When a man wants to buy a gift of lingerie for his partner, it can be a huge and bewildering task. Where do you start? So many brands and styles exist. What are the differences? This short and basic guide to styles and brands of lingerie will help to clarify the basics and will give you the essentials necessary to ask for advice in a shop, department store or boutique.

There are 6 different categories of lingerie in the market: Sporty, Natural, Elegant, Designer, Sexy and special occasion, or Bridal Lingerie. Of course, these categories can overlap, Bridal or sexy lingerie can be made by a designer. Sporty lingerie can also be natural. Natural can be sexy. But understanding these six categories will help one to determine which lingerie to select.

Natural Lingerie, in general tends to be functional and less obvious. Simplicity, quality and comfort tend to be the major criteria for use.  Darjeeling lingerie brand is for women who prefer the natural look.

The purpose of sporty lingerie is that the lingerie should support but not hinder the lifestyle of the woman. They should not be obvious under tight clothing and yet not give up anything in the way of functionality. Prada is well known for their sport lingerie. Sloggi developed a strong image in this area as well.

Elegant lingerie is designed to give the woman a look of subtle sensuality without being too obviously erotic. Many types and styles of elegant lingerie cross over with designers. Chantelle's Riviera lingerie is one example of elegant lingerie

Designer lingerie gives a woman the feeling of being special. As few people will ever know she is wearing lingerie made by a designer, the woman who spends the money on designer lingerie is spending it mostly for herself. The focus is on style over comfort or quality.  Dolce and Gabana, Versace and recently popular Agent Provocateur are a few important designers of lingerie.

Sexy lingerie combines a wide range of styles and look. Many different types of lingerie can be included here, such as thongs or g-strings, teddy, corsets, garters, body stockings, sheer lingerie etc. To be sure, any of these can be included in other categories. For example a thong can be sporty or elegant. A corset can be sexy, provocative or elegant. Any of them can be made by a designer. But the overall look of these types of lingerie gives the woman a sexy feel. Victoria's Secret has a focus on sexy lingerie. Fredericks is their fading competitor. Lola Luna specializes in G-Strings or thongs. Lady Marlene focuses on Bustiers. Lise Charmel of France combines seduction with fashion.

Bridal Lingerie is made especially for that one day for which a woman waits all of her life, her wedding night. Usually it combines a white, creamy color with elegant and sexy style. Comfort or durability is hardly an issue here, but sensuality and style are essential.  It seems that every lingerie designer markets a line of bridal lingerie.

So which brand of lingerie do you buy? Mostly that depends on where you live. Lingerie tends to be national or regional. Though some manufacturers are attempting to become global, there is no one company dominating the global market:

        Chantelle Lingerie is one of the top brands of French lingerie, exporting to more than 50 countries. Passioneta and Darjeeling are Chantelle brands. However, Chantelle sales are still quite small in the USA.

        La Perla began as a small Italian manufacturer of corsets  and is now becoming  well known internationally as a manufacturer of lingerie

        Fantasie is a UK lingerie designer that focuses on lingerie in larger cup sizes. The UK represents, by far, the major sales for Fantasie.

        Triumph is a German lingerie manufacturer that like La Perla had its beginnings as a small local manufacturer of corsets and has grown to an international corporation. Sloggi is a brand which is owned by Triumph. Triumph is barely existent in North America.

        Victoria's Secret was started in the 1977 by Roy Raymond who wanted a European style shop that was accessible to males as well as females. Raymond sold his company in 1982 to The Limited Inc and it has grown up to be the top US manufacturer of lingerie. However, Victoria's Secret is almost unknown n Europe.

To see examples of these and other types of lingerie visit www.sexy-lingerie-models.org