Sunday with Samanta: A475 Anvers in 65E

It has been a while since I did a “Sunday with Samanta” post – it’s understandable, the holidays came in the way of both me and the Samanta team, so we put the feature on hold for a couple of months. We also ran out of styles that would come in my size, so we had to figure something else out first to showcase the Samanta styles that fit the more average and small busts out there. This was however, not a problem. As most of you know I operate with an array of guest bloggers with different body types – to give you a teaser, in addition to Jo and Miss E, I will be adding Miss T and my sister Emma to our happy company very soon! However, let’s start the series of more moderately sized Samanta bras with a review of Anvers in style A475 (49,70 €). *This set was generously gifted to Jo by Samanta. All opinions are our own.*

Design: The Samanta’s A475 is a style targeted to small and medium sized busts, going up to EU H-cup in the 65 band. That is an equivalent to UK FF-cup. The style is a smooth push-up t-shirt bra which brings the girls together and facing forward (= loads of projection!), instead of splaying them towards the sides of one’s torso. The push up padding inside is not detachable but yet very light to give you only a slight boost to your own breast size. It also gives a lovely rounded shape and an alluring cleavage, modest enough for most casual work places but also visible enough for a nice boost under a plunging neckline when sipping for cocktails at after work.

The Anvers style itself is a beautiful painting-like floral printed ensemble which features the smoothest materials on earth and some pretty dotted mesh to make it even more pretty. This is definitely one of my personal favourites from the Samanta AW16 collection and even Jo is very much pleased with the looks of this set despite not being a huge fan of floral prints in general.

The Fit: To warn you off right off the bat, this is going to be an overwhelmingly positive review. So if you feel like you can’t trust a super positive review where the set has been gifted, I am so sorry, but there is nothing I can really do about it at this point. This sets fits LIKE A DREAM on Jo and she actually told me it’s now probably her favourite bra of all time and Samanta her new favourite lingerie brand. And she, my dear friends, is an honest son of a bitch, to say the least! I opted for the 65E for Jo after weighing in for a while – Samanta bras usually run a bit large in the cup so I figured that she might like the same size with them as with Gossard (for reference, Jo’s best size with British brands is 28F or 30E). The British 30DD is a rough equivalent to a Polish 65E.

Jo got four different sets to try for the next few months and each of them fitted a bit differently – with the Anvers being the best of them in style and cup depth. Jo has full-on-bottom boobs, which means, there is not much breast tissue on her upper half of the boobs – her shape fitted perfectly in the A475 style and there is no empty room on the bottom nor the top half of the cup. The wires are a perfect length and height for Jo and the gore sits flat on her sternum. The only complaint that we have (which is not really a flaw) is that the band is a bit too big for Jo’s ribcage – this however, is not surprise as she measures 26″ under her bust and thus would fit better in a 28 band with most brands.

Comfort: The A475 is a very smooth t-shirt style bra which is why there are not a lot of extra seams or lace on show. This is great for wearing the bra every day to work and under the very thinnest materials. The underwires are exactly the length and height Jo needs, which is why there is no poking or any sorts of discomfort because of them.

I have sometimes had trouble with Samanta straps being too widely-placed for me but Jo found that they were spot-on for her. In fact, the feedback that I got both from Jo and my sister Emma (who will be reviewing another Samanta style next month!) was super positive especially regarding the straps – they seem to be firmly placed on the shoulders without falling off a single time during a busy day at work. Even though the straps with the smaller sizes are a bit thinner than what Jo is used to, she still found them very comfortable and sturdy. They are also fully-adjustable and detachable, meaning the bra can be converted to a multiway and will suit an array of body types and heights.

Jo also received the M300 brazilian briefs (19,70 €) (or thong, as the Samanta website states) with the set, which we opted in a size Small – I am two dress sizes bigger than Jo which is why I thought the Small would be perfect for her instead of the Medium I tend to wear with Polish brands. The materials and the style of the brief is very convenient under tighter jeans which is why it makes a very nice option for Jo in addition to her collections of actual thongs. The back of the brazilian features a lovely see-through dotted mesh that makes the ensemble even cuter.

What do you think about Anvers? Are you feeling the winter florals trend? Let me know in the comments! Also, if you wish to get your hands on this set, do check out Samanta’s online store and for US customers, ask for a shipping quote by sending them an email. Have a great rest of your Sunday, gals! xx

Lingerie Review: Gossard “Graceful” in 30DD

Back with a another review! I hope you excuse me for my long unintented hiatus – work and life happened. However, today I am coming for you with another Gossard review in collaboration with my lovely bff and guest blogger Jo! As unfortunately this ss15 collection of Gossard does not include that many ranges up G, we decided to take the chance of reviewing some smaller and average sizes although my blog is still obviously most about full-bust brands and products. However, I do see the need to represent the kind of smaller and average sizes A-DD on my blog as well, as I know many of my friends for example are in that size range and do follow my blog. This is where Gossard comes in: it’s a great brand to look for all of these size ranges though they don’t exactly profile themselves as full-bust or small-bust brand. Today we are reviewing the lovely “Graceful” set from Gossard, here modeled by Jo in 30DD and XS. *Disclosure: This set was sent to Jo for review purposes. All opinions are our own. Also, the Finnish translations will be on hold for some time now as I am super busy this month and still want to keep my posts regular! Sorry Finnish peeps, I will get back to you later!*

Design: When I showed Jo the Gossard catalog the Graceful was the first one that really pleased her eye. To be honest, it was the one that caught my eye as well – who could resist the pretty painting-like rose print and the longline construction? Unfortunately, Grace goes up to E cup only so it was something out of my reach. Don’t get depressed though even if you are a E-G lady – Gossard will be coming up with a brand new and steaming hot longline up to G this upcoming autumn. I am determined to get my hands on it so we’ll see how that works!

The Grace is a longline bra that can be converted to a strapless with detachable straps. It features a three-part cup construction and keyhole cutout detail on the centre gore which by the way does not work for everybody (= very soft breast tissue)! However, even as strapless the bra holds its shape and gives a slightly pointed vintage look but still a rather natural one to wear under any type of strapless dress or a top. If you wear a size A-E and aren’t wearing the fairest of dresses to your summer party, Grace could be an excellent choice under your party ensemble!

Fit: When it comes to strapless bras, the fit can be quite tricky to get right. This is why I was quite impressed with Grace – it gives Jo an uplifted look and a sturdy support to actually hold the breasts up without the band or the cups shifting down her torso. I remember when I wore a strapless to my matriculation party and finally shoved it in my handbag as it was so uncomfortable in a 34C which I used to wear back then. The Gossard “Grace” is a lovely option to those cheap H&M straplesses that in the end are no use at all – £34 price tag makes it an affordable choice but still a supporting one as the back sizes go down to sturdy 30s (see what I did there…). As the Gossard bands come up quite tight Jo can easily wear her Grace in the loosest hook even though she usually fits a 28 band. Sizing up in the band is definitely necessary, especially if you are between sizes!

The cups of the Graceful run a bit bigger than most British bras but with this particular style, the cups are also quite closed at top to keep the cups from tipping over when worn strapless. This causes Jo’s other boob to bulge over a tiny bit nevertheless not disturbingly so – the 30DD is still very much wearable. Jo’s breasts are quite full-on-bottom so if you have a lot of breast tissue on the top half of your boobs, I would not recommend this bra for you. However, it is a good bra for anyone drastically full-on-bottom and rather shallow as well.

 
Comfort: As the Graceful is made in a longline style with a rather wide back band (at least for Gossard as their bands are usually pretty narrow) the bra holds up the breasts effectively even worn as a strapless. This makes it a much more supportive choice which definitely holds up even after a few hours of wear. However, when the bra is worn with the straps, some problems arise: the straps are again very flimsy and long! To be honest, they are so long for Jo’s torso that she has thought about taking them in a bit. Keep this in mind if you are very short-torsoed and would like to wear the bra with the straps! If you are looking for a good strapless though, this does not matter and you can wear the bra comfortably without thinking about the falling straps.

The thong was sent to Jo in size Xs and fits her like a dream. I have always been a fan of Gossard thongs as they are made in such a way that even thong-haters like myself can wear them rather comfortably – the back part of the thong is made of a wider mesh strap that lays flat over the bum and looks seamless under tight-fitting jeans. Jo however is a great wearer of thongs so she usually doesn’t complain about these aspects anyway! The look of the thong is very flattering on her as per usual and it completes the set beautifully.

If you would fancy a Graceful set of your own, you can snatch it up on the Gossard online store for £34 for the bra and £14 for the thong. The range features a regular short as well and strapless cup-sized slip if you are more interested in pretty supportive loungewear. How do you feel about the Graceful set? Are you as excited as me about the new longline up to G (I will put up a pic of it later on here on the blog!)? Let me know in the comments! xx