Top drawers

Newsflash: Yorkshire women reject the Queen of Pop's teeny, tiny ones in favour of Queen Victoria's enormous ones. We are, of course, talking pants. No change there then, you might say, but for once we are actually talking pants about knickers.

In the wake of the discovery of a priceless pair of Queen Victoria's split drawers at Castle Howard, the question had to be asked: are we still a nation in love with big knickers?

Bravissimo, a lingerie retailer specialising in bigger sizes, recently carried out a survey into "The State of our Drawers" and exposed a number of fascinating findings along the way.

Did you know, for instance, that almost one in ten of us owns knickers that are between six and 20 years old; that 12 per cent of women in the north won't risk communal changing rooms without their special shopping pants; or that eight out of ten of us hoard undies that we will never, ever wear?

"As a real lingerie hoarder myself, it's a relief to know I'm not alone," said Sarah Tremellen, founder of Bravissimo. "We estimate 40 per cent of UK women should be wearing a D cup or above. But The State of our Drawers suggests there is still a long way to go.

"I think we could all benefit from a fresh rummage in our drawers to give our wardrobes and our figures the uplift we deserve."

While we happily spend endless hours searching for just the right top or the perfect shade of lippy to suit our perfect pout, it seems we just can't be bothered spending a similar amount of time sorting out our slinkies. And we Yorkshire women are among the worst.

Compared with the rest of the UK, Tyke women - practical as ever - are least likely to wear scanty pants during the week and would be horrified if they met Mr Right tonight because of the state of their undies.

We are resolute fans of big pants, with more than the average number of Yorkshire women classifying themselves as Comfy Clares, for whom comfort and not sex appeal is the priority when buying lingerie.

Welsh girls are the most glamorous by far, topping the table with almost one in three owning between six and ten matching lingerie sets.

Southern gals are the most thrifty with a draughty four per cent admitting to owning less than five pairs of knickers, and East Anglian women are the most superstitious with 21 per cent claiming to own at least one pair of lucky pants.

Maggie Jackson, owner of designer lingerie specialist Jacaranda in Regent Street, Pocklington, knows a thing or two about knickers. She believes we are getting better at co-ordinating our undies - but we still have a long way to go.

"We are slowly catching up with the French," she said. "They know that a great outfit starts with great underwear. You put on nice lingerie and suddenly you stand up straighter, you feel sexier and you look better. I would challenge anyone to wear silk or satin next to their skin and not feel divine."

Apparently thongs are old news, with hipster culottes taking over their crown, offering a roomier but still sexy look. In terms of colour, we find it difficult to stray from black, although burnt orange is making something of an impact. And when it comes to mixing and matching, well, Maggie has strong views about that.

"Matching lingerie is absolutely essential," she said. "I sell separate pieces but I always encourage women to buy both - and not just because they spend more money. You wouldn't wear a shirt that didn't match your trousers, so why buy a bra that doesn't match your briefs?"

She admits that lingerie is still not top of Yorkshire women's shopping lists, and that this could be partly to do with the price. Her range starts at about £60 for a bra and brief set and reaches the dizzy heights of two or three hundred pounds for top-of-the-range designer creations. But she says these are special occasion indulgence pieces, not necessarily suitable for doing the weekly shop or walking the dog.

"If you want to wear a pretty M&S set for work and something slinkier at the weekend, that's fine. You should wear what makes you feel good," Maggie concluded. "And it doesn't matter what size you are. Modern lingerie makes a great disguise.

"I once set up a whole romantic scene in my bedroom at home for my husband. There were flowers, food, champagne and me in all my glory. He wasn't looking at my cellulite."

What kind of lingerie lass are you?

Comfy Clare

The largest proportion of UK women (40 per cent) are Comfy Clares. Sexiness is not top of their list as they browse the rails. Nope, comfort is their number one priority. They go for feel and function, leaning towards seam free, simple, unfussy styles. Married women are most likely to fall into this category (41 per cent), and Yorkshire and the West Midlands are home to more Comfy Clares than any other region in the country (45 per cent).

Mismatched Mandy

One in three women are Mismatched Mandys who, while they might search high and low for matching handbags, shoes and lippy, pay less care and attention to what they wear closest to their hearts (and other parts of their anatomy). They own few - if any - matching sets of lingerie and tend to be in the early twenties (42 per cent).

Practical Paula

Twenty-one per cent of us are Practical Paulas: "pack of five" girls who only buy underwear when it is absolutely necessary (i.e. when the elastic finally snaps).

They don't get even remotely excited about underwear, don't care if it fits properly and don't buy knickers unless they are down to their last pair.

Saucy Suzy

A sexy one in ten Brits is a self-confessed Saucy Suzy who wouldn't be seen dead (or lurking lasciviously around in the afterlife) in anything other than a perfectly co-ordinated lingerie set. Twenty per cent of 16-24 year olds are not afraid to admit that they are "set addicts".

Updated: 08:48 Tuesday, February 18, 2003