This is a time of year when male shoppers set forth for brief encounters in city shops in search of fashion fantasies.

"This is the one department where there is absolutely no resistance to price at Christmas," says Rachael Armstrong, lingerie buyer at Arnotts.

“If men buy on their own, they usually buy a [bra and knickers] set, expensive silk chemises and negligees, because they feel those items are more special.” (Dark Blue bra, €142, briefs, €76, both Aubade. Black robe, €155, Agent Provocateur, all Brown Thomas)

Such small luxury items are traditionally big business during recession, and online sales of lingerie have become a huge growth area for the department store, which now stocks some 80 brands across the board including sleepwear and hosiery.

For the male shopper, sizing has always been a challenge, as well as negotiating the complicated lexicon of lingerie – push-ups, balconettes, cheekinis, tangas, and so on. But things are changing.

"Men come in with their iPhones now with photographs of labels and know the sizes," says Susan Moylett, whose Susan Hunter boutique celebrates its 30th birthday this year.

“My customers are women and the reason why men like our shop is because women like it, so they are comfortable when they come in and they trust us.”

The Christmas flush of men hunting underwear presents is always unpredictable, according to Moylett, but their favourite colour for gifting has always been purple – and sometimes ivory and the paler shades.

Though the average spend is about €150 for a set, the biggest spenders are women buying for themselves, or for female relatives, though Moylett remembers one male customer ordering €2,000 worth of lingerie for his wife.

According to Roslyn Ellis, lingerie buyer at Brown Thomas, men buying underwear for Christmas gifts are a lot more savvy today.

“They will be more concerned and more careful about how she is going to feel wearing it. He wants her to look amazing because he loves her body,” she says.

“They have become quite thoughtful buyers and it’s an easy way to give women a little bit of a lift, a little bit of luxury. Men love buying silk for women.”

Though this is a season full of colour in underwear, black is always a safe and stylish choice and navy has become popular, with a lot of metallic adding seasonal glitter and shine.

Seasonal offerings and current styles combine delicately beautiful laces and sensual satins with the support and comfort of modern technology. They are teamed with cosy cashmeres from pastels to shades of pink, purple and midnight blue.