By Eliza Scarborough
Uplifting: Elle Macpherson, left, and Madonna continue to wear risque lingerie into their 40s and 50s
Some women can't stop buying shoes. I have friends who need a walk-in closet just to house their handbags. My shopping vice, until now, has been a secret one. But following a report that sales of risqué lingerie among women in their 40s and 50s have soared in recent months, I feel I can finally come out from my undercover existence.
I'm an underwearaholic and - if last week's figures (excuse the pun) are anything to go by - I'm not alone. Retailers such as Debenhams and Mark & Spencer have noticed a marked increase in the sales of underwear in the past year.
Apparently, women in my age group now purchase more stockings, suspenders, basques and cleavage-boosting bras than women in their 20s. To be honest, it didn't come as news to me.
Coincidentally, the week before the findings were announced I'd had a clothing cull - out went old bras and knickers, anything that had gone baggy or saggy or grey, leaving my underwear drawer (make that drawers) looking sadly depleted.
So I popped along to Calvin Klein for a new matching set and ended up doing a supermarket-style sweep - spending £200 in less than the time it took the sales assistant to ask: 'Balconette, strapless or plunge?' 'I guess all three,' I replied, both confused and excited by so much choice.
Allure: Many women have upgraded their underwear to attract younger men, like Anne Bancroft in The Graduate, pictured with Dustin Hoffman
I'm no Samantha from Sex And The City when it comes to underwear and I'm certainly not a Cougar - I'd feel a ninny parading in front of my lover, or even the mirror, trussed up in a basque - but my attitude to underwear has certainly changed since becoming single again in my mid-50s.
After my marriage broke up, for a few months I slopped around the house in baggy tracksuit bottoms and big pants, my gloomy clothing matching my sadness.
But then I decided that taking more care of myself might lift my mood. A trip to Selfridges' lingerie department felt like being let loose in a sweet shop. I must have spent two hours trying on Donna Karan, Elle Macpherson Intimates, Chantelle and others, and I came away with a cache that boosted my cleavage and my self-esteem.
Now, I could choose between a raspberry-pink lacy push-up bra and boy-short pants and a similar set in kingfisher blue. The next day, I went out in jeans and a T-shirt and my new underwear, and I felt so much better, even though the only person who knew what was beneath my clothes was me.
It made me think about how a dwindling interest in one's underwear is something of a metaphor for neglecting one's marriage.
My friend Suki Folk, 56, says: 'In a long and unhappy marriage, I had no interest in arousing my husband and I was quite prudish. I used to wear the most sensible underwear imaginable, generally flesh-coloured and extremely unappealing.'
Post-divorce, and after meeting her lover, Suki underwent an underwear epiphany. 'My God, things have changed,' she says. 'In the past I wore underwear that minimised my bust - I'm a 32DD and thought having a big bust made me look cheap. Now, I have proper-fitting uplift bras and I like the attention I get. My underwear makes me feel feminine and sexy.'
While Debenhams reports 'a sharp rise' in the number of women in their 40s and 50s booking lingerie consultations, Selfridges says that a change to stock bigger bra sizes has led to a whopping sales increase of 50 per cent in the D-G size range.
They believe more women are getting measured throughout their life, so there is more awareness of changes in cup size.
M&S, meanwhile, has launched Portfolio, a range of underwear specifically aimed at the 45-plus market, and reports that its raciest styles, especially a bra and pants in red, is proving the most popular.
Sandy Evans, a writer who has been married for more than 20 years, has always enjoyed underwear that makes her feel 'feminine and sometimes a bit naughty'.
She says: 'If women in their 40s and 50s haven't given up on underwear it's because they haven't given up on sex. Underwear is an important preliminary to feeling sexy and to looking sexy when you take your clothes off.'
Like me, Sandy can't pass an underwear shop without popping in, and when she goes to the U.S. she stocks up on her favourite Victoria's Secret underwear.
'After having two sons, my figure became curvier. I discovered the joy of having a nice cleavage and going out to buy fabulous bras to enhance it.'
More typical, perhaps, is another long-term married friend who says: 'The only time I walk around the room with gay abandon is when I am wearing a black bra and black lace briefs with killer Louboutin heels. Even I think I look great and I may get a fleeting look of admiration from my husband.
'The rest of the time I look horrible in Bridget Jones big knickers that hold everything in place.'
Underwear addict: Linda Kelsey
So obsessed have I become with underwear that I even created a character for my second novel, The Secret Lives Of Sisters, in which the heroine, Cat, is an underwear magnate.
In my story, set in the Eighties, she designs a successful range of subtly sexy underwear for a new breed of power-dressing women just beginning to make waves in the business world. Women who go to work in grey or navy suits who believe that the more serious they look, the more likely they are to be taken seriously, but who also feel a need to hang on to their essential femininity.
Although it was fictional, I believe it holds true for women today. We are so capable, so multi-tasking, so successful that we sometimes lose the sense of what it is to look and feel sensual, feminine and womanly.
Cathy, a PA of 42, with twin boys of six, says: 'I've always treated myself to pretty underwear, but I leave it to my husband to buy the sexy and expensive stuff.
Myla and Agent Provocateur are his favourites. It may sound like boasting after 19 years, but I'm pleased my husband still fancies me after so long.'
Underwear has undergone a revolution in the past few years, and luscious lingerie is a great credit-crunch buy. There's no need for older women to give in to sensible knickers when underwear has evolved so that it can flatter figures of every shape and size.
You can spend a fortune on lingerie at La Perla or skimp at Primark and still look sexy. Either way, dressing well underneath will boost your confidence as well as hike your bosom and make your bottom look more pert - and your partner will surely thank you for it.
That's my excuse, anyway, and I'm sticking with it.
Our ultimate guide to practical - and irresistibly sexy - underwear to flatter over-40s
Ultimate underwear guide: We've found the sexiest lace bras, camisoles and boy shorts on the High Street
source :dailymail
Uplifting: Elle Macpherson, left, and Madonna continue to wear risque lingerie into their 40s and 50sSome women can't stop buying shoes. I have friends who need a walk-in closet just to house their handbags. My shopping vice, until now, has been a secret one. But following a report that sales of risqué lingerie among women in their 40s and 50s have soared in recent months, I feel I can finally come out from my undercover existence.
I'm an underwearaholic and - if last week's figures (excuse the pun) are anything to go by - I'm not alone. Retailers such as Debenhams and Mark & Spencer have noticed a marked increase in the sales of underwear in the past year.
Apparently, women in my age group now purchase more stockings, suspenders, basques and cleavage-boosting bras than women in their 20s. To be honest, it didn't come as news to me.
Coincidentally, the week before the findings were announced I'd had a clothing cull - out went old bras and knickers, anything that had gone baggy or saggy or grey, leaving my underwear drawer (make that drawers) looking sadly depleted.
So I popped along to Calvin Klein for a new matching set and ended up doing a supermarket-style sweep - spending £200 in less than the time it took the sales assistant to ask: 'Balconette, strapless or plunge?' 'I guess all three,' I replied, both confused and excited by so much choice.
Allure: Many women have upgraded their underwear to attract younger men, like Anne Bancroft in The Graduate, pictured with Dustin HoffmanI'm no Samantha from Sex And The City when it comes to underwear and I'm certainly not a Cougar - I'd feel a ninny parading in front of my lover, or even the mirror, trussed up in a basque - but my attitude to underwear has certainly changed since becoming single again in my mid-50s.
After my marriage broke up, for a few months I slopped around the house in baggy tracksuit bottoms and big pants, my gloomy clothing matching my sadness.
But then I decided that taking more care of myself might lift my mood. A trip to Selfridges' lingerie department felt like being let loose in a sweet shop. I must have spent two hours trying on Donna Karan, Elle Macpherson Intimates, Chantelle and others, and I came away with a cache that boosted my cleavage and my self-esteem.
Now, I could choose between a raspberry-pink lacy push-up bra and boy-short pants and a similar set in kingfisher blue. The next day, I went out in jeans and a T-shirt and my new underwear, and I felt so much better, even though the only person who knew what was beneath my clothes was me.
It made me think about how a dwindling interest in one's underwear is something of a metaphor for neglecting one's marriage.
My friend Suki Folk, 56, says: 'In a long and unhappy marriage, I had no interest in arousing my husband and I was quite prudish. I used to wear the most sensible underwear imaginable, generally flesh-coloured and extremely unappealing.'
Post-divorce, and after meeting her lover, Suki underwent an underwear epiphany. 'My God, things have changed,' she says. 'In the past I wore underwear that minimised my bust - I'm a 32DD and thought having a big bust made me look cheap. Now, I have proper-fitting uplift bras and I like the attention I get. My underwear makes me feel feminine and sexy.'
While Debenhams reports 'a sharp rise' in the number of women in their 40s and 50s booking lingerie consultations, Selfridges says that a change to stock bigger bra sizes has led to a whopping sales increase of 50 per cent in the D-G size range.
They believe more women are getting measured throughout their life, so there is more awareness of changes in cup size.
M&S, meanwhile, has launched Portfolio, a range of underwear specifically aimed at the 45-plus market, and reports that its raciest styles, especially a bra and pants in red, is proving the most popular.
Sandy Evans, a writer who has been married for more than 20 years, has always enjoyed underwear that makes her feel 'feminine and sometimes a bit naughty'.
She says: 'If women in their 40s and 50s haven't given up on underwear it's because they haven't given up on sex. Underwear is an important preliminary to feeling sexy and to looking sexy when you take your clothes off.'
Like me, Sandy can't pass an underwear shop without popping in, and when she goes to the U.S. she stocks up on her favourite Victoria's Secret underwear.
'After having two sons, my figure became curvier. I discovered the joy of having a nice cleavage and going out to buy fabulous bras to enhance it.'
More typical, perhaps, is another long-term married friend who says: 'The only time I walk around the room with gay abandon is when I am wearing a black bra and black lace briefs with killer Louboutin heels. Even I think I look great and I may get a fleeting look of admiration from my husband.
'The rest of the time I look horrible in Bridget Jones big knickers that hold everything in place.'
Underwear addict: Linda KelseySo obsessed have I become with underwear that I even created a character for my second novel, The Secret Lives Of Sisters, in which the heroine, Cat, is an underwear magnate.
In my story, set in the Eighties, she designs a successful range of subtly sexy underwear for a new breed of power-dressing women just beginning to make waves in the business world. Women who go to work in grey or navy suits who believe that the more serious they look, the more likely they are to be taken seriously, but who also feel a need to hang on to their essential femininity.
Although it was fictional, I believe it holds true for women today. We are so capable, so multi-tasking, so successful that we sometimes lose the sense of what it is to look and feel sensual, feminine and womanly.
Cathy, a PA of 42, with twin boys of six, says: 'I've always treated myself to pretty underwear, but I leave it to my husband to buy the sexy and expensive stuff.
Myla and Agent Provocateur are his favourites. It may sound like boasting after 19 years, but I'm pleased my husband still fancies me after so long.'
Underwear has undergone a revolution in the past few years, and luscious lingerie is a great credit-crunch buy. There's no need for older women to give in to sensible knickers when underwear has evolved so that it can flatter figures of every shape and size.
You can spend a fortune on lingerie at La Perla or skimp at Primark and still look sexy. Either way, dressing well underneath will boost your confidence as well as hike your bosom and make your bottom look more pert - and your partner will surely thank you for it.
That's my excuse, anyway, and I'm sticking with it.
Our ultimate guide to practical - and irresistibly sexy - underwear to flatter over-40s
Ultimate underwear guide: We've found the sexiest lace bras, camisoles and boy shorts on the High Streetsource :dailymail
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