Not long after writing this review of Curvy Kate’s Princess bra did team CK reach out to me to let me know that the fitting nuances I’d noted in my review – namely that it ran slightly small – would be resolved in the new season Princess style. Quite a promise from a brand who does typically run slightly large: but is it true?

Interestingly enough, it is. Although the band could be a little bit firmer, the wide three-hooked support gives good support while the cup fits much ‘truer’ to size than previously. The underwire tracks perfectly, and though pastel purple isn’t usually my cup of tea I have to say this is my favourite Curvy Kate bra to date.

It’s not just the fit. The style is slightly different too: the cups seem closer together in the center – much more comfortable for a close set girl like me – and it doesn’t have the same outwards east-west pointing as it did before.

In many ways, Princess seems to have been engineered precisely to my tastes. It suits my figure better, it’s infinitely more comfortable on my ribs, and gives my favourite rounded everyday shape. Good news for me – although I wonder what old die hard fans of the style will make of it. Have any of my Curvy Kate loving readers tried it yet?

Curvy Kate’s new orchid purple Princess is available in an extended range of sizes from 28-40 D-K, 42-44 D-G.

When it comes to bra fitting, there is no better technique than getting in to a changing room and taking your top off with a professional fitter. But when that fitter/amateur blogger is on the Internet, separated by countries or even continents, how they give advice that is genuinely meaningful when they can’t see exactly what’s going on? And if you’re not one of the Georgina Horne’s of this world, how do you give a remote stranger a visual on your boobs in a world where a Tweet can last a lifetime?

Brayola think they’ve cracked it. With their new Fit or Not app, women can upload anonymous (if they want to be) photos of themselves in their bras and Brayola’s fit experts will give their professional verdict. And if that verdict isn’t good, they’ll give constructive and clear instructions to help you find a better match.

And that’s not all. Before you see the expert verdict, you’re invited to rate the picture “fit or not”. The expert’s reveal helps educate a wider audience, and spread that good fit further.

It’s not perfect by any means – a heavily airbrushed and extremely dodgy photo pulled from Figleaves (or similar) scores a good fit despite being 2D’d out of recognition – but the advice on the ‘real’ pictures seemed solid and I have truly applaud Brayola for trying something totally innovative and totally different in the minefield that is online fitting advice. Plus, it’s weirdly addictive. I keep looking for familiar chests from the boob blogger sorority….

Play Fit or Not at Brayola.com.

*****EDIT

After a couple of more plays, I spotted some off advice on non-stock imagery to. I’ve sent the below to Fiona at Brayola: looking forward to hearing back.

Hey Fiona, hope you are well.

Loving the concept of Fit or Not – quite inspired solution to online fitting advice.

I was wondering though – it falls down on a couple of dodgy expert calls. Like on Playtex Secrets 48B, the advice is to try a different brand – when clearly the advice should be try a much smaller band and a much bigger cup. And on Victoria’s Secret 36DD, it says the band looks great but actually you can clearly see from the right breast that the underwire isn’t tracking properly and the breast is resting on chest tissue rather than the bra.

I think it’s nearly there but would just benefit from some revisiting. I also wonder if ‘how it should fit’ link under each expert opinion that visually explains how a bra should look (Bravissimo do this excellently if you need pointers) would make it a more useful and much more important tool for women online.

 I look forward to hearing from you on the above. Please let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help. 

Beckie

http://www.busts4justice.com

www.facebook.com/busts4justice

So after a few weeks of being pinched and poked by my normal bras I finally gave in and did some shopping.  Like any other hot topic, there are many different ideas of the best way to dive into these new found glory times of heaving bosoms; but like with many challenges, trial and error is the quickest way to learn what’s best for you.  And it never hurts to get an expert’s opinion first.  I contacted Pudding Lingerie and had an over the phone fitting with one of their service reps which was great.  She talked me through band size, cup size, what’s increased so far, what logical steps I could take to get a bra that would last me through more than a few weeks and most importantly, what I wanted out of a bra.  It was an educating conversation that left me feeling more confident on trying new styles and sizes.

Based on this conversation, my reading and logical deduction, it seemed
smartest to go with a nursing bra.  While I’m not nursing now I will be soon enough, so why not buy something that will be functional for more than just a trimester?  I had visions of something white, something lacy, something demure but sexy, dare I say ’hot mom’-ish…?  On paper the HOTMilk Luminous for all intents fit the bill: it’s pretty in pictures, it has lace detail, it’s a nursing bra and, something new for me, there is no underwire which I figured would be my biggest challenge.

Do you remember that time, when you walked in on your grandmother/aging aunt/family friend at a pool party and caught them in just their skivvies getting changed?  And you were embarrassed and awed at the same time… but most of all just OVERWHELMED by the sheer size of their underwear?  In this bra I feel like the one wearing the big pants.  Surprisingly to me the lack of underwire was not an issue at all, the bra fits comfortably around my frame and supports well. But for someone with my chest size (36F), there is no definition in the cups – causing the breasts to be pushed together to make one long bump with a sweaty crease in the middle.  And the middle!  There is a pretty little bauble which, because of the lack of definition in the cups, sticks out further than anything else and makes a funny little bump in the front of my chest, even in a loose fitting top. I’ve worn the bra a few times to give it a chance and while I’ll put it aside for when nursing has become a reality, it’s not one I will choose to wear regularly.   I think for a smaller chested person this might be a great bra to work with, it’s just not for those with more than a handful.

What I want – what I need – is the same thing I expect from my husband; to feel supported, to feel pretty, to feel sexy during this alien invasion of my body.  He’s done a great job of it, this bra, while supportive, has missed the mark on other counts.

The hunt continues.

Thanks to Pudding Lingerie for helping Kaela out with the fitting, and the HOTMilk Luminous to review.

Until now. Now available at Bravissimo (who generously sent me my first taste of the Rouge), Tutti Rouge’s Lilliana landed on my desk this week and brought spring to my lingerie collection.

It’s pink – very pink – but a brilliant, bright bubblegum that I love and have sorely missed since the death of my favourite Freya Jolie. There’s nothing like a shocking pink bra to work as armour against a cloudy day. With simple ribbon and bow details, Lilliana is fun but not fussy – for me the perfect level of frill for every day.

The band of my (go to starter size) 30G was firm, with two back hooks and the skinniest straps I’ve ever had on a G cup bra – makes a change from the standard issue F+ strap width and perfect for vest tops (unless you live in North Holland like me, and vest tops are a distant memory of summer holidays long past…).

Fit wise, Lilliana was pretty great. At first glance the cleavage she gives is deceptively basic, because with a deep plunge in the lower cup on closer inspection (shirt off) she’s pretty spectacular. The sizing was perfect but my cups were definitely at capacity – on a ‘bigger’ day I’d be veering in to quadraboob territory. But who cares about those days – an infectiously vibrant treat of a bra deserves a holiday one in a while…

Inexpensive, fun, and kicking off with a bold and wide range of sizes Tutti Rouge has definitely won a new fan in B4J. Can’t wait for Betty (and the rest!) to roll out later this year.

Lilliana by Tutti Rouge is available in sizes 28-38 DD-J.

So readers may know that I recently got engaged, and because I didn’t want to be talked in to the traditional wedding dress I’ve never wanted I didn’t wait long to make a cup of tea, fire up Net-a-Porter, and order something special from the Amazing Dresses I Could Never Usually Look Directly At Let Alone Afford category. It’s here, hidden away, waiting for the big day. I love it.

I’m keeping the dress under wraps for now of course, but suffice to say for now that it is not bridal, it is not white, and I do not have a clue how to dress G-Unit underneath it. As if bridal lingerie shopping wasn’t a minefield to start with, I’ve chosen a narrow but extremely low plunging neckline for my dress. I almost never show off cleavage so it’s going to take some daring, and to boot I’ve basically rules out every G+ bra shape known to man in doing so.

Trying it on with a variety of bras from my arsenal I can deduce that:

Freya Deco (28GG) is the perfect shape – but for this I think will be to overtly boob-tastic for me to be comfortable in that neckline.

Panache Tango plunge (30G) gives the perfect cleavage – with a low and separated look that balances the appropriateness of the low neckline – but makes me look flattened under the dress.

My old Wonderbra (no longer made, but a lot like this unpadded style – 30G) does a great job of being invisible and creating a less extreme cleavage – but I can only wear it for short periods of time before the wires grind in to my ribs and I want to take it off. (Why do I still own this!?)

So the brief: basically, I need a Freya Deco on valium, or a Panache Tango Plunge on tequila. I need a deep plunge but a modest cleavage, a modest cleavage but not a flattened cleavage. I need comfort. Lacy and beautiful would be a bonus – especially if she paired with a fantastic pair of undercrackers – but perhaps I’ll settle for ‘not visible in photographs’ and ’100% nipple secure when dancing’.

It’s a toughie… Any suggestions?

First things first: I think everyone should read Bad Pharma by Ben Goldacre. A healthy skepticism about ‘scientific’ studies is good for you, and would make the world a much more rational place. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in three years of boob blogging, it’s that when it comes to the media your study doesn’t have to be watertight to be Big News.

So Big News indeed it seems to be: French Researcher Prof. Jean-Denis Rouillon (with the caveat that ”the women involved were not a representative sample of the population” – so please, have that pinch of salt at the ready) suggests that not wearing a bra improves firmness, perkiness and other very scientific words, up to a difference of 7mm lift for each year a bra wasn’t worn – validating his hypothesis that bras are a ‘false need’, and cause more sagging than they prevent.

Interesting choice of phrase there. Personally, I actually do believe that wearing bras is a choice rather than a need. Let’s be real,  it’s not a totally free choice – but it’s definitely not one made purely on the grounds of fighting sag. Certainly in Western society there is a degree of expectation, and not wearing a bra can be an obstacle to general eye contact and respect in the workplace. Liberated nipples can chafe (ow). And for those of us with more than a handful, a (properly fitted) bra is nothing short of life-changing: it’s the difference between a sedentary life filled with self-consciousness and discomfort and an active one filled with trampolines (and other activities.) As G-Cup, sagging is way low down my ‘reasons to wear a bra’ list. Apart from the fact that – shocker – I love lingerie and the way it looks, in truth I’m just thankful I can make it out of my house without knocking myself out.

That said, on the bra vs no bra sag vs no sag debate, I’m a believer in the (well fitted) bra. I’ve had boobs for half of my life now, and they’ve been this size for well over a decade. Over time my laughter lines have deepened and my metabolism has slowed to a much more unforgiving-of-Cheetos level, but my boobs are about as perky as they’ve ever been. I’m not sure I’d be in the same state if I’d continued with slack banded E-cups squishing my boobs down and back in to my body. Or if I’d spent the same two years I have in a city of bicycles and staircases without any support at all. But who knows?

In my extremely unscientific study of one, I can’t help thinking that my ‘perkiness’ is more likely to be a product of never having breastfed, or ever experienced any significant weight fluctuations. And perhaps even, wearing a properly fitted bra from a young age too (I’m not sure if fit was a factor in his study – but I suspect it wasn’t…). Every busty girl who has found her way to a perfect fit knows that the back and posture problems he references are only usually side effects of terribly fitted bras – and can be banished easily with some sizing adjustments.

Ultimately, I wouldn’t worry about the study or your sagging and just do what makes you feel happy and comfortable. Wearing a bra should be a choice, and it’s one I’ve been happy to make. That our bodies will change with age is inevitable, and even a more robust study proving a connection between sagging and lingerie would be an irrelevance to me: I know there is no point of vanity alone that would persuade me out of my G-cups. I couldn’t trade this freedom my lingerie gives me for anything.

__________

What do you think: would you go braless? Could you?

Source: Jezebel & Counsel Heal

So regular readers will know I recently raved about Bravissimo’s continued dedication to good fitting advice, and fellow bloggers may have seen my (very sincerely meant) quote on the Boob School press release. It wasn’t necessary, but Bravissimo’s team sent me some lingerie as a thank you: their classic style Alana.

Alana is sort of a legend, because she is the only L-cup bra available on the high street. But I’d never actually tried her until this new, lime green beauty arrived on my doormat. I am super in to neon at the moment, and this looked like just the refresher my lingerie closet needed.

Sadly, it was not meant to be. Alana is a classic style, similar to a Freya Gem or Freya Jolie in shape -however, she has an extremely high center gore compared to those other styles, which (as I’ve written about often) doesn’t suit my body at all. I’m relatively petite with flared ribs and a prominent sternum, and a high center gore really cuts in and becomes uncomfortably very quickly. (FYI, a bigger band size doesn’t help this: in fact, with less anchorage my band will tip backwards and exacerbate the problem). A pity, as I really do love the colour. It looks like sorbet, which screams sunshine even if the weather refuses to…

In terms of fitting, because Alana reportedly runs small in the cup, I was sent a 30GG. But while the back was firm (though not tight) and the underwire tracked perfectly, the top of the cups were slightly baggy on me – enough to show under my top but not enough to really justify sizing down. Or saving exclusively for those two wonderful days a month where G-Unit becomes GRRRRAAAAA-Unit. Either way, it’s awkward.

I wondered if this is actually something to do with the height of the center gore – perhaps Alana is better suited to taller/longer bodied women than I am – because the top of the bra starts that much further up the chest? Or perhaps it’s just better suited to women who are fuller in the top? Either way, I put Alana back in to her box – pretty as she is, she’s never going to be the girl for me.

The upside of this disappointment is this though: I know this bra is wrong because of the lessons Bravissimo have taught me over the years. And I know – despite the unsuccessful review – that they’d be proud that I have the knowledge and confidence to know when something’s just not right for me. That’s what fit education is about after all: giving women the tools they need to know their perfect fit every single time.

Alana in lime is available from Bravissimo, in sizes 28 FF-HH, 30 E-KK, 32-40 DD-L.

I had no idea I would ever be writing about weddings two posts in a row, but last weekend on the back of  a boat on the Thames and to my total surprise Mr B4J asked me to marry him. I said yes.

I’ve never dreamed of being a bride – I won’t be in a wedding dress on the day for sure – but I can’t wait to be married to my best friend. And so we have set ourself a challenge: four months, no procrastination, and one awesome party for our friends and family.

We both know what we want to wear (hell, I’ll buy a dress this afternoon if it’s in stock and suits G-Unit), we know what we want to eat and drink, we know the sort of place we want to have it, we know who we want to come and we know the sort of party we want to have. There’s only one totally blank void in the plan:

I have no idea what lingerie to wear.

This is an amazing opportunity to splash out on some extremely special and decadent undercrackers…. but what do I want to wear? Fit must be perfect, of course – and the structure of the bra will need to work with that of the dress. But beyond that I have total freedom  to choose anything to hold me up on our wedding day. I don’t need to restrict myself to bridal lingerie as I won’t be in white (or cream, or anything bride-y) – so on one hand I have total carte blanche. But on the other as regular readers will know white underwear – a genre wholly unrepresented in my swelling lingerie collection – is Mr B4J’s favourite: it might be nice to – for once – indulge him.

White lace wedding present for my new husband, or something bright and beautiful for myself? Or – the dream – is there a white bra out there that can look special enough to me at a G cup to be something for the both of us?

Four months until L&B4J day. This is going to be fun…

The U.S. Supreme Court is debating Marriage Equality right now, so I just wanted to show my support for what by 2013 should be a given: equality for all. 

Here’s to a future where sexual orientation is as relevant to determining our rights and opportunities as our hair color is.

Love, B4J x

This post is hugely overdue thanks to my recent adventures in amazing Texas (howdy y’all), but two weeks late this not-so-new news is still worth shouting about.

It’s no secret I love Bravissimo. Non-UK readers: whenever you ask for the reason why the UK is so much better equipped for our fuller busts than other countries, Bravissimo is it. Founded by a frustrated big busted woman in 1995, Bravissimo went from mail-order secret to high street game changer – re-educating (and empowering!) women about their bodies one bra size at a time. They reshaped the lingerie industry for those of us beyond a C cup (now most serious department stores and lingerie brands carry G cup bras almost as standard) and they continue to champion the importance of good (and regular) fittings and properly sized lingerie.

Boob School is proof of their continuing dedication to that cause. For those of you who have never been “Bravissimo-d”, there are no tape measures in their changing rooms. The fitters assess bras not on numbers and letters, but on how they fit. They show you how any bra does or doesn’t work for you, and explain how to tell when you’ve got it right. For me, this is the key to getting all women in to well fitted bras. An online bra calculator is never going to do it – we have to help every woman to recognise the signs and find her perfect fit for herself, even if it contradicts what a ‘professional’ fitter is telling her.

To be honest, I already classify Bravissimo as a company with great fit advice and a dedication to educating their customers, but Boob School aims to do this on a much bigger scale and to a wider audience. It re-imagines the information that has been hitherto tucked away in the bottom links of their webpage and in the brains of their fitters, and puts it front and center with these easy to understand cue cards on their website and Facebook. So many women wear bras in sizes that squish, squeeze, bulge or otherwise bother their breasts, when the truth is a good fitting bra can stop you from noticing them from one end of the day to the next (unless you want to…) Bravissimo were the ones who introduced me to 30G (from 34E), and in doing so freed me from hating my body… and freed me to discover running, swimming, shirts that button properly, non-nipple exposing swimwear, and liking my boobs. And if you’re one of the many women still struggling with awkward lingerie, I hope one day they will do the same for you too.

Check out Bravissimo’s seven bra faux pas below and see if you need to work on your bra-rithmetic….