Late Summer Offerings from Signature by After Eden – Review of “Bilbao” & “Alicante” in 70G

Hi everyone! How are things on that side of the screen? I am all good just been extremely busy taking part in my first pinup pageant (which went decently, I was the 1st runner up!) and settling back to work. I must say, working with special needs kids can drain the life out of you at times. This is why I have been battling a lot with how to use my time between a full-time job, starting my uni work for this year, seeing friends and keeping up with my hobbies as well. Now everything is getting back to routine so I have more energy to blog again. Hope that makes you as happy as it makes me!

Today I will be bringing you a couple of lovely styles from the SS16 collection of Signature by After Eden, Bilbao and Alicante. The SS16 collection at Signature included two colour schemes, pink and blue which were kind of two different collections altogether. I wanted to introduce you to a set from both of these collections, so here goes! *These sets were generously provided by Signature. All opinions are our own.*

The Design: As per usual, Miss E will be assisting me with the review so be so kind to welcome her back to the blog! I picked out two sets that felt appropriate for her age and preferences (young, laid-back & fun!) and decided to go for Bilbao (the blue plunge bra) and Alicante (the pink strapless balconette). These styles are incredibly appropriate for summer – the first one being a great option under low cut tops and the other under strapless and spaghetti strap tops. The colours are light yet not too cutesy and pastel-y – the shades of pink and blue remain vibrant and look gorgeous against a tanned skin. These t-shirt bras are adorned with a moderate amount of lace and thus are perfect for everyday wear.

The profile of both of the bras is very rounded and looks a bit similar to most American bras, to be honest – American women are known to love rounded padded t-shirt bras which is why I am wondering whether Signature will be expanding their sales to other parts of the world in the future. These bras are also very appropriate for young girls in general – they are not overtly sexy or super-padded but have a lightly padded moulded cups that give you modesty and a nice shape under most of your clothes. The bra is also constructed to be supportive for a fuller bust as it includes both a wider band and sturdy fully-adjustable straps to give you a better overall fit.

The Fit: I asked for the samples in Miss E’s regular Signature bra size 70G (32F in UK sizes) but exchanged the bottom size from Medium to Small as she preferred a snugger fit. The Signature bras run a tiny bit large in the cup, which is why the bra cups are gaping a bit on E’s smaller boob. However, I would always advice to choose your bra size according to your bigger boob which is why I wouldn’t have gone smaller in the cup with these bras anyway. However, if there were an option of 65H, I would definitely give that one a try as Miss E is more of a 30 band than a 32. Signature makes very few 65/30 bands at the moment as they are targeting their full-figured customers more, which is a bit of shame on our behalf. Wearing the band on the second tightest set of hooks works pretty well for E though, so we are not complaining that much.

I would say Miss E is a full-allover shaped gal, which is why she would perhaps need a tad more space in the bottom part of the bra cups; this makes me think Signature would probably suit better someone who has more full-on-top boobs. However, the denting on the bottom of the cups (the so-called orange-in-a-glass phenomenon when your boobs can’t sit at the bottom of your cups as there is not enough space) is not super bad and in my opinion, isn’t even a crucial thing to note when talking about a fit of a bra. What does matter more, in my opinion, is how the wires sit on your body – as you can see, both of the bras tack Miss E’s sternum at the front and encase all her breast tissue, which is important when trying to avoid migrated breast tissue. With the Alicante the wires are significantly taller though, which is discussed more in the comfort section of this review.

Comfort: As with the very first review we ever did on Signature, there is significant difference in comfort level when it comes to these bras. Signature still has a challenge in front of them: how to make their balconette bras more comfortable and yet still supportive. The problem with Alicante is simple – the straps are placed way too widely on the shoulders and the underwires come too high up at the sides, which makes a non-working combination that rubs the heck out of your armpits. Personally, I think the strap placement could be fixed pretty easily, so maybe that could be something to consider in the design team. However, as a strapless, the Alicante works well and does its job without sliding down and rolling around.

The Bilbao on the other hand works well in all circumstances and stays comfortable during the day without the strap placement issue. Besides that, both of the bras are crafted lovingly from the softest materials, made with amazing supportive bands (with four sets of hooks and eyes I might add!) and easily adjusting straps. They work well for both plus size and more petite gals, as well as tall and short girls who benefit from the fully-adjustable straps. The panties are comfy and gorgeous as well and are great for everyday wear; even though they are not completely seamless, they are a nice basic pattern that gives them a flattering shape and a sturdy feel.

Both of these sets are ON SALE right now, so if you live in Netherlands, you can snatch the Alicante set up for a mere 31€ and the Bilbao set for 33,50€. If you live somewhere else, 4AllWomenLingerie ships worldwide and offers a wide selection of Signature! The sizes go from 70D to 100G, S-XXXL. How do you feel about molded t-shirt bras such as Alicante and Bilbao? Do you prefer non-padded bras like me? Let me know in the comments below! xx

Lingerie Review: Signature “Ginger” in 32F

It has been a couple of months since we reviewed After Eden’s Signature range here at 2COP and I am happy to say that it was not the last time for us! Signature is a very promising new full-bust/full figure targeted brand which has only been going on for a couple of seasons now. Today we are reviewing a longline bra set from their AW15 collection, before completely diving into the SS16 season – also, take note about the style of this set as it might be the perfect ensemble for the upcoming Valentine’s Day!

Design: Ginger is a lovely young yet sexy style that comes in a very classic combination of black and red and a smooth moulded cup style. What I think is one of the biggest assets of Signature lingerie, is the cute and approachable styling that lures in the younger girls, who might not fit into the chain stores’ and Victoria’s Secret lingerie as they stop at DD. This effect would be even greater if the brand started making smaller band sizes, so hint hint, Signature! 😉

I picked this set up for Miss E completely out of blue – she had no idea what I had chosen for her but when I came to her doorstep around Christmas time, she was very pleased with my pick. The longline is still something that has been quite neglected by some DD+ brands (even though the AW16 will totally change the game!) and I am happy to see such a new brand making them for us fuller busted ladies. The cups are very rounded and smooth so Ginger could easily be worn under regular t-shirts without showing through. The band features four hooks and eyes so it’s not the widest longline ever but still enough to give the bra its distinctive look.

Fit: Even though Miss E’s best size with Signature would be closer to 65H (that is 30FF in UK sizes) we are both quite happy with the 70G (= UK 32F), especially when worn on the second tightest hooks. The band does not ride up but could be a bit sturdier to stay supportive for a few more months. The cups are just the right size for Miss E so there’s no spillage or gaping in sight! After seeing already three bras on my girl, I would say Signature runs on the generous side of true-to-size – Miss E is usually something between 30FF and 30G and all of her Signature bras have been just the right size (cup-wise) for her in the sister size of 30FF, that is 32F.

The wires are perfect for Miss E with the Ginger bra and she is also very happy to report that this time, the wires do not come too high up for her and there is no chafing near the armpit area whatsoever. As all different brands producing lingerie seem to sport a different underwire shape and size, I would say Signature’s wire seems to be the perfect medium between the very narrow Polish and the quite wide British ones. The depth of the cup is a bit too shallow for Miss E which you can see by looking at the root of the bra cups. There is a bit of empty space there but E gave me no complaints about it as the bra is so comfortable in general.

Comfort: Out of the three sets Miss E owns from Signature, this might be her most comfortable one yet! The materials of the set are very sleek and soft against the skin and the straps are placed in a nice spot where they won’t rub her armpit area and cause irritation. As you can see, the strap placement is much more centered than with the Grace and Sophia bras she tried earlier. That’s definitely a HUGE improvement! This time the straps are only half-adjustable so if you are more on the petite side, I would advice to skip this bra unfortunately – Miss E is quite tall so she had no problem but someone under 5’5 might find them too long for her height. The longline band features additional boning under the armpits to keep the band from flipping, but the boning is flexible enough not to poke E on the sides.

The Ginger set comes with two different co-ordinate options which are a regular shorts-style knickers and a thong. We went for the same size as last time, that is Medium, but thought about trying a Small next time, as especially the thong seems to be a bit big for Miss E. Bottoms-wise, I think Signature runs on the snugger side of true-to-size, yet not a full size smaller. The bottoms are the same smooth material as the bra so very wearable for everyday, whether it be under dresses or the tightest of jeans.

You can find Ginger on Signature’s online store, here (and it’s on sale, yay!). Signature ships only to Netherlands at the moment but if you are interested in stockists near to you, feel free to contact them via email or on social media!