Cleo Lucille bikini

It’s coming up to summer now in Sydney, with some lovely hot days interspersed with ugly winter weather, and then bush-fires in the mountains, and then the heat, and then storms and rain. Typical. I have an aversion to clothing that I would not be able to run away from a murderer in, and my wireless bikini and one-piece, however pretty, fall into the I-wouldn’t-be-able-to-flee-in-this-without-clutching-my-heaving-bosom category.

I needed a wired bikini, and so I ordered the Cleo by Panache Lucille from the UK (http://www.panache-lingerie.com/us/cleo-swimwear/collection/21541953/Bandeau-bikini-top/), because buying a 28FF in a store locally (and trying it on first) would have been waaaay to expensive, and it is impossible to fit into a commercial wired bikini top.

Aesthetic wise, the bikini is young and kitsch. I would have preferred something a little more sophisticated, or boho, or pretty, but the Lucille was within my price range (actually, it was on sale), cute and inoffensive. The colours are clear and bright, and the nautical theme works, given that its swimwear. I am not a fan of the heart in the middle of the bikini, and may snap it off.

Gratuitous beach selfie

The bottoms are flattering, coming up high-ish, without being high waisted. They give no camel-toe, do not bunch in my butt-crack, gape, expose my butt-cheeks, or do anything undesirable, and I would say they run pretty true to size (I got a size 8).

Now for the bikini top. I ordered a 28FF, given that my size seems to have settled on the FF rather than the F side of the fence. When I took it out of the packet, it struck me that there was a lot of cup. Like, a LOT. The cups begin almost at the band. Also contributing to this impression is the smallness of the band. It was only 22 inches unstretched, 28 inches stretched, making it quite true to size, which is good.

Surprisingly, when on, the cups almost seemed too small. They were quite shallow, and though the wire sat fine on me, my high-set and full on top breasts spilled out a little, or at least, I got cleavage that looked a little funny from the side, sort of flattened and pushed up. I would not be able to go up a cup size, as the wires would have been too wide, and also have way too much coverage. When I lay down however, my boobs fall out the top, leaving the bottom of the cup a little empty. I would say that the Lucille might work for lower set/fuller on bottom boobs.

Sorry about the side-ways-ness

Under a t-shirt 

 That pushed up, flattened shape

From my bigger side.  

And my smaller

Support-wise, the Lucille is much better than any of my non-wired bikinis, I can walk and swim and cavort about without anxiously hoicking it up and worrying about nip-slips. I can’t run in without the top, exposed parts of my breasts jiggling, but whatever, it’s a bikini, not a sports bra.

Overall, I am happy with the bikini, and can’t wait to see what Cleo Swim comes out with next!

Xoxo

Gossip Girl Princess

Cleo Foray and Ewa Michalak lust list

After my little annoyance at my boobs (why you change sizes yet AGAIN?) I got over myself and went online to get new bras in my guesstimate size 28F. Assuming that I am still growing, not knowing my correct size for SURE and being kind of broke (I should stop harping on about that. Maybe just a savvy consumer. Environmentally conscious minimalist shopper. Whatever) I ordered two bras from Bravissimo, the Zia and the Juna, both by Cleo.

I think they are both going to work ok, but neither gave me an Ahhhhh moment. To be honest, the couple of Freya bras I own or have tried on have been more comfortable, just due to the fact that the bands are a little looser, making the gores more comfortable (less digging). This is making me reconsider the necessity for 28 bands for my 27 inch torso, I mean, comfort-wise band 30s are less gore-problematic, but still annoy me due to their shifting bands, and the fact that the cup is sometimes distorted over my too small frame. Also, Freya gores do not seem to come up as high. There are no boobs on my sternum, wire go away! You hurt my boniness!

What was right with the Juna:
The colour was just fine, too pink toned to be any kind of realistic nude, and too pale for me, but that shade could well suit some people, and it was still skin-coloured. The lace at the top of the cups was cute, it was well formed. It contained all my flesh (ughh, what a horrible word!), the wires and cups sitting just so.

But the bad:
Let me note that most of this stuff diminished with wear. It was noticeable the first day I wore it, and has been decreasing, with the exception of the shape the bra gives me. After a few washes and wears the bra should be fine. Ok. First off, the gore. WHY S HIGH??? At least in the 28  bands, for us with bony rib cages, make it lower! I could feel it as I breathed, or folded forward, but now he feeling is much less acute. Also, the seam between the top of the cup and the elastic is somewhat visible under clothing,but whatever, I really couldn't care. I wear a bra. You see the seams and are aware of the fact. BOOM. The tag was also a tiny bit itchy, but I will rip it out, so no biggie. The band felt fine, but angled up just a little, ie was not flush with the ground, which is a little odd. Other than that I can't fault the bra. Its a good everyday bra, which is what I wanted and got.

Construction, the half cup style did NOT work for my top heavy breasts. There is too much flesh above the top of the cups, without cleavage, just subtly there under my collar bones, and a little bulging, or disturbance of the nice, clean shape, above the rim of the cup. As I mentioned, the gore was too tall, and thus irksome. Perhaps I could have gone up a cup size. Coupled with the fit of he Zia I think I am a large 28F, small 28FF. Size established, I now want to buy ALL this stuff from Ewa Michalak!

Like:

The Satine. It is an S style with a tighter band, and looks good for everyday.\


The Onyx (PL) with matching panties, which are basic and black with cute detail. I just want a basic, well constructed Ewa bra.


Dammit,so cute WANTIT this Burek bra, but it starts at a 30F, and I may be sized out.


The Rokoko is gorgeous, and the matching panties have ruffles on the butt, but the set is REALLY expensive.


This 3D Lolitka bra, or the S bra n the same material. Unfortunately, they are both sold out in anything that could be my size.
I emailed the brand to ask about sizing, and reminded myself that I should really review my current EM set.

Back to the Juna. Shapewise, the look was projected, but not extremely so. It was not circular and blob like, like t-shirt bras, but a bit natural. The shape was fine. And there you have it!

I will be reviewing the second bra I got, the Zia, wen I can be bothered.

Xoxoxo, Princess

Panache sport

Panache Sport review:



Hi all,
I have a couple of articles in mind, but I am super busy with exams and an artwork I am trying to complete by TOMORROW. Hence I write this from the lovely location of my kitchen table, whilst eating.
I am quite into running, and so obviously a good sports bra is a must. Health implications aside, going without a good sports bra would hurt, and be a little indecent. Coming of the back of a size ten compression bra (hello uniboob), I was so impressed that I bought  the Panache in black and then a few weeks later in red.

The black one is a size 30E, and given that this allegedly  runs a little big in the cups, It fits very well. The band stretches to 29", and  I have worn it quite a lot. This is OK, as I have a bony rib-cage, and so the size down would have felt constricting. In any case, the band does not ride up my back, and stays put.
It also gives me a really great shape, projected, with a hint of cakes-on-a-plate cleavage, despite being a sports-bra, and works it's non-bounce magic even on smaller boobs, not withstanding that it was made for much heftier engineering.

What do I not like about the bra? The straps are either a tad too long worn normally at the tightest setting, or hurt my neck and shoulders at their loosest clipped  the racer-back feature. The wires also sometimes irritate my sternum and rib-cage, but I think this is the hazard of having a bony rib-cage and running wearing a tight, wired item, however well-padded the wires are.
Sometimes I get gaping at the top of the cup as my size fluctuates and becomes lower, and, aesthetically, this could be fixed by going down a cup size. It still gives the same support, so I don't particularly care.
It is interesting for me to note that the top hook of the first set of hooks on the black bra, which I have ad longer, is pulled out quite a lot further than the bottom two hooks, which indicates the inverted triangular shape of my rib-cage.
Sometimes, after prolonged wear, I can 'feel' the bra, but I have yet to find a perfect bra that this is not an issue with.

Below are some photos of me in the red bra, showing you how nice the shape is. Sometimes I even wear this bra under normal clothes. Of course, the op must not have itty-bitty straps or a low neckline, but hey-ho.

Being so impressed with the no-bounce nature of the black Panache sport, the shape and the comfort, I went  and bought the same bra in red, without trying it on. Sure it will fit, its the same thing! WRONG! If the black one was a very tight 30 band, the red one ran a full size bigger! It stretched to 31" (being a size 30 band). Perhaps this sizing inconsistency was due to the black one shrinking when it was dyed. Perhaps they have slight construction differences. I don't know. There is no puling on any of the hooks on this bra, and sometimes it slips around a little, leading me to think I should have gotten it in a 28F.
The red one also has longer straps, which I can comfortably do up in  racer back, giving me more support than the red one, and eliminating ALL bounce save for the little bit of flesh that is present over the top (that sexy hint of sport cleavage).