Valentine’s Day is getting closer, which means panic is in the air. Although it’s difficult to find gifts for your other, it’s relatively easy to find gifts for yourself. Therefore, why not treat yourself to something that your other will inevitably have a weakness for, something that will make your interlocking bodies waltz to the bedroom and indulge in our most basic animal instinct: sleep.
Coco Chanel had the kind of style that was laid-back and simple, yet empowering. This was evident even in the pajamas she wore to bed. Olivia von Halle designed a cotton-blend pajama set (shirt and pants) and called it Coco for her muse. She also has silk-satin pajamas that are not only soft on the skin, but on the eyes too. You can find them at net-a-porter.com.
Ladies, if you want to ditch the pants and let your legs wander the sheets, you could opt for Eberjey’s Gisele sleep shirt or Estelle teddy (respectively $82 at eberjey.com and $95 at net-a-porter.com). I’ve been reading that it’s even better for women to sleep in the nude, because it airs the basement and lets us sleep more soundly by feeling the sheets rather than the constriction of our garments. It sounds sensible and rather sexy, but that choice is ultimately yours.
For those looking for a more sensual look, La Perla’s lingerie will cater to the need to embellish the body. The Sparkling Jasmine embroidered stretch-tulle chemise is spoken with a mouthful of words but worn with a delicateness that steals any lingering words from your tongue. The stretch tulle encircles the bosom and the hips, bordered with magenta satin panels that continue down the ribs. The tummy is left exposed save for a thin film of mesh through which the belly button peeks. It’s $425 at net-a-porter.com, but you can find more designs at their main site, laperla.com, including a metal cage bra–it’s exactly what it sounds like.
If you’re a little naughtier, then perhaps Agent Provocateur’s gift guide will lead you to your fetish. You can skim the selections categorized under The Vixen, The Performer, The Seductress and The Romantic at agentprovocateur.com.
However, if you’re not a bed person (and please do alert the rest of us as to your existence) and inclined toward candlelit dinners rather than the recliner, you’re going to need these Parisian dresses. I’ve hunted them down ever since I became infatuated with the style of Marion Cotillard’s character in Woody Allen’s film Midnight in Paris. Anchored at her shoulders and hanging down loosely over the peak of her breasts, her dresses moved with her and kept her shape–her beauty–subtle, lest she put every great man under her spell. The Denna dress and Aubree dress by Candela’s designer, Gabriela Perezutti, are modern renditions of the 1920s flapper dress (candelanyc.com). The delicate beading beckons romance, and I particularly like the scooping, scallop hems.
Now don’t think I’d quite forgotten about the men. I believe one of men’s greatest gifts to their ladies is laughter. Chocolate is always acceptable, of course, but there’s nothing like a giggle-kindle to light the twinkle in our eyes. That being said, Toddland’s boxer briefs would make excellent titter-triggers. There’re prints of a cross-eyed cat and a brontosaurus whose neck really needs a lift (available at urbanoutfitters.com).
Forget the gaudiness of Valentine’s Day for a moment, and look at your reflection. Love yourself. Love your eyes, your crooked teeth, your dimples, your freckled cheeks, your wrinkles, your stretch marks, your scars, and your parts that jiggle when you dance. It’s easy to love a stranger you can fantasize about, even easier to love sleeping in Egyptian silk sheets, but it’s more worth it to love you. Just don’t end up like Narcissus. Xoxo.
