I AM wrapped in a fluffy white towel, lying down, hot and sweaty, dreaming of being on a tropical beach… when suddenly I am brought back to the present by the sound of the door opening.
“Hi,” says a lady also wrapped in a towel – “lovely day for a sauna, isn’t it?” I smile back and agree. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but where did you get your ‘Pink Piranha’ underwear? I noticed you had it on earlier, only I have just opened a lingerie store and I am stocking it too.”
I tell her I got it in Camden a while back, and before we know it we are talking about the latest underwear trends and the latest celebrity brands such as ‘Love Kylie’ by Kylie Minogue, Elle MacPhearson’s latest designs (just launched on TV adverts) and the much-awaited new line by Liz Hurley, which hasn’t yet been launched!
So much talk of gorgeous underwear inspires me to go shopping for some bits and pieces, something I haven’t done for a while. So I get myself together and decide to take a stroll into town.
My first stop is the all reliable Marks and Spencer. I am looking for some basics here, the everyday staple cotton pants, which are comfortable and timeless, and every woman loves. But – to my surprise – I can’t seem to find anything like that!
Plenty of frilly complicated designs, none of which are quite what I am after. Disappointed, I wander down to their food department for a sandwich, and it’s so delicious that my faith in the store is instantly restored.
Next I decide to explore Selfridges. It has a large selection covering almost an entire floor with a number of exquisite concessions. I browse through Myla’s gorgeous underwear in particular, drawn to their baby dolls that are to die for with their pleated trims! Then I go to Calvin Klein where I get some lovely classic seamless pieces in pastel colours and from there I continue to look at other brands such as Bonds and La Perla.
It’s all divine, but if I am honest a little overpriced, so I decide to go to Top Shop because you never know what you might find there… It seems that Top Shop strikes again: let’s face it, at £7 for three briefs in my opinion you simply can’t go wrong. I choose some bright colours and a couple of matching vests and – very pleased with myself – decide to make my way back to West London.
I walk down Oxford Street in the autumn sun. It’s a beautifully bright afternoon, crisp and fresh, and the smell of roasted chestnuts makes me smile. I take a bus to Knightsbridge and decide to walk through Hyde Park onto Notting Hill. The park is busy with cyclists and mums with prams. Suddenly I remember the lady I met this morning and decide to go into her shop to say hello.
I find her boutique easily in the Portobello Arcade. The shop is like a romantic boudoir, filled with stunning underwear and decorated like a very girlie bedroom. In the corner chocolate cigars give it a sexy feel, evoking images of Marlene Dietrich in her Black and White movies…
“Hi,” I say. “How are you?” She gives me a blank look as if she doesn’t know who I am. “You met me this morning in the sauna, remember?” I remind her.
She starts to laugh and tells me that she didn’t recognise me with my clothes on. I sit down and we catch up. I show her what I bought and she tells me about her shop and how men have no idea what to get their girlfriends let alone what size they are!
We have a couple of coffees and I end up getting a pretty laced vest, and before too long it’s closing time. Time to go home to my gorgeous new undies!
