Lingerie Review: Lepel “Lyla” in 36DD

Hi dear gals! March is already here and spring is around the corner – meaning some of us will be wearing lighter-coloured clothing and starting to reach for lighter-coloured bras as well (at least if your skin tone is light). Tis the season of women going on endless hunts of the perfect nude bra to wear under those crips white t-shirt and blouses – so we are bringing you an option for you pale babes out there! Today our guest reviewer will be the ever-so-lovely Miss T, who I asked to review something on the blog to bring more body diversity into 2COP’s array. Miss T is a gorgeous raven-haired gal who usually wears a UK 36DD-E and is giving you her thoughts about the Lepel “Lyla” in Beige today.

The Design: Lyla belongs to the basic offering of Lepel and comes in beige, black, white and French Navy colour. We thought about showing this beige option here on the 2COP as it is something that pale-toned women like ourselves would appreciate – it’s the perfect shade of pale beige for Miss T, not too pink, not too yellow but a creamy neutral shade. The styling of the Lyla is quite simple yet pretty with the smooth cups, cute bow at the front and some lace on the bra band to make the design more feminine. This was exactly what T was looking from her basic beige bra so she was very happy with the looks!

The shape of Lyla is a traditional Lepel moulded balconette which personally doesn’t suit me at all – I have tried the Lilly, which is a similar shape and unfortunately the fit wasn’t the best for someone with upper fullness. However, Miss T’s shape is quite different from mine; her breasts are more on the shallower side, meaning there is no need for super deep cups or narrow wires. The shape of the bra is very rounded yet natural and looks like a great affordable option for a beige t-shirt bra.

The Fit: With size, it is always a bit of hassle to come to a conclusion when the person hasn’t tried a specific brand before. Miss T had a little bit of experience with Lepel a couple of years back when she ordered the plunge Fiore from Figleaves – and sadly it didn’t fit at all size-wise! Her breast size hasn’t changed much in these years and with my experience of Lepel fitting tight in the band and big in the cup, we decided to go for a 36DD. Unfortuntely I did not remember that Lepel’s Lilly (Lyla’s printed sister) was a bit looser on the band so with Lyla as well, Miss T could have easily gone down to 34. This however, is a preference thing as well – I like my bands quite comfortable and T prefers hers very snug. The 36 is wearable but for longevity of the bra, the 34 might have been a better option.

The cups are quite the right size for Miss T, even though her left boob (which is usually the bigger one!) is bulging a tiny bit when standing up with a good posture. This is something that happens quite often with moulded bras – the bra doesn’t stretch or conform to your breast shape but tries to mould your breasts into the shape of the bra. Otherwise the cups fit quite nicely – the width and depth of the cups is pretty much perfect for Miss T and the coverage is low enough to be practical under most regular t-shirts and blouses.

Comfort: For comfort Lyla gets a clear A! This set is great for everyday wear and for long working days – the materials are super soft and smooth and the wires don’t chafe or poke Miss T at all. The straps are fully adjustable meaning it’s a great option for shorter girls as well. The straps do fall off the shoulders now and then so if you are very narrow, that might be something to think about. The band is quite stretchy which is something to think about fit-wise but is also a pro when you think about comfort – I personally prefer stretchy bands as they allow for more movement.

The bottoms are a size 18 and a bit too large for Miss T – usually Lepel bottoms run true to size but the Lyla briefs are made of very stretchy lace and Polyamide/Elastane combo so if you are between sizes, we would advice to size down. The rise is quite high so something Miss T prefers and finds comfortable for everyday wear. If you don’t like as much coverage, there is also the option of Brazilian brief which is perfect under the most skinniest jeans and pencil skirts!

The Lyla goes up to only E-cup so it’s a great option for more smaller and average-sized ladies – the size range also includes eg sizes 30B and 30C which are quite hard to find anywhere. This could definitely be a great first bra for a young girl, so take note moms! If you would like to order your own Lyla, you can do so on the Lepel online store. The balconette bra sets you back at affordable £24 and the briefs at £12. How cool is that?!

How are you preparing for spring? Do you see a shift in your bra preferences? Let me know in the comments!

Sleepwear Worth of Sleeping Beauty – Review of Gossard “Elegance”

When it comes to sleepwear, there are occasions when I see something really pretty, get my hopes up but unfortunately my boobies turn out to be a bit too big for the beauties I have laid my eyes on. This is exactly what happened with the “Elegance” sleepwear range that Gossard sent me a few weeks ago – what pretty pink shades, what a lovely rose petal print! And when the parcel arrived at my door and the skivvies were on, I huffed and puffed for a moment because the garments just didn’t fit my 30GG/H bust. What a bummer! In these occasions I usually always do the same thing – I ring my friend Jo to “help” me (aka release me from the agony of owning too small pretty things) and there again she was, turning something that didn’t work on me into pure magic. Here are a few notes and pics of the lovely Gossard “Elegance” slip, cami and the french knicker which are part of the Gossard SS15 collection.

  
To start off we perhaps need to mention Jo’s bra size which is usually something around 28F or 30E (with the expception of Gossard bras fitting in 30DD). She is quite tiny all over and wears a UK size 8 (EU 34, US 4) with underbust measurement of roughly around 28″. The Elegance comes in UK sizing, sizes 8-16 which translates roughly to 34-42 in EU sizes (excluding France, Spain and Italy). Even though I am usually a size 10 and Jo a size 8, I did feel the Elegance sleep range does run a bit small so the 10 fitted Jo quite comfortably without much extra looseness. The fabric (which is mostly polyester and elastane) is rather stretchy so you might get away with your regular UK size but just be aware that this way it will be quite clingy!

The bust area of the Cami and the Slip feature lovely stretch lace which is very soft and forgiving for different bust sizes but with size 10, I wouldn’t recommend anyone with above 30F wearing this, unless you don’t mind a very odd shape to your bust line. Even with the stretch lace, the top part squishes a bigger bust to very sad droopy boobs and this is definitely not ideal for support nor aesthetics! This however, is not the fault of the product but something that us GG+ have to get used to now and then. Up to F though, the slip and the cami should do their job fine and the bust area certainly looks great with Jo’s 28F full-on-bottom breasts.

The colour scheme of the set is very pale but even with our Finnish practically white skin tones, it does work pretty anyways. Some people are convinced that pink and red/ginger hair don’t go well together but I disagree on that too – I think the pale pink is a marvelous companion to Jo’s light ginger bob! The print is very unique and on-trend considering that water-colour and painting-like prints have been really “in” for a couple of years or so. Nevertheless, the print is by no means restless and seems like a pretty suitable option for someone wanting either pretty bedroom or loungewear.

When it comes to practicality, the Elegance range does seem to suit boudoir or lounge purposes better than actually sleeping in. Both of us sleep pretty much butt naked or in old longjohn’s (yap, I said it) so for actually sleeping in, these wouldn’t be neither of us’ first choice. However, if you are in a mood of looking/feeling a bit prettier in the morning/evening and feel like slipping into something luxurious, Elegance is a very good quality choice for an affordable price. The slip retails for £32, the cami for £28 and the french knicker for £21. As opposed to some other high-end or even pricier high street brands, this is a fair price for something a bit more special for your loungewear. However, the range does include a lovely plunge bra up to E-cup and some skimpier bottom choices as well, so if you love the print but are not a big fan of sleep/loungewear, you can invest in something a bit more practical as well 😉

What do you think of the Elegance range? Do you wear pretty sleepwear on regular or is it just an occasion-kinda-thing? Let me know in the comments!