Looking good: But only a third of women buy matching bra and knicker sets
A lady may look lovely when dressed to the nines - but what lies beneath could be a different story.
It is not until knickers turn grey and saggy, vests become full of holes and bra straps start fraying that most women decide to invest in some new garments, a study reveals.
Sixty per cent will only ever buy underwear when it needs replacing with just 31 per cent splashing out on bras and pants for special occasions, say market research analysts Mintel.
'Despite the return of saucy Burlesque shows by Dita von Teese and others, British women still take a functional and practical approach to underwear and clearly don't see it as something that can be really sexy and alluring,' says Mintel's senior fashion analyst Katrin Magnussen.
'The underwear industry needs to encourage women to go out there and spend their hard-earned cash on beautiful lingerie that makes them feel really special.
'We need to see more advertising that is fun but also seductive, as the last time we really saw anything along these lines was the "Hello boys!" campaign from Wonderbra, and that came out almost 15 years ago.'
TV programmes such as What Not To Wear and How To Look Good Naked recommend women should have a combination of structured underwear to look good and sets that are a little racier to feel good.
But only 34 per cent buy matching bras and knickers and 36 per cent still mainly purchase multipacks.
Sixty-three per cent spend less than £10 a month on their undies, with just 7 per cent forking out between £21 and £40 a month.
What is more, many women now also buy their smalls from value retailers and supermarkets.
Although Marks & Spencer still leads the way, with 51 per cent of women getting their underwear there, 48 per cent went to Tesco, Matalan, Primark or Asda for their bras and pants last year.
