It ought to come as no surprise that lingerie isn't a subject matter in which I have much knowledge or personal experience. To be completely frank, my most significant experiences involving lingerie have been unfastening my girlfriend's bra, or trailing alongside a friend as they peruse endlessly the underwear department of a generic high street store. As you may suspect, I don't find the latter nearly as exciting as the former.
That isn't to say I don't appreciate lingerie with respect to fashion. In fact, I find it rather curious. Whereas most garments are made to be exhibited, lingerie is a side of fashion unseen, because it is often hidden from all but the wearer. And yet there are so many elegant, sometimes intricate designs.
No truer could be said of the pieces at
Rigby & Peller, Britain's longest serving corsetieres and lingerie retailer, which - with Royal Warrant of Appointment - curates ready-to-wear and
couture collections, as well as made-to-measure. My invitation to their Knightsbridge boutique wasn't the first occasion I had been mistakenly
offered a complimentary bra fitting, but I rolled with it. Any other man might look creepy taking photos of ladies' lingerie; thankfully I'm a fashion blogger, and I brought my close friend,
Lizzie, just in case.
Albeit almost unassuming under the shadow of
Harrods,
Rigby & Peller's recently relaunched flagship store has
everything it could possibly provide its loyal clientele: twenty luxury
lingerie labels to suit all shapes and sizes, styles for each and every occasion, and - for
the perfect fit - a bespoke design service on its basement level, where a dedicated team can create truly unique pieces to meet a customer's every whim and fancy.
To celebrate the store's re-opening, I was kindly invited for a free tour and fitting. As you may have guessed, I don't fully possess the required anatomy for womanly undergarments, but Lizzie was all too eager to take my place in the fitting room. Little surprise she looks infinitely sexier in a silk and lace night dress than I ever would. (Not that you - or I for that matter - want to imagine the latter.) She even ordered herself a set of
Maison Lejaby lingerie, which we will feature in the very near future.
Having no interest in trying on ladies' underwear myself, the visit didn't excite me in quite the same way as it did Lizzie. However, unlike those times when I had been dragged around your average lingerie retailer, it didn't feel intimidating in the slightest. Perhaps it was the refreshing absence of garish decoration, sex toys and posters of semi-naked women? Nevertheless, as comfortable as I felt waiting outside the changing room,
Rigby & Peller is ultimately a woman's domain. And by their reputation, one may argue theirs is the most outstanding lingerie styling service a woman could wish for.
