How to shop for lingerie

In boudoir photos, you wear little, if anything. Make sure each piece is enchanting.

Coco Chanel: “Look for the woman in the dress. If there is no woman, there is no dress.” These clothes are there so you show up.

Fun fact we found while researching for this article: all the best quotes about fashion come from Coco Chanel, Google them.

This article is focused on what photographs well. Everyday underwear can be different. If a piece makes you feel great and photographs poorly, skip it for the session and wear it on Tuesday.

Budget

Your sexy attitude is years in the making, your body is millions of food and exercise choices. Use the same care in picking your clothes.

Prices. Expect to spend a little more than Victoria’s Secret prices for a piece that will last and photograph well. Mid-range Italian brands we saw in Milan ran about 40 to 100 EUR. Luxury is more. Cheap costume sets can look fun in person and okay on camera.

Time. If you need a real fit and you are ordering from abroad, plan two to three weeks. If the shoot is sooner, shop in person and try things on. Philadelphia shops are listed below.

Fit

Fit is the whole game. A beautiful bra in the wrong size looks like a beautiful bra in the wrong size.

Do not start at a “professional fitting” and think you’re done. People who are a 32G will get put in everything from a 28DD to a 34C. Victoria’s Secret and some department-store counters size you into what they stock. Some fitters will tell you a bra fits while you can put a fist in the back of the band.

Do this instead:

1. Measure yourself with the r/ABraThatFits calculator. It is a start.
2. Read their beginner’s guide. That community exists because most people have never worn a bra that actually fits.
3. Then go try things on. A good specialty shop is useful after you know your starting size, and only if they let you try several sizes and you know what you are looking at.

What a bra should do: no extra room and no overflow in the cups, fabric sitting against the breast all the way around, band snug on the loosest hook when new (it will stretch), center gore against the sternum. If a fitter adds two cup sizes of padding as the default, that is a look, not a fix. Do it for fun sometimes. You look beautiful in sheer clothing and in padding.

Different brands, especially bespoke pieces, will fit differently. Try them. Keep the ones that feel good, check as per above. Feeling “fine” in the wrong size is common, too common, because people don’t know better.

Brand websites that classify your breasts or butt and then sell you the matching SKU are a sales funnel. Ignore them. Learn fit, then buy what you like.

Bras

Styles abound: soft cup, bustier, leisure, push-up, balconette, strapless, triangle, underwire, corset, plunge, bralette.

Bra styles by Journelle

For photos, underwire and a defined shape usually show better than a mashed-down sports bra. Push-up is optional. A well-fitted unpadded cup often looks more like you.

Panties

Panties come in all shapes and sizes. Cut is more about the look you want than “panty size” the way bras work.

Panty styles by Cosabella

On camera, a high-cut or thong keeps the line of the hip clean. A boyshort or brief covers more and can be the better choice if that is what you like wearing. Bring both.

Body suits can also be incredible.

Fabric, color, sheerness

The choice of fabric and detail will have much more impact on your appearance than the cut.

Various wireless lace bras by Journelle (#5 is Esther Bralet by Eberjey, #6 is Villa Satine Triangle Bra by Maison Close)

There are many opinions on what fashion is acceptable. Europeans use sheer clothing in all types of advertising, and in some Asian contexts anything less than a sweater may be considered distasteful. You get to decide what you buy.

Try a new brand, or buy from a new country. Simple underwear can look and feel completely different when the stitching and fabric change. Here’s to variety.

Victoria’s Secret Bombshell bra versus Fleur du Mal sheer lace-trimmed bra

For a photo shoot, avoid prints, and always bring more clothes than you need. The best portraits usually have solid color clothing. They let the focus stay on you.

Other pieces

Garter belts and stockings are timeless. A robe, a sheer slip, a bustier, or a simple shirt can do as much work as a matching set. Accessories (a choker, cat ears, furry wristbands, a tail) are optional spice. Try them. If you don’t like how it looks, you don’t have to tell anybody. Your lingerie is your business.

Where to shop in Philadelphia

If you are local, try things on. Fit is hard to mail-order on the first attempt.

• Je Suis Jolie on Chestnut Street in Rittenhouse. The shop people keep recommending for fittings and pieces that are actually lingerie.
• Expect Lace in Manayunk. Wide size range (they regularly carry A through J), and they will custom-order when the floor does not have your size.
• Bra Spectrum in Bryn Mawr. More affordable European-sourced pieces, including sizes mall stores skip. (Avoid some of their styles that have too much print and distraction.)
• Are you a boss? Sew your own! See Madalynne lingerie sewing classes in Philadelphia.

Department-store and mall fittings are a different sport. Use them to try a size you already calculated.

Your next trip to Italy

Before spending your retirement funds on beautiful clothing, make sure it fits. Read the sizing notes and customer feedback online. For bras, see fit above.

On a trip to Milan we collected catalogs of local lingerie brands.

Catalogs and business cards from Will and Su’s trip to Italy

All brands will have catalogs you can pick up, so we have plenty in the studio to check out. And of course they probably all have websites. Some bigger brands we saw in Italy: La Perla, Intimissimi, Calzedonia, Yamamay, Tezenis, Desigual. Some of these only sell lingerie in one department or only sell certain items. Most of these brands are now available in King of Prussia or by mail order.

Also check the small boutiques. Best yet, you can find one-room “lace shops” that sell handmade custom lingerie on the spot. Go in for a measuring and they will have your piece made before you leave.

The artisan shops we found in Milan consistently also sold baby clothes, because both use lace. Larger brands and multi-brand boutiques (La Perla, Yamamay, and the like) do not. If you are hunting for the handmade shops, look for a single owner, lace everywhere and a stock room in the back.

Brands outside Italy we like: Frederick’s of Hollywood, Playful Promises, Agent Provocateur, For Love and Lemons.

All brands are mentioned here without payment. We have experience with the brands named above.

What to bring to the shoot

• Bring more than you think you need.
• Solids over prints.
• At least one thing you already know fits.
• Something sheer if you are curious. The camera loves it more than a dressing room does.
• A robe or shirt you can hide in between setups.

If you only do one thing from this page: run the A Bra That Fits calculator, then buy something that matches that size in a fabric you like.

Written by William Entriken 2017-01-08.