Sunday 3rd February and the building is quiet. I am the only one here at the moment, although I expect Jen will be in later to catch up on the accounts. I check the orders and find that we have some customers hoping to order Diki by Diane Rubach made-to-measure lingerie. A problem this, as the normal lead time is 14 days and they want their items for Valentines Day which is now just 10 working days away. I rattle off a quick email to Diane and, bless her! She comes back with a positive answer. Lucky customers!

I then check through the contact messages from the site and find one that is very interesting. It is an invitation from a distributor to check out a lingerie brand that I had not heard of. We get a regular flow of distributors and manufacturers contacting us to sell their product and a lot of the time the product is just not right for us but this time is different! I browse their website with increasing excitement. It’s not a big range but it is very suitable for Ever-so-Sexy. I check out their current outlets and find that they are not heavily into the UK. Now I am really excited! I am not going to tell you the name of this lingerie brand now as I think we may very well add them to our site… so watch this space!

Monday 4th to Friday 8th – a blur! No time to write even a single line a day.

Saturday 9th – I am panicking! Stock we had ordered from Europe and America in early January has still not arrived. We increase our stock levels ahead of surges in business and should the stock not arrive in time we lose out on important sales and worse still disappoint our customers. For over a week, we have been watching these shipments via the tracking service of Parcel Force. The Axami order is the worst. It has shown as being out for delivery on 2 consecutive days then shows as missing for 2 consecutive days before reappearing as out for delivery for 2 more days. The American shipment, having been delayed at the suppliers, left the US on the 26th January, cleared UK customs in early February and is apparently languishing at the courier’s depot. I go into complaint mode! But my complaints seem to have no affect. Saturday morning has dawned – still no product – hence the panic. I shoot off two more complaint emails more heated than before. Then an hour later – a delivery! Relief! Both consignments have arrived and I book them in happily. And insist on opening the US consignment myself because it contains new designs. They are lovely…here’s one of them, a very pretty mini cami-top and briefs in pink and white lace. Unfortunately, this design has turned out to be smaller than anticipated and so only available in sizes 6-8, 8-10 and 10-12. I’ve written to the supplier pointing out that ladies of a larger size would love to wear this.

Saturday also brings decision time on a problem Jen brought to me in the week. A customer is asking to return items for exchange that were bought before Christmas. My first reaction was what part of the 14 days returns period (UK customers) is difficult to understand! Jen argues the case for the customer. A difficult task because there are two items and one of them is the made-to-measure Alicia bra set from Diki by Diane Rubach, made to the customer’s specific measurements. Jen argues that it was the husband who placed the order and clearly had made a guess at his wife’s size and it is only the briefs that don’t fit. I retort that was a silly thing to do on made to measure lingerie. Jen tries again with an offer that goes well beyond customer service! “I’ll buy the briefs,” she says… “I’ve fancied a pair of the silk briefs for a long time and they are my size.” Now I ask you? How can I argue with that? So I agree to the exchange but heatedly say we need to strengthen our message to customers about the returns policy.

11th to 12th more blur! Some lines run out. Curses! Melissa brings me a returned item. The customer wants to exchange for a different size. I nearly explode! The order was from November 2007. Again I ask how difficult is it to understand our returns policy? Jen suggests we should put our returns policy on the paperwork that goes out with the order as it seems customers are not reading the website. Good idea! It’s now done. I guess this might be a good moment to mention that our returns are very low. We put this down to the quality of our product and usually returns are with requests for an exchange for another size.

13th February turns out to be a quieter day than we had expected. We are accepting orders up to 4.30 for same day shipment and we work steadily through the day without panic. A possible fraud order comes in. I’ll write at more length about the problems an online shop faces with credit card fraud at another time. We were stung last Valentines Day so we are twice as cautious now at this time. We do not accept the order. I’m cheered up when a French designer contacts me about their designs. I like them!

14th February… One last Valentines delivery – Hand delivered to a friend in time fore a special Valentine’s Day evening. A lovely Luxxa Cannes Body, which I am told was a great success.

15th – 16th February – phew! It’s been a tough eleven days with a greater number of problems than usual. But you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth when running a business. And when it’s difficult I always take the view that it is going to get easier soon. So now it’s time to tidy up and get back to normal.

Gill Fernandez – Ever So Sexy
A background in finance and sales but a deep desire to do something more feminine brought Gill into the world of lingerie when she decided to form her own company Crysalis Ltd which trades on line under the name www.ever-so-sexy.com and specialises in the glamorous, pretty and down right sexy stuff..

Read all posts by Gill Fernandez right here!

This is a time of year when we have a lot of new lingerie coming in, like this lovely bustier from the new Toulouse range from Luxxa. This is one of my own personal favourites among the new designs.

But behind the initial pleasure of parcel opening there is some anxiety. I can’t help wondering if we have chosen a winner or made a massive mistake and will be discounting like mad in a month or so to get rid of the line! Last year we tried asking our customers via our monthly newsletter what they thought of some of the designs we were considering. It seemed a good democratic way to make our stocking decisions and a sure fire way of ensuring items would sell but the responses were so variable we were scared to use the results as the basis for our decisions and carried on as before.

This brings me to how we make our purchasing decisions. Obviously we study trends and our own sales statistics. We also have a wish list facility on the site and we pull statistics from that in addition to reading The Lingerie Post avidly to pick up on the buzz among true lingerie fanatics. Then there are basic factors like quality standards and our house style but after that we are left with gut instinct. Yes, I did say gut instinct and finally, most important of all – wow factor. A new addition to our range must be capable of taking breath away. It may not always be my breath – it is a team decision after all. But the Toulouse design from Luxxa was definitely a heart stopping moment for me, while this amazingly tiny micro g-string from Lola Luna did it for Jen, my assistant and general woman of all work who puts me to shame for the number of hours she works – thanks Jen.

It is not an accident that I chose Luxxa and Lola Luna as examples of our purchasing decisions. They were two of the brands we launched the business with in 2006 and they are expert in producing heart stopping sexy lingerie. Lola Luna is undoubtedly the market leader in the design and manufacture of sexy g-strings and for this reason we carry their entire range. Luxxa lingerie is a mix of exotic and demure but all fantastically glamorous. We carry most of their range simply because they and Lola Luna tick all the boxes, beautifully made with fine materials, breath-takingly beautiful and ever-so-sexy.

Gill Fernandez – Ever So Sexy
A background in finance and sales but a deep desire to do something more feminine brought Gill into the world of lingerie when she decided to form her own company Crysalis Ltd which trades on line under the name www.ever-so-sexy.com and specialises in the glamorous, pretty and down right sexy stuff..

Read all posts by Gill Fernandez right here!

“Pure white feminity from Luxxa in the St Tropez Chemise. Lace bust section, unusual curved cut to hem and soft tulle frills to the strap finished with the distinctive cross ribboning at the front which is so much the feature of Luxxa designs.”

Make sure to enter before the 13th of February — winners get picked on Valentine’s Day!

Our contest starts today, and you’ve got exactly 13 days to get your entry in! Entering is super simple. Click right here to go to the contest-form, and fill it in (once, please!). You’ll get an e-mail asking you to confirm your entry, and you’re set to go!

Off course we wouldn’t be able to offer you guys such an awesome prize pool without the help of some of the greatest companies in the lingerie world. We’ll be zooming in on the prizes in our competition throughout the next two weeks, but here’s the list for you already:

• A $200 Secrets In Lace gift certificate, donated by Secrets In Lace.
• A gorgeous Papinelle PJ/Slipper set donated by Papinelle.
• Frankly Darling, Carmen Silk set donated by Peacock & Strutt.
• Fuchsia Night cami/thong set or a limited edition Valentine cami/thong set, plus a red Cell Phone garter, donated by A Little Lingerie Company
• A $150 Evlove Intimates gift certificate, donated by Evlove Intimates.
• Smart Ass pink hearts Eurotrash camisole and galshort, plus an ooh la la, tres chic thong, donated by the Smart Ass Gals.
• Eberjey Heart-to-heart Chemise, donated by Gigi’s Closet.
• Vanjo Kika Range – pink mesh bra with dotty yellow mesh, fully lined for support, with yellow trims and brief, donated by Vanjo.
• Elle Macpherson Intimates Tressour bra and bikini bottom, donated by Bendon!
• Fayreform Beautiful Sin black and gold bra and bikini bottom, donated by Bendon.
• Seduzione Brazil LOLA Bra Set, donated by Bella Bella Boutique.
• Luxxa St-Tropez Chemise, donated by Ever So Sexy
• Julianna Rae Versailles Chemise, donated by Julianna Rae
• Two $48 Bubbles Bodywear gift certificate donated by Bubbles Bodywear.
• Patrick & Skinner Mint set, donated by Patrick & Skinner.
• A luxurious Julianne Aimee Slip by Australian label Julianne
• Pfiff Portrait of a Lady Full Coverage Bra and Bikini bottom, donated by Pfiff.
• Fleur’t Chantal set, donated by Journelle NYC.

This post would really be getting out of proportion if we would add images for all these prizes, so I’m advising all of you to subscribe to our daily updates (check below this post) or our rss feed, as we’ll be posting details on all these products over the next two weeks. Stay tuned!

Check out this Luxxa Cannes Open Bra string and suspenders set. A sexy quarter cup with superb floral embroidery — deep black silk and and a tiny (t/b)it naughty! The price tag is about $230 for the complete set (I’d like to apologize for the censorship on the photo, but ….)

Up next: The delicate Coemi Pink Satin Camisole set. An ever so pretty pink satin camisole with a sheer lace bust and center panel that is delicately embroidered and matches the lace panels in the sides of the matching knickers. The Polish brand Coemi is new at Ever So Sexy, but their pieces are looking really great and affordable!

They’ve also just added the latest Lola Luna thong to their e-shop.

Seeing as it’s hot outside here in Belgium (believe it or not the sun has been shining since Easter!) it’s this last collection I’ll be taking a closer look at! The first piece I love is the Rainbow Butterfly halter bandeau bikini. It’s one of the designs you’ll see all over the beach this summer (there’s a review on the way of a similar style bikini from Le Doux’ 2007 collection!), and this one combines the great design with a beautiful butterfly print and rainbow color pattern. I love it!

For those who don’t feel like wearing something loaded with bright colors, the Inca Gold halter bikini might be an option! It’s just as attention-grabbing (the gold looks really shiny! ) and sexy, so it’ll surely turn some heads.

Like I said, the shop has a lot more than this swimwear brand, so check them out!

Last but not least: shipping. Shipping costs are always a factor in buying online, and Ever so Sexy is very affordable on this always somewhat irritating extra expense. UK buyers get free shipping, US and EU-customers pay £5 (that’s about $10) extra. Not too bad if you ask me!

To make it up to all of you, here are some more Luxxa lingerie pieces from ever-so-sexy.com, yet, this time they’re not on sale!

1. The beautiful Rose Antique Bustier
This one is so pretty! Beautiful rose detail, sexy cuts, extraordinary trim on the straps, this really is a winner! It’s not cheap at $177.74, but you do get a real keeper for your money!

2. The complete Venice Ensemble (Bra, string & suspenders)
Again, this is so beautiful. The details all just work out, beautiful trimming just like on the bustier, beautiful mesh cups with lovely pink embroidery. Love it! Price tag for the whole set: $228.43

3. The tiny Rio Bra & Thong
This is a cheecky one right here! Sexy cream lace bra that’ll show just a little more than the usual suspects, and a thong to match the cheekiness! Very affordable at $116.50 for the combo!

First up, the very sexy Luxxa tango body:

The probably even more extraordinary Glycine Turquoise body:

Last but not least the CanCan body:

I kind of like them! Maybe one of our Dutch readers will enjoy them in real life  !