Start at the beginning - Lingerie

I remember reading about how french women dress 'from the inside out' - meaning they start their outfit planning by carefully choosing their lingerie then choosing the rest of their clothes to accompany it. It we also take into consideration that apparently over 90% of French women see lingerie as an important part of life, and spend 20% of their clothing budget on these generally unseen items, then it appears I have been severely neglecting this area of my wardrobe.

Though I have never shopped there personally - way beyond my current budget - I remember speaking to a girl at a party who told be all her underwear came from Agent Provocateur. It usually cost more, she told me, than the rest of her outfit put together, but knowing that she was wearing something so beautiful so close to her body made her feel sexy and confident. Since this conversation, Agent Provocateur has been to me my first mental call point when it comes to luxury lingerie. But since this blog is for my fashion fantasies, then it seems like a perfect place to start.

The Margot collection instantly stood out for me, if for no other reason that the wonderful colour. I've always had a preference for coloured underwear, a bit more fun than traditional black or white, and the electric blue lace of this set is definitely eye-catching, though my favourite thing here is the wrapover detail of the bra.

Another coloured set, the fuschia silk and red lace of the Novah collection is not for the faint of heart. Agent Provocateur describe this as being 'for the true lingerie connoisseur'.

The Agent Provocateur web page says the Whitney range was inspired by the 'Traitors Gate' - the notorious gateway into the tower of London - though I can't help but imagine it owes a little also to the runaway success of the 'Fifty Shades..' novels.

The 'bondage' theme is continued here with the Caitlin collection. The ultra-feminine pink French lace softens the affect of the black strapping, giving a strong-but-pretty result.

There may just be something in the French attitude to lingerie, I can imagine If went to work or to do the weekly shop with any of these things on under my clothes, I'd definitely feel pretty good.