Pretty floral arrivals from Marie Jo

This season it seems to be all pretty and floral in fashion and so the lingerie industry have been doing what they are best at. The two latest arrivals from Marie Jo show these trends off perfectly. The gorgeous Marie Jo Mira is a pretty fresh print with tiny little pink rose buds on the skyblue bra accented with white lace.

The other arrival, the Marie Jo Fiona has a hint at the vintage with the rich ivory lace covering the cups. It's also one of the few collections that includes a suspender belt and also a basque. I would be perfect for a wedding or if you are loving the underwear as outwear trend would be perfect peaking out of a little camisole.

Both collection have the new style push up bra to give you A,B And C cup ladies a bit of added oomph as well as the classic plunge bra which is available to an E Cup. For all those volumptuous lovelies reading this never fear the new Prima Donna ranges will be with us soon and you are going to be wowed!

At Last Time to Show Off Your Lovely Lingerie...

I knew it! Eventually if you love something long enough it will come into fashion!

The catwalks have been filled with the underwear as outwear trend this season. Unsurprisingly the ladies at Plums Lingerie think it’s about time this trend came back. The iconic of image of Madonna in the cone bra Gaultier corset still looms large and Dolce Gabbana have always produced stunning corset inspired dresses. The trend is now firmly on the high street with cute little bra tops, lacey camisoles and pretty delicate pastels. Like all trends I can already foresee this pretty seductive trend being mutilated and some using it as an excuse to just flash the flesh. Those crops tops really should only be worn by the young and skinny. However there are lots of ways to take inspiration from the designers who have brought the trend to the catwalks of Milan, Paris and London. You may even be able to raid your lingerie drawer and give some of your favourite pieces a new lease of life.

Lace
Lace has become a firm favourite since the trend appeared in the winter. The lace is now moving away from classic black to the pretty delicate pastels, creams, pinks and nudes. A great way of flirting with this trend is by wearing lacey bras with tops that show just the edging of your bra or allow you to show the lace straps. You can also look at wearing a lace and silk slip like the Marjolaine Divine over a pair of skinny jeans or leggings. Alternatively the lace cami tops of the pyjamas would look great teamed with a pretty pastel cardigan and floaty skirt.

Corsetry
The corset dresses seen in the Christian Dior, Versace and Dolce & Gabbana collections are stunning. Many of the lingerie designers already produce bustiers that look great with a pair of jeans or a slinky pencil skirt. The key to carrying off this look is picking a bustier that doesn’t look too much like it is underwear. If the bustier is mainly opaque like the Marie Jo Rose bustier it looks more like it is designed to be seen. Marlies Dekkers also produces sexy bustiers that can be worn as a top. If you have a bustier that looks a little too seductive to be worn on its own a great idea is wearing it underneath a sheer blouse or a lace top. The Prima Donna Babel bustier lends itself perfectly to this and if you aren’t quite ready for the pretty peach pastel tone it also comes in black.

If you are willing to take the plunge you could go for the full steel boned corset. Eternal Spirits produce a fabulous range that are so versatile they can be worn out to a night club, dressed up with a tailored jacket for dinner or worn with a full length skirt for a black tie event. Combine the lace and the corsetry with the stunning lace Bettie corset. Alternatively there are the super sexy waist cinches that can be worn over a dress, or over trousers and a blouse.

This summers key trend is so easy to wear and play around with and a great excuse to show off your gorgeous underwear that spends so much time undercover

Burn those tape measures, not your bra

In our quest to ensure the women of the world wear correctly fitting bras I have had my little chums at Google scouring the web for questions on bra fittings. There are several questions a day about what bra size to wear and what is normal. I am not so much astounded by the volume of these queries or the confusion of the lovely ladies but rather by the answers from so called experts. Whoever came up with the concept of measuring around the rib cage and then around the boobs then doing some complicated mathematical equation to come up with your bra size must have been bonkers. Boobs, breasts, baps what ever you want to call them come in all shapes and sizes, no two the same. How can mathematics cope with the all the different permutations of the female form? Well in my experience it can't! If you are ever in a fitting room and someone comes at you with a tape measure just politely make your excuses and get the hell out of there. This is a woman with no concept that lingerie and its fit is an art rather than a science.

An experienced fitter will be able to judge by eye and asking a few canny questions. It may take a couple of goes with different sizes bras but really it is the only way to tell for sure. By making sure the band is nice and snug around the back you are supporting the weight of your boobs from underneath rather than suspended from your shoulder straps like a hammock. The wire should go around the width of the boob and not dig in under the arm. Those wires should also sit flush against your breast bone. If you put your arms in the air and the bra doesn't stay firm, its too loose. For those ladies who have had a proper fitting you know the difference the correct sizes bra can make. So I implore you help us spread the word, tell your colleague that that back strap on her bra shouldn't be riding up by her shoulders, tell you friend that 4 boobs aren't better than 2! And if you happen to send them our way and we manage to show them the light and they walk out with a new bra will give you a £10 gift voucher to say thank you for supporting the cause, just make sure they mention who sent them.

Time to Say Goodbye, when is the right time to throw away your bras?

This weekend I had to come to a difficult decision, whether or not to retire my trust black Goa bra from Prima Donna. I love this bra, elegant and not too flashy. A smooth cup with a little embroidery on the top half. Perfect for wearing under fitted tops without declaring it’s presence to passers by but pretty enough that if I was run over by a bus my ER doctor would still be suitably impressed. On first inspection there seemed to be absolutely not reason to stop wearing this ensemble, the colour was still true and it still appeared to give enough support. So why on earth send this bra to lingerie heaven? Well for some god forsaken reason I had to run, not a natural activity to for me but I suddenly became rather aware of an increased bounce factor that was a tad uncomfortable. On investigation I notice the elastic between the cups and the fastening on the back had completely lost its stretch. I was forlorn, it doesn’t seem right to toss aside such a faithful friend, especially as I can no longer purchase a another Goa.

So when exactly is it time to say goodbye? At Plums Lingerie we recommend that an every day bra has about an 18 month life span maximum. Elastic is a perishable material and the more you wash and wear your bras the quicker it will loss its stretch. This is why we always recommend hand washing, popping your bras in the machine in a hot wash will only make their life span shorter. If you are wearing bras that you would be embarrassed for someone to see it’s probably time to move on to a new one. You wear a bra every day which if you wear a bra once a week for 12 months that’s 78 wears. At £60 a bra that’s 76p a wear, worth investing in a new one ever so often to make sure you get the fit and support you need 365 days a year!

And yes the Goa did get retired and I have replaced it with the rather more ostentatious Babel but its flirty embroidering and the fact it comes with a suspender belt lured me in. No doubt in a few weeks the Goa will become a dim and distant memory.

Cardboard City

As the summer is in it's dying days so Plums Lingerie begins to resemble a cardboard city! We are deluged by deliveries morning, noon and night and Tricia has to spend her days keeping the boxes down to a manageable level. Unfortunately her success is mixed and the other day I took it upon myself to give a troublesome pile a kick with my red soles, only to hear a rather miffed little grunt. Tricia had decided to take an afternoon nap in a particularly large box after her lunch time pick me up tonic. I have my suspicions that the "tonic" is of the gin variety!

Now the weather will be turning chillier I have been on the hunt for some hosiery to adore my lily white pins so as not to blind the public at large. It was a particularly fruitless task which filled me with angst and frustration. I left 2 department stores and Marks and Spencer in utter disgust. There is nothing else for it, Plums Lingerie is going to have to branch out from the delicious Love Me stockings and hold ups, (simply gorgeous but I think they would prove too titillating for daily wear) to provide something for all those glam professional ladies out there who find the hosiery purchasing experience as frustrating as I do.

I think Jonathan Aston and Levante will be the brands of choice. A good mix of lovely colours and elegant sophistication. Perfect for Plums Lingerie!

In charge of the Empire

So the first week in August is here again and Tricia makes her escape to visit our relatives in Alderney. I think she goes to get back to her roots and it helps her realise why she is as bonkers as she is.

This means I have full control of the Empire in her absence. Obviously profits will soar while I am here, I could barely get passed the crowds lining up outside the door in the morning.

I have managed to snatch myself a few minutes to give you a little update. August seems to be a bit of a strange month, waiting for the new autumn winter stock and busily making sure the website will be ready for the new arrival. Well Robby my virtual PA has been busy updating spreadsheets and saving images etc.

I have been catching up with all the news from Marie Jo Lingerie in their fabulous styling magazine.

I have also been busy booking the trip to Paris in September for buying Spring/Summer 10 stock. 5 days in Paris "working" ah it's tough but I am willing to do it just so all our lovely customers have the very best lingerie to choose from . Mode City is a huge event and a great opportunity for us to see all the latest trends and if Serena is with us usually seeing the Calvin Klein models!

Media Megastardom Beckons for Miss Kitty Plum

Well I barely have had time to lay my hands on a keyboard to keep you all updated! The bra recycling campagin has made me even more sought after by the paps than ever before. Appearing on the Radio and in Gallery Magazine. Lingerie Buyer has been emailing me furiously to make sure they have a suitably glamorous head shot of me for their Kitty Plum special edition.

Last Saturday our lovely ladies from Plums and myself went around St Helier appealing to women to "Bring Us Your Bras". We have an overwhelming response and our specially designed receptical is brimming with bras!

Of course I am still amazingly busy organizing our 3rd birthday party tomorrow night. The great and the good will be in attendance and the champagne will be flowing. If you haven't received an invitation send me a little note because after all this is an exclusive event and if your name's not on the list you're not coming in.

Prima Donna Spring Summer 2010!!

It's been a busy week at Plums with Nicola from Prima Donna coming to see us with the Spring/Summer Collections for Prima Donna and Marie Jo. It's always exciting to see the new pieces and Prima Donna has come up with a youthful new range called Twist. Really pretty with a good range of 30inch backs. Thank goodness. As usual it was complete chaos, I don't think Nicola is happier than when surrounded by piles of lingerie!

Nicola did bring us a lovely surprise in the form of Andres Sarda swimwear. It was absolutely stunning and I can definitely see myself sporting it while dangling my feet off the edge of a superyacht into the azure waters of the Caribbean!

Meanwhile Robby the virtual assistant has been attempting to herd my acquatainces together for an evenings entertainment. I would have called them friends but friends would have been ever so much more co-operative and not wasted Robby's precious time with sarcastic comments or by showing off their skills in the Chinese language (unsurprisingly limited). I don't think these people have the maturity to deal with staff! Miss Liptrot has been thankfully quiet on the matter, it could push Robby over the edge and he has been such a help I wouldn't want to lose him!

New bras for Plums Lingerie?

The gorgeous Lady Gaga has been in the news with her exploding bra . Not sure how much demand there is going to be for this in sleepy little Jersey. I can just see some poor chap getting a bit of a shock when he gets overly amorous!

It's going to be a busy week at Plums. We have one of our fitting nights on Wednesday so we're looking forward to seeing our regular customers. It's a great excuse to catch up and have a few cheeky glasses of bubbles. We are also launching the bra recycling scheme so it will be interesting to see what gets brought in.