Krista Cousins wins first US Star in a Bra!

Posted on July 1, 2012 by busts4justice

Krista Cousins wins Curvy Kate USA Star in a Bra

Congratulations to the super-cute Krista Cousins for winning Curvy Kate’s very first US Star in a Bra contest, hotly followed by runners up and blogging superstars Cristyen Fowler and Brittany Jencks, who came in second and third respectively.

Krista entered this competition “to prove to the world that women are beautiful in all colors, all shapes, and all sizes” – and quickly established herself as a curve champion with a home-made pro-body diversity promotion video (complete with winning smile and cape) called “Vote Krista and You’ll Know It”.

Of course, no Star in a Bra contest would be complete without a dramatic makeover: Krista entered as a 34/36F and was crowned as a 30GG: striking a victory against bad bra fitting in the States. As Curvy Kate ambassador, let’s hope Krista is an inspiration to many to shrug off their uncomfortable boulder-holders and discover just how empowering and uplifting a perfect fit can be.

Congratulations to all of the finalists, and to Krista: enjoy your year as queen!

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Is it pour moi? St Tropez padded bra reviewed

Posted on July 1, 2012 by busts4justice

Padded Plunge Pour Moi by St TropezMy mission to find the perfect white bra (stop saying Freya Jolie! I will not forget their murder of my beloved colours so quickly) continues, with Pour Moi?’s St Tropez padded plunge – pictured above.

Oh dear lord. Do you remember me saying that my favourite Panache Tango plunge was a TARDIS bra? Bigger on the inside, it takes my G-cups and tucks them away in to something that looks altogether less stratospheric. Well, this bra is the polar opposite. It is huge – each cup is easily the size of my face, and the thickness of an extra extra thick sanitary towel. But unlike the quantum mechanical wizardry of the Tango plunge, this titanic bra is tiny on the inside. There’s so much of the damned thing that there’s no room left for my actual boobs.

I tried a 30G, my more-often-than-not size. Thankfully, the sanitary gear padding comes out – because with it I was spilling out like an H cup fitted by Victoria’s Secret. I get that even busty girls want padding sometimes, but if you’re going to cater for that customer then surely you should remember to leave room for their actual breasts too?

Once de-foamed my boobs had more room to breath, but that was about all they could do. Though the wire is incredibly wide (so wide it actually couldn’t tack around the curve of my frame…) there still wasn’t enough room in the cups for the centre gore to get close to my sternum. The band wasn’t firm either, not that I’d want the huge wires pulled tighter against my ribs either: it hurt where it couldn’t comfortably take the corner. Pour Moi? Non merci. C’etait terrible.

Considering the width and inflexibility of the cups I might think St Tropez had been designed for broad backed, broad breasted women – which knowing how hard that can be to fit I could perhaps applaud. But if that’s what you’re aiming for, you really have to ask… why the hell are you labelling them with petite back sizes?

I’m really disappointed with my first adventure with this brand because I’ve been desperate to try their swimwear for a long time. Perhaps there’ll be something else in their collection pour moi. In any case, this St Tropez certainly isn’t.

Pour Moi? St Tropez padded plunge is available in sizes 28DD-48J (with exceptions).

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C’est Parfait? Almost…

Posted on June 19, 2012 by busts4justice

Charlotte bra : Parfait by Affinitas

It feels strange coming back to the very serious business of boobs after a fortnight of grief-tinged catatonia, so perhaps it is fitting to find my way back with a brand new-to-me brand and bra: the Charlotte padded plunge, from Affinitas’s Parfait collection.

First things first. The pants. Look at these beasts. I do love a high waisted knicker, and though there is a brief option, these high waisted beauties are just fantastic. Not only is all the detailing (big satin bow, panelling, black piping) gorgeous, but they are Spanx-lite snug too (for extra support). Mr B4J was rather baffled by the size (“They’re MASSIVE” he said, possibly concerned by the scale of this new elasticated obstacle), but I loved them – lovely over the bum and they nip perfectly in at the waist. They do however run extremely small – so size up from your usual Freya etc size or risk garotting your buttocks off…

And the bra itself? I think it’s beautiful. Affinitas really haven’t done it justice with the above picture: it looks stunning on soft curves, and an altogether more convincing pin-up look when not accessorised with a 90’s lads’ mag duck face pout. I’m not a huge fan of a big shiny cup, and Charlotte sidesteps glare with a matt finish cup with a cute bow and a touch of satin pleating around the sides to make it a little bit more special.

The band is firm, the wires comfortable, and though the straps are so long you can tighten it all the way to the top of the cup if you need to (perfect for those who struggle with straps at both end of the spectrum…). Though technically the plunge style, it gives a balconette-y shape and cleavage – with enough oomph to turn a ‘bottom heavy’ boob like mine in to a ‘toppling over’. Which brings me to the only flaw: the cups run small. Ideally I’d trade some of this rather distracting, jiggling cleavage for a 30GG and a center gore that could sit flat. Alas, G appears to be the limit of Affinitas’s capacity for now. I may have to wait for my perfectly parfait Parfait bra.

That said, some lingerie just looks so good on I’m not sure it matters if it’s 100% perfect. After all, who needs day long support when you can barely leave the bedroom?

Charlotte by Affinitas’s Parfait collection is available in sizes 30-40 D-G.

Huge thanks to the FREE INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY-ing legends at Large Cup Lingerie for brightening up a tough couple of weeks with this gift wrapped packet of loveliness. FREE INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY! You rock x

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Freya release Deco in 28GG

Posted on June 4, 2012 by busts4justice

Freya Deco 28GG

By popular demand, Freya have filled in that odd little void at the beginning of their sizing table and released the legendary Deco in a 28GG.

I’ve been stupidly lucky to have one of these little beauties in my lingerie cupboard for about six months now, after Freya sent me a sample to try a while back. And it really is the thing I’ve been missing – it fixes the band and cup issues I have with the almost perfect 30G and so gives me the most brilliant moulded push-up bra (and cleavage!) a girl could ask for. I love her!

My only grumble is that (as often with Freya/Eveden] the back could afford to be firmer. It’s firm on me – but I’m an inbetweeny 28/30 back. Smaller girls – already squeezed out of the market by limited band sizes – may find it not as snug as it could be. But that aside, there’s no denying a true classic: this is an outstanding bra going from strength to strength, and spreading its sizing wings as it flies.

Next stop, H+ cups…… right?

Freya Deco 28GG (and other sizes, of course) available now from Bravissimo.

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True&Co’s algorithm to make finding your bra size easy. Oh no.

Posted on June 3, 2012 by busts4justice

True&Co Lingerie Fitting Tool Reviewed

There’s a lot of hype about True&Co – the new lingerie start up that promises an online fitting without tape measures, and then an at home changing room experience based on your needs and selections. On paper, it’s a pretty interesting idea. Bra shopping online is hard, and trial and error testing can result in mounting shipping expenses. True&Co send you 5 bras to try based on your answers to their fitting survey, and you only pay for what you keep: shipping both ways is free.

And it’s not just a Playtex style +4/5/6″ size calculator either. The fitting survey factors in things like style preference, shape of breasts, and even asks about fitting problems such as quadraboob, side spillage, strap woes and other fit faux pas. This might be the most interesting ‘next big thing’ I’ve heard about in a long time.

But is it any good? Dear god, no.

For starters, I can’t input my actual bra size – a US F being the top end available to select. So select it I do, and log all the issues I would experience in that size – side spillage, quadraboob, etc etc. A good bra fitting guide would recognise these signs of a too small cup and flag it up, right? I mean, that’s why you ask those questions in the first place. But what do I know…

True&Co Fitting Advice Review

Wrong! In any circumstances, the symptoms I’d added would be clear signs of a too small cup (and would be inevitable in that size knowing how Elle Macpherson styles fit). And while it does say that multiple sizes are included in my shop, I was not able to explore what that meant because my basket was not full. Grumble.

But hey, perhaps that’s just because my size is uncommon knowledge in the States. Let’s try again, using my +4 bra size 34E (and the various symptoms it gives).

True&Co Fitting Advice Reviewed

Egads! They’re right! I should try another size. Perhaps I was unkind with my initial snap judgement. Perhaps they do understand fit. Let’s check out their solutions…

True&Co Fitting Advice Reviewed

A 36DD? Excuse me while I choke with laughter over my perfectly supported and perfectly comfortable 30G cleavage.

True&Co believe they have the first innovation in lingerie since Victoria’s Secret painted their changing rooms pink. And do you know what? It’s a more excellent comparison than they know. It looks pretty, and customers feel like they’re being listened and catered to. But in real terms it changes nothing. This is incomplete and in some cases downright misleading advice that will only perpetuate the bad fit endemic in the US and beyond. And I’d argue that the market for that was already pretty saturated.

[See What Most People (and True & Co!) Don’t Know About Bra Sizes]

[How Brands Can Advise on Bra Size]

For actual innovation in lingerie – let me recommend Bravissimo’s fitting advice, Freya or Panache’s D+ sports bras and swimwear, Curvy Kate’s Star in a Bra marketing campaign, the Wonderbra Ultimate Strapless, etc etc etc. I’m sorry True&Co, but I have slightly higher expectations from my ‘next big things’.

Posted in News, Reviews, War on Plus Four | Tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments