Valentine’s Day gift guide: choose carefully to send the right message

 

Hongkongers don’t do things by halves, which explains why Valentine’s Day has grown into a full-scale event, complete with fancy dinners, overpriced flowers or edible arrangements and, lest we forget, cheesy gifts.

That being said, selecting the right Valentine’s Day gift for your partner is even more important than any birthday or Christmas gift because it speaks volumes about your relationship and how you feel about one another.

Before you embark on the arduous task of choosing the ideal present, it’s important that you take into account how well you know the person and the message you are trying to convey through the gift.

If it’s a new relationship, men may want to avoid gifts such as trashy lingerie (you’ll end up looking like a pervert or, worse still, get the bra size wrong), while an expensive piece of jewellery may not be as welcome as the diamond engagement ring she’s been waiting years for. Likewise, women shouldn’t get too emotional or personal with their gift choice.

A customised iPod stocked with Julio Iglesias’ greatest love songs, for example, will have any respectable human running for the hills. In order to avoid any major disasters, it’s always worth thinking outside the box and avoiding more traditional items in favour of something fun and unexpected.

Men can’t go wrong with things that she will use every day. Opt for playful accessories such as Tory Burch’s heart motif scarf, while Roger Vivier’s classic Miss Viv bag comes decorated with an asymmetrical heart for the new season. If you can’t resist lingerie, choose a sexy corset that she can wear both in and out of the bedroom. And instead of diamonds, choose Louis Vuitton’s Me and Me necklaces, which feature alphabet charms that are chic and personal.

Women used to be the sole benefactors of Valentine’s Day gifts, but that is changing. If he can buy you sexy lingerie, why can’t you get him a fun pair of boxers? Ditto for jewellery (French brand Dinh Van has some chic unisex bracelets that are casual enough to wear every day). For something more subtle, give him one of Céline’s porcelain necklaces featuring different female body parts. It’s a sexy reminder of you.

A final word of gift-giving advice – flowers don’t count.

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No more boring old undies: sew your own lingerie

“Sewing lingerie can make you feel so different about yourself. You stop thinking about your insecurities and get to know your own body without judging. It’s a much more encouraging way to view your own shape,” says Laura Stanford, my tutor for today. That’s good to know. On my journey here, I think that anything that isn’t either thermal, furry and drawstring (ie all loungewear from Uniqlo, the true antithesis of lace and cheese-wire elastic) is deeply unappealing. But Laura is reassuring and passionate about this lingerie business.

She designed pants for MS and then moved to Agent Provocateur, a senior designer there when Fifty Shades of Grey took grip, and undies went hardcore. “All that rubber and PVC”, she says shaking her head. Now she freelances and has just finished a book about making pretty, old-fashioned lingerie. Today we’re creating a confection called Baby Cakes Mini. She shows me a pair she ran up earlier. They are definitely mini.

We start by cutting out the tulle (a fine, gauzy netting) with a rotary cutter, which is easy and satisfying. Then she directs me towards the sewing machine, white and shiny and ready to go. Ah, the fun bit: I remember my school sewing class decades ago followed by a brief passion for designing shift dresses in my teens with my mum’s sewing machine. I liked the instant thrill, pressing down on the foot pedal, lurching and speeding over seams, pins flying, my dress finished in a matter of minutes, particularly as I missed out the “boring” bits ie pinning and tacking. No wonder my dresses were unwearable; sewing over an armhole didn’t help.

As Laura reminds me, it’s the preparation that matters, and only around five minutes of machine time. Pin and tack. Pin and tack. Fastidious and deliberate.

We fall into a slow and steady pace, sewing the back and front panels of tulle together, then the lace around the edges.

Our next challenge, Laura says, is to sew in our “floating gusset”. Really?

If only Miranda Hart were here to cock an eyebrow and repeat to camera, “Floating gusset.”

Seriously, they are hard to pin down, so I tack mine in neat stitches and then the sewing machine beckons. Foot to the ground, and take it away. I’m all over the place, lace and tulle speeding through my fingers.

The final hurdle is sewing in the elastic – an art in keeping your nerve. The trick is to hold the elastic taut as you machine on to your tulle – which should shirr up and gather evenly as you go, for that frothy finish. No chance. I speed up and hope for the best. “Don’t worry about the imperfections,” says Laura. We’re not aiming for bland mass-produced MS knickers, after all. Homespun and unique rules. “I love my wobbles. That’s what gives them character,” Laura assures me, inspecting my drunken seams flying out the back of the machine. Once more around the waistband, full-throttle I go. Minutes later, my Baby Cakes are complete: dripping in lace and bows, and the gusset floats no more. You wouldn’t find these in Uniqlo, and I’d be amazed if I actually wear them – but they do look divine.

There is a Secrets of Sewing Lingerie workshop with Laura in March 2015, for the Baby Cakes tulle bra and mini. For more information on all workshops go to saturdaysewingsession.co.uk

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