Look closely at the picture below and you'll think that maybe photographer Tony Nylons had been at the Hendrick's Gin before his latest shoot. You'd be wrong - in fact, the next issue of Glimpse magazine is going to be in 3D (free glasses included with each issue). It's due out in a couple of weeks, but if you subscribe now you'll be sent issues 2 and 3 together as part of your subscription. Leave it any later and issue 2 will only be available to order as a back issue.

Our 2010 Christmas card has just arrived and one will be included free of charge with orders and boutique purchases from now until Christmas. The image for the card is taken by Tony Nylons who is responsible for most of the photography on our website. It features model Olivia and a rather naughty snowman! Tony had the idea for the card 3 years ago but in true British Rail fashion then had to wait for the right type of snow! Further copies of the card, which is A5 in size, can be purchased here. If you like Tony's images but are after something a little more risque than can be seen on our site, you'll be pleased to learn that he also runs 'Nylon Flash' a zine devoted to vintage lingerie. When I say more risque, I'm not talking nudity risque but good old fashioned English seaside humour risque. If you are purchasing one of our calendars or books and would like a half size (32 page) preview copy of Nylon Flash please request one in the comments box of our online order form.

We were bang on trend in yesterday's Guardian newspaper which has picked out our saucy sailor bra. They say Whatkatydid.com (sic) has a wardrobe's worth of sexy vintage-effect lingerie, which is perfect for wearing under sheer tops or peeking out under lace. We especially like the sailor bra (£44.50) and the glamour longline bra for £35. For the adventurous reader, there's also the bullet bra (£32.50): just in case your imagination isn't filling in the gaps effectively, when wearing this one you'll need to be careful about poking people's eyes out.
 

The problem with running a business, is that sometimes too much time is spent running a business! The past couple of weeks I've spent battling with banks, Customs and Excise and end of year PAYE. It's enough to fry your brain, and really has nothing to do with why you got into business in the first place (for one, it all seems to be about paying money out, instead of making money!); I'm always happier when I'm doing something creative which is why I'm excited about our new project 'the book'. There, I've said it, it must be true!

Tony Nylons has been thinking about books for a couple of years now, but the problem is, they're very expensive to print (unless send them on a slow boat from China, which isn't an option if you're as fussy about print quality as Tony and want a confirmed arrival date). In February we were approached by a small publisher who asked us if we'd ever thought of doing a book, and would be be interested in doing one with him? The idea being that we'd combine Tony's pictures with articles about lingerie from the 1940s and 1950s. Of course, that was the easy part.

The last couple of months Tony has been going into overdrive and I've been quite laid back about it all. It's suddenly dawned on me that I've got 2 months to write all my pieces so now I'm in overdrive too. The good news is that during my research I'm turning up lots of little titbits of information and discovering more about lingerie from the 1940s and 1950s than I could ever dream. All being well we're looking to launch our book at the Goodwood Revival in September (my, I've really put my foot in it now!)

Of course, we're keeping the pictures under-wrap at the moment (although members of Nylon Flash will be getting little previews over the next few months) so instead here's a picture of Bernie Dexter.

Bernie's been busy over the last couple of years working on her own line of clothing (cut for proper hourglass figures!), and also a line of vintage inspired lingerie by Lucy B. When she launched her Lucy B range of lingerie we didn't want to appear to be in competition with each other and so Bernie stopped selling What Katie Did on her website.

It's now quite obvious that Lucy B and What Katie Did have their own very distinct styles, that nothing really clashes, so Bernie is going to start stocking What Katie Did lingerie again. Hooray! To make it extra special Bernie will be modelling the pieces herself so she'll give our lingerie a completely different look. Customers based in the US are of course welcome to order direct from What Katie Did, but should you be happier to order from a US based company then BernieDexter.com will be the place to check out.

The Girl Can't Help it Yard Sale

Vintage clothing specialists The Girl Can't Help It hold an infamous annual yard sale to clear out old stock. This year they're holding it at Hell to Pay at Alfies Antique Market on Thursday 23rd April, 10am to 5pm. Prices range from £10 to £50. The Girl Can't Help It is one of the premier vintage clothing boutiques in the UK so don't be surprised to find Kate Moss hiding from the paps in their changing room! Prices aren't cheap, but this is reflected in the quality of their stock.

Poor old Tony Nylons is having a bad week. Not only has someone been heavily inspired by his work to make burlesque wallpaper, but The Saturday's 'Just Can't Get Enough' Red Nose Day video is filled with iconic Tony Nylons style pin up images. As Tony says, he, in turn is inspired by classic pin up artists of the 1940s and 1940s and there are only so many ways you can film a girl in a corset looking cute with an iron. Does this mean that sales of his work will start to zoom up as everyone clamours for the vintage look? I hope so! Whether or not the director is aware of Tony's work we don't know, but we (I plead guilty!) did send several pieces out to The Saturdays a few weeks ago - you'll be able to spot fully fashioned stockings, our Ahoy There corset, our Pigalle corset and pieces from just about every other major lingerie company in the UK including good old Agent Provocateur (in case you're wondering who made the woolly sailor playsuit). See what you think....

Pin up make over and photography experts The Hourglass have a one page feature in February's Scarlet magazine. The model wears our Lulu lingerie and long satin gloves which look fabulous on her. Nicole from The Hourglass has worked extremely hard over the last few years building up her business so it's great to see her recognised in print by a major magazine.

Meanwhile, I've been in the press in Intima France, a lingerie trade magazine. My limited schoolgirl French doesn't allow me to be able to read the whole feature, but as I know the story of What Katie Did it doesn't really matter! The product pictures are from our SS09 ranges and were taken by Tony Nylons at last year's Rhythm Riot where he set up a studio.

Last, but certainly not least, we have a cover boy this week! Wholesale manager Richard Thomas has made the cover of Street Gasser Magazine in the speedster he built.

Last Wednesday evening saw the much-anticipated What Katie Did's
Wild Cards Burlesque Party, and despite the rain you descended upon the Portobello Road boutique in your masses.

Our resident performer, the seductive Miss Slinky Sparkles, was joined by the ever-so-lovely and rather cute Miss Trixie Malicious, as they dealt a poker-themed striptease show.

We quickly learnt these lovely ladies had more than an ace up their sleeves as they revealed their winning hands – and everything else!

The new What Katie Did playing cards went down a treat while Tony Nylons, our lucky photographer, was at hand to take even more pictures.

The playing cards were extremely  popular, but don't worry, there are plenty of lucky decks still on sale for any of you wanting to spice up your next game of cards.

So thanks to all those who came and made our playing cards launch party such a successful and enjoyable night -- and for those of you who couldn't make it, I'm sure I can come up another reason to throw a burlesque party!

The photography for our Pin Up playing cards is by Tony Nylons, and the cards feature 22 models from the UK and beyond.

Morticia Corset

Slinky Sparkles wore one of our new Mortica corsets in oriental black (which can be seen on both Slinky and the mannequin to your right) which really went down a treat. Morticia corsets are now online and can be found here.