For a long time I've been a great advocate for high street lingerie... think of me as the Gok Wan of the lingerie blog world (but really I'd rather you didn't). It's reasonably priced, okay quality for what you are paying for and also very fashionable. But what happens when the high street brands begin to "take inspiration" from our favourite lingerie brands, who put so much time into designing a garment?
Warning - this is a highly self-indulgent, personal break up post!
My boyfriend of 4 years and I decided to part ways recently. Almost my childhood sweetheart - we met when I was 16. Now, at the age of 20, I feel like I have a great journey of personal growth ahead of me and I'm feeling fragile, excited, upset, relieved, at a loss and invigorated all at once. You're probably reading this and thinking, 'what on earth has this got to do with me and my panties?!' I don't blame you and I promise I'm not usually one to air my smalls on the internet - well, the proverbial ones anyway - but I wanted to share this because it's actually so relevant to my love affair with lingerie. From the initial spark of, 'well I guess I'd better start buying big-girl panties now that I've got a boyfriend and all...' to the shocking realisation, 'oh my knickers, lingerie shopping is actually damn cool!', my private relationship with - let's just call him Handsome Boy - coincided perfectly with my relationship with undies.
What is the point of lingerie? Is it functional, is it for covering up your boobs and bum, for support? Or is lingerie simply there for the point of being alluring, beautiful, and making you feel like a goddess? I'd like to think it was the latter but I suppose that when lingerie was first created they weren't as forward-thinking. It wasn't until the nineteenth century was lingerie was created as a visually appealing garment. So why do we have lingerie that purposefully doesn't cover nipples and genitals?! Well, here at Toots & Booty I'm all for the idea of being naked whilst also getting to wear the cutest and most beautiful lingerie pieces!
Etsy is a great place to shop for beautiful handmade lingerie. I've found so many lovely brands that I probably would never have heard of if I hadn't been browsing through the extensive lingerie for sale on the website. I want to share some of my current Etsy-found favourites: featuring Katherine Louise Kerrison, Knickerocker, Nearer the Moon and Rebecca Ansah.
When I was about 16 I became obsessed with the glitz and glamour of Burlesque. Eventually this fuelled my fascination with lingerie and, somewhere along the way, a deep love for the tassels and glitter of the burly world made the transition into a love for all sorts of underclothes. Because of this, I will never be immune to the allure of burlesque and so my "Must-haves" post this week is centred around just that.
If you love showgirls as much as I do, you'll love my list of the essentials - the lingerie behind the cabaret - and maybe you'll be inspired to perform a little striptease for your loved ones (or yourselves)!
