HOW low can you go?

So said the customers of designer Sandra Tanimura. She said that they asked for jeans which sit ever lower on the hip, but then they had difficulty keeping the jeans up.

The designer from clothing company Sanna's then created a pair of ultra low-rise jeans with a built-in bikini or thong, reported the UK media.

She said of her company: 'We specialise in making low-rise trousers and our customers wanted them to get even lower.

'It was very difficult meeting these demands without the trousers falling down.

'I came up with the idea of using the bikini strings to let the trousers hang really low without falling down.'

It should come as no surprise that the company is based in Brazil, famed for its hordes of svelte, cellulite-free glamazons. However, it sells most of its clothing in Japan.

The jeans cost £45 ($120) and are available online.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Apr 26, 2008.