Vintage Lingerie

Vintage lingerie is all about accenting a curvy figure. So stop trying to starve yourself to obliterate those last few pounds that keep you from looking like a stick-thin supermodel. Love your womanly figure; this lingerie will. It's time to re-invent the expectations you have for yourself, and vintage lingerie is just the way to help you do it.

Types of Vintage Lingerie

• Girdles help hide your bumps and bulges on your lower half. They give the illusion of a smoother hourglass figure, particularly for those girls whose problem areas are in their hips, butts, or thighs.

• Stockings make your legs look more sophisticated and sleek under skirts and dresses. They can also be worn with garter-belts for a sexy combination in the bedroom. Add them to your vintage lingerie look and they definitely won't go unnoticed.

• Corsets smooth out your waist and lift your breasts to help give you an hourglass figure on the top half. If your problem is your upper tummy, your back at bra level, or your breasts just need a lift in order to look your best, you'll love a corset.

• All-in-Ones seem to be a corset and girdle hybrid. They cover everything from your breasts to the tops of your thighs, giving you a seamless hourglass shape. Your overall appearance will be tightened yet voluptuous.

• Slips definitely don't get much attention or use anymore. Normally they go underneath slightly sheer dresses to offer opacity. They can be quite a turn-on in the bedroom, as well, as the full slips are similar in style to babydolls and chemises. Half slips are also available, which are basically satin skirts.

Get Sexy Now, Retro Style

Since vintage lingerie's not too popular in chain stores, you're probably going to have to hit your local boutiques or shop online. Check your Yellow Pages for lingerie stores in your area. Here are a few online hot spots for making you look positively sexy, retro style, in the bedroom:

Sleek N Chic has everything from simple bras to extravagant one-for-alls to shape your whole body. There's also a section with sexy girdles (yep, girdles can be sexy!) and desirables.

VintageLingerie.biz offers garters, long nightgowns and even a see-through gown that will make your lover's jaw drop.

Even though the name hints at just slips, Vintage Slips offers panties and more, as well!

Be a Pin-Up Girl

Now that your UPS guy has brought your lingerie to you in a cutesy little box, or you hunted some down at a local boutique, you may want to do the whole "look." Here are a few tips to get you started:

For the Makeup

• Red lips are a must. For a true, matte blue-red look, try MAC's Russian Red. Dubonnet is also a nicer, deeper red made by the same company. Don't forget a matching liner, since red likes to run outside the lines.

• False lashes: another must-have. To get the sleepy, doe-eyed Marilyn Monroe look, false lashes--at least a few individuals at the outer corners--are necessary. If you're feeling brave, try whole strips of lashes.

• Black liner: make it heavier in the middle of your lid, as opposed to the outer corner as most women wear their liner today. Black liner is especially important with a vintage lingerie, pin-up girl look because it makes the eyes look more seductive and dreamy, and also disguises the point where the false lashes meet your lid.

Body and Hair

• Lotion up your body so that it's soft, touchable, and looks healthy in the pictures (if you're making a calendar for your significant other, for example).

• Set your hair in pin curls, or use rollers to get the soft waves of 1950s beauties.