2 tattoo

I just want to say that I love tattoo print lingerie.

Photos courtesy of Sailor Jerry and Boobie Trap.

2008 Trend: Tartan

Designers everywhere are taking a cue from the Scottish Highlands and putting tartan on their runways for the Fall/Winter season. Tartan isn't a new thing, of course. It's been associated for hundreds of years with the Scots, and, more recently, there was a big tartan trend in the 1980's (we won't mention the schoolgirl fetish of the 1990's. *shudder*).

What makes this season's tartan new, though, are the crisp lines, modern cuts, and aesthetic of "a little goes a long way." It's not hard to imagine how you might incorporate tartan into your external wardrobe, but how does it carry over into the realm of lingerie?

For those living in Europe, the Italian lingerie label, Tezenis, offers a cute red tartan bra and panty set which costs roughly 20 Euro for both pieces. In America, the celebrity lingerie line, Trashy, has an entire series (unfortunately titled "Schoolgirl") full of tartan inspired pieces.

Tartan also appears in corsets. This season's Vollers' collection contains a Tartan underbust corset (shown at left) and even other, independent designers are getting into the tartan trend like the Etsy store VioGemini Designs, which offers both tartan corsets and coordinating fishtail skirts.

Last, but certainly not least, the tartan trend is appearing in stockings and hosiery. Celeste Stein Designs offers several patterns of plaid on fishnets, thigh highs, or tights (these hose are also sold at Stockingirl, but why pay their mark-up?). As you can see, there are infinite ways to work this trend. Plus, if you buy tartan underwear, you don't have to worry about being unfashionable next season!

I love Etsy.

You know I can't leave well enough alone, so, after finding Crikey Aphrodite's etsy store, I had to see who else was selling suspender belts. I really like this garter set by seller Hopeless. It feels very luxe and retro, and, with the right accessorise, could even work as supersexy maid costume for Halloween. She even has a pair of delectable, rufled undies, and I know how some you like your frilly underthings!

Crikey Aphrodite!

That's the name of the corsetiere from yesterday's post, and guess what? I just found her Etsy shop. Go here if you'd like to see (or buy!) more of her work, including the two scrumptious garter belts shown below, both retailing for $70 UD.

New hotness.

A corsetiere just posted her latest work over on Corsetry, a LiveJournal group for corset lovers which I watch religiously.

Can I just say how unbelievably hot the matching corset, blindfold, and garter set is below?

Yup. Unbelievably hot.

You can see her other new corsets here.

editing note

For anyone just stumbling upon my blog, please excuse any errors of grammar or format that you may see.

I'm currently traveling abroad and often have to use internet cafes to update. The good thing is that I have internet access at all. The bad thing is that I'm victim to whatever idiosyncratic default formatting the machine has.

So, please, bear with me. And, as always, thank you for reading my blog.

retro lust

I don't need to explain how sexy this is, do I?

From Agent Provocateur.

"If I were a rich girl" lust

If I had the disposable income, I'd buy these panties in a heartbeat.

Sadly, $570 for a pair of "drawers" (as my Momma would say) is a bit much.

More than a bit actually...

Extravagant bloomers courtesy of Strumpet and Pink.

wistful lust

I wish I'd bought this bra when I first saw it instead of waiting around and deliberating.

It's the Elle MacPherson Boudoir halter bra. The only place I saw it was on the Figleaves UK site, but I couldn't bring myself to spend the £60.00, especially since the exchange rate was approximately 2 dollars to 1 pound at the time.

Ah well. I'm sure it's making someone very happy.

Speaking of Stockings HQ...

Wouldn't these be perfect with a maid costume for Halloween?

From Girardi.

I'm going to get in trouble.

The Lingerie Post has an article on a new brand of stockings designed by the French retailer Love Me. So far, they have two distinct lines: Pin-up and Manga. You already know I'm digging 'em both.


I especially like the 'Candie' stockings from the Pin-up line (posted to the left) and the metallic 'Spark' stockings (pictured to the right).


So many companies are using the same ideas (how many pairs of backseams and fishnets do you really need?), that it's refreshing to see someone new taking things a step further.


The 'Candie' stockings retail for 23.90 € and the Spark stockings are 16.00 €. The former is only available in size Small/Medium, while the latter is available in both Small/Medium and Medium/Large.


Oh, I just checked and unfortunately they don't ship to America. Bother. If you live North of the border though, you're in luck, as they do ship to Canada for 22 €. Stockings HQ, another UK stockings retailer, carries some of their line and also ships to the U.S., but doesn't have the stockings I posted here (though they do have these and these). Perhaps if enough of us e-mailed them, they'd get the others too? ;-)

VS grows up. Again.

It appears that Victoria's Secret was serious about making lingerie for grown women again, rather than focusing exclusively on the 'tween set. Some of their new pieces are nice, but it's all for nothing if they don't change the quality of their products. Any opinions?

Surprise!

I thought Spoylt was out of business. Guess not. Go check out their new collection. I'm especially digging the Entice and Embrace lines.

Bodysuits: Yay or Nay?

After wearing the same three shirts every day for six weeks, I've recently acquired three new bodysuits for a bit of variety. I've never worn bodysuits before because, quite frankly, the entire get up seemed rather odd to me. Who would voluntarily wear a leotard everyday? Wasn't it unhygienic? What about personal maintenance?

Well, while I'm not entirely a fervent convert, I have to say the bodysuits I have are a good deal more convenient and more comfortable than I anticipated. Not only do I look more polished than usual (which is useful, as I'd rather not look like a grungy backpacker when I'm at, say, the opera), I also feel a bit...freer. I don't have to worry about my shirt coming untucked or my undergarments riding up.

So...if any of you care to offer an opinion, what do you think of bodysuits? Useful? Pretty? Okay for winter but not for summer? Fine for work but not for play? Inquiring minds (by which I mean me) want to know.

Ooh la la!

Have I ever mentioned how I much love Chantilly Lace?

Image courtesy of Faire Frou Frou.

Wonderbra by Dita von Teese Collection

Awhile back, I posted that Dita von Teese, the popular burlesque and striptease artist, was designing a retro-inspired collection for Wonderbra. Alas, however, it was not to be available in America.

Well...if you're the least bit interested in getting a piece or two of this limited edition collection, I'd say you need to scurry over to asos.com right away where they're not only selling the entire collection, but can also ship it all to the States.

While not cheap (the exchange rate is simply too poor for that), I don't feel as if it's exorbitantly expensive either. The girdle and bra shown above cost £24.00 and £34.00, respectively (approximately $42.20 and $59.70 USD).

For more information on the collection (or just to see more pictures of Dita in lingerie) feel free to go here.

--Apologies for the wonky spacing. For reasons unknown, the text is a jumbled mishmash of words unless I do it this way.--

A review!

To give a bit of variety to my limited vacation wardrobe, I packed a few tights to go along with the single dress and skirt I brought. One of the tights was the Foot Traffic Combed Cotton Tights in purple, available at Sock Dreams. I didn't have any expectations one way or another regarding these tights; sure, the web reviewers said they were comfy, but I was going to be walking around all day in them at least once a week for months. I'm sure you understand that tights tend to fit a bit differently when subjected to that kind of treatment; what's comfortable at Hour 1 may not be so comfortable at Hour 10.

Well let me tell you, I was (and continue to be) blown away by these tights. I'm a little over a month into my trip, and these tights haven't sagged, bagged, faded, frayed, stretched, or shrunk. They fit just as well as they did when I first them bought them, if not better since they've had weeks to mold to my body. And this is even though I wear them for 10 and 12 hours at a stretch and do the extreme disservice of wringing them out before hanging them up to dry (I've no time to take the proper delicacies, I'm afraid, as I'm rarely in any place for more than a few days at a time and mildewy stockings are a no-no).

Since I've been in Europe, I've bought a significantly more expensive pair of cotton tights (the name escapes me at the moment) and they were an extreme dissapointment after wearing these. Already, they're so stretched out that the waistband regularly slips down to my knees (very embarrassing) and the feet bag at the ankles.

The Foot Dreams tights are soft, warm, comfortable, and completely opaque. In short, just right for the upcoming winter season. Try as I might, I really can't recall any significant complaints. I only wish I'd bought more than one pair before leaving the States. The combed cotton tights cost $20 USD, are available in 11 colors (black, brown, burgundy, heather denim, heather graphite, heather mocha, heather slate, ivory, navy, purple, and sage) , and are one size fits all.

News on Kiss Me Quick and What Katie Did

Kiss Me Quick, the luxury burlesque lingerie designer (who I've posted about before) has recently started an Etsy store where she sells limited edition knickers, girdles, and pasties. I've posted a couple of pics below of what you can expect. These items are expensive, even for my jaded senses (a girdle, for example, runs $99 USD), but keep in my mind that you're buying handmade pieces which you certainly won't be able to find anywhere else.















Speaking of girdles, What Katie Did has recently launched their own line of shapewear, aptly titled the Glamour Collection. In it, you'll find a number of classic (and classy) pieces which harken back to the days when women made sure their undergarments was just as well crafted as the outer. My favorite pieces are the merry widow and underbust girdle, pictured below.

Lust!

Now that those pictures are out of my system, I have to post about a darling pair of leg warmers I saw over on Sock Dreams. Yes, despite gallivanting about Europe, I'm still checking my American stores, and, in fact, still plan to do a review of the Foot Traffic cotton tights here shortly.

From what I hear, these leg warmers are selling out fast (and for good reason) so, if you want pair, I'd recommend snapping them up ASAP. If they were still available in black, I know I would!

I has internet!

First, let's be a bit frivolous and post some sexy stockings artwork courtesy of Shane Glines.