Out with beige granny panties and in with floral lingerie

South Africans are surprisingly naughty, but a lot of it is somewhat undercover. And when it comes to sexy lingerie or dressing up, it seems the go-to is online shopping.

Sexy Curves is not an adult store per se, but rather a collection of lingerie, sexy outfits and naughty-wear all in a single destination store. It’s owner Priscilla Olivier’s dream come true and, two years after first going live, she has not looked back.

She said: “I wanted to empower women to say to themselves, ‘hey I’m a sexual being and I’m okay with that. I am not ashamed of feeling sexy. And also, being plus size myself, I felt like the options that you had have been limited. Granny panties, granny bras, the old beige, they’re all uninteresting. They are not what you would exactly call sexy”.

Olivier’s mantra is about owning your body, rocking sexiness with some hot lingerie and not being ashamed of it.

She is originally from Brazil and moved to South Africa a dozen years ago after meeting her husband, an IT engineer, online. He built the site for her in 2020 after, what she called ‘pitching’ the idea of an online store to him. The rest, as they say, is history.

Olivier said the business grew beyond her expectations and with substantial momentum.

“It’s only been two years but the sheer volume of clientele I have been blessed with saw me working all hours.”

Now, she has an assistant to help her process the masses of lingerie orders that flow in daily.

She said when she first arrived in South Africa it struck her that Mzansi’s people are far more conservative. But underneath the surface, we’re a naughty bunch.

Sexy Curves’ top selling garment is a teddy that features exposed private bits and breasts. It’s barely there, she said. Leather goods, also super tiny and strappy, are also very popular along with a naughty set of Baby Doll lingerie.

Olivier added: “I added swimwear to our catalogue too and suddenly we were getting requests for micro-bikinis from across the country. I never expected that, and while I sometimes doubt whether we would see anyone dare to don it on the beach, I am sure its worn poolside, at home.

She said that dress up remains popular, but it’s not as sought after as sexy lingerie. Olivier said: “When you dress up, it takes an enormous amount of confidence to pull it off. It’s important not to be afraid to role play, and when you do, go all out”. She noted the evergreen popularity of nurse’s outfits, the French Maid and even police uniforms.

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Right now, Olivier said, floral lingerie is making a comeback in the bedroom along with strappy detailing and cage styling. She added that the Fifty Shades range continues to be a popular choice in bedroom lingerie paraphernalia.

But it’s not just about sexy lingerie for the bedroom. A lot of Olivier’s customers also dial up the temperature in what they wear underneath their work clothes.

She said: “There’s a whole lot of lingerie that women are buying to keep the sexy going all day long”. It’s about feeling good and naughty for themselves, and later, for their lovers.

Sexy Curves will be exhibiting at The Sex Expo this week, between 13 and 16 October, at Time Square in Menlyn, Pretoria.