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" Giving your girlfriend lingerie is the perfect way to say, &amp;quot;Here, honey, I got a little something for myself.&amp;quot; You selfish bastard. Still, you can try to ensure that she&amp;#039;ll actually like these skimpy bits.  1. Avoid the retina-searing magenta. Red may be what she&amp;#039;s wearing in that mental pay-per-view movie of yours, but most women would probably prefer something less reminiscent of a Nascar vehicle. At Eres and Cosabella, the best-selling color is either nude or white, because that&amp;#039;s what women buy for everyday use. When in doubt, remember that even Hillary Clinton would look slutty in black. 2. All lingerie outlets are not created equal. In order of desirability to those of the opposite sex: La Perla, Agent Provocateur, Victoria&amp;#039;s Secret, Frederick&amp;#039;s of Hollywood.  3. The seemingly innocuous world of nightgowns is only slightly less complex than four-dimensional topology.  Please take note: A camisole is a sleeveless top with spaghetti shoulder straps. A tank is similar but generally more casual and has thicker straps. A chemise is a short nightgown that extends to the thighs. A baby doll is similar but is often see-through, cut higher, and flared. A teddy is like a one-piece bathing suit, combining a camisole with panties. A male thong--though not technically a nightgown--is just plain wrong. 4. You are hardly the first man to walk into a bra section and feel both dread and awe. The first known incarnation ofthe bra showed up in ancient Greece, where female athletes bound their breasts with wool and the proceedings were broadcast on CBS to blockbuster ratings. Today, bras come in more varieties than that first tourniquet style. A demi-cup is like a half bra, covering less skin. An underwire bra has metallic support. A convertible bra allows a woman to move the straps to match an outfit. A racerback bra looks like a sports bra in the back and is not particularly sexy. The padded bras have stuffing that makes a woman look more top heavy, while a push-up bra creates cleavage by jamming breasts together. And if you know what&amp;#039;s good for you, you&amp;#039;ll never buy your woman either of the last two.  5. Just because she wears a size L shirt doesn&amp;#039;t mean you should buy her size L underwear. While men have no problem advertising their exact measurements on the back of their Levi&amp;#039;s, women like to be a bit more ambiguous. (After all, it must have been a woman who dreamed up that black hole of sizes, 0.) Panties often come in S, M, and L. Check your wife&amp;#039;s top drawer to see which she is. And unless you&amp;#039;re dating/were married for twenty minutes to Britney Spears, get your woman a thong that&amp;#039;s a size smaller than her usual panties so that it doesn&amp;#039;t stick out of the back of her pants. Or better yet, most designers offer a low-rise cut. 6. Before buying panties, be sure to carefully study the shape of your wife&amp;#039;s ass. High-cut underthings, such as bikinis, flatter shorter or thicker women and serve to elongate legs. Boyshorts--which look like swimming trunks from a 1960s French film--are hot on taller women or those who aren&amp;#039;t so hippy.  7. Even stockings aren&amp;#039;t as easy as you&amp;#039;d think. Sexy stockings (not those dreadful panty hose) come in two varieties: One has elastic around the top and stays up on its own. The other is meant to be held up by a garter belt. Garters are often worn for special occasions, such as anniversaries or when a woman is charging you for sex. 8. Even after reading this article, you&amp;#039;re still just an advanced intermediate. The lingerie world has obscure nooks and crannies that would take far more than a page and a half to explore. A taste: A merry widow is like a corset but with garters attached. A skirtini is a miniskirt with garters attached (and somewhere, we&amp;#039;re guessing, garnished with an olive, to boot). And a teddiette is...well, we have no idea what a teddiette is. You&amp;#039;re on your own there. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a1332/esq0404-apr-allaboutwomen-6/>