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Lifesaving lingerie

In this week's medical news, some cheering lingerie innovations to look forward to... Canadian researcher Kathryn King has designed a special bra that women can start wearing immediately after heart surgery to help reduce pain and numbness. Meanwhile, the BBC reports that researchers at electronics giant Philips have been busy developing lifesaving underwear designed to monitor your heartbeat and call the emergency services if there is a problem.

Nice to know that our lingerie will be looking out for us in the future.

Top trends for men

Lest you feel that we have been neglecting the men, here are our top five men's underwear trends for this season, as selected by figleaves.com menswear buyer Amanda Lepar:

• City Slickers - clean lines and pinstripes from Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Hom.
• Seamless - because men care about VPL too. Check out Calvin Klein and Fruit of the Loom's new offerings.
• Khaki - the new fashion colour from brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Hom, French Connection and Fruit of the Loom.
• Casino Royale - get ready for the new Bond movie with Playboy's Lucky Pants.
• Logos - bigger and bolder than ever. Let that waistband show!

l to r: Polo Ralph Lauren's city stripes, Calvin Klein's seamless trunk, Tommy Hilfiger in khaki, Playboy's Lucky Pants, Calvin Klein 365 logo waistband

Your boudoir personality

Did you see InStyle's guide to finding your boudoir personality in its November issue? Beautiful. Here's the Princesse Tam-Tam set featured in the 'Fresh' section - this one's for you if your style is all about florals, cotton and Doris Day-style sexiness.

Last chance to vote - hit those buttons!

Quick - there are just hours to go before we close the voting in the figleaves.com Lingerie Awards 2006. It's neck-and-neck in some categories - so if you want your favourite brands to win, you know what to do.

To the awards

Update: Voting for this year's figleaves.com Lingerie Awards has now closed - the winners will be announced on 7th November

Lorraine, Jordan, Kelly... and the NZ knicker vicar

In this week's lingerie news:

• Australian bust sizes are getting bigger, says lingerie manufacturer Berlei.
• A New Zealand vicar is launching a knicker run to keep the women of his town in smalls. Haven't these people heard of internet shopping?
• How much? Lorraine Kelly's bra wins out over Jordan's in charity auction.
• Move over Caprice (and Katie, and J-Lo). Kelly Brook is the latest celeb to turn her hand to lingerie design.

Would you Adam + Eve it?

Stop us if you've heard this before but we might just have found the perfect t-shirt. Yes, there a squillion tees out there claiming to be 'the one' but this one comes with a rather special pedigree - it's from Adam Lippes, former creative director of Oscar de la Renta no less, who started his own label, Adam + Eve, in 2004.

The brand's ready-to-wear is gathering steam but it started out as an upscale underwear and t-shirt line - and its high quality basics in super soft pima cotton have built up quite a following.

Not only are the starry likes of Jennifer Aniston and Nicole Kidman fans of Adam + Eve, but it now has the Oprah seal of approval - she made it official when Adam appeared on her show earlier this year (and the surge in demand promptly caused the Adam + Eve website to crash). We all know about Oprah's favourite bra - it's the Le Mystere Dream Tisha; now she has a favourite t-shirt to wear over it too.

Partywear preview

Much fun was had in the studio yesterday when we shot this year's partywear solutions editorial - the festive season come early, in fact. Here's a sneak peek; visit www.figleaves.com on Thursday for our complete guide to what to wear under that party dress.

In the meantime, this Grenier set was the star of the shoot - sure, its control panels smooth you down and hold you in, but the team was very taken with its pretty, vintage feel too.

Lisi Valle's special somethings

How beautiful? These are just a couple of the "special little somethings" (her words - and we agree) from American designer Lisi Valle's debut collection, exclusive to figleaves.com in the UK.

Given her impeccable ready-to-wear pedigree (she has worked for Cynthia Rowley and Philippe Adec among others) it's no surprise to see that Lisi Valle lingerie is so thoroughly on-trend - think triangle bras and boy shorts in sophisticated fabric combinations. And you can't help but warm to someone who is so passionate about what she does. "I don't think I could live not knowing if it would succeed or not," she told us.

Meet Lisi after the click

Let them wear balconettes

Oh the excitement - Marie Antoinette finally opens in the UK tomorrow and we're looking forward to much oohing and aahing over those Manolos (not to mention the opulent frocks that have influenced so many designers for this season and next). Square necklines look set to stay for a while, so here are a couple of our favourite balconettes.

Mimi Holliday                               Ted Baker

Playtex pinstripes for city slickers

Those of us of a certain age have fond memories of the Playtex Cross Your Heart ads - when I was little, they seemed to be on during every ad break without fail. Cross Your Heart is still going strong, we're delighted to report, but Playtex is not relying on Seventies nostalgia this season. Its Magic Feeling collection is bang on trend, as Red magazine discovered: this pinstripe bra and brief featured in the November issue's masculine tailoring page. "Boyish but sexy," declared Red.