Archive for January, 2016
THE VALENTINE LINGERIE GUIDE
Red lace and silk bra, £45, 32B-36DD, knickers, £30, 8-14 and suspenders, £30 all by Tallulah Love.
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, I thought I’d do a little research into lingerie and see what’s out there – in both sense of the words!
Red lace bra, £70, 32B-42E and matching knickers, £35, S-L both by Wacoal.
Red lace balconette bra, £27, 28D to 38J and matching knickers, £14, 6-18 both by Cleo by Panache.
Red mesh and lace push up cami suspender, £38, 32A-36DD by Next
It’s always fun to indulge in a smattering of RED around this time. I love the flamboyantly cheeky designs by Tallulah Love with it’s fabulous vintage feel. Other red siren lingerie I particularly like is the very alluring polka dot bra set by Wacoal. This underwired bra really gives a fab uplifting shape to any girl’s cleavage. The fun little number by Cleo at Panache is perfect for any loved up Valentine with its scattered heart shapes. This lingerie also sets my heart fluttering as it goes up to a magnificent J cup – bravo! The push up cami suspender by Next is a real show stopper and perfect to smooth out any lumps and bumps you may wish to conceal!
Black lace and silk bra, £117, 26D-36HH, knickers, £48, 6-16 and suspenders, £89 S-L all by Katherine Hamilton Intimates.
Black silk strappy bra, £111, 26D-36HH and matching thong, £51, 6-16 both by Katherine Hamilton Intimates.
Black lace bodysuit, £90.95, 32C-36E by Le Mystere.
Sultry BLACK is always a winner for Valentine’s Day. I’m a huge fan of Katherine Hamilton Intimates who do amazingly stylish designs that go up to cup size HH – yay! This brand uses such sumptuous silk and lace as you can see in the suspender set and on- trend strappy bra and knickers ensemble. The black lace bodysuit by Le Mystere is really seductive and particularly flattering with it’s slimming front panel that helps to accentuate and flatter your curves.
Leopard print bra, £30, 30D to 40G and highwaisted briefs, £15, XS-XL, Parfait by Affinitas Intimates.
Continuing with the vampy theme – I love a bit of LEOPARD. What better than this fabulous set by Parfait by Affinitas Intimates. The underwired bra gives you a lovely lift and those high waisted knickers are going to hide a multitude of sins!
Floral balconette bra, £32, 30D to 38K and matching knickers, £15, 8-20 both by Panache.
Coral lace underwired bra, £34, 30B -36E and matching knickers, £16 S-XL by b.tempt’d.
Lastly what’s Valentine”s Day with out ROSES? The floral print balconette bra set by Panache is so pretty and again should be commended for going up to a K cup. The coral lacy flower print lingerie by fab b.tempt’d brand also gives such good shape and perfect for low neck evening wear. And lastly if you want even more va va voom the rose print plunge bra set by Next will give you a cleavage to die for! Well I think we’re all set….. Happy Valentines!
Rose print plunge bra, £25, 32A-36DD and matching knickers, £12, 6-18 both by Next.
2016’s FITNESS WEAR GUIDE
Moulded Sports Bra Crop Top, from £40, sizes 28″ to 40″, cup sizes B-H and Matching Running Shorts from £18, sizes XS-XL all by Freya Active.
Oh dear! Having eaten my body weight in turkey and mince pies I now look like a Christmas Pudding. I’m 7lbs over my fighting weight, so the gloves are off and at last I’ve taken action. I hauled myself this morning to North London’s YMCA Fitness Centre. My first class of the year was the much needed ‘Body Conditioning’ with dynamic instructor Natasha. I knew I was in the deep end – Natasha is like a sexy girl version of Rambo, often wearing camouflage fitness gear complete with khaki bandana and today she wasn’t taking any prisoners!
As I was being put through my paces I really thought I’d better up my game not only fitness wise this year, but ever the stylist I needed to do some research into cool workout wear too.
Zone Sculpt Training Tight, £90, sizes XS-XL, by Nike.
First stop is Nike. I really love their fitness apparel. The new Zone Sculpt Training Tights look amazing. Modelled by talented tennis player Genie Bouchard these leggings seem like they would be a great fit as well as stand up to a vigorous training routine.
Mesh Back Vest, £7.99, Geometric Print Leggings, £17.99 both sizes XS-L and Trainers, £22,99, sizes 3-9 all by New Look.
Grey Zip-Up Jacket, £24.99, Crop Top, £12.99 and Matching Leggings, £17.99 all sizes XS-L by New Look.
I’m so impressed how many high street chains now do active wear. I suppose it’s not surprising as fitness activities are getting more and more popular. Last year in the UK over 6 billion pounds was spent on sportswear. One of the stores that really gets it right is New Look. Their range boasts an urban stylish look, mixing block colours with geometric prints in leggings, cropped tops and tracksuit tops.
Pink Cropped Top, £3.50, Neon and black Vest, £5 and Leggings, £6, all sizes 6-18 by Primark.
Tie Dye Crop Top, £5 and Leggings, £6 both sizes 6-18 by Primark.
Other amazing value workout wear is found in Primark. I don’t know how they do it. I like how they mix vibrant, neon coloured crop tops and vests with sleek black leggings. Their tie dye collection has a certain Ibiza cool about it with prices starting at £3.50!
Orange Bra Top, £12, sizes 32B-38D and Matching Leggings, £16, sizes 6-18 and trainers, £22, 3-8, all by F&F
Neon Zip Top, £16, leggings, £12 both sizes 6-18 and trainers, £22, sizes 3-8 all by F&F
F&F have a brand new Active range which I think is brilliant. They’ve got everything covered from cycling, yoga to high impact sports with stylish comfortable designs using quick drying fabrics in strong prints and zingy colours.
Long Sleeve Running Top, £49 and Full Length Seamed Leggings, £45, both sizes 8-16 by The White Company.
Seamed Racer Back Vest, £39 and Shorts, £30 both sizes 8-16 by The White Company.
The White Company are also doing their first sportswear collection this season. As you can imagine it is so tasteful, mixing monochrome, black and white with charcoal. The quality is beautiful and quite honestly I can’t wait until it hits the stores.
Moulded Sports Bra, from £38, sizes 28″ – 40″, cup sizes B-H and Capri Pants, from £43, sizes XS-XL all by Freya Active
Lastly, but most importantly I turned my attention to the ever essential sports bra. Lingerie brand Freya too have a new active range. These bras and crop tops are fabulous, designed not to be hidden under sportswear but to be very much on show co-ordinated with matching shorts or with stylish black Capri pants. Technically they are brilliant – perfect for high impact sports with strong supportive fabric, wide curvature wire and wide padded straps. They also go from a B to an H cup so all us ladies can get active, such good news. No excuses now. On your marks…Let’s go!