Techniques Step-by-step guide · 6 steps -18

Striptease for him or for her

The art of taking your time

Candles instead of the usual lighting, an armchair for your audience and an outfit that takes its time: a striptease is planned like a little party. For him or for her, here's how to make the pleasure last, from the first button to the last stitch.

Duration20 min

DifficultyMedium

IntensitySustained

Props scented candles, an armchair, a layered outfit, a mirror

Start

A woman in lingerie and stockings slowly takes off her shirt by candlelight, facing her partner seated in an antique armchair. — Step 1Turn the bedroom into a boudoir

See in Photo Comic art

Turn the bedroom into a boudoir

Swap the usual lighting for scented candles, a lamp with a soft glow, even a spotlight. Take the time to arrange the space and the light, and keep some areas in shadow: that's where you'll wait for your moment, out of sight.
Crisp red sheets, or simply beautiful ones, are enough to turn the bedroom into an intimate boudoir. Put away the patchwork quilt and the knick-knacks, bring out cushions galore, a scent or some incense.
A folding screen, a curtain or a length of voile divides up the space: the stage on one side, backstage on the other. Keep the candles well away from fabrics.
Ideally, your partner sets up the room while you get dressed. The time it takes to arrange everything is barely enough to slip into an outfit with several layers.

Seat your audience in the armchair

Fetch that armchair nobody ever sits in from the living room and set it facing the stage: that's your partner's seat for the whole show. Champagne on ice, two coupes within reach.
Mirrors around the bed, a free-standing one or others taken down from the walls of another room, complete the set.
Set the rule before you start: your partner watches, but makes no move until you invite them to. That waiting stokes desire, and you're the one who decides when the distance falls away.
A surprise or a date announced in advance? Planning the programme may seem to kill spontaneity, but it's also what keeps you both quivering as you wait for what comes next.

That waiting stokes desire, and you're the one who decides when the distance falls away.
Step 2 · Seat your audience in the armchair

Choose a layered outfit

Pick one that's a little fiddly to take off, so you have time to enjoy it: a lace-up corset, a shirt with dozens of buttons, ankle boots, layer upon layer of underwear.
Satin or lace underwear, silk for chic, vinyl for shock. Stockings and suspenders, a basque, a delicate waist chain, or boxer briefs, trunks and thongs in a fine or openwork fabric: to each their own style. The Y-fronts and the flowery boxers, on the other hand, stay in the drawer.
Get underwear in your size: too tight, it chafes, leaves marks and makes unflattering creases. Add trousers that flatter your bum or a shirt with an adjustable neckline, and on your feet, ankle boots or heels rather than trainers.
Before the big night, do a full dress rehearsal in front of a mirror: you'll soon see which poses and moves work best. Trust your own judgement.

Step out of the shadows and catch their eye

Wait for your moment in the shadows, then step forward into the light. In heels, walk gracefully, without bending your knees.
Seek out your partner's eyes from your very first steps and keep coming back to them: eye contact adds to the intensity of the moment.
Watch their reactions: they'll show you clearly what they like and where to linger.
If that gaze intimidates you, play with the half-light: in the dark, it's easier to feel sure of yourself.

One piece at a time, slowly

A striptease is meant to be languid: just one piece at a time, without rushing.
The shirt opens button by button, and you decide how low the neckline goes, depending on the effect you want: instant or delayed.
Suggest before you show: a short skirt, but not too short, lets the tops of your stockings be guessed at without giving them away.
Layered underwear makes the pleasure last: under every piece you take off, there's another one.

End by inviting your partner in

When the time comes, invite your partner out of the armchair and leave the last piece to them: other pleasures begin when it's their hands undressing you.
Nothing says you have to take everything off. An outfit counts just as much if you keep it on to make love: the stockings or the open shirt can stay.
First let yourself be caressed through the fabric: the friction is part of the pleasure, and so is the little frustration of your skin not yet being bared to their caresses.
The rest plays out wherever you like, under the duvet or half-undressed on the sofa. And save room for dessert: cuddles and sweet nothings.

Who it's for, and when

For him or for her, and for every couple, including those who know each other by heart. No special talent required: whoever is peeling off the layers will know what to do. And age is no obstacle: a body that grows older doesn't necessarily lose its allure.

Keep it for special occasions: an evening when you have the whole night ahead of you, a holiday (a horse-drawn caravan or the balcony of a treehouse makes a ready-made set). Rolled out too often, the full show ends up wearing thin, so alternate it with simpler evenings.

Precautions: keep the candles away from sheer curtains and sheets. And if pregnancy, your back or your knees make heels a strain, strip barefoot, or on a chair: the charm works just as well.

Variations to take it furtherVariation 1: roles reversed

One good turn deserves another: whoever was watching takes the stage, and the other sets up the boudoir before settling into the armchair.

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The album · Photo

Striptease for him or for her, in pictures.

A woman in black lingerie slowly peels off her satin glove in front of her partner, in a candlelit boudoir

Hands intertwined by candlelight: he slowly unbuttons his partner's white shirt in a boudoir with red sheets

Seen from behind, in black lingerie and stockings, she dances by candlelight with a feather fan: the prop that adds a little spice.

3 more illustrations for members The same scenes in Comic art. Members only: a free account is enough, no bank card. See them

Your questions

What people wonder.

What if I feel silly?

It's neither difficult nor silly, and a little theatre never hurt anyone. If your partner's gaze intimidates you, stay in the half-light a little longer and choose underwear you feel at ease in.

Do I have to end up with nothing on?

No. An outfit counts just as much if you keep it on to make love as if you take it off. Stockings, an open shirt, one last piece of underwear can stay on, or be left to your partner, who will have the pleasure of taking them off you.

Does it still work after years together?

Yes. Even if your partner has seen your body thousands of times, the staging works its magic: each of you has the illusion of discovering someone else, before finding your way back to the person you already get on so well with. Save it for special occasions, so it stays a celebration.

In the same spirit