Style

SMALL PRINTwith ROSEMARY Mac CABE

What lies beneath

It’s not all pastel jean and chunky knits, you know; underwear can be as important when it comes to setting the sartorial scene as anything else you put on, and it doesn’t always have to break the bank.

Vintage floral bra (€8) and briefs (€4) at Penneys

Denim-effect floral bra and briefs (€36) at Topshop

Balconette bra (€14.99) and high-waisted briefs (€11.99) by Kelly Brook at New Look

Black skirt (€74) and lace bra (from a selection starting at €69) by Triumph Essence at Brown Thomas

Pastel lace bra and thong set (€10) at Dunnes Stores

Star buy:Navy swallow motif jumper (€60) at Bow Pearl, bowandpearl.com

A case of best chest forward

IS CLEAVAGE back on the menu? If there’s one thing we’ll remember Viola Davis’s stellar awards season for – and no, it’s not the fact that she was outright robbed by Meryl Streep, or that she wore her hair natural – it will be her gravity-defying breasts. Oh, come on – we can’t be the only ones who noticed. And, as Davis trotted up and down red carpet after red carpet, with the girls almost at clavicle level and not a care in the world, we found ourselves beginning to wonder: are boobs back?

For years now, it’s been accepted that cleavage is the Friday-night stalwart – if you are one of those women whose boobs are better than her legs, then it’s boobs you’ll accentuate – but there has always been the question of whether cleavage is appropriate, or can even be used advantageously, for daywear, the office or a family luncheon.

But before delving into the family chest, there is one simple question that can henceforth be applied to all questions of the style variety: what would K Middy do? And, of course, in this instance, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, would bundle her breasts up in a silk cami from Whistles, throw on her best Reiss coat, and accentuate her teeth, calves and glossy mane instead.

Reader query: Are stilettos an aphrodisiac?

An American psychologist/sociologist has said that "if there is such thing as an aphrodisiac it is probably the high stiletto heel". Would you agree? A lot of men would.

By barely legible post, from an anonymous reader

Dear John (for want of a name),

It’s an interesting question you ask – or, rather, theory you posit before backing up said theory with the opinions of “a lot of men”. In Gillian McKeith’s world, your kind of logic could pass as scientific proof, but in the fashion world, we would require various types of evidence before coming to any such conclusion.

The simple fact is, there is one place where the stiletto could be attributed with aphrodisiacal qualities, and that is the bedroom, when they are typically teamed with underwear and little else. But then, one wonders: is it the heel that is having the effect, or the underwear? Is it the setting, the circumstance, the weather? There are far too many variables for us to come to definitive conclusions.

On the other hand, I can and will give you the benefit of my 28 years of experience (some of which, granted, were not spent wearing stiletto heels as I’m no Suri Cruise) and say that no, stiletto heels are not an aphrodisiac. They are a fashionable means to an inevitably unfashionable end – on Saturday night, this reporter was to be found tip-toeing up O’Connell Street in a pair of Miu Miu-esque printed platforms accessorised with snakeprint trousers and a paisley shirt in an attempt to appropriate this new “pyjama dressing”, but there was very little of the aphrodisiac affecting my mind, or the minds of those around me.

Because, John, there is very little that is sexy about a woman who can’t walk because her feet hurt so much, or, worse, a woman who is walking on a street barefoot because she can’t stand (if you’ll excuse the pun) to put her stilettos back on.

If you disagree, I’m sure there’s a niche fetish club out there that will gladly cater for you – although I can’t guarantee its customers will be of the fashionable variety.