Heart Ring Linked G-String - Strappy V-Back, Gold Heart Hardware, Black

High Rise Is What Gives the V Room to Fall

The band on this one sits at the natural waist rather than down on the hip, and that single decision is what makes the back of it work. Starting high leaves real distance between the waist and the base of the spine, so the second strap can drop into a proper V instead of the shallow angle a low-rise piece is stuck with. It also happens to be the reason it vanishes under the high-waisted trousers and skirts most people are actually wearing.

Where the two straps meet, at the small of the back, a short row of linked gold-tone hearts holds them together, and an opening is cut out on either side of the strap running down the centre. The front is the exact opposite: one solid opaque microfibre panel and two thin hip straps, smooth enough that nothing announces itself through a dress. The knit is 96% polyester microfibre with a medium stretch that lies flat instead of pressing a line into skin. Six sizes go from XS up to XXL, and the guide below gives all six in both units.

Hand washing is not optional here. Cool water, a mild detergent, dried flat, with no bleach, no tumble dryer, no iron and no dry cleaner anywhere near it. Dry the hearts before it goes away, and store it lying open rather than folded around the hardware, because a linked chain folded in among thin straps is a chain that comes out tangled. Broken seal, no return: that is the hygiene rule on every intimate we sell, and the size guide is the way around it.

• Linked gold-tone hearts joining the straps at the small of the back
• A high band with a second strap dropping into a deep V
• An opening cut out on either side of the centre strap
• Solid opaque microfibre front panel with thin hip straps
• 96% polyester microfibre with medium stretch
• Sizes XS, S, M, L, XL and XXL, in black

Nothing shows from the front under a cover-up, which is useful between the beach and dinner, and South of Fifth is on the same-day route.