Lingerie wardrobe is a section where different characters who share their love for lingerie tell about their most favourite things and what inspires them.

While creating this section I thought I’d be remiss if I don’t tell about my own lingerie wardrobe collected in about 7 years.

One would think everything has already been seen and told among the described orders. However it’s not quite right. I’ve described the orders rather in terms of practical benefits. Now, I’d like to share the stories behind these purchases. To tell why I’ve bought something in particular and what things are special to me. How I’ve started a collection and what is the most valuable in it. What things I wear often and what I keep as collector’s items.

How It All Started. Suspender Top by Kriss Soonik

It was back in 2012. I had already had my lingerie blog for over a year. It was on Posterus and wasn’t quite regular, and I treated it as a hobby: I satisfied my need for the beautiful underwear on my own time. I had been finding and documenting just in case someone like me would like to dive into an amazing and splendid world of gorgeous lingerie. Because this world didn’t exist in the shops. Everything was identical, vapid and boring. So, I knew perfectly well for the first year of writing my blog that designer things couldn’t be cheap. It is an enormous amount of work either of one person or a team. And if I really want something, I’ll have to give away a significant sum of money. And it was a real step for me. For one who earns, for instance, €400 to buy a thing for €78 is substantial. If you wonder why so few people buy designer lingerie in Russia, now you know.

I’d been looking at an extraordinary top by Kriss Soonik decorated with suspenders for stockings at the bottom for a long time. From the very first thing in my collection I have been attracted to the multifunctional designs and the possibility to wear them as outerwear. This top has become the start of my collection.

It was worn out till the end and, afterwards, I replaced it with the same top but with no sleeves.

My first bold experiments with outfits to go out are connected with it. I remember, back in 2012, many elderly people groaned disapprovingly or tut-tutted at me. Some of them identified me as an artist, as, according to them, only artists dress bizarrely in provincial towns. Nowadays there’s no such stormy reaction, and that’s great.

I can’t imagine my wardrobe without this top. It is my little black dress. I wear this thing 99% to go out, not at home, in the boudoir.

Swans on Extraordinary Leg Accessories. Garters by SWAN Clothing

My attention was still drawn to extraordinary and unique things even for the world of sophisticated admirers of lingerie. The small brand called SWAN Clothing made single stocking garters. Or thigh-high socks. Or socks. They can be regulated, so there’s much room for usage and imagination. One of the garters is decorated with a swan figurine.

Unfortunately, the brand was closed. But my garters still make me happy. I keep saying the unique things with heart and soul and with a sense of style put into them are timeless. They reflect our personality and individual style. And this is much more interesting than a fast mass obsession with something.

To learn more about the history of socks garters and where to find them, please see this article.

Lingerie with Dévoré Effect. The Huit Lingerie Set

I remember how the magazine had already begun to gather momentum and I had been looking for brands to collaborate with. One of them turned out to be the French brand Huit. They connected me with their representatives in Russia, and I started to review different designs I liked.

The most memorable one is the set with dévoré effect Divine Idylle. Dark blue «velvet» flowers are accurately pegged into the transparent net of the set. It is so delicate and zephyrous that I’m afraid to touch it once again and fight the urge to wear it or to keep it.

Fragile beauty I nevertheless want to keep as collector’s item.

The Most Comfortable Bra in the Collection. Modern Vintage from Made by Niki

It seems to me that I’ve already written a hundred times about comfort of this bra both in the magazine and in social media. Until then I had already had one set from Made by Niki that I was satisfied with. But I don’t want to take this one off. It has a perfectly special convenient fit and has no underwires in my size.

Unfortunately, this brand was closed, too. Before its shutdown I’d bought two same designs in similar sizes. I can’t imagine what to do when I wear out my favourite bra. By the way, it’s the biggest stock of one design I’ve ever made.

DSTM Harness

In 2014, for Christmas holiday, my husband and I ended up in Berlin. We had about 3-4 days to dive into the city atmosphere and relax. Berlin was a completion point of our vacation.

Of course, I wanted to look at the lingerie brands in the city. We wandered into one of the streets where we found the local brand specializing in cool latex things called Très Bonjour. Here we saw two other shops. The first shop was more alike a sex-shop, the second one had interesting clothing, harnesses and bags Una Burke and incredibly hospitable atmosphere inside. I saw and tried on the most beautiful and unique in its own way harness by the Berlin brand DSTM with a nice Christmas discount. And though it was out of my budget and though I had ripped my down jacket and the past experience suggested that I needed rather a new down jacket than the harness, I bought the harness.

There are so many ways I’ve styled this harness: with a shirt, with a loose dress, on a naked body and as a top layer over a laconic bodysuit.

The Blue Lingerie Set by Chantal Thomass

I also bought the blue lingerie set Chantal Thomass in Berlin during Christmas sales. At the local department store called KDW (there are so many cool brands!).

Perhaps, some of you who have been reading the magazine for a long time know for sure how long my wishlist is. As I write about the designers and the brands which inspire me day by day.

As to the French brand Chantal Thomass, I’m impressed not only by its design, but also by the history of the brand that had made a vital contribution to the fashion development and the underwear industry and, of course, by its incomparable founder Chantal. My choice fell on the blue tulle set the layers of which were «arranged» around the edges of the bra and the knickers like origami.

Many of those who had seen the set told it looked like a swimsuit due to its design. In fact. the next season I noticed mass market swimsuits that were highly «inspired» by the Chantal design.

I don’t get any swimwear vibes from this set. Perhaps it’s because you need to see it in real life to feel the handle of a delicate tulle. It’s not well seen on the photographs.

I still regret I hadn’t had enough money to buy the garter belt from this set. Probably, I won’t be able to find it. Interesting that one of my subscribers sent me the belt Chantal Thomass Encens Moi found on Moscow sale. It was very pleasant. It’s a pity it turned out to be in a different colour scheme – it was purple.

The Graphique Couture La Perla Lingerie Set

The La Perla Graphique Couture set has a special place in my collection. Its design is extraordinary. I love the brand for pushing forward the industry of beautiful underwear, experimenting, keeping the bar of quality high and caring for details.

I’d been following this set for at least half a year until its price dropped by 75%. Afterwards I bought the set for 81 USD instead of 327 USD.

It happened in the late summer of 2016, and I’ve dreamt to do a photoshoot with it for almost a year.

Shell Belle Couture

Another brand I’ve loved for a long time, but I was able to approach only because of big discounts – Shell Belle Couture. For New Year’s holidays the brand arranged a good promotion with 70% discounts. I couldn’t miss the chance and, especially, I hadn’t seen such a great discount in other years and wanted something by Shell Belle. The Club dress had cost approximately 95 USD instead of 320 USD.

I’m extremely happy to have it. Moreover, this dress has opened my eyes to the world of such a haptically excellent fabric as wet silk.

Afterwards I rekindled dreams of making a summer dress with a wrap with wet silk, and only the dress material alone cost me 124 USD.

I had been so excited about the Club dress that it turned out to be one of the few things which went with me to my Thailand vacation. Moreover I wore it also like a resort dress on the beach.

Green Welt Stockings by What Katie Did

I’ve «passively» wanted to build a collection of coloured stockings for several years. «Passively» – because I have neither time nor money for new purchases.

My first coloured stockings were the French dark blue retro stockings Cervin (absolutely not stretchy). They are cool, but you need to be as delicate as possible. The second pair is the stretchy stockings for the belt with green welt What Katie Did. It seems to me that they made a little splash among the magazine readers. Many were used to the «classic» stockings colours, and here’s such a colourful extravaganza. In one word. they’re cheerful and make me feel better.

I plan to finish the collection or to to add new vibrant colours at least.

Competition Prize

Closer to the magazine foundation I had heard about a joint competition organized by the Latvian brand Amoralle with the Russian online-magazine Cosmo. I wasn’t late and even thought I had a chance to win as the competition task was to write a text. I doubted to the last especially since I’d rarely participated in contests. Eventually I won. There were so much joy and emotions, trembling choice of the prize and the size (God forbid I make a mistake), waiting for the delivery and trying on for the first time.

One of my first boudoir photoshoots happened to be with this robe by Amoralle. How it’s fashionable to say now – the look was created around the statement piece.

I wear it quite rarely. In the boudoir – as a part of the composable outfit. I also wore it out to the carnival and again as a part of the look.

Blue Velvet

A long time ago I’d seen a beautiful blue velvet lingerie set in an offline underwear shop. I don’t remember now how it looked, but I know for sure I fell in love with its fabric and colour. Five years later, telling about new Nina & The Wolf collections I saw exactly that shade of velvet I had fallen in love with back then. All the series was magical and vibrant. I made a love confession to the collection in my correspondence with the brand. In the end I got it as a gift. Needless to say, I was really excited. So excited I even took it with me on my Thailand vacation and ran in it on the beach as it was a velvet swimsuit. And why not?

What things from the collection did you like the most?