VPL

I'll be honest, I've never been one of those girls who is crazy about underwear.  Yes I wear it (calm down) but I've always splashed my cash on the items that the majority of the outside world would actually see.  This isn't because I dress to impress 'them' eg. other girlfriends, men, my mother, it's because clothes are my passion. MINE all mine.  So, before I contiune sounding like Golum, this brings me neatly onto the underwear question.  I know many women who are completely dotty about it, will spend a small fortune on bits of lace of lace and wire and miniscule knickers that wouldn't cover a flea's pimple.  Most women when pressed (and I did a little survey on this) will say that it's because it makes them feel good, knowing that they have something a little bit special, sometimes even naughty, beneath their clothes.  More power to you but if I'm going to spend, then stuff that's hidden away, that I won't see and appreciate is not for me.  However I have come to a crossroads because there's a new trend in town..underwear as outerwear.

Now I know you're thinking this...

...but that's not exactly what I mean.  I think we all know who started the "underwear as outerwear" trend, Ghandi and before him, Jesus, then eventually Madge met up with Jean Paul Gaultier and everything went two sandwiches short of a picnic.  As with many ideas that start as a bit of a giggle, they can have legs and we progressed from visible bra straps, to knickers as eveningwear (yes Sienna I mean you) and now it's relatively difficult to find a top, especially for eveningwear that doesn't resemble underwear. As we navigate through this difficult terrain together, I've realised that there is only one sensible option: the corset.  It's underwear but not as we know it.

I don't mean the red, lacy, showgirl variety, think Mad Men structuring..wide straps, neutral colours, even having it semi hidden away by being built into or wearing over a t-shirt.  Yes it's tricky but your other option is wafting around in something resembling a negligee and I challenge anyone of a 'legal' age to pull that off in everyday life without looking like they've got lost on the way to the Playboy Mansion.