Lingerie Review: Ewa Bien B151 “Maruni” in 70J

Hey loves! How is spring treating you? Mine has been busy busy busy, as you may have noticed from my absence here at the ol’ blog. Today I am bringing you some goodies from Poland again: Ewa Bien sent me these lovely things a few months ago and I am “a bit late” with introducing you to Maruni B151, which is a new semi-soft full-bust style from the brand. This bra style goes up to Polish L-cup, which is a rough equivalent to UK HH-cup. I asked for bigger cup sizes and that is what I got! Here’s how I liked the style…
The Design: I chose Maruni as my B151 design as it spoke to me with its beautiful colour and lovely embroidery. There is nothing juvenile or “too” girly about Maruni – it is something that will probably speak to women who are past the cutesy period of buying ruffles and bows (however, some of us are never over it!) and want something that makes a statement. Maruni reminds me of a beautiful jewel with its design and thus it takes its place is my “better” underwear drawer.

The shape of the B151 is a regular semi-soft style, which is something Polish brands are proud of and will keep as their staple cut in many collections. I know exactly why: many women enjoy the sturdy feeling and shaping of a padded bra but the fit can drive you crazy, if the cut is not perfect for you. Enter: seams and non-padded top part. The thinner layer of fabric usually conforms to ones breast shape better than stiff padding and will suit a plethora of breast shapes. This particular bra has a three-part cup construction with a rounded shape and a balconette-style cut.

The Fit: I asked for 70J as it seems to be my regular size with Polish and other EU-sized brands, and I had worn it with Ewa Bien bras in the bras. As you may remember, I reviewed one other bra of theirs a few weeks ago, which was in the same size and fitted very well.

This was no exception: the size was pretty much spot-on, regardless of the band fitting a tiny bit smaller than with my other Ewa Bien bras. I would personally not size up with it, but I would say the material is a bit more restricting so take that into consideration if you are between sizes and want to stay comfy. I like my bands on the stretchier side as I do not wear my bras out easily and want them to feel comfy from the get-go. However, if you don’t have tons of bras like yours truly, you may prefer a more rigid band material for some extra staying-power.

The cups are a really good size for me and the semi-soft style ensures that the bra fits my upper breast tissue with ease – however, the material is not very stretchy so if you are more full-on-bottom, there may be some looseness if you are between sizes for example. As the fabric is very thin, the looseness wouldn’t show as much as with a fully padded bra though. The cups are quite deep but also on the wider side, so I would imagine this could be a great bra to someone both plus size and big-busted.


Comfort: The B151 seems like a great basic style for full-busted women who want some extra bit of luxury to their everyday lingerie. The materials are excellent quality and the set is overall pretty comfortable, depending on whether you like your bra bands stretchier or not. Personally I would have felt comfier in a stretchier band that would have been a smidge wider as well. The common trend in Poland seems to be that even full-bust bras need to look as dainty and elegant as possible, hence the lack of wider bra bands and full-cup options. This is fine by me, but I do enjoy a wide band in my everyday bradrobe as well. The straps are strudy and 3/4 parts adjustable which is a bonus; however, they could be a bit more closely placed in my opinion.

The bottoms of this set, which I received in C410 short style and size M, were quite practical and comfortable. The sizing is true to Polish brands and thus a bit on the smaller side for us used to UK-sizing. The M is a rough equivalent of size Small in UK, and still a bit skimpy. This particular style was cut rather low so I would compare it to size 10-12 Cleo hipster panties (hope that makes sense?). Overall still, great style for everyday wear for those who like their panties cut low!

If you would wish to give this style a go, it’s now on sale at the Ewa Bien online store for 139 zl for the bra (sizes 65-100 B-L) and 68,60 zl for the short bottoms (sizes S-XL). Still plenty of sizes left so do snag a set for yourself as well!

Moda Lingerie Preview: Best of Lepel, Charnos & Lepel London

Hiya everyone! My trip to Paris is drawing close and I would still like to preview a few collections before we move on to AW17. Today I am bringing you some of my favourites from Lepel, which is an all time favourite for small- and full-busted gals on a student budget.

LEPEL

Soooo, I’m trying this pic collage thing out, don’t judge me! I just thought it may be a more compact way of showing my favourites. If you want to see the designs in more detail, I think you just need to click on the individual pic on the collage.

This year’s Lepel core collection wasn’t one of their biggest, but they revamped a couple of their basic styles with new colour combinations and introduced two new styles, Poppy (obviously the one with the Poppy print) and Maisy (the lacy one with a raspberry tone). Interestingly, the Poppy looks very similar to something we already know – the Tutti Rouge first edition Betty, which was exactly in the same print as this one, with a slightly different colour scheme. I am not saying this is a copy, but I do think this is not a very original design from Lepel, which is a bit disappointing. However, I do like the print still and it will be a nice option for young gals on a budget who want to have the same look as with the TR Betty, but can’t find it in the Poppy print anymore.

The Maisy on the other hand is a rather beautiful little number and reminds me a lot of the Charnos collection. The Lepel team told us that the collections are and will be more linked to each other from now on and this is clearly visible when looking at the whole collection range.

The styles that got revised yet again were the Lilly (in the sparrow print) and Fiore, which have been winners in the market for a long time. I am pretty excited for the Fiore bodysuit myself and will be happy to tell you that it will go up to G-cup! All of the styles pictured above will be available in a size range of 30-38 B-G, with some of them including A-cups in band sizes 32-36. I think this is pretty impressive for a such an affordable brand and do keep in mind that their cups run a bit on the larger side usually! The Lepel team is continuing their trend of two-toned Fiore, which I love, and I am excited to see what they have come up for autumn – teal and purple, perhaps?

LEPEL SWIM

“Sailor” and Aloha, sizes 30-38 B-G

“Flower Power” bikini and swimsuit, “Tropics” swimsuit and bikini & “Deckchair” bikini

When Lepel core collection seems to shrink a bit year by year, Lepel Swim is alive, growing and well. They must be doing something right as their swimwear collection is and has always been one of the biggest and the prettiest I have seen on the market during the past four years! There is something for almost every taste – pretty florals, sporty mesh and net materials, stripy pinup styles.

My personal favourites from the collection were the stripy Sailor (which comes in a swimsuit, moulded triagle bikini going up to G-cup and a regular wired balconette bikini) and the rather classic yet a bit exotic Tropics, which is the black style with colourful tropical flowers on it. The best part of Lepel Swim collection is that it too is very size-inclusive and offers multiple bikini top and bottom options within one style. As you can see, the Tropics comes in a padded bikini and a swimsuit, both going up to G-cup.

Regarding sizes, the Lepel Swim collection has been generous towards us full-busted gals – most of their styles come in UK cup sizes and up to G-cup, with the exception of three styles going up to H-cup this time! This is fantastic news and a good start for the brand to start adding more sizes to their collection. H-cups will be available eg in the Flower Power print seen above and made in a non-padded halter-style wired bikini top.

LEPEL LONDON

“Charlie” black bodysuit and wired bra set; “Bea” triangle bra set; “Sophia” bodysuits in blue, red and ivory; “Caitlyn” triangle bra set; “Tamara” in Ivory

Lepel London was such a tease, as always, as they only carry cup sizes with some of their styles and when the products are cup-sized, they only go up to UK D- or F-cup. Every season I wait for a size expansion and it never really comes! Maybe this time? If it happens, I will be the first to report you!

The one style that I still love is the Tamara, which goes up to F-cup but this season, the clear winner of the show was the Charlie, pictured at the very top. This combo of a bodysuit and bra set (only going up to D-cup though…) is absolutely breath-taking and I love the corset lacing detail at the back. It’s such a beautiful shape so I hope you small-busted girls will snatch it up and I can live vigorously through you…

The bodysuits in general are aesthetically the strength of the Lepel London collection as they look pretty luxe but are still quite affordable. The one weakness this collection may have is the size range though – and I am not even talking about cup sizes. Most of Lepel London pieces are made in UK sizes 6-14 which is US 2-10, and in my opinion, they are ruling out many plus size customers with this decision. I would increase the sizing up to 18, which is only two sizes bigger, and I think it would still make a huge difference.

CHARNOS

Bailey Bridal set (32-38 B-G); Sienna in Ivory/Gold (30-38 B-J); Suzette in Rose (30-38 B-J),Olivia in Black (30-38 B-E); Violet in Ivory (32-40 C-J)

Nothing super new on the Charnos front; the Charnos collection seems to be mainly about recolouring their old favourites such as Rosy, Violet and Suzette and the colour scheme stays rather muted and light. The Violet is once again one of my favourites, as it is the perfect everyday bra for girls who need G+ sizes and bigger bands. I also really like the new bridal set as it seems like a more rounded option than Charnos’ previous strapless styles. The one stand-out selling point of this range is the size range – there is only two styles that don’t go up to J-cup, which is phenomenal taking into consideration that Charnos started with only a couple of G+ styles a few seasons ago.

All in all, I really like the SS17 Lepel collection family, though I wish they would concentrate more on unifying the size ranges across all of their collections. The bodysuits seem to be on trend now so I am really looking forward to seeing their new collections and whether there will be more in bigger cup sizes available in the future.

Hope you enjoyed this preview and are excited see what’s up with the Paris show in just two weeks! I will try to post stuff straight from the show so do follow me on Facebook and Instagram at @2cakesonaplate to see the gems of the show!

Lingerie Review: Avocado “RV Lorca” in 70H + GIVEAWAY WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Avocado is one of those brands that if you like the kind of classic European style lingerie with great materials and high quality, you are destined to find THE bra from their collection. Their e-shop is also full of different bra shapes that can be matched to pretty much any breast shape out there, no matter if your boobs are more full on top or bottom. Today I am introducing you to a fairly new style, RV as in Round Versatile, developed in the massive revision of all the Avocado patterns that took place about a year or so ago. I got my hands on a prototype of the model back then, but as it wasn’t the final product, we decided not to review it on the blog. Now, I am happy to tell you all the details, so keep reading! *This bra was generously provided by Avocado, all opinions are my own!*

The Design: The RV is supposed to be the style replacing the old A-shape, which was quite rounded, yet a bit flattening (which was something I actually liked about it!). This style on the other hand is meant to give more forward projection, which is something most full-bust ladies can appreciate. The straps are attached to the top part of the three-part constructed cups and the shape of the bra is a true balconette. In my opinion, this style really challenges the good old Panache “Jasmine” which is a cult favourite among bra bloggers and full-bust customers alike. If you are looking for the same projected yet rounded shape in a more luxe wrapping, I would definitely recommend Lorca in RV!

The Lorca style is absolutely beautiful and even though we are not in Xmas season yet (though it’s definitely autumn in Finland already) this is a piece I could see succeeding especially well later in the autumn as a festive piece under the LBD. It’s lightweight and looks gorgeous under tight-fitting dresses but also works as a wow-piece to wear in the boudoir. The delicate stretch lace with the hues of bluish grey finish off the set beautifully and make the set fit far better than it would have with more rigid embroidery.

The Fit: I know it’s a big promise to say this bra fits similarly to Jasmine, but it is the truth. Except for sizing, as that is again quite unique to Avocado and I would always suggest consulting their size chart to find out your perfect fit with them. I am wearing my regular Avocado size 70H in the pics and again, it was a good choice for me. I do have to say though that the band with Lorca seems more like a 65 band so it runs almost a size smaller than my other Avocado bands (or perhaps half a size). Do size up if you are between band sizes!

The cups are absolutely perfect for me size and depth-wise. They contain all my breast tissue but are also a tiny bit too wide and the underwire ends up too far in my armpit with the RV-shape. I have noticed a slight difference with Avocado’s wire width since the revision, and to be honest, I would personally prefer the older wires as they were the perfect fit for me. However, you can’t always have it all. The cups would probably fit both FOB and FOT breasts as the top part is made completely out of stretch lace, which accommodates a plethora of breast shapes and even a-symmetry.

Comfort: As the bra band is a tiny bit too tight for me, I am not sure whether it is quite fair to even review the bra’s comfort level. I would love to say it is absolutely heaven on me but you know how it is with too-tight bands – they try to strangle you and with a bra this beautiful you stay in that abusive relationship and keep wearing the set for pretty’s sake. As a result, you get a stabby centre gore and nasty red marks on your body (which are btw not always painful but in this case, you bet they are). However, the materials are heavenly and I really appreciate the stretch lace which always adds up to the comfort level of a bra. Just remember to go up a band size with this and you will fine, as it is a well-designed bra with fully adjustable straps and all.

The Lorca bra came with a classic brief in size Medium which was a bit too large on me even though I was recommended a Medium or even a Large in Avocado back in the day when I asked them about the fit of their panties. However, I have come to the conclusion that Small is a far better option for me with their bottoms as these sag a tiny bit at the front when I wear them. Other than that, the Lorca classic briefs are a very flattering style with the perfect rise for me personally (not as low as Cleo yet not that unflattering mid cookie pouch style). They are also made of the same comfortable high quality materials as the bra and contour perfectly to my curvy backside without any muffin top or cutting into my butt.

The Lorca set can be bought at the Avocado online shop, here. The bra comes in sizes 60-95 C-K and retails for 64,12 €. The classic briefs come in XS-XXL and set you back with 22,12 €. Avocado ships internationally so even if you are not Polish, you will have no problem getting your hands on their beautiful lingerie!

Now for the fun part! I have yet to announce the Curvy giveaway winners, so here they are. *drum roll*

The Australian winner of a set of their choice is… Kath!

The international winner of a set of their choice is… Victoria T.!

Congrats for both of you! The winners have been emailed and you have exactly one week to get back to me to claim your prize. I would like to thank everyone who took part in the giveaway and may the odds be ever in your favour, so maybe next time 😉 To conclude this post, I would like to ask a small favour from everyone who have read this far: would you mind liking THIS picture on Facebook and thus voting me as the next Miss Midnight Sun Pinup? This is my first pinup pageant and I am super nervous yet excited. If you would be so kind to cast me a vote, I would be more than grateful ❤ TIA!