Late one date night and a girl walks into the bar at Shoreditch House wearing a pair of leopard print knickers where her skirt should have been. My husband Simon’s eyes are onto her in a second.

“Her bag,” he says, nudging me, “it’s Giles for New Look!”

There are certain advantages of having a husband who chooses Grazia over The Sport as his preferred bathroom reading material – which is why I’ve spent so much time cultivating his burgeoning passion for fashion. But, come Valentines, the training goes out the window and red-blooded male returns with gusto.

High-street-priced Giles has no place in the realms of garment-based gift giving. No, this is where the luxury lingerie industry comes into it’s own. Agent Provocateur, Myla, Coco de Mer – for no other brands does the term ‘pay-dirt’ bear quite the same significance as we race towards the day of hearts and nauseating PDAs. And even more so thanks to the advent of on-line shopping – browsing for the perfect demi-cup bra makes for perfect Wednesday afternoon in-office entertainment. Watch out for the company firewall though guys.

I recently interviewed an ex-City lawyer about the high-end “fantasy apparel” company she has launched with her husband (www.themoderncourtesan.co.uk), which, to her dismay, is barred to most of her ex-corporate colleagues. If this is the case, then to your Blackberries, because, while I might say, I really, really want the Louboutin shoe boots this Valentines, nothing says “I lust you” like a shockingly expensive pair of leopard print knickers.