Fall 2008: Stella vs. D&G

Many high fashion designers have figured out (no pun intended) that luxury lingerie is one thing that even the stingiest consumer will indulge in from time to time. As a result, there are lots of lovely collections out there, at fairly reasonable price points. The question is: whose lingerie will appeal to you?

Paul McCartney’s designing daughter, Stella, does a luxurious and beautiful lingerie line. I found it on Net-A-Porter, a site that features high-end fashions straight to the web. While Net-A-Porter doesn’t specialize in lingerie per se, it does carry a few targeted high-end couture designers with their corresponding undergarment “prêt a porter” lines.

If you like good quality, classy lingerie, I have to recommend McCartney. Her pretty (and tiny) unmentionables are sexy without being crass. Her designs definitely live up to her reputation in fashion clothing. In fact, this middle-aged woman actually found herself looking over the online offerings with longing for a few things in larger sizes. Unfortunately, Stella doesn’t think she’s designing for those of us in the XL range.

Pity. She has some really nice stuff that even a plus-size gal could love.

My personal favorite is her Eve Giggling body suit. While it’s pricey (and what big-name designer’s stuff isn’t?), it really highlights a woman’s best features while leaving just the smallest bit to the imagination. In my opinion, this is the perfect combination of sexy and practical – easy enough to wear everyday under your business suit and enticing enough to have you feeling desirable and feminine every minute!

In my mind, this is a stark contrast to Dolce and Gabbana, which is also available on Net-A-Porter. While these Italian designers have a big name in the fashion biz, I can’t say that a single piece that I see in their online collection appeals to me. The pieces are too over-the-top and garish. The price tags are also much higher than Stella McCartney’s while the real femininity of the undergarments is missing in action.

The D&G collection is all leopard prints and jarring sexuality – which is perfect (purrfect?) when the time is right, but isn’t the kind of piece that I’d buy with my regular life in mind. In contrast, what I like about McCartney’s designs is the combination of sexy and sophisticated; practical with lots of wow. While the wow might be there in the Dolce and Gabbana pieces, there’s surely no practical side!

While some of the McCartney collection has a price point that even a regular person could consider indulging in, I think the Dolce and Gabbana line is just that bit too much. Their simple balconette bras are listed for $155 to $200 and thong underwear for $90 to $110. They’d have to do a lot better with their collection in both style and fabrics for me to fork out that kind of money.