out this Valentine’s Day, buy a beautifully made corset from Eternal Spirits. This label blends sexy, powerful looks with delicate touches, making any woman wearing it feel 100% sensational. You can even get a bespoke version of each corset or waspie made to an exact size.

Price range: £230-£450 (~$380-$900)

Buy Eternal Spirits at their online Boutique

If you fancy something a bit sweeter, why not indulge in a collection inspired by ice cream? English designer FleurT creates lingerie that is simple, sweet, and terribly british with its sophisticated lines and luscious fabrics. They’ve also just introduced a bra that goes up to a GG cup, making this beautiful label perfect for women of all sizes.

Price range: £50 – £70 ($100 – $140)

Buy FleurT at their online boutique, or at Glamorous Amorous

We love Guia la Bruna. If you’re looking for pure Italian decadence but think La Perla is a bit too fussy, try the sensuous shapes of Guia la Bruna. Guia’s designs are flowing and fresh with amazing prints and guaranteed to make any woman feel amazing. It’ll set you back a pretty penny, but this is one heck of a way to make a big impact.

Price Range: £180 – £340 (on sale for $90-$400)

Buy Guia la Bruna at Glamorous Amorous in the UK, or Faire Frou Frou in the USA (on sale!)

If you want to buy French lingerie for Valentine’s Day, why not go for the royalty of Paris? Chantal Thomass has been designing lingerie since long before we were kicking about, and consistently creates amazing, couture collections. This is not cheap and you’ll have to brave a German website to get the best selection, but trust us: it’s worth it.

Price Range: £70-£200 ($60 – $200 at US stockists)

Buy Chantal Thomass at Cazar Germany or an older collection at Underwear Options

Lingerie isn’t all about frilly bras and knickers, it’s also about sumptuous, yummy loungewear that women can feel slinky and sexy in. That’s why we love Lounge Lover, created by a Belgian designer living in the UK. These pieces are great for Yoga, running to the shops on a Saturday, cuddling in front of a film, or any other time a woman wants to look lovely while feeling comfortable.

Price Range: £69-£99

Buy Lounge Lover at Bibi Beautiful in the UK (sorry, we can’t find any US stockists!)

Once upon a time, women blessed with larger chests were punished with boring bras, old-lady styles and a generally depressing selection. But then, a recently-pregnant woman set out to buy a bra herself, and when she couldn’t find anything she liked in her new size, she vowed to create a label herself. And so, Miss Mandalay was born. A young, colourful, fresh label for women with larger cup sizes who still want to feel beautiful.

Price Range: £20-£50 ($30-$77)

Buy Miss Mandalay at Figleaves US, or FIgleaves UK

For a more traditional larger-cup treat, look no farther than Belgian label Prima Donna and their beautifully embroidered bras and basques. We especially love the little details in these pieces — the embroidery along the straps, the excellent fabrics, and the fantastic fit this label provides. This label is a great way to give a larger-cup woman the same European treats as everyone else.

Price Range: £43- £159 ($76 to $150)

Buy Prima Donna at Rigby and Peller in the UK and Bits of Lace in the US

If you’re not sure what to buy for Valentine’s Day, Aubade is never a wrong choice. An institution of French lingerie, Aubade has consistently produced beautifully made, beautifully designed lingerie for over a century. Their new, couture “Lingerie de Luxe” line has produced even more creative, beautiful designs, so you really can’t go wrong with this brand.

Price Range: £25-£80 ($50 – $150)

Buy Aubade at Figleaves UK, or Figleaves USA.

Created from the ashes of an old Romanian factory, I.D. Sarrieri is a modern luxury brand, blending sex appeal with chantilly lace and creating some amazing lingerie as a result. Their signature style is ladylike and tailored, often decorated with bold splashes of colour or a generous helping of eyelash lace.

Price Range: £100-£400 ($50-$200)

Buy I.D. Sarrieri at Boudiche in the UK, and on sale at Nancy Meyer in the US

Created by a writer-turned-designer, Made by Niki is one of the most exciting brands coming out of the UK right now — all of her pieces are hand-numbered and limited edition, the prints vary from silk to linen printed with hounds, and the designs even range on the controversial. Niki’s latest creation, Rosary, includes a detachable rosary that you can either attach at the knickers, or wear as a necklace. Needless to say, some have not been amused at her sexy interpretation of the beads. Personally, we love the collection and know that any woman receiving Made by Niki will treasure such a beautifully-made piece of lingerie.

Price Range: £67 – £275 ($120 – $550)

Buy Made by Niki at Glamorous Amorous, who ship to the US and UK

Speaking of wonderful smaller, independent designers, N de Samim is really something special. Inspired by Victorian “bumless” underwear, Nona de Samim has created a new brand that is part old-fashioned, part-modern, and with all those bumless pieces, very cheeky indeed. Her backless sans-coulottes are the entree, but Nona has many more beautiful pieces to offer.

Price Range: £100 (£200)

Buy N de Samim at their website (drop them an e-mail!)

If you’re looking for something a bit less structured and more flowy and light, we highly recommend Aussie-brand Bulb. We could go on about the fabrics that designer Julie sources from all over the world, the unbridled creativity and sunshine each piece seems to reflect, but suffice to say that this brand is perfect for women who love camisoles, little dresses, and anything flimsy and pretty.

Price Range: £150 ($300)

Buy Bulb at Glamorous Amorous, who ships the UK and US

Like the look of loungewear, but looking for something a bit more… French? Look no farther than Elise Aucoutier, a designer just emerging from France with some beautiful designs. She could use silk, but she’d rather use stretch bamboo jersey, and only the best lace from Calais will do for Elise. This label is perfect for women who prefer loungewear, but still want something high-end.

Price Range: £79 – £180 ($150-$370)

Buy Elise Aucoutier at Mio Destino, who ship to both the US and UK

Here’s another new French brand that’s worth a look: the lovely Bien Fee Pour Toi, a fairy-like brand of sweet and simple designs and bold colours. If you’re buying for a woman who has seen it all when it comes to lingerie, this little gem might be just the surprise she needs.

Price Range: £30-£40 ($60-$70)

Buy Bien Fee Pour Toi at Mio Destino, who ships to the US and UK

All this talk about French this, Italian that, but what about the Americans? Lucky for us, a hot new brand has emerged from New York, and it is taking no prisoners. Kiki de Montparnasse isn’t just a lingerie label, it’s a lifestyle brand offering accessories, sex toys, and a killer luxury lingerie line on top of all that. Everything they’ve produced, from a crystal vibrator to their stunning Valentine’s edition lingerie, is creative, original, and instantly desirable.

Price Range: £50 – £150 ($100 – $300)

Buy Kiki de Montparnasse at their online boutique

Looking for something a bit more rock and roll? Dark and decadent brand Bela’s Dead is just what the doctor ordered. Inspired by rock music and fantasy illustrations, this label combines simple, sexy shapes with elaborate embroidery to create a bad-girl look. If she’s bored of all those laces and frills, try treating her to a little something edgier.

Price Range: £40 – £180 ($80-$350)

Buy Bela’s Dead at Glamorous Amourous in the UK and US, or Mixona in NYC (in-store only)

This brand has an unfortunate name, but makes some killer lingerie. Cotton Club is a sophisticated Italian brand, ranging from relatively simple sets like you see above to full-on Swarovski-encrusted masterpieces that range into the thousands. Lucky for us, most pieces don’t cost a mortgage payment, and this lovely little gem is sure to delight.

Price Range: £75-£250 ($150 – $500)

Buy Cotton Club at Silk Storm in the US and UK, and limited pieces available in the US at La Petite Coquette

Valentine’s Day is always too cold, so why not warm it up with some summery lingerie? We love Wendy Glez’s beachy, retro looks and for any girl that fancies something a bit 50′s, it’s a perfect gift. Pieces range from little jackets, camisoles, to cute pajamas.

Price Range: $25-$140

Buy Wendy Glez at Azaleas NYC in the US (sorry, no UK stockists!)

Speaking of camisoles, we just had to point out the reigning queen of the silk cami: Leigh Bantivoglio. So nice you wouldn’t think twice about wearing it outdoors as well as in, these camis are stylish, beautifully made and come in a glittering array of colours. A beautiful lingerie gift that she’ll be able to wear anywhere she wants.

Price Range: £120 ($75-$250 in the US)

Buy Leigh Bantivolgio at Figleaves US or Figleaves UK

Leigh’s silk camis might be romantic, but Jonquil takes their sleepwear and camisoles to a whole new level. This is the kind of romantic, fairy-tale lingeire that women imagine themselves wearing on a hacienda in old Spain or maybe just on a particularly romantic saturday morning. If she loves lace, she’ll love Jonquil.

Price Range: $70-$400

Buy Jonquil at Lingerie Studio in the US

After all that ornate loungewear, here’s something a bit simpler: pure pima cotton, simple shapes, and a dedicated celeb following. Skin lingerie is a perfect treat for any woman, as it’s all about comfort and natural sex appeal.

Price Range: £50-£100 ($75-$200)

Buy Skin at Figleaves US and Figleaves UK

Okay, all of this is pretty boring and you’re looking for something really different. You want vintage, you want modern, you want punk and you want colour. How about Twisted Thrift? They’re one of our favourite new lingerie designers and their designs are unique, bold and unmistakably sexy. Don’t miss the “Tudor Gold” collection as well as the “Bellebathan” pictured above.

Price Range: £30-£100 ($60-$200)

Buy Twisted Thrift at Playful Lady, who ship to both the US and UK

If you liked Twisted Thrift, you might also want to look at Ophelia Fancy, a Victorian-inspired label that borders on costumery and is perfect for anyone with a flair for the dramatic. Pieces include naughty-nurse outfits circa 1850, nipple tassels, amazing corsets and some cheeky garters. A truly unforgettable gift for a one-of-a-kind woman.

Price Range: £28 – £700 ($50 – lots!)

Buy Ophelia Fancy at their online boutique (click shopping)

Phew! With all that vintage lace and bold colours, we thought we’d end on two sleek, chic and sophisticated brands. First up is french label Huit, one of our top picks for Valentine’s Day – their styles are so lovely, so simple and sexy that they’ll suit a wide range of personal styles and can make any woman feel lovely. When in doubt, buy Huit.

Price Range: £12-£50 ($40-$100)

Buy Huit at Figleaves US and Figleaves UK

Finally! We’ve been to the fringes of the lingerie world and back, and now we settle on a lingerie brand that has a little bit of everything. Italian? Check. Stylish and sexy? Check? A little edgy? Check. Argentovivo has it all, and is another no-brainer for a Valentine’s Day gift. They’ve got everything from basques to bra sets, and will always be a wonderful gift for any woman.

Price Range: £50 – £250 ($100 – $500)

Buy Argentovivo at Glamorous Amorous or Silk Storm, both will ship to the US and UK

Phew! We’re back from our whirlwind trip to Paris, and have got lots of photos for you! We managed to salvage some of our overexposed Ultra Lingerie photos to show you the mad one-off couture pieces, and have tons of photos from the main catwalk line as well. You can view the whole collection at our Flickr page. We’ll be adding in the designer names over the next few days (it’s a nightmare to match them up), so enjoy for now!

View our lingerie catwalk photos!