“Does my bum look big in this?”… it’s a phrase that every woman has uttered at some time in her life.

But apparently there are some women out there in search of a bigger behind. Underwear giant Figleaves has answered that “brief” and come up with a new line of underwear to help ladies attain the perfect derriere.

The Huit “Just a Kiss” padded foam shorts, stocked by Figleaves, are claimed to give a “real before and after effect”.

The shorts, which give a more curvy and rounded shape to the behind, cost £30 and are available online from www.figleaves.com

• Would you wear the shorts? Answer our poll below

The skinny versus curvy debate has always filled column inches. The curvier look has been more celebrated in the Noughties with the “heroin chic” image of skinny models and pins-ups of the Nineties giving way to images of more “real women” in this decade.

Stars including Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Lopez, arguably as famous for her behind as she is for her singing and acting, are just two examples.

British Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet is another star who has battled with her curvaceous figure and hit out at the press for shaving inches off her body in post-production.

A craze for buttock implants and injections has also started in the plastic surgery world. But Huit for Figleaves has developed its own bottom-boosting underwear.

Charlotte Alexander, on behalf of Figleaves, said: “With women of a certain age are becoming more and more dependent on cosmetic procedures, it’s refreshing to find a means of achieving the impossible without needles and anaesthetics.

“It’s a far cheaper option than injecting Macrolane into your buttocks at £2,300 per treatment. This Huit padded shorty enhances your rear profile by giving you sexy feminine curves. Cut in a low rise design from opaque jersey, it has firm foam padding at the full coverage rear.”

By Catherine Roche

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