Men's Health (my new favorite thing to rip apart) has an article suggesting three steps to help you find the right lingerie for your girlfriend or "special friend". After reading it, I have to say, Men's Health knows as much about women as Cosmopolitan seems to know about men. They suggest that when buying your girlfriend lingerie that you should check out three things: her body shape, the style of her jeans, and the pattern of her sheets. Yeah. Well if that's true I guess you can tell if a guy likes you by the color of his socks and by what flavor ice cream he likes.
They do have it right by telling you to take her body type into consideration and suggest which pieces of lingerie will help accentuate her assets. But really, you don't need to spend time staring at the pattern of her sheets or looking down her pants to see what size underwear she wears. The best way to find out what lingerie she likes? Just ask! Go to Anne Summers or Victoria's Secret together. Just go around the store, looking at things, and see what she likes. Ask her what she thinks about certain styles so you can get a feel for what she prefers. That way, you'll know she's like bustiers or that she won't freak out when you bring home crotchless panties.
If you want to know what size her bra and knickers are, and you don't want to just ask her, do her laundry and take a peek. Be crafty! If she's in the shower, take a look in her underwear drawer. (Just don't try anything on.) Or you can always just ask her to write down all her sizes for you so you don't have to keep asking every Christmas or Birthday.
Keep in mind that if you know your girlfriend hates thongs, no matter how much you like them, don't get her one. She's not going to feel comfortable wearing it. It really doesn't matter how hot you think it would be to see her dressed up as a naughty policeman, if she's not into that, you surprising her with a role playing outfit isn't going to get her all hot and bothered. Just bothered.
I know it may be embarrassing for you to walk into a Fredrick's of Hollywood alone and risk the possibility of looking like a big perv, but buying lingerie in person, rather than online, is a good idea. If it doesn't fit or she doesn't like it, you can return it a lot quicker.
The most important thing to remember is that surprises don't always work out perfect. Lingerie is an intimate, and personal thing. If for some reason your girlfriend ends up not liking what you got her, or the bra is the wrong size, no worries! It's the thought that counts, and she will be so impressed that you tried so hard to please her!
Cate Sevilla is the Editor of Dollymix. Man thongs freak her out. Don't buy her one.