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"  I grew up in a house where underwear was only ever referred to (in the prim, quasi-joking manner perfected by WASPs) as &amp;quot;smalls,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;delicates,&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;unmentionables.&amp;quot; That is, if it was referred to at all. The general consensus went along the lines of &amp;quot;What is there to talk about?&amp;quot; So apologies to my mother, because in this\u2014the month that greeting-card companies tell me is the most romantic of the year\u2014there is quite a lot to talk about. I appreciate lingerie the same way I appreciate period costume: It&amp;#039;s often beautiful, excellent for getting into character, and inherently impractical. And yet, undressed-inspired dress ran rampant over the spring runways, to wantonly elegant effect (bedazzled bras at Prada, sheer slips and skirts at Wes Gordon and Nina Ricci, corsetry at Margiela) that felt miles away from the saccharine-soaked, marabou-feathered boudoir. I am not one to deny myself the occasional indulgence, and given the runway edict? It&amp;#039;s fieldwork!  &amp;quot;You wear lingerie for you, for how it makes you feel, how it makes you carry yourself,&amp;quot; says Katharina Trappe, the stylist I&amp;#039;ve cajoled into educating me on the art of underpinnings, illustrated by her own extensive collection of slips. We start with a thin-strapped chemise: sophisticated, slinky, the color of a flushed cheek in a Caravaggio portrait. I think disparagingly of my starched cotton Brooks Brothers pajamas. I am a fool to have stayed away this long. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s Sabbia Rosa, the best lingerie in the world,&amp;quot; she says, describing a selection of mostly made-to-measure satin, silk, and chiffon confections in shades that range from the edible to the somewhat carnal\u2014tangerine, lemon, mocha, pistachio, blush, crimson. And the clincher: &amp;quot;Only sold in their Paris boutique.&amp;quot; So, the JAR of undies. I begin a list of who loves me enough to buy me a plane ticket.  Next, Fleur du Mal&amp;#039;s breath of pale rose silk and French Leavers lace has me feeling terribly romantic. I feel less like a pinup than I had expected, more come-hither than costumed. Draped in Carine Gilson&amp;#039;s floor-length Maria chemise, swaths of azure silk satin lapping loosely at my ankles, I want to lie across a fainting couch and have someone massage my temples. (More than usual.) Olatz&amp;#039;s silk charmeuse slips come in some 30 colors, from jewel tones to neons, and are available with the lustrous side of the silk facing in, for the deliriously decadent enjoyment of the wearer. It occurs to me that the type of woman who owns an elaborate lingerie wardrobe probably has great real estate, perfect manners, a lot of fun, and at least one of the bronze Hippopotame bars by Fran\u00E7ois-Xavier Lalanne. I would not hate to be her.  Inspired, I enter the fray of proper underpants. Rococo Dessous&amp;#039;s made-to-order designs are all quite razzle-dazzle: Sets are rendered in 24-karat-gold fabrics\u2014think navy lace drenched in liquid gold. They glitter. They glimmer. I&amp;#039;m the Bond girl from Goldfinger, only alive! This could be awfully embarrassing at airport security. (I&amp;#039;m still thinking about Paris.) Eres&amp;#039;s Indiscr\u00E8te Priscilla set is Helmut Newton\u2013esque in the best way: seductive, strong, and sheer, in strapless stretch tulle. I feel like Charlotte Rampling. I realize that I always want to feel like Charlotte Rampling. Agent Provocateur&amp;#039;s Liu Liu is very femme fatale, very take-no-prisoners, very not me at all. The red lace panels are cut high and plunge deep over black satin demi-cups, and the red of this lace is redder than anything else I own. It&amp;#039;s beyond lipstick red or cherry red\u2014it&amp;#039;s electric-cherry-tomato-on-the-vine-in-August red. It is, dare I say, Valentine&amp;#039;s Day red. And suddenly it&amp;#039;s just what I&amp;#039;ve been looking for. MUST-HAVES Charmingly brief and luxuriously lacy underthings (like Fleur du Mal&amp;#039;s Poppy panties, below) are at their best worn with a glamorous kimono, while Natori&amp;#039;s embroidered and generously fringed Embellishment wrap harks back to Brigitte Bardot&amp;#039;s St.-Tropez\u2014very poolside with Alain Delon. You won&amp;#039;t want to wear anything else. Must-Haves  Rococo Dessous bra, $2,400, rococodessous.com  La Perla bra, $234, laperla.com  Agent Provocateur bra, $790, and panties, $590, agentprovocateur.com  Fleur du Mal panties, $95, shopBAZAAR.com  Fleur du Mal slip, $385, shopBAZAAR.com  Josie Natori wrap, $995, natori.com "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/trends/a1554/chic-lingere-and-underwear/>