Freya's Deco never fails to Delight!

For those of you who already follow me in Twitter and Instagram you're probably already very aware that I LOVE the Deco bra by Freya. I own something like 20 now yet weirdly I've never actually written a post dedicated to them! So here we are!

My Deco collection minus two!

A few weeks ago Freya contacted me asking if I'd like to review a Deco for them, and of course I said yes! After a little deliberation we finally decided on the Deco Delight, a spin-off of the original, this time with pretty lace details and a racer back, as first seen on the Deco Charm from their AW14 range.

My eagerly awaited parcel of joy arrived and as soon as I got my paws on it I tore the box open to find a hot pink paper bag emblazoned with the Freya logo with orange Freya tissue paper oozing from the opening. So exciting! I carefully lifted the tissue paper (wow, I'm really building this up aren't I?) to reveal not only a Deco Delight bra, but Brazilian brief, shorts AND a chemise too! Oh Freya, you really went to town, much love to you!

The Deco Delight range comes in a cosy shade of marl grey with cream lace detailing and tiny cream bows. It's the only colourway available at the moment and it's just lovely. Initially I thought it was made from t-shirty fabric as it's a grey marl, and I'm so glad it's not because I've had that sort of bra before. They tend to cling to whatever you're wearing and don't sit well. I digress, it's not made from that but instead a smooth mix of 64% Polyster, 24% Nylon/Polymide, 8% Elastane and the magic ingredient, 4% Tactel, making Deco Delight soft to the touch. Hurrah!

Unfortunately Freya didn't have a 28GG in stock so we decided to sister size to a 30G. I never sister size on the band unless it's super tight, and particularly not with my Decos since I like a fuss-free fit. However, given the circumstances and the fact I own a Rixie Clip band shortening...thingy... I agreed to try it. So with that in mind, I'll base my review on my 'true' size of a 28GG since I own so many Decos in said size. I'm too honest for my own good. I could have just lied and said it's a 28GG from the offset, but nope.

"Why is such an ordinary looking bra your absolute favourite?", I hear you ask. I shall tell you for why my dear readers! It's what it DOES to my boobs. Hello cleavage! Not to mention it's perfect under almost ANYTHING. Seriously, I wear a Deco every. Single. Day. They're really comfortable, supportive and with the addition of the racer back clip on the Deco Charm and the Deco Delight they're super practical. I'm hoping to see the racer clip featured on the basic black and nude colours in the future as this would open up a new realm of clothes shopping for me as I've ALWAYS avoided racer backs for bra strap reasons.

Normal straps...

 

...Racer straps! (Apologies for the wonky clip!)

So on to the products! The iconic Deco bra is a t-shirt bra with its smooth moulded cups and with a wide range of colours/patterns available each season. For me it's a winner because It is padded, wearable with almost anything and comes in my size! Sorry for those who it doesn't fit, but I'd recommend getting in touch with Freya to show you're interested in a wider size range. The only way they'll know more sizes are in demand is if we all tell them. FYI the Deco Delight (and most of the Deco range) comes in 28-30 D-GG, 32-36 B-GG and 38 B-G. I only have two small gripes about the Deco; the band is a tad too big but not so much that it creeps up my back, and I sometimes get a little spillage, however that's down to my badly behaved boobs(!) rather than the bra itself. For those of you with firmer boobs this shouldn't be an issue. If you like a firmer band, go down a band and up a cup (if you can) when ordering for a better fit, although I can't say I've experienced any problems to write home about in my usual band size. The Deco Delight Moulded Bra currently costs from £34 depending on the retailer.

The Deco Delight Brazilian briefs(?) are really quite lovely. They share the same cream lace and bow detailing and on the backside the lace runs across each butt cheek, which is apparently what makes them a Brazilian brief. Think something between a thong and a normal brief. I don't like to show my cellulitey butt on my blog as you may or may not have noticed, so I'm afraid you'll have to make do with product pics! I wear a large in undies for reference. The Deco Delight Brazilian is currently priced from £13 depending on the retailer and come in sizes XS to XL.

The Deco Delight Shorts again share the lace and bows and are again a large. If you're wondering why I wear a large when I'm a UK size 8, it's because I carry my fat around my butt/hip area so to wear a small would be muffin tops ahoy, which I just can't deal with on myself. I prefer the shorts to the Brazilian as they're a bit comfier. I've realised I don't have a lot to say about undies, so enjoy the pics! The Deco Delight Shorts cost from £13 at the moment, depending on where you buy them and come in sizes XS to XL.

Last but not least (I tell a lie, I like this the least) is the Deco Delight Chemise. The chemise has a hidden support panel inside with an elasticated band, which is nice and comfy if you're slobbing around. 

I found it didn't offer enough support and that my Bravissimo nightwear was better as it has much more structure and padding, although that tends to have a weird shape to it, so it's the lesser of two evils. I found that the elasticated band was far too stretchy and I probably would have been better with the XS instead of the S. That said, it's comfortable enough to sleep in. 

The chemise is dual sized from XS-L in either a B-DD cup or E-G cup and costs from £34 currently. Here I'm wearing it with the Deco Delight Bra underneath, which I think makes the prettiest combo. I imagine throwing on some chunky knitted socks and a big cardigan with these to curl up on the sofa with my boyfriend. Ahhh, bliss!

Are you addicted to any particular items of lingerie? Do you need a bra in every colour ever made? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!

Le Curvy Kitten

xxx

Curvy Kate's Smoothie

It's been a long time since I've found a bra that I can truly say I'm happy enough with to replace my faithful Freya Decos but when Curvy Kate released photos of their new moulded bra last year, I felt things might just change.

When the Smoothie bra was released as part of Curvy Kate's AW12 range it was speculated that this new basic would be a rival for the firm favourite Freya Deco moulded plunge bra, which I'll be reviewing later this week hopefully.

The Smoothie is made from a lovely smooth black stretch fabric with a subtle leopard pattern, which can't be seen in my photo. It is lightly moulded and has fully adjustable straps and is the most true to size back in Curvy Kate's padded bras I've tried so far. The central gore sits higher than that of the Freya Deco which is good if you have soft, bottom heavy breasts that tend to fall out of the middle of plunge bras.

I've had my 28H Smoothie since November and the only real issue I have with it is that it comes up a touch high under the arms. The wires are just a tiny bit too long and this can cause a bit of discomfort towards the end of the day. The band is a little on the large side, but as I said before, it's probably the best so far from Curvy Kate, other than the Fleurty. The thong is a size 16 and is  perfect fit. 

Although the Smoothie doesn't quite give the epic cleavage that the Deco offers, it's overall a better fit. I will certainly be buying the Smoothie in each and every colour it's released in as it's such a good staple bra.The next colours to feature in the SS13 range are Hot Pink and Blush, as seen below (photos courtesy of the Curvy Kate blog)

Currently only available in black, but soon to be released in the above colours, get yours for £29 here at Brastop. Sizes 28-30 D-J, 32 D-HH, 34 D-H, 36 D-GG, 38 D-G

Bravissimo SALE! Tanzania Stripe and Rococco Charm

A month or so ago the new Bravissimo catalogue dropped through my letter box. Included with it was a supplementary sale leaflet and to my joy, a few of the bras I'd been eyeing up last season were in there! I immediately got on my iPad and filled my put my order through.

A few days later my parcel arrived, containing the Tanzania Stripe set and the Rococo Charm bra.

First up, the Tanzania Stripe by Bravissimo, currently £24 for the bra and £12.50 for the shorts. With it's striking teal/iris zebra stripe design, it immediately appealed to my love of animal prints. I was disappointed to find that it's unpadded, which is completely my own fault as I just assumed it was by the look of it. So instantly this was going back, but not before me trying it on for size of course. Before I ordered I carefully read the reviews and chose a size 28H on recommendation that this bra runs slightly small in the cup. The first thing I noticed was that this bra was REALLY tight in the band. So much so that I could only just fasten it! The wires appeared to have been made for a much larger band and ended up virtually touching my shoulder blades at the back! The cup was slightly too small so if I were to order this again I'd go for a 30H for both those reasons. The shorts I'd rad, came up small so I ordered a medium and a large, with the large being the best fit. It's a really supportive bra and I wouldn't have thought twice about reordering if I were a fan of unpadded bras.

Bravissimo's Tanzania Stripe

Secondly I tried Bravissimo's Rococo Charm bra, now at £21 which again is an unpadded half cup, and again, sent back because I thought it was padded! The design of the bra is really beautiful, and the colour, a soft peach is so pretty! Although the shape is supposedly the same as the Tanzania Stripe, I found that the fit was quite different. This is a 28H, the same as the Tanzania Stripe, but the Rococo Charm fits much better. In fact, I'd call it a perfect fit. The wires didn't go back as far and the back wasn't quite as tight. If this were a little padded I definitely would have kept it!

The Bravissimo Rococo Charm

So if it's unpadded half cups you're looking for, look no further and snap them up at Bravissimo before they're gone!

A quickie review of Flirtelle's Audrey and Curvy Kate's Rio Ruffle bikini

Hi guys, I'm so sorry I've not posted since November! My December holiday then Christmas got in the way and I stopped buying clothes and lingerie so I ran out of things to review. 

I looked through some old albums on my laptop and found a few bra pics that I hadn't posted. The following are both still very much available at Brastop so I feel this is a relevant and up to date post.

Please excuse the photo quality, I only took quick snaps as I was packing for my holiday at the time and I had to get both sent back for a refund asap.

Firstly we have the Curvy Kate Rio Ruffle bikini, currently at just £12.95 for the top, and £6.95 for the bottoms! The Rio Ruffle bikini was from Curvy Kate's very first plunge into the sea of swimwear and when I first saw it I fell instantly in love. The colours are beautiful, a rich jade with a cerise trim, and it has RUFFLES! I love a ruffle! I ordered a few different sizes on the recommendation of my busty pals, as this bikini is a tricky one to get right. In the end I settled on my usual size of 28GG for the best fit. 

Personally I found this bikini was too east/west for my breasts, and cut across slightly, giving me a spot of quadraboob. It would suit those who usually have success with lots of Curvy Kate bras, such as Emily as the Rio Ruffle is based on the Emily shape ut with lightly padded cups. I better suit their balcony shape (Fleurty, Tease Me) so it didn't work for me. I'd have preferred something a bit more cleavagey with more forward projection.

Rio Ruffle bikini by Curvy Kate

Next I tried the Audrey by Flirtelle, sister company of Curvy Kate. Priced currently at £12 and £6.95 for the brief, the pretty simplicity of the textured floral fabric attracted me to this set. It's certainly no show stopper but better suited as an everyday bra. It is lightly moulded and is very supportive, but again it's an east/wester on me, and again slightly cuts into my breasts across the middle, although this can't be seen in the photo below. The Audrey bra seems to me to be the same shape as the Curvy Kate Daily Boost bra.

Audrey bra by Flirtelle

I'm so sad that neither of these worked for me as I really like the look of them both. Oh well, at least it gives me a better idea of what to look for in the future!

Ooh La La LOVE!

*This item was sent to me by Gossard to review. This in no way clouds my judgement*

As soon as I saw the Ooh La La range from Gossard I fell in love to the point of buying an entire set that didn't even fit purely on the basis that it looked gorgeous! I consider it the set that won me Brastop's Model Of The Month competition in December 2011. To recap, here's the set; plunge bra £30, deep suspender £22 and shorts £14.

Since then, I've lusted after the Ooh La La corsele £59 and thong £12 in it's different colours, particularly the most recent in Scarlet.

You can imagine my delight when the lovely Jade from Gossard offered to send me the very corselet and matching thong I'd been admiring from afar! As soon as I unpackaged it I was in love, but at a 30G (again, sent because Gossard don't make a 28GG) I was doubtful that it would fit.

The colour is more of a raspberry red rather than scarlet, with pinkish undertones. The vintage styling, pin tucks and lace really add to the luxury of this piece, making it ideal for bridal lingerie in the Ivory colour.

Firstly, Gossard boast this corselet has an 'easy-on, easy-off' side zip and hook and eye fastening. Let me tell you, easy it is NOT! I fought for quite a long time trying to fasten the damn thing, and eventually had to unhook the bra strap and spin it around! The zip is concealed and virtually invisible. Here's the fastening with the hook and eye part of the bra band fastened already;

The unique side hook and eye fastening with a concealed zip

The 30G padded cups were a perfect fit on me, but as expected, the band was on the large side, as was the body. I can imagine this fitting a 30G size 10-12 perfectly. Sadly it was an inch or two too big on my waist. It would be suitable for wearing underneath that little black dress as a sexy alternative to shapewear, but you also need to take into account the seams which may appear bulky under anything particularly tight fitting. I'm unable to comment on it's 'pull-in power' as it's loose in the body on me. This begs the question; how much pinning did they have to do on the model to get it to look so good?!

The addition of suspenders is both practical and drop dead sexy too! This corselet is a multi-way, enabling it to be worn under a strapless, halterneck, asymetrical or normal strapped dress. Sadly, as it was a bit big in the band, I can only wear it with straps.

Regular readers will know I like to buy my thongs in larger sizes to reduce 'muffin top' and in the Ooh La La, I was sent a Large, which fitted perfectly without any lumps and bumps.

Be warned, this corselet will make you feel like a real-life Jessica Rabbit!

At £59, it's a lot more than I'd be happy to spend, but if it fits and you have a use for it, I'd certainly recommend buying it. It's sexy, practical and well made. The corselet is available in sizes 30-38 D-G for £59 and the thong XS-L for £12. There's no denying it's one of the sexiest sets I've reviewed so far, it's just a shame that Gossard don't cater for more sizes.

What do you think? Would you pay this much for a corselet? Should Gossard branch out with their sizes?