Introducing the New Ewa Michalak SF Semi-Soft Cut

Happy new year 2017! A year of better bra blogging for me, I hope. Every now and then full-bust brands claim to have come up with “a new revolutionary” shape or a cut, that they are trying to sell as a cure for every bra problem in the world. This is not one of those times, as Ewa Michalak comes up with a new shape every now and then in all quietness. They make no fuzz about it, yet many gals wearing a D+ cup size swear by her bras. I can see why – EM bras are known by their incredible shape and narrow wires that are not rivaled by many. Today I would like to tell you about the new SF shape they came out with just recently.

I received two styles called SF Trapez and SF Czerwona Pantera, the latter hasn’t been released yet though, but I thought you would like to get a complete idea of the new style. When you think of a semi-soft cut, made popular by Polish bra brands, you automatically think of a style with padding at the bottom and a sheer or a lacy top that accommodates your upper breast tissue. However, the Ewa Michalak semi-soft, shortened to SF, is a style which is actually not padded AT ALL, just reinforced at the bottom to gain a sturdier feel to the bra.

I was a bit worried when I thought that I was going to get yet another bra with padding, but I actually think this is a brilliant way of making sturdier bras without adding bulk. The bottom part of the cups is double-lined with strong poly-blend material which is rather stiff and thus holds its form better than some flimsier materials. The cut is rather similar to the soft full-bust style BM, but offers just a tiny bit more support in my opinion. The shape is very rounded and uplifted, which is something I always enjoy about Ewa Michalak bras.

As the SF style is pretty much based on the BM, the sizing works similarly with it as well. I received both of the styles, SF Trapez and SF Czerwona Pantera in 70G, which seems to be a pretty good size for me with both of them. I would say though that even them both being a same cut, they are not exactly the same when it comes to fit. I prefer the red and black SF Czerwona Pantera as it feels a tiny bit larger in the cup and band than the Trapez. As you may notice in the pics above, the Pantera (which is how I will refer to the black and red bra from now on) covers my tissue a bit more from the sides and thus contains my boobs better.

As said, the band of the Pantera is also a bit stretchier so I like it better than the Trapez one. However, the Trapez isn’t bad at all, just needs a longer breaking-in period. Both of the bras feature a stretch lace on the top panel of the bra, which is great for a variety of breast shapes. The depth aspect of the bras is just about right to me and thus you cannot see any dents at the bottom of the cup, nor gaping at the top. As the Pantera covers my armpit area better than Trapez, I would go as far as saying it has become one of my top three bras of the year!

The materials of both of the sets are a bit more “basic” than my other EM bras – instead of luxurious embroideries and sheer mesh, these bras are made of something stronger and everyday-appropriate. They are pretty and even sexy, but there’s no extra hassle to make them feel too precious and delicate to wear under your everyday wardrobe. The straps are fully-adjustable which contributes to the practicality aspect of these bras. The bands have three hooks and eyes, and four rows of them, which is great in regards of durability.

The panties that come with these bras are as uncomplicated and sweet as the bras. Both of the styles feature the same stretch lace that is featured on the top panel of the bras, and the materials are nice and light-weight as they should be with comfy panties. These were both a size UK 12/ Polish 38 and they fit my 40″ bum very well. Even the thong is super comfy, as the rise hits me at the perfect spot and the materials are stretchy enough to hug my curves. I also really like how wide the thong is at the hips, it is such a flattering cut.

Out of all the EM styles, I would say the SF is my new favourite. I love wearing it regularly and it is one of their styles which does not try to stab me in the breast tissue. If you would like to try the SF, you can find eg the SF Trapez here at the EM online store. The Trapez is almost sold-out at the moment, but I would suggest taking a look at their new SF Roma (189 zl) which is a beautiful colourful style with a full size range of 30-44 E-JJ.

Lingerie Review: Kris Line “Manuela” in 65H

Over the time, the two Kris Line reviews and my introduction post to the brand have been some of the most popular posts I have ever written. It is quite clear why, too – Kris Line is one of those Polish brands that are widely accessible through the likes of Brastop and Zulily with very reasonable pricing, which makes it a good first choice for testing Polish lingerie. For me, Kris Line has always held a special place in my heart – their wires are not narrow enough to poke me in my breast tissue and the designs are breathtakingly beautiful. Today, I am reviewing something that will be a continuity range for Kris Line starting from last summer and continuing at least to the next summer season. Let me introduce you to the beautiful Manuela! *This set was kindly gifted to me by Kris Line. All opinions are my own.*

Design: I chose the non-padded balconette Manuela but in true Kris Line style, this design comes in several bra and bottom options. I also received the complementing briefs to match my bra. Why I decided to opt for the non-padded bra with this style was because of the realization of the fact that this is the most popular bra style in my bradrobe and thus, it is the most practical everyday style for me. The bra cups are constructed of three pieces, one seam going diagonally and one going vertically, to form a very traditional and natural bust line. The bottom half of the cups is double-lined but the top part remains completely sheer.

The colour and styling of Manuela are absolutely breathtaking and I first fell in love with the sky blue hue and the detailed embroidery of the set. I am fan of blue lingerie in general as it suits my skin tone, eyes and hair colour pretty bang-on, but I am also a sucker for trends and this autumn, it is all about the blues. I was very happy how the styling turned out in flesh as well and the shade of the set, which is truly stunning.

Fit: As I had tried Kris Line soft cups before and found them to run a bit on the bigger side, I decided to size down to 65H this time. Kris Line sizing is quite unique but if you want to learn more about it, I would highly recommend taking a look at my previous post on the brand. According to the size chart I would be a 70H which is the size I went for last time and it fitted me pretty well in both the Deco-shape and their soft cup style. However, I have found the bands become a bit loose after a good amount of wears and decided I would go for 65 this time, just to give my bras a little more time to live. Also, I lost some weight after I first acquired my Kris Line bras about a year ago and I think I have gone about half a cup size down after that. This is why I chose to go down with my cup size as well this time, resulting in 65H as my best size with their soft cup style.

The 65 band feels nice and snug but not restrictive in any way, which is sometimes the result when gambling with your band size. However, I did not notice a significant difference to the 70 band so if you are between band sizes, I would suggest taking the smaller one, even just for longevity. The cups encase my breast tissue nicely and again, the wires are perfect for me as always with Kris Line. The straps are only half adjustable but that has not been a problem for me with this bra, however, I am 5″6 so definitely not petite. If you quite petite though, I would consider getting yourself some Strap Savers or skipping this style all together. Overall, the fit of the bra on me is spot-on and I have no gripes with it whatsoever!

Comfort: I love how comfy Kris Line bras are! If I would have to pick two of the most comfortable brands I wear on day-to-day basis, those would definitely be Kris Line and Gossard. Of course, no brand makes everything perfect to the last detail but these two brands keep rotating in my everyday bradrobe from day to day. I guess it’s a lot due to wiring and comfy bands – if you are pretty average breast root -wise like me, I think you would love Kris Line as well! They are a happy medium between the usual wide British wires and very narrow Polish wires. If Ewa Michalak is not your thang, definitely try KL instead!

When it comes to the panties, I would recommend taking your regular Polish size which is a medium for me. I usually wear a Small with most British brands so especially, if you are between sizes, do size up. I must say the Small is absolutely tiny with KL panties and still, the Medium is smaller than eg my Freya briefs in Small.

If you would like to try some Kris Line for yourself, I would highly recommend checking out Zulily for American customers and Brastop for.. well, basically everyone else 😀 The prices are usually very reasonable on these sites and you are sure to score a bargain!

How do you like Manuela? Also, how do you like the blue colour trend for this autumn? Let me know in the comments below! xx

Avocado Bra Review: Calypso in the new NF-cut!

As regular readers of my blog know, Avocado has been a very near and dear brand to me for some time now. I have reviewed several of their bras now and as the time has flown, it is now time to open the final Pandora’s box and stick my claws into the H-cut, which has been requested to be reviewed for a long time since we all got to know Avocado about a year ago. I was always intrigued by this style as you know, the grass is greener on the other side and I had not had the chance to try it on yet.  However, it turned out Calypso is no longer available in the old H-cut which lead Avocado to send me its new improved version, the NF-shape. Here’s how I liked their revised fit! *This bra was gifted to me by Avocado. This however, does not affect my opinions or thoughts on it in anyway.*

The Design: The NF-cut (with the lower part of the cup attaching to the straps) is something Avocado calls their more “natural” pointed shape and it is fairly obvious when putting on the bra for the first time. Before I started to wear the pinup and vintage-style clothes regularly on a day to day basis, the pointed shape was definitely not my cup of tea but something I tried to avoid like plague. However, as the women in 40’sand 50’s did wear a lot pointier bras than women today, I have come to embrace the shape and wear it with my more authentic looking vintage repro pieces (as I don’t own any genuine vintage yet). The NF-cut is perhaps not something I would like under all my clothes, but it does have a place in my bradrobe for those full-on pinup days.

The Calypso style was something that definitely caught my eye when I first came across it on Facebook. I just knew I had to have it! Fortunately, the ladies at Avocado had noticed my admiration and were so kind to send me the gorgeous green little number. Although green is not one of my favourite colours in any way, I do love a good emerald or jade green. I actually have a trench coat in the same colour as well (great combo for some flashing, huh? JK!)! Also the accent colour of taupe is very chic, however the combo makes it very hard to match this set with anything else than the actual bottoms created for the set. As a matching set kinda gal it does not make this the most practical bra but it sure is pretty, to say the least!

The Fit: As the NF-cut is supposedly a much deeper cut than the A and K which I had tried before, I decided to stick with my regular size 70H. This was the right choice even though I am bulging over my 70H in A- and K-cuts. As a conclusion, I would advise to size down with the NF-cut, especially if you are between sizes! The band fits about the same as every other Avocado band I have tried, even though I am now contemplating on trying the 65 sometime in the future. I think might be between 65 and 70 as the bands stretch quite a bit after a few wears so it would be good to know if I could manage to close the 65 and then stretch it to be more comfortable.

The wires are again perfect with the Calypso and in addition to Kris Line and Ewa Bien, they are the best the Polish brands can offer me. Take note, everyone who don’t cope with the narrower wires of EM and Comexim, this is the brand for you! The cups are nice and deep but also pretty closed at the top. This however, is no problem to be even though my boobs are more full-on-top – the cups are pretty full-coverage meaning the edge of the cup doesn’t cut into my breast tissue.

Comfort: I sometimes have problems with a non-tacking gores and even though some bra fitters claims it’s not the most important fit factor, I do like my gores tacking even moderately as it makes the bra feel a bit more sturdy and shows how well the cup depth fits me. Well, this sucker definitely tacks to my sternum! The downside? It can me a be stabbing at first to be honest. However, usually people who report their gores stabbing them have not tried to bend the gore, which is sometimes essential when breaking in the bra. I had the same thing with Tutti Rouge “Nichole” and the issue was easily fixed with some bending, wearing and washing.The same thing applies with Calypso – just be patient.

Another thing that bothered me a bit was the far-apart straps which did chafe my armpit a bit. To be honest, I haven’t had this problem with any of the other Avocado bras I have received so it might be just a small downside to this particular cut. Otherwise, the materials, straps and band are super comfortable as always and I am especially happy about how wide and comfy the bra band is with all Avocado styles.

If you are interested to snatch up the Calypso in the new NF-cut (Natural Firm) for 72,15€, you can do so at the Avocado online store.

Have you tried the NF-cut yet and how did you like it? Let me know in the comments! xx

EDIT: As we had a slight communication problem with Avocado, this style was indeed the new NF-cut instead of the H. As I only got this info now, I have changed the review a bit to avoid any confusion!

Winter Flowers from Poland – Review of Kris Line “Sicilia” in 70H

Hi everyone! How is December going? Mine has a been a very busy and rather stressful one but gladly I had some time to take pictures today for you to put up this review. Today I’m talking about a Kris Line soft style bra called “Sicilia” which is part of their lovely AW14 collection. Kris Line kindly sent me this set for review, so I could compare it to the other padded style I have from them, the Marilou Deco (click for the review!). Here’s how I liked the soft bra and the matching bottoms…

The Design: I was so pleased to see Kris Line coming up with a lovely cherry blossom embroidery/print for winter as it’s usually regarded as a spring-appropriate print. I LOOOOVE cherry blossoms and actually haven’t seen them much on bras which makes this style rather unique. Also the colour combo is both sophisticated and cute at the same time but I could imagine it being made in eg a blush colour for spring season.

The shape is super rounded and it definitely rivals the likes on Cleo which expert in this kind of round in-your-face look. I have been a fan of the look for a long time and it looks fabulous under clothing. The cups are made of four parts with one horizontal and two vertical seams which give the cups their uplifted rounded look. The bra is most close to a balconette shape but has a quite a lot of coverage to it too – this would definitely be a good choice under a modest sweater.

Fit: I would say the fit of Sicilia is rather comparable to Marilou as I fit into the same size with both of them. I have actually noticed that the cups are so deep that I almost don’t fill them properly and my other cup on my smaller boob wrinkles a bit on the apex. However, I don’t feel like a different size would solve this as I am rather full on top and need the extra space there.

I opted for a size 70H with Sicilia but I am now pretty certain that band-wise, I could now go down to 65 (UK 30) as I have lost a bit of weight. The band seems to be running true-to-size but is maybe on the smaller side of 70, just like most Polish bras. The band features three hooks and eyes making it still sturdy and wearable regardless of it being a bit too big for me. The underwires of Sicilia are perfect again and I feel like Kris Line is better for me wire-wise than some other Polish brands, as the too-narrow wires are not good for breast tissue nor comfort in the long run.

Comfort: My first Kris Line bra Marilou was a success on the comfort level so my expectations were high when I waited for Sicilia. The soft micro fibre of Marilou is still my favourite but Sicilia comes close with it’s comfort. The sturdy mesh does not make my skin itch at all and the band is sturdy enough to feel good even when being a tiny bit loose. Also the band features four (!) sets of hooks and eyes, meaning I can tighten it a lot as I go. The straps are half-adjustable but I find them to be a good length for me anyway (for reference, I am 5’6 and have a long torso).

The knickers (or as the Polish say, Figi) looked tiny again but I found them to stretch as much as the Marilou bottoms. I opted for my regular size Small but am thinking of going for Medium next time as they are looking a bit tight and I want to see if the M would be a better choice. So overall, I would say the bottoms run a tad smaller than with UK brands. The materials are so comfy again and I am so glad the bottoms are made of the same micro fibre as my Marilou set.

All in all, I have fallen in love with another Kris Line set and can’t wait to get introducing their SS15 collection to you soon. I already have the brochure with me and there are so many styles especially in hues of blue and pink which I adore. The Kris Line Sleep collection is another winner for next season and I hope to get trying it sometime in the future – the designs look so comfy and steaming hot at the same time!

If you would like to buy Kris Line and are from USA, I would suggest Zulily. Kris Line pops up there quite regularly and the prices are great! Remeber to check out the size chart from my Marilou post to get the correct size from the start. However, if you’re European I would say your best bet is Brastop, they have a lovely selection of Kris Line with reduced prices.

Suomeksi: Moikka moi kaikille! Mulla ois tällä kertaa teille postausta puolalaisesta merkistä nimeltä Kris Line, jonka rintsikoita arvostelen nyt toista kertaa. Kris Linella on ihan valtava valikoima kokoja ja malleja, ja tällä kertaa esittelyssä olisi heidän pehmeäkuppinen Sicilia-malli, jonka Kris Line ystävällisesti lähetti minulle koossa 70H.

Sicilia on todella suloinen ja hyvinistuva ilmestys: pelkäsin hieman, että osuuko koko tällä kertaa kohdilleen, sillä olin kuullut juttua, kuinka Kris Linen rintsikat ovat välillä vaihdelleet koiltaan aika reippaastikin. Sain kuitenkin huokaista helpotuksesta, sillä tämä malli vastaa kooltaan aika hyvin aikaisemmin kokeilemaani Marilouta. Kupit ovat minulle kuitenkin todella syvät, mistä johtuukin tuon toisen kupin rypistyminen. Elikkä te jotka kaipaatte syviä kuppeja ja kapeita kaaritukia – tässä olisi aika potentiaalinen malli! Kris Linen kaarituet eivät kuitenkaan ole yhtä kapeat kuin monilla muilla puolalaisilla merkeillä, joka onkin allekirjoittaneen kannalta ihan hyvä juttu. Liian kapeat kaarituet kun pistävät ikävästi rintakudokseen ja painavat päivän mittaan kivuliaasti.

Ympärysmitaltaan Kris Linen rintsikat ovat melko normi-luokkaa eli tämä 70 jää minulle jo vähän löysäksi viimeaikaisen painon tippumisen vuoksi. Onneksi ympärysnauhassa on kuitenkin neljä riviä hakasenkiinnittimiä, joilla saa kiristettyä ympärystä aika kivasti! Olkaimet ovat vain puoliksisäädettävät mutta toimivat ihan hyvin tällaisella 167 senttisellä ilman mitään ongelmia.

Kokonaisuudessaan Sicilia on todella toimiva setti materiaaleineen ja pyöreine muotoineen ja sopii hyvin ihan peruspaitojen alle. Jos oma Kris Line setti kiinnostaa, niin paras paikka sitä lähteä metsästämään on brittiläinen verkkokauppa Brastop. Sieltä löytyy melko hyvä valikoima malleja ja hinnat sekä postituskulut ovat kohdillaan. Kokotaulukko kannattaa kuitenkin tsekata edellisestä Kris Line postauksestani, sillä kuppikoot menevät vähän eri lailla tässä merkissä!