How to wear stockings...

I've had the most amazing time away in the tropics, somewhere hot is always a must for me, although it did mean I missed the debauchery that was Playful Promises' new Boutique Launch party..

We've had a question regarding how to wear stockings

“I really want to start wearing suspenders and stocking on a daily basis , however they always seem to show and don't seem to be high enough on the leg.”

Stockings Grandiose

 Dear Stockings Grandiose,

Wearing stockings is almost a lost art-form. Today hold-ups have taken over the sales of stockings and garter belts are just not as popular as they use to be

If you plan to wear stockings on a daily basis then here is a little information for you;

 

Firstly when you buy stockings look for serious brands. Playful Promises recommends Cervin stockings. Cervin have four or five stocking sizes and these are calculated by height and weight of the wearer.

I truly believe that purchasing a more expensive brand of stockings will achieve better results, as they will fit you perfectly around your calves and thighs and importantly will be the correct length for your leg.

The best stockings are often silk stockings, nylon stockings or even vintage stockings, however these can be very delicate!

I like to buy seamed stockings, it elongates your leg and fits your calf and leg beautifully, Cervin make wonderful seamed stockings that are dramatic, peferct for me!

Also when purchasing stockings to wear with a garter belt look for a wider welt. A Welt is the top part of the stocking which will be fastened to your suspender belt clips. I look for a strong, thick and wide welt so that my stockings last longer but also are easier to fasten to the clip and are not so likely to puncture a hole and ladder the stocking.

 

I highly recommend a good metal clip on your garter belt or suspender belt. Not only will it make you feel stricter, but they make for a saucier soiree. Most suspender belts will have a cheap plastic clip. This is really disappointing, although I understand that suspender belts are no longer used for daily wearing and are more reserved for the boudoir.

Plastic clips can snap, but worst of all they do not have the best grip on your stockings, so after a few hours wear they stocking can slip out leading to embarrassing situations...

When choosing a garter belt think about how many suspender straps you would like. If you want to wear stockings for more than just antics in the bedroom you should consider four or more straps for best hold-up results and security. The best results are usually belts with twelve suspender straps. But at this point you'll need to ask another question...

Briefs under or above the suspender belt?

Aside from this rather important debatable point, I recommend three straps for each leg. These are the most easily purchased suspender belts with metal clips. Brands such as Kiss Me Deadly and What Katie Did are the best brands to purchase a metal clipped belt from.

The Origin of Lingerie

From the beautiful Etti sets, to the saucy Morgana collection. Playful Promises autumn/winter lingerie is the epitome of modern lingerie, but just how did the wonderful world of lingerie come about?

There is no exact date as to when the fashion of wearing lingerie came about, but the first sources of evidence point towards Ancient Egypt, almost 3000 years BC. For such a hot country clothing was not a necessity or a commodity.

Items of clothing were status symbols, something only the wealthy members of society would wear. Very often people would be happy to be naked or to wear a loin cloth and no more. Terra-cotta pots illustrate the fashions of the period giving us an insight into lingerie and more.

The first example of undergarments was worn by Egyptian women, of high-ranks. This would have been a long tunic woven from fine cottons and linens. The tunic would have started around the chest and flowed down to the ankles. It would have been tied around the body and shoulders using straps and was even sometimes used to mould the waist creating hour-glass figures.

From the dawn of lingerie, garments were worn to suppress or accentuate curves, the modern day bra was established as far back as 3000BC. When Egyptians were wearing tunics, Babylonian women were wearing what could be described as briefs and bras.  Most likely derived from the loin cloth and from suppressing women's breasts by wrapping cloth around the chest, this is the earliest evidence of lingerie.

And Cretan women were wearing hip corsets pushing their breasts upwards and outwards around 3000BC. This is surprising to know that the corset was in fact first worn on women, as many people believe men were first to wear the corset, and over 5000 years ago making this a very old fashion trend.

 

From these early depictions of wearing lingerie there was not much progression in what women wore. The 1500's saw the popularity in the corset increase, and from this period it became an integral piece of lingerie in everyday attire.

Today we still enjoy wearing corsets, some women still use corsets to shape their figure, but mostly corsets are a fun piece of outwear for a little boudoir fun. Playful Promises make their corsets and waspies from steel boning ensuring a rigid and tight shape is sculpted for maximum ooh-la-la.

Various bodices, bras and briefs were fashioned to wear underneath the corset, helping push-up busts, mould waist-lines and more.

The real revolution in lingerie happened around the 1920's where women decided to liberate themselves from the repressive corsets opting for girdles or less. This is where the lingerie revolution becomes interesting and where Playful Promises can base their inspiration and continue to create beautiful lines of underwear shaping figures and lifestyles.

More images from our press extrvaganza

Mam'zelle Maz shows off her feathery bits!

We have just recieved some fabulous images from our press event last week at The Box! I've picked out my absolute favourites that really sum up the evening, but the rest of the images you can see over on our facebook page.

Maria Fowler from The Only Way Is Essex shows how you can wear underwear as outerwear! Our Etti bra looks fabulous with a black satin underbust and black skinny jeans.

Models Odette and Signe strut their stuff

Jessica and AnitaModels Cassie, Anastasia and Katie let their hair down!The beautiful Miss Polly RaeModels Jessica and Anita with our marketing assistant, Anna

Press event spectacular!

 

On Thursday it was all hands on deck organising our glamorous and celebrity studded soiree at the infamous The Box nightclub!

To celebrate the launch of our latest boutique, just off Carnaby Street, we invited a range of press and VIP guests to join us for a night of performances and lingerie. 34 Marshal Street, Soho, W1 7EU is set to open today, the 4th October 2011.

Set in the perfect seedy decor courtesy of The Box, eight gorgeous models took to the stage to present pieces from Playful Promises AW11 and SS12 collections. The VIP crowd were drooling at the scene of Morgana, Etti, Jasmine and more modelled by beautiful pin-ups.

 

Special guest, The Only Way Is Essex's Maria Fowler and our founder Emma

Playful Promises had a little more down their stocking, as next, burlesque performers took to the stage displaying a little more than a playful promise.

Mamzelle Maz's traditional fan dance was perfection. Wearing gorgeous Lo-Pan's Desire nipple pasties and a customised Multiway g-string, Mamzelle Maz left the audience gasping for breath...and a little more.

After a short recovery period the audience recived a roasting from Roxy Velvet. Her fire act singed the front row audiences whilst everyone else melted in her fiesty and provocative presence. After this hot performance Roxy velvet removed her red swarovski crystal studded waspie, customised by Playful Promises, and seductively removed her red Victoria ensemble revealing nothing more but crystals.

The show was not yet over, Polly Rae graced the stage in a fabulous fishtale dress and sang an inspired re-mix of Michael Jackson's 'Bad'. Only Polly Rae could get away with this re-mastering, and she ruled the crowd. She closed the show with a seductive striptease, with emphasis on the tease, and again the audience were left with their jaws dropping.

Watch this space for more photographs and videos which will be appearing over the next few weeks, but for now, please do enjoy our little snippet of Miss Polly Rae's performance!

The Original Pin-up

The original pin-up girl, the Gibson Girl, started as a pen-and-ink illustration by Charles Dana Gibson in the late 1800's. His sketch was the personification of the ideal female and was transformed from one illustration into illustrated stories. The Gibson Girl lasted over 20 years, beloved by her American public, she defines the history of fashion particularly for that era.

 

Her alluring S-curve figure, exaggerated breasts and hips and a slim waist, was achieved through a swan-bill corset. The Swan Bill Corset was fashionable around 1900 and was described as the 'health corset'. The corset busk was inserted in the centre front of the corset pushing the torso of the wearer forward and allowing hips and buttock to protrude out, giving an 'S-shape'.

The Gibson Girls's striking figure inspired a new fashion for the late 19th Century. Even her hairstyle became a popular trend, piling her strands of hair high on top of her head in a chignon. Much like today's trend.

 

Camille Clifford

The Gibson Girl was drawn from life models posing, such as Gibson's wife Irene and Evelyn Nesbit an artist's model, however Camille Clifford was rumoured to have inspired the Gibson Girl's fashion and figure. Camille Clifford was known for wearing a high coiffure and wearing a waspie to create her signature hourglass figure.

The Gibson Girl was depicted as a modern and independent woman, attending college and waiting to find the correct man to marry. The Gibson Girl was not just a pin-up teasing and pleasing men, she was a heroine amongst women, she inspired women's fashions and inspired a modern way of life.

 

In later years, towards the First World War, the Gibson Girl was not included in the suffrage movement, she was slowly beginning to loose favor amongst suffragettes and by the onset of the First World War popularity for this imaginary character had fallen.

Women seeked a more practical and masculine icon to guide them through the First World War and with this women seeked a change in fashions and lifestyle.

During the Second World War, the Pin-up girl made a come-back. Real-life Pin-up girls as well as illustrations and artwork. Celebrities and models posed to encourage the troops. The earliest Pin-up is said to be Betty Garble.

A pin-up girl would feature on mass produced pictures which were 'pinned-up' and displayed as part of 1940's and 50's popular culture. The Pin-up image could be torn out of newspapers and magazines and were in the form of postcards and more memrobilia.

In later years glamour models became what was a Pin-up girl, models such as Betty Page were the modern day Pin-up.

We now enjoy retro-Pin-up girls, we are inspired by Pin-up models as well as now using male models as Pin-up boys!