Lingerie Wardrobe
Every woman should have a lingerie wardrobe to complement their regular wardrobe. Since we
have wildly varying outerwear for all manner of different events, why don't we have varying
underwear too? Rigby & Peller firmly believes that we should, and that we should be as happy
with our underwear as we are with our outerwear. To help, Rigby & Peller here offers some
information and advice regarding creating a lingerie wardrobe.
Lingerie Wardrobe Guide
The basic premise behind this guide is that you wouldn't wear stilettos to the beach - unless
you were Mariah Carey - and you wouldn't wear your sandals to dinner with the Chancellor of the
Exchequer - unless you were Kate Moss. Therefore you shouldn't wear your finest filigree
lingerie to work or your cheapest high street bra to that sophisticated dinner party at the end
of the month. Since the chances of you being either Mariah Carey or Kate Moss are slimmer than,
well, Mariah Carey or Kate Moss, we think a guide to your lingerie wardrobe is in order.
A standard bra wardrobe should consist of the following:
- A few functional/everyday type bras
- A strapless bra
- A plunge bra
- A molded tee-shirt bra
- An expensive, beautiful bra
These are the very least you should have in your wardrobe. You can then adapt your
underwear to suit your outerwear, and build on your underwear wardrobe from this foundation.
Obviously a few functional bras are necessary to get you through the weekdays. A t-shirt bra
is always useful for closer fitting or silky tops and is an everyday staple. A strapless bra
and a cleavage enhancing bra are useful in different situations; nights out, romantic dinners
and minor work events for example. And you need an expensive, gorgeous bra for special occasions
(or for ordinary occasions which you want to feel a bit more special).
All very well, but which underwear is best with which clothing? Well let's start to address
that now. It's a huge topic which, to cover it empirically and entirely, would have to examine
every piece of underwear on the market and compare to every piece of outerwear. We don't really
have the resources for such an undertaking, so we're going to give you information and ideas
about what generally goes with what, and what's appropriate with which item.
Which Bra?
It is most important to remember that your underwear should make you feel happy and confident
and this could mean plain cotton for one person or brightly coloured lace for another. However,
whilst most bras and briefs can be worn in almost any situation, for instance you could wear a
strapless bra with a t-shirt, certain bras have ideal purposes.
Full Cup Bras: Provide smooth lines and overall support and are ideal for day to day wear
and high necklines. You should try to have these in a variety of colours to suit different
outfits including; black, white, nude etc.
Half Cup & Balcony Bras: Perfect for square cut necklines and are suitable for
special occasions.
Plunge Bras: Ideal for v-neck, low cut and plunging necklines.
Strapless & Multiway Bras: These are indispensable and are ideal for wearing under
strapless tops and dresses or those with difficult straps including spaghetti straps,
halternecks, cross backs, racer backs, one shoulder dresses etc. You should try to have a
strapless bra in black and a neutral colour such as cream or nude.
Moulded, Seamfree or T Shirt Bras: These come in a variety of styles and are ideal for
creating smooth clean lines and shape under difficult fabrics.
Strings & Straps
G-strings and thongs are the best way of eliminating visible panty line (apart from wearing
no underwear at all, obviously). So if you're anywhere other than the comfort of your home,
you'll probably be looking for a classy thong or g-string. They're the perfect solution to
difficult dressing days; if you're wearing a tight fitting skirt or trousers then they become
indispensable. If you're pulling on a pair of hipsters for a night out though, then you can
find some very low-rising thongs which don't show their waistbands over even the lowest-cut
jeans.
Boyshorts (sometimes referred to as girlshorts or girl boxers) or briefs make fantastic
accessories for most clothes. Again, briefs and shorts are often quite low-rising so they can
be worn with low cut trousers or skirts with low waistbands. They're very sexy items which work
well under most outerwear. If you're interested in briefs more for the sake of comfort than for
the sake of fashion, then go for a soft mesh or stretch lace. If it's fashion you're after,
then sheer, translucent or transparent materials are more appropriate.
Accessorising Under & Outerwear
Your underwear should accessorise your clothes. If you're wearing athletic clothes, wear a
sports bra. The sports bra is designed to work with athletic outerwear to help your body move
and to wick moisture in your skin away from the body, keeping you feeling fresh for as long as
possible. An awkward party frock will require some gorgeous, perfectly fitting lingerie below
it. If it's a particularly awkward dress, then some good quality control underwear might help
to get it under control. Miraclesuit offer a range of control briefs with different leg lengths
which are invisible under tight clothing, so you can wear dresses which have a tendency to gather
at the hips without fear.