Valentine’s day may have passed and now we’ve eaten our chocolates and forgotten to water our flowers, we’re all back to work, staring gloomily out of the window at the grey and miserable February afternoon. It’s definitely time to cheer up by treating ourselves to an extra Valentine’s surprise present We haven’t been able to take our eyes off Gilda & Pearl‘s irresistible Parisienne lingerie set since it arrived at our boutique, and it seems that we’re not the only ones – we’ve also spotted it featured in the Independent’s ’50 Best Lingerie’ guide last week. Exuding French chic in deep garnet silk satin and pale pink French chiffon overlay with ruffled lace edging, each set is finished off with a centre bow and silk straps.

Parisienne set by Gilda & Pearl – bra £65; knickers £37.

Inspired by ’40s and ’50s Hollywood glamour, Gilda & Pearl hand-make each piece to order, from the most sumptuous silks and delicate laces. As well as the sophisticated Parisienne, we also love their blue Frou Frou set with its pleated satin edging and soft velvet straps, the filigree Nottingham lace and indulgent silk bows of the Snow White set and the Something Blue tie-sided lace knickers which are perfect for the bride-to-be.

Also charting highly in the Independent’s favourites list were Mimi Holliday by Damaris‘ elegant silk bras and knickers, hand-crafted corsetry by Eternal Spirits and items by haute shapewear specialists Made by Niki. Check our our clearance sale for massive discounts on these brands and many others!
	Made by Niki	Mimi Holliday by Damaris	Clearance Sale, including Eternal Spirits

The pictures from our latest photoshoot have come back, and once again, awesomeness abounds on the FairyGothMother website! Yep – we’ve now got pictures of all those elegant, skintight Forties-esque dresses I teased you with in the last update, in different styles to suit every shape. We’ve got ones with revealing splits at the front to show off your cleavage, ones with long sleeves which are perfect for the forthcoming winter, boldly patterned halternecks and ones with slash necks to give the appearance of wider shoulders, which is ideal if you want to balance out wide hips.

Made from thick, stretchy body-con fabric with a healthy dollop of Spandex, our new pencil dresses are massively flattering on any shape. Especially when worn with our shapewear or with a corset over the top (or both!), these dresses cling to every curve, both emphasising your feminine shape and holding you in wherever necessary. They’re also versatile enough that you can wear them to work (in the black, navy or pinstripe, I mean, rather than bright green) with perhaps a vest top underneath for the more revealing styles, and transform yourself Superman-style for a night out with the girls, by cinching yourself into one of our underbusts.

The other week I posted a picture of Victoria Beckham in her super-tight dress with the split front along with our Mayfair dress which is around a grand and a half cheaper and looks just as fab – due to popular demand, we’ve added pinstripe and navy to our range of colours, as well as a Deluxe version with three-quarter length sleeves, available in jet black, jade green or scarlet red. The pinstripe Mayfair dress is pictured above with one of our underbust corsets, available in a variety of colours. Our Bardot dress also comes in pinstripe, and combines corporate chic with the glamour of body-con, finished with a cute patent belt. The slash-neck isn’t too revealing, so you can get away with wearing these at work. Completely unsuitable for work, however (unless you work somewhere fun, like FairyGothMother!) is our halterneck tattoo-print dress. In bright red with a cute black collar, halter neck and waistband, this dress look highlights all your good bits and can be worn with one of our corset belts (in black or red) to really stand out. The dress isn’t stretchy but there’s a split at the back – complete with cheeky ribbon bow – so you can still walk and sit down.

Body-con looks best with flaweless curves, but if you’re a busy lady and don’t have time to slave it out at the gym, shapewear is the answer to all your problems! Aside from wearing a regular or longline underbust corset over your dress as an eye-catching accessory which cinches your waist and smooths over pot bellies, we have a selection of powermesh and stretch underwear items which not only get rid of any unsightly lumps and bumps, but also look and feel gorgeous. Bye bye Bridget Jones’ granny pants – hello stretch silk and powermesh!

Some of our shapewear wouldn’t be suitable for dresses which are so close-fitting, but amongst our range I’ve found these gems which are perfect. The stretch jacquard lace of the Stockings & Romance Suspense girdle smooths the bum and thighs whilst also keeping your stockings up, as does the Seduce girdle in scarlet with white trim, which could double as part of a cheeky Santa Baby outfit this Christmas. Opinion here seems to be divided between whether being able to see suspender clips under a tight dress is seductive or an unforgivable fashion faux-pas, so if you’re not so keen, perhaps the Nadia powermesh girdle skirt by Cadolle, or Made by Nikki‘s shaping shorts (pictured here with removable straps) would be more suitable for you. From the waist to just above the knee, the girdle skirt’s silky smooth fabric shapes and smooths whilst feeling lovely against your skin, whilst the shorts remove the need for another layer of clothing underneath and smooth the bum and tummy. They’re also available with a thong back, and with an optional matching bra for the ultimate shapewear deception – when it’s disguised as a beautiful lingerie set!

I know we’ve been ODing on dresses recently, but not to worry corsetry and lingerie fans – we haven’t forgotten about you! We’ve got a whole new range of basic, eveningwear and specialist corsets just for you, as well as loads of gorgeous new lingerie sets. We’ve started to introduce more ranges with smaller back and larger cup sizes, as requested, so check back here for more about those soon…