As much as we would like to believe that comedy in Bollywood has moved on from banana-peel-slipping-gag genre of slapstick humour, there are few quips that generate the same laughs as the classic man-buying-bra act.
Though seeing a man make awkward gestures and pointing to the sales girl in ‘roughly the same size’ vein, which would have been spot on a few years ago, seems a bit Neanderthal in today’s turbo-charged times. Thanks to the new metro, retro, alpha sexual man who is not only bold about his taste in lingerie, but also willing to purchase it to drive the point, err, home.
Saurabh Dadu, who recently launched a luxury lingerie website strapsandstrings.com, along with his wife Deepika, says that almost 70 per cent of those visiting the site are men. “Since we have a website, men perhaps find it easier to buy lingerie for their wives and girlfriends, as one doesn’t have to go to a store. We have been getting many requests from men not just for lingerie, but also for accessories like bra jewellery, Swarovski belts and perfumed brooches from the site,” he informs us.
“However, it’s not that everyone visiting the site is aware of their options, so we have lingerie stylists and specific sections for sleepwear and evening wear to help them make a choice,” adds Deepika.
But if you were thinking that men can have all sorts of reasons other than buying to visit a lingerie website, then listen to lingerie and night wear designer Suman Nathwani, who says that the change in terms of men buying lingerie is drastic.
“Thanks to the awareness by FTV, men confidently walk into my store to buy lingerie. And they are not only sure-shot buyers, but also pretty tasteful when it comes to their choices,” she says.
And Hitesh Chabbara, an ad executive would agree. “I have no qualms buying lingerie for my wife. I have shopped for her from a website and don’t mind going to a store either,” he shares with us.