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!

SS16 Swimwear Roundup – aka My Personal Wishlist!

I am going on a summer vacation for the first time in 14 years. Yap, like a real beach kinda holiday, which is really weird for me as I usually travel to city destinations in the winter time and actually really enjoy. However, a few months ago I kinda blurted out to my mother-in-law that I reaaaaallly needed a proper beach resort holiday and there we were, booking a holiday after a few minutes of conversation. We decided on a lovely city/beach resort of Split, which is located in Croatia, as we really wanted to go somewhere where we could enjoy culture, good food and just relaxing in a nice warm climate.

So, it has been a while since I have actually needed a swimsuit – regardless I do have a few of them, but ya know, why not look for a special one for this occasion. As we browsed through the collections at Moda last August, I did see quite many intriguing little DD+ ensembles, so I would love to share my favourites with you in a form of a wishlist/roundup – who knows, one of these might actually be the one for my holiday in May!

Curvy Kate “Siren” One-Piece

I believe I haven’t really gone through the CK SS16 collection at all, so here’s a lovely sneak peek of what’s coming next from this all-time favourite! The Siren swimsuit is a padded one-piece with detachable straps and adjustable sides at the bottom part of the suit. It features an amazing bright colour and scallop-like detailing which makes it perfect for real-life mermaids like myself! This style is up to J-cup.

Lepel “Hawaii” Bikini

I love Lepel’s swim range – they seem to make so many lovely swim styles each season that I cannot really keep up with them! I had real difficulties picking just one favourite from their collection but ended up with this Hawaii-style which is a cute colourful Tiki-sorts of print with tiny little Hawaiian pinups on it! The shape is very trendy as well – as you can see, it is the same sweetheart neckline that is featured on the Curvy Kate style above. This range goes up to G-cup and as we know that Lepel runs quite large in the cup, I could really give this one a try!

Moontide “Victory” Freedom Twist Suit

Moontide has come out with another strong collection and this time, it’s about clashing colours and graphic prints. I really liked this photorealistic print of the Victory range and even though this particular style does not come in cup sizes, I have heard that this “Twist”-style one-piece is a very full-bust appropriate even in regular dress sizes.

Panache “Britt Stripe” Bikini

The Britt is a Panache classic that has been tweaked a few times and this time comes in a sailor-like navy and white stripe print. I personally became a huge fan of the high-waisted briefs that come with the range and luckily, can also fit into the top as it goes up to H-cup in this halter-neck style. Most Cleo bikini tops stop at G-cup which is a pity to me, but I could easily imagine enjoying this bit more classic style as opposed Cleo’s clashing colours and bold prints. Glam pinup style designs for the win!

Pour Moi “Pineapple” Bikini

All my nearest and dearest know that I have a slight obsession with pineapple prints – which is quite funny cause I reeeeaaally dislike the taste and texture of real pineapple! This cute-ass bikini is by Pour Moi and I am absolutely in love with every aspect of it – it’s navy and pink combo, pineapple printed and comes with adorable ruffly high-waisted bottoms! What’s not to like?? Pour Moi goes up to G-cup so I might want to try their 32G at some point.

Here’s my top 5 of SS16 swimwear – how did you like it? Are you going on a beach holiday someday soon? Let me know in the comments below! xx

Moda Lingerie & Swimwear Show: Introducing Moontide & Piha Swimwear

When it comes to swimwear, I tend to be extremely picky – I hate triangle bikinis, can’t stand tacky 90’s patterns and a tankini is a definite no-no. I like my swimwear cute, comfy and retro-inspired which makes my hunt for the perfect swimwear a bit tricky. Not to mention my size – someone in the 30-32 G-H range ought not be too fussy, but what can you do! However, now and then I come across brands with exactly my kind of aesthetics and one of those brands were Moontide and their sub-label Piha at the Moda tradeshow. One thing that made the brand instantly more appealing to me was that the Moontide range actually goes up to G-cup with some styles. Let’s dive into this swimwear giant a bit more…

Tulip, Poppy & Bauhinia in their fantastic tropical floral prints (all from their SS14/15 collection)

Moontide was founded 35 years ago in Auckland, New Zealand and is now one of the leading fashion-forward swimwear-only brands in the world. When going through the Moontide website, it’s easy to see that in addition to fabulous fashion styles the brand is extremely confident about their fit. The passion towards well-fitting swim pieces is pretty obvious which makes me a new fan of the brand. The fuller-busted customers have been thought of too; there is a separate logo for the so called “cup fitting” pieces, which simply states “CF”. These pieces are either sized in bra sizes (with some styles going to up F/G) or offer a separate full-bust fit (this feature is mainly used with the one-piece swimsuits). Even though this kind of sizing cannot cover each and every bust size, it’s a good way to acknowledge that there is indeed a demand for more boob room among us gals with fuller busts. To be honest, I would be quite intrigued to see how well the full-bust version of the swimsuit would hold up my ~GG boobies!

When it comes to styling, I find the Moontide to be an instant winner – I mean, who can resist a good floral or juicy summer brights? Well I certainly can’t. My favourite of the new collection pieces (pictured above) would definitely be the yellow one with the black and white rose print as it’s such a lovely vintage-inspired style. These pics are however only my favourites, so if floral and super bright colours are not your thing there is also lots of black and white monochrome, stripes and abstract prints on offer. I have previously worked as a gardener and a florist which should explain my love for all sorts of floral prints 😉

Even though I have pictured above only Moontide swimsuits, they do offer also a wide array of other cuts to choose from. To be honest, I have never seen such a variety of different styles when it comes to a single design of swimwear! Most Moontide swim pieces come in an array of tops, bottoms and even a couple of different onepiece styles so everyone can make their pick and be happy with it. As a lover of onepieces I would love to try their “Twist”-style swimsuits with the fuller bust fit as the whole design seems very flattering allover.

Piha (which, funny enough, means ‘yard’ in Finnish) is a sub-label of the more mature Moontide brand. Even though Moontide’s designs could probably appeal to any age group depending on one’s personal style, Piha is clearly directed to a younger audience with a love for clashing colours and pop-art kind-of prints. The size range of Piha is much smaller, only accommodating up to D, but I am really hoping and wishing for a bigger size range in the future – these pieces would definitely rival the likes of Cleo and Freya in the full-bust swimwear market! However, I do understand the limits of making cup sized swimwear/lingerie as you do always need to make a profit. Just hoping Piha could someday make a profit of us bigger-busted gals as well 😉

If you are interested in the brands more, I suggest you visit their websites for more info. Also, the brands are sold world-wide so if you are still in a need of proper swimsuit for the upcoming summer, do check out the likes of Asos, House of Fraser and Simply Beach to find your favourite style. The Moontide and Piha websites have both a very impressive list of stockists and online retailers stocking their designs so you can pick one according to your own location!

How do you like the Moontide and Piha designs? Do you think Piha should extend their size range eg. up to G as well? Let me know in the comments!

Moda SS15 Lingerie & Swimwear Preview: Curvy Kate

Curvy Kate has always been close to my heart: it was the first brand I tried in a correct bra size which was about 30E/28F back then (seems so small now!). This is why I’m always excited to see their new collections and again, it was one of the first brands we went to see at Moda. We were greeted with enthusiasm and then sat down to see the new collection set by set. There were definitely some sets I had looked up already online and had fallen in love with, but in flesh the collection was still a complete stunner.

 
Madagascar, Firecracker and Temptress

There were many new styles introduced for SS15 which I was really happy about. I often see brands only revising their best-sellers which can get kinda boring if you are expecting to be wowed by something. There were a lot of pink and tropical red hues included in the CK SS15 collection so of course, I was smitten as they are my favourite colours of all. The new Madagascar was definitely a great new-comer to the collection – something a bit more wild yet girly in a lovely colour-combo of coral and yellow. The shape is a CK balconette meaning it’s similar to their basic styles, Portia and Princess. However, the fit of the balconette has been revised over the years and now looks more uplifted than ever. Conclusion: if you have tried eg Portia in the past and it didn’t work, give this one a try.

The Firecracker is a plunge shape meaning it has a lower core and it suits lower necklines. The print is very girly and young, maybe not my style but great age-appropriate choice for young girls looking for cute supportive bras. This shape is very similar to Daisy Chain and Daisie and for me, it works wonderfully. However, the bra requires a lot of projection so keep that in mind while opting for this style.

Another old style revised with new elegance and fit is the Temptress. It’s the same shape as the older CK padded plunges such as Wild and Tempt Me but with a little more depth to the cups. I would love to give this style a try as I think it’s a very elegant choice young women looking to be cute and sexy at the same time. 

  

Though Curvy Kate is known for their absolutely stunning colours, I think there’s a few great basic sets in their collection as well. So far, I have loved CK Smoothie as my go-to basic bra but now there are definitely rivals in the horizon! Now Curvy Kate is finally launching their first strapless bra (literally NOW, it has launched today at Very and HerRoom!) that has been under construction for quite a long time. I am dying to get my hands on the Luxe strapless ever since I saw George from FFFB wearing it on her social media platforms. The bra is supposed to keep the girls in place (even while doing cartwheels!) and give you the most uplifted rounded shape you can get in a strapless. Sounds pretty lust-worthy to me (especially since there are not that many strapless bras in my size).

The Daily Boost shape had been reinvented with a more interesting styling, aka the Arizona. This set is definitely meant for the denim-lovers and feels like an age-appropriate style for full-bust teenagers and young girls looking for a basic t-shirt bra with a twist. The colouring is very cutesy yet fresh with tones purple and lemon. This set is not my cup of tea but a few years ago I would have definitely been pretty excited about it!

When it comes to “nude” bras I often go a bit “meh” as I hate wearing anything plain and dull. However, Curvy Kate has designed a lovely option for those who don’t want ugly granny bras – and that would be the Florence. It’s a great pale rose shade with subtle lace and almost sheer cups. The shape is very much like other CK balconettes so if you’re a fan and have a fair skin, give this set a try. The bra comes with the same cut shorts as the Ritzy so I can imagine the whole set to look very flattering on a variety of body types.

   
The most happy I was when I saw CK’s more sexy offering – and I tell you, it’s hot hot hot. While Tease Me and Ritzy are guaranteed to have the “Sexy” stamp on them each season, what I loved the most were the two new-comers Dita and Bardot. The Bardot is a sultry babydoll, this time in an unpadded balconette shape and a flowy skirt-part. I looooved the colours and the embroidery on the cups and I think this might be the first non-padded babydoll I will get my hands on, permanently that is (I tried the Marcie by Cleo but somehow I didn’t come along with the skirt-part). 

Dita is yet another completely new style, also in sheer black and some contrasting embroidery. Although the style is very festive with its shiny details, I think this is a set I just cannot resist. I really liked how Curvy Kate decided to make a sheer plunge as well, as it makes the set super hot and a bit different from their other plunge styles. As I came along with Daisy Chain so well, this will definitely be a hit with me when it comes out!

The Curvy Kate Swim collection keeps on growing and this time it’s more co-ordinated than ever. There were something very British yet Bond-girl about the collection which seems to be the trend of the SS15 season. Stars, roses and other prints make the collection very girly but there is something for everyone I think – I was most smitten with their high-waisted bikini bottoms and colour-blocked pieces with amazing contrasting colours.

As the Starry Eyed, Moonflower and Beach Bloom were very romantic, cute and young, the other styles of the collection were quite graphic and sleek. I really loved the neon shades of the Ocean Drive and Shockwave and the colour combos seemed very fresh to me – very appropriate for warm summer holidays. All of the sets are meant to be mixed and matched, so that every woman could create her own favourite combo. Full-bust brands don’t do mix & match kinda collections that often, which is why I was super delighted. 

All in all, this seems to be a very successful season for Curvy Kate and I can’t wait try their revised balconettes, the strapless and the padded plunge next season. Fingers crossed I will be trying as many of them as possible 😉 What do you think? Any favourites? Drop me a comment below, I would love to know! xx