Freya, Fantasie, Fauve, Elomi and Huit 8: Autumn/Winter 2012

Eveden Lingerie Group

I was absolutely thrilled to be invited to the Eveden Group Press Event, showcasing their upcoming Autumn/Winter collections out later this year. They had lots of eye-catching new lingerie, activewear and lounge wear to show, from brands Freya, Fantasie, Fauve, Elomi and Huit 8.

Surrounded by beautiful Swarovski crystals, the lingerie looked stunning. Eveden stated that the collections ‘took inspiration from the mesmerising hues of the Northern Lights, where ice cold skies of frosty blue and arctic mint green merge against warmer strokes of purple, red and gilded gold’. I couldn’t agree more, it was a wonderful display, which unbelievably, included a lingerie ice sculpture!

Freya and Fantasie are two of my favourite brands, so I was especially excited to see their new collections.

Freya:

Freya – Ginny

I liked the mix of blues, browns and whites to create a more vintage feel.

Freya – Carys Longline

Freya – Piper Longline

I was really pleased to see more longline bras, similar to the Nieve in their collection last year.

Freya – Piper

Freya – Taylor (this time in charcoal and teal!)

Freya – Rosie

Freya – Marina

I adored the colours on the Marina bra, it’s definitely one I found myself wanting to take home. This is the balcony bra which goes all the way up to a K cup! There will also be a half cup padded version available up to a G.

Freya

Freya – Gem

Freya – Dionne

This cute leaf print on the Dionne is going to be absolutely perfect for autumn. I can’t wait!

Freya

Freya

Freya – Deco Hatty

Freya – Martha

Freya

Freya – Deco Honey

I fell in love with the Honey Deco at first sight. The bright fiery red (which actually has a slight orange hue to it) matched with the delicate lace really adds something extra to a favourite staple bra. This is also the bra they chose for the ice sculpture, and it looked incredible.

Deco Honey Ice Sculpture

Deco Honey Ice Sculpture

Freya – Patsy

Freya – Ivy Longline

Another longline; the Ivy bra has a very autumn feel to it.

Freya – Ada

Freya – Ada

I LOVE the Ada bra. It has a really fun tattoo design with a ‘Freya’ motif, and goes up to an H cup. Definitely one for my wish list.

Freya – Deco Soft Cup

You’ll be very excited to hear that Freya have now brought out a soft cup version of the deco, and it comes in a 28 band. It might seem like a soft cup won’t give you that stunning cleavage that the deco is so well-known for, but check out their model wearing the Nude version. There’s plenty of cleavage there, and she mentioned it was one of her favourites to model.

Freya Active:

Freya Active – Underwired Sports Bra – Black Samba

Freya Active – Performance Wear – Sports Top and Capri Pant

As well as their ever popular sports bra, Freya Active have brought out their own Performance Wear now too. It uses a special polygiene technology that keeps the clothing odour free!

Freya Swim:

Freya Active Swim – Soft Suit – Ultramarine

Freya Swim

Freya Swim – Phoenix

The Phoenix was my favourite of the bikinis, the colours just look fabulous together, not to mention there is a matching kaftan.

Freya Swim – Kansas

Kansas is the perfect name for this style; it looks like Dorothy packed up her things and went on a tornado-free beach vacation!

Freya Lounge:

Freya Lounge Wear

Freya Lounge – Marina – Long Sleeve Top & Pant

Freya Lounge – Piper – Cami Top & Short

Fantasie:

Fantasie – Josephine

Fantasie – Susanna Basque

I adored this new Susanna Basque from Fantasie. It is an absolutely beautiful design with a sexy black lace overlay.

Fantasie Swim:

Fantasie Swim – Mauritius

This Mauritius set is especially versatile because it has all sorts of mix and match bikini briefs/tops/tankinis to go with it – both in black or the lovely bold dot print. It also has a sheer black (with dot print sleeves) matching Kaftan.

Fantasie Swim – Costa Rica

Fantasie Swim – St Lucia (left) and Trinidad (right)

Fauve:

Fauve

Fauve – Marla

Fauve – Coco

Fauve – Evangeline

The Evangeline set looked wonderful – the red and nude lace together works beautifully. It comes in both a padded half cup, and a moulded plunge bra too.

Fauve – Emmanuelle

Fauve – Sabine

Fauve – Marla

Fauve – Veronique

Fauve Lounge – Genevieve

A sexy lounge set from Fauve!

Elomi:

Elomi – Maggie Babydoll

Elomi – Maggie

Elomi – Valentina

Elomi – Paloma

Elomi – Briony

The pinks in the Briony are just lovely.

Elomi – Betty

Elomi Swim – Fiora

Huit 8:

Huit 8

Huit 8 formerly only catered up to a DD cup, they have now expanded their size range to an E. Here’s hoping that in the not too distant future they reach to G, and maybe even all the way to K! We can dream anyway .

Huit 8

Huit 8 – Equivoque

Huit 8 – Rumeur

Huit 8 – Rumeur

Huit 8 Swim:

Huit 8 Swim

Huit 8 Swim – Pepsy Pretty

Huit 8 Swim – Tropic Toffy

I am very excited about the upcoming collections, and impressed with everything on display. Freya do offer a little more than the other brands, but I loved the new Fantasie and Fauve lingerie too. Elomi caters specifically for the fuller figure which makes them both popular and unique, whereas Huit 8 is a timeless French style usually more suited to a slimmer figure.
It was also great to see that Freya are expanding their Active range even further, especially with the olympics coming up, it’s bound to be a big hit. It was a pleasure to meet the team behind the brands, (and they looked after us so well, I was especially fond of the cake!) and great to catch up with fellow bloggers; Fuller Figure Fuller Bust, Undercover Lingerista, Curvy Wordy and Lily Bo Bombs I’m sure we will all be saving our pennies to purchase some of this lovely lingerie later this year.

Love

Sophia xxx

My Search for a Nieve that Fits

I have long been a fan of Freya and their beautiful selection of bras, so when I heard about the new Nieve bra, I could barely control my excitement!
It has a beautiful floral pattern which is both feminine and sexy, and there was a longline version – it sounded too good to be true…
I’d been waiting with baited breath for them to arrive in stores. Leia lingerie was my first choice to purchase the Nieve bra from, as they have always been both friendly and reliable, not to mention they come highly recommended by my good friend and fellow blogger Georgina Horne.

Freya Nieve Bra

Sadly, the longline Nieve bra (which was my favourite of the two) starts at a 30 band, and only goes up to a G cup. This is no good for me, as I usually wear 30GG in Freya, and occasionally 30H. So, I went for my second choice, the balcony Nieve unpadded – this version both starts at a 28 back, and goes up to a K cup.

A few days later, I was overjoyed to see the package waiting for me after work, but my happiness was short lived.

Freya Nieve Balcony Version - 30GG

I am of course used to Freya bras being slightly looser in the band than other brands, but I found this bra to be the loosest 30 band I have ever tried. It felt like a 34 band – even on the tightest hook I could pull it at least an inch away from my chest. Not only that, but I really felt the shape of the bra let me down, it both separated and barely gave any lift, so unfortunately I sent it back, and didn’t bother exchanging for a 28.

I was really quite miffed about all of this, and I felt cheated out of the beautiful supportive longline version of the Nieve that I had been dreaming about purchasing for so long. I decided that I would buy one anyway, just to at least try it and see what I was missing.

Nieve Longline Bra

Leia speedily sent me the longline bra in a 30G, a cup size down from my usual. Well, I have to say, this bra is beautiful! It is the polar opposite of the balcony version. It’s sleek, lightly padded, lifting, and with a very firm supportive band (it has 7 hooks!) I loved it the moment I put it on. Not only is it a great bra, but it looks a little like a crop top too. I felt it could even be worn under a loose shirt, so long as you don’t mind a bit of cleavage!

Freya Nieve Longline Version - 30G

Of course, the only blindingly obvious downside, is that it was too small in the cup for me, if ONLY I could have it a cup size up, then I wouldn’t have breast tissue bursting over the top and out the sides.

So why is it that Freya can make such a stunning bra, yet leave us bigger busted girls with a useless unsupportive balcony version? Well, I headed straight over to Freya’s facebook page to ask them for myself.

Before I even wrote anything, I was quite surprised to note that the model in their profile picture, was in fact wearing the balconette Nieve, and I can safely say it didn’t look anything like that on me! Not only that, but this model is at the very most a 28 band girl – there is no way it could have fitted her or given the support she appears to have in the photo.

Freya Fan Page Profile Photo

Here is what I asked Freya on their page:

“Dear Freya, I’m a 30GG and have been in love with the Nieve bra long before it was available. First I tried the balcony version in 30GG, and I couldn’t believe how loose the band was, it felt like a 34! Just for the hell of it I decided to try the longline version in a 30G – it is a stunning bra, with a much more realistic fit than the balcony version. Of course, it is too small for me, so I’m debating whether or not to keep it. Can you please tell me why the longline bra starts only at 30, and doesn’t go above a G cup? It’s such a shame for bigger busted or smaller-backed girls.”

Here is Freya’s reply:

“Hi Sophia, I am glad that you love Nieve. Regrading the sizes, the Freya design team found that the longline doesn’t give enough support above a G cup as the cups are based on our padded half cup shape so less covering than a balcony bra. Freya are always working on extending size ranges and collections. Love Freya”

However, they neglected to respond to my query about a smaller band size.

Following that, another girl commented on my post asking this:

“Will you perhaps be getting the Nieve longline bra in 28 sizes? I simply adored the style when I saw it online, but saw you only start from a 30. Is there a reason why you can’t make the longline in a 28? Would you perhaps consider making the style in that size?”

Again, Freya neglected to respond to her.

I have received an explanation now for why they don’t go above a G cup in the longline bra, but I’m not really satisfied with the answer. If the ‘design team’ found it doesn’t give enough support, then why haven’t they created one that does? Why not have another version of a longline bra specifically made for G cup and over? And why do they imply all G+ bras have to be balcony style? I have plenty of GG-H bras from Ewa Michalak in the half cup style!

In this day and age, with women continually finding out their correct bra size, and realising they need something entirely different to what is easily available on the high street, Freya should at least have the decency to give their customers an explanation. If your back size equals a UK size 8 or below, you will most likely need a 28 band or smaller, some need 26 bands or even 24. Not only are there plenty of women around of that size, but teenagers who need them too.
What are we to think when Freya are alienating big cups and small backs, but still using these 28/26 backed models to advertise bras that we know don’t fit them?

Freya have a lot to answer for, especially when other companies are continually advancing and trying to listen to their customer’s wants and needs.

On Panache Lingerie’s facebook page, a girl commented asking if they will be offering size 26 bands in the future.

Panache responded with the following status question for their customers:

“With the focus now being on fuller figure ranges and an increase in back sizes, is there also a need for smaller back sizes as per Izabela’s comment below?”

I was really impressed that they actually listened to one of their customers, then took the initiative to ask the rest of their fans and find out! That’s a sign of a lingerie company that really cares about the products they make, and the customers who buy them.

Hot Weather and Big Bras – Not a Match Made in Heaven…

So we all know that bras can be a pain, even at the best of times, but what do you do when the thermometer suddenly rises into new uncharted realms of heat? You start to resent all those pretty new bras you just splashed out on, and consider leaving them behind in the drawer.

For the bigger busted girl, this is less of an option. A lack of support can lead to some serious breast swinging action, usually taking someone’s eye out in the process…often your own.

I thought I’d tell you how I have partially managed to deal with this issue. It’s not something that can ever really go away completely, but there are definitely ways to make your life a little more bearable.
If the weather has suddenly taken a very warm turn, and perhaps it’s a work day and an M&S Secret Support top just won’t do, here are a few tips that have helped me.

First of all, if you can, pick some bras with a high cotton content. I find that gives my skin a little more room to breathe and cool down in the heat. The wonderfully sexy Showgirl  Range by Curvy Kate has a 100% cotton lining, so they are a great padded bra option for a hot summer day. As for unpaddeds, Fantasie Lingerie do some lovely cotton mix bras; their Anna and Gabrielle ranges are especially popular.

 

A good idea is to put on some light moisturiser before you get dressed in the morning. Nothing thick and heavy, just something thin and cooling. My personal favourite at the moment is Garnier Body Tonic Hydrating Firming lotion. It’s fairly inexpensive, easy to get hold of from any Boots or Superdrug, and smells wonderfully fresh and lemony.

Garnier Body Tonic Hydrating Firming Lotion

Putting this light layer of moisturiser on eases your warm skin, and makes putting on your bra that little bit easier. It also means your bra shouldn’t rub or irritate you quite as much throughout the day.
I would also recommend making sure your bra band is nice and tight – this may sound odd when it’s hot and you want loose clothing, but being more supportive it won’t get the chance to wiggle around too much or cause you unnecessary irritation.

Another option, is to wear a strapless bra. A badly fitting strapless can be really uncomfortable – before I was fitted, I avoided them like the plague, but nowadays I have a lovely Freya Deco strapless, that works really well for me in the heat. I wouldn’t say that the deco bras are actually best type of material to wear during hot weather, but for me it does the job, and I do find that my chest feels a lot cooler in a strapless. Another strapless I have been recommended numerous times (but haven’t had the chance to try it yet) is Ewa Michalak’s Czarny.

Freya Deco Strapless and Ewa Michalak Czarny Strapless

Ewa Michalak is a great Polish lingerie company that I was recently introduced to. Their bras are so soft and light, and a lot of them are made using cotton in the lining, and thin soft materials (even in their padded bras) so I barely ever notice I am even wearing anything with them. I currently only own two, but I will definitely be ordering more in the future.

Ewa Michalak CH Toffik and PL Black

Above on the left is the CH Toffik bra; a padded balcony half cup, with a very vintage look which I love. It’s really comfortable, and the band is really supportive (slightly on the tight side, but not in a bad way for me personally).
On the right, is Ewa’s PL Black. A really lovely plunge bra. I was again surprised at how soft the cups were, and almost thought it wouldn’t be supportive enough. Another tight band, but as I measure 30-31 underbust and this is a 32 back band, it seems to work for me.

Cheryl over at Invest in your Chest has written a great review of lots more of their bras, including the aforementioned very popular Czarny strapless bra, so you may find some more useful information there.
Also, Brittany from Thin and Curvy has finally found, in Ewa Michalak, a company that can make her the 26 bands she’s been looking for; her review is definitely worth a read.

If you do decide to order from Ewa, don’t be put off by the site being in a foreign language. There is a UK flag at the top, which if you click, will translate the majority of the site for you, and each bra costs between £20-£30. You can check the conversion of ZLs into £s on google if you are unsure. The check out is with paypal, so again, it’s pretty secure.

A Bravissimo Racer Back top and Cami Top

Last but not least, if you have more of a choice in what clothing you can wear each day, I would really recommend the Bravissimo cami tops and racer back tops. They have built in supportive bras, and a set of hooks underneath so you can adjust it the same way you would with a regular bra. Because the bra is built into the top, the feeling of wearing one mostly disappears – I personally feel a lot more free in them, and consequentially have no concerns about my bra showing or irritating me while I’m at work. They come in all sorts of sizes and styles, but the cups do run large.

Bravissimo Grey Cami Top with Built-in Bra

This Bravissimo cami (above) is a size 32FF which is actually a size smaller than my regular, but it still feels like a 32G or even 32GG. If you can’t afford to buy one directly from Bravissimo, they do crop up quite often on ebay, so it’s worth having a browse every now and then, just in case.

A few last minute slightly more obvious tips are: drink lots of water to keep you cool, wear unpadded bras when you can (as they are generally much lighter/thinner), and wear clothes made of cotton and linen as often as you can, as this lets your skin breathe and deal with the heat more effectively.

I hope this helps, and if you have any keep-cool tips of your own, feel free to comment below!

Love

Sophia xxx