Fashion foundation

Specialist lingerie retailers believe the right inner wear makes women look and feel more beautiful on the outside. Kitty Go finds out the details.

A woman can spend as much as she wants on the most beautiful and most expensive clothing, but if she does not have the right "foundation", no outfit will fit or flatter her figure the way it should even with numerous alterations. And, she will never project the luxurious look and feel of what she is wearing if she does not have a sense of luxury.

That is what specialist lingerie retailers believe - getting the right inner wear.

Retailers offering lingerie fitting or styling services include multi-brand boutique Sheer in Hong Kong or UK-based Agent Provocateur, which has boutiques all over the world including two at Lane Crawford in Hong Kong and another in Parkview Green, Beijing.

It is basically a private consultation for foundation garments (usually for bridal corsets but highly recommended to everyone for everyday needs) or simply treating yourself to something beautiful and sexy.

"A confident woman is very seductive," says Sarah Shotton, creative director of Agent Provocateur. "Lingerie can help build this."

Most women may not realize that they are wearing the wrong bra size. Lingerie purveyors suggest a fitting every six months to a year, after pregnancy or whenever a woman has experienced considerable weight fluctuations.

Lisa Cheng, founder of Sheer, looks at three basic areas of a bra when fitting a customer: the straps, band and cups.

"Once those are determined, we go further into analyzing a customer's natural shape and fashion style," she explains.

"A lingerie fit expert not only ensures the proper size, but also takes into consideration a style of bra that suits her customer's personality."

"Wearing things that make you look and feel more beautiful is something every woman enjoys. We call it the 'a-ha!' moment in our fitting rooms, because it is like a lightbulb going off. Wearing nice lingerie is empowering and gives you an inner boost of confidence."

If there is one sector of fashion where you truly "get what you pay for", it has to be fine lingerie. At the top level, some bras can be made with as many as 40 parts. And that's just construction and labor.

This autumn, Agent Provocateur's creative director Shotton used unique and exclusive materials from the legendary Parisian lace-maker Sophie Hallette for its Phoenix range of bras, suspenders and panties.

The 125-year-old family-run business specializes in French Leavers lace and developed one with a multicolored spray paint effect, which took two years to produce.

Cheng agrees that fine lingerie has many qualities that stand out from the average bra and panty sets that abound in the mass market.

She enumerates the following luxurious advantages: "First, is the materials. A lace trimming on a Victoria's Secret bra, for example, is not the same as the lace used on a Fleur of England bra. Fine lingerie will have lace made of silk or cotton. You will never find lace made of scratchy nylon on a quality bra.

"Second, everything from the shape of the underwire to the placement of seams or fabric used in the straps or band makes all the difference in giving support and achieving a beautiful silhouette. These details emphasized in fine lingerie are made to accentuate the female form without sacrificing comfort, style or function."

Asian women are generally smaller in both band and cup sizes.

Cheng gives a few pointers and highly recommends the Little Bra Company, which caters to Asian silhouettes. Look for cups that are closer together to create a flattering cleavage. When choosing a push-up bra, the padding needs to be strategically placed at the bottom and side of the cup and not at the top. Thick and full padding on cups creates a gap at the top and doesn't allow them to lie flat. To avoid "back bulge" or fatty layers squeezed over and around the band, finding a bra with a wider band size will prevent this problem.

Although women come in different shapes and sizes, the right bra should enhance and support her natural figure and at the same time look and feel beautiful against bare skin.

"A good bra is like a best friend. She will give you unconditional support, bring out the best in you and will stand the test of time," Cheng says.

Shotton recommends Agent Provocateur's French-inspired Fifi line of pleated tulle, ribbon seams and Chantilly lace, one of their classics, which has been popular for so many years.

"Fifi in black and pink is very iconic. The set (bra, panty and suspenders) is beautiful but there is also a slip which is less risque if you are shy and it is a perfect first purchase," she advises.

Cheng recommends any classic black lace set with suspenders for starters because "you can wear it again and again. Feeling sexy never gets old!"

Contact the writer at sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn.

Collections by Little Bra Company cater to Asian silhouettes. Photos Provided to China Daily