Timeless Lingerie Trends to Try Today

For being some of the smallest and thinnest elements of your wardrobe, lingerie rarely comes cheap. Thus, you don’t want to waste your lingerie budget on bras and panties that will disintegrate or go out of style in a month; rather, you need your lingerie collection to stand the test of time.

To that end, you should be wary of passing lingerie fads and shop instead for lingerie sets that will be in style for years to come. Here are a few tips for finding timeless lingerie that suits your style and spending habits.

Little and Black

Just as the little black dress is a must-have for every feminine wardrobe, little black lingerie is a staple for looking sexy and chic. Black is a shade that looks good on every skin tone, and it can easily incorporate any detail from ruffles and lace to rivets and leather. If you don’t invest in any other lingerie — besides your everyday lingerie sets, of course — you need something little and black.

Eye Catching Colors

Once you have your black lingerie, you need a set that is a bit showier — and that means introducing color. After black, red is the quintessential lingerie color; it is fiery, feisty and incredibly flashy, which is often exactly what you want your negligee to say about you. If red isn’t your style, you might consider other eye-catching colors like royal purple, pastel pink or even bright white.

Lots of Lace

Lace is a classic detail for lingerie. Delicate and feminine, lace looks luxurious hugging the skin. There are different types of lace, like Chantilly lace, Alencon lace, Venetian lace and crocheted lace; each type changes the character of the lingerie to give a distinctive style. You can look for lingerie with different lace varieties to find the lacy set that is right for you.

Particular Prints

You can find lingerie with almost any pattern, but prints tend to be subject to waxing and waning trends — except for a select few. Some patterns have remained popular in lingerie lines for decades, so if you want a printed lingerie set to stay in style for the foreseeable future, you should consider one of the following:

• Polka dots. Polka-dotted fabric comes from the 19th century, so polka-dotted lingerie was some of the first to emerge come 20th-century undergarment trends.
• Animal print. Leopard print, in particular, speaks to the wearer’s feline ferocity in a fun way, but almost any animal print (zebra, tiger, giraffe) is fun and flirty.
• Piping. Contrasting colors along the edge of the fabric provide a vintage pin-up look. Stripes come and go, but piping always stays on trend.

Showing Skin

Full-coverage lingerie sometimes comes into style, with high-neck tops and bloomer-like bottoms appearing in lingerie magazines and shops. However, even when full coverage is in, showing skin remains the norm for lingerie fashion. You shouldn’t be wary of investing in pieces that amplify your cleavage or reveal some cheek; after all, showcasing your assets is an important responsibility of good lingerie.

Three-piece Sets

It isn’t difficult to mix and match lingerie tops and bottoms, but when you want to feel particularly put together, there is nothing to beat a three-piece set. Consisting of a bra, a panty and a garter belt, three-piece sets are simple but effective at providing fun and functionality. You don’t even need to wear hose or tights to attach to your belt — but you certainly can experiment with all manner of stockings to see what suits your look.

Silky Slips

Lingerie as outerwear emerged as a trend in the 1990s, and it has never truly gone away — especially when it comes to slips. Silky, satiny slips typically provide a good amount of coverage while still suggesting sensuality. If you don’t want to wear a slip by itself, you can cover the bottom with a longer skirt or pants or toss a bulky cardigan or structured jacket on top.

You don’t want your lingerie to go to waste. By investing in pieces that stand the test of time, you will get plenty of chances to show off every item in your collection.