Books, electronics, apparel, shoes and now — hold your breath — you can buy lingerie online. Straps & Strings, a NOIDA-based start-up by Saurabh and Deeksha Dadu, brings luxurious lingerie and sleepwear right to your desktop.
“There is a lack of premium and luxury lingerie brands in India,” says Saurabh Dadu as he explains the idea behind the website. “You can either buy the very plain, functional sort of lingerie or the extremely cheap Palika bazaar type of stuff.”
Shopping for lingerie on the web just doesn’t sit right with a lot of women because what they are looking for is fitting and comfort. An online store takes away the opportunity to try before buying. Recognising this problem, Straps & Strings has a size guide in addition to live advisers. If the product still doesn’t satisfy you, the store has a flexible return policy.
Within a week of its launch, however, the website noticed that 70% of its audience was male. While logic suggests that this could be because of the nature of pictures on display, the truth is that the website seems to offer an interesting solution for men. “This makes our life simple,” said 29 year old software professional Karan Irani. “Going into a store to buy lingerie for our girlfriends or wives can be a daunting task. Here, all you have to do is click!”
The lingerie is priced between Rs2,000 and Rs11,000, making the cost pretty steep. But if smooth silks and intricate laces tickle your fancy and you don’t mind shelling out big bucks, the site might work for you.
By the way, a random Facebook update also tells us that you can now buy condoms online. What’s next? We wonder…