CHANEL: THE ONE THAT I WANT

CHANEL CAMPAIGN

No words.

Freya Fuller Bust Padded Plunge Review.

I bought this bra from the John Lewis in Leicester. Ive always worn a 34D as this always seemed comfortable, however as a size 10, I knew this was not the right back measurement to be wearing. I decided that I would go for a bra fitting and get my first plus size bra. The woman in John Lewis was very accommodating and after trying a 32”  back, it was deided that a 30E fitted much better. I had been measured a year before this for a university research file and i remember that this was the size that was suggested to me then.
After trying a few soft cup Freya bras i came to the conclusion that the lace didn't sit completely flat on my breast, therefore we tried this slighlty padded bra.
This bra is made from a beautiful, yet subtle pinstripe jersey in a plunge and slightly balconette style cup. It has a soft and very minimal amount of moulded padding in it and has a satin bow on the center front of the bra. Regularly in a plus size bra, there would be 3 cup panels rather than the 2 panles that you find in A-D cup bras on the high street. With this bra having 4 cup pieces the bra is going to give a much smoother shape to the breast. The bras slight padding will give a little extra uplift to the bra. With it being moulded padding, this will mean that the bra has a better fit to the wearer rather than the generic cup size, generally making it more comfortable. 

I have worn this bra twice now, and i have to say that it fits perfectly. I haven't experienced any problems with it at all and will definitely be investing in another. This bra was meant to be £28 but cost me around £22. John Lewis often have offers on their Freya collections so it's just a matter of keeping an eye out for these online and in-store. This is my first Freya purchase, and i will definitely be investing to expand my collection.

TOPSHOP: Soft Bra Review

I do really love a soft bra. It is really rare that i will but a padded cup bra unless its a gym bra or a strapless bra, and Topshop soft cup bras seem to fit me perfectly no matter what style. I bought this bra a few weeks ago in the hope that it would suit me. Ive been wanting a non-wired soft cup bra for a really long time, however they are usually in the popular triangular style that don't suit anyone above a B cup. Surprisingly, being a D cup, these do not suit me. This set cost me £30 and i have to say it is the comfiest underwear set that i own to date. I don't need a massive amount of support, however the fabric (although it has some stretch) is quite firm so keeps everything in shape. Although it doesn't do anything for your cleavage; it does give a really nice shape to the breasts and the lace detail on the cups is absolutley beautiful. These were sold in dress sizes, so unsure of what the best size for me would be, i bought a size 10 and 12 to try. The lace on the size 12 was better placed on me, however the back size was a bit too loose. I would say the size 10 is better suited to a 32 back. There is also the choice between a thong and a high waisted knicker (which i already have in another colour and are by far one of the most flattering pairs of knickers i have ever bought).

Forever 21 Gym Bra Review

Forever 21 active wear has been a very new discovery for me. I didn't realise until recently that it existed and was so surprised when i saw how cheap it was. This blue gym bra was bought from the Oxford Circus store was bought at the amazing price of £8. I would say that i don't like it as much as my Marie Meili bra, however this is merely because of it being a low support bra. This has spaghetti straps and for a small and simple bra; offers a
very good amount of support. I didn't find any problems when running and felt that the
padding in the front of the bra kept everything very much in place. The fabrics used are really soft against the skin and i haven't yet found any uncomfort with the thin straps, which i expected that i might. Forever 21 also offer a range of really nice gym tights and simple jersey sportswear thats definitely worth investing in.

Giles Deacon for Ann Summers Part 2.

It wasn't all that surprising to me when i found out that Giles Deacon was doing another lingerie range for Ann Summers. Although the last collection was not necessarily to my taste, it proved amazingly popular with the rest of the population. A lot of the collections sold out in most sizes and the rest of the stock was quickly snatched up in the sale. Ann Summers may not be to everyones taste, but it seems that there is an ever-lasting gap in the market where not a lot of lingerie is sold between high street and designer levels. Im excited to see what Deacon has in store for us this time...this slip is definitely a positive looking preview.

Checkered PJ'S.

So im not really one for nightwear, i can never find anything that i like. However, when browsing through the ASOS lingerie department whilst procrastinating i came across this cute little co-ord. Shorts are definitely a must have compared to the flared trousers found in nightwear departments all too often (which by the way, are always too short!) and this baggy top is definitely one for just lazing around the house in. The only thing that would make this little outfit better is if it was made from a brushed cotton...but i guess i can manage without.

Neoprene Swim.

So neoprene has really become a massive fashion staple for the swimwear scene. With triangl swimwear peaking in sales massively this year with their block colour, neoprene two pieces; this fabric has become a must have. However I'm much more of a fan of the neoprene swimsuit. My ultimate favourite has to be the Lisa Marie Fernandez sleeved swimsuit. It is black in colour, so although it is basic, it is flattering and the zip along the front is functional so the option of a little bit of cleavage is always there! The price is steep at £325, but you are paying for quality and amazing fit as well as a beautiful swimsuit that will take a long time to go out of fashion. If this is too steeply priced then maybe this swimsuit from Nuera swim on Etsy is the better option. The white coloration gives it that sporty edge and the cut out back makes it a little more casual. For neoprene, a $130USD price tag isn't all that much, especially

when the garments are handmade.

Sunday Night Corsetry.

I will even admit myself that it is a little strange that i have never put on a corset until tonight. I'm not sure for what reason this is, however after spending my night with two of my best friends, i finally got to see what all the fuss is about. As we are doing rotations on our course, one of my friends happens to be taking corsetry at the moment; and as i was so curious i decided that i would try on her basic toile. It was a little big for me as there is meant to be about a 2 inch gap where it threads at the back, yet this corset made me feel amazing. I literally cannot describe how good i felt...and it completely transforms your figure.  I'm so excited to see what she will be creating in the next few weeks, but more than that i cannot wait to start doing corsetry in 3 weeks time. Even if it means me not being able to make it in black...i guess i knew i would have to shy away from black at some point in my life.

The Ugly Side of This Industry.

The ugly side of this industry.

  A recent survey in 2014 revealed that 94% of women said that weighing 10 stone or more was undesirable and unattractive, however its completely possible to be drastically unhealthy or at peak fitness at this weight. Other studies showed more worrying results about how women have been effected by the supposed ideal body that most swimwear and lingerie brands are helping promote. Results show that women feel the least confident when shopping if they were looking to purchase a bathing suit. Another study made half of the participants take a math test in everyday clothing and the other half in swimwear.  Results showed that women in everyday clothing did significantly better as the women in swimsuits were too pre-occupied on how they looked rather than how they performed. With swimwear and lingerie being the most revealing clothing available in the fashion industry, surely we are going to be seeing more delicately marketed products. However, against all the criticism the fashion industry has taken over model sizes, this seems not to be the case.

  The most recent case against the intimate apparel industry is from an Australian model, whose story was shared all over social media sites in August. She had participated in a shoot for the newest collection of Fella Swim’s beachwear, only to see when the pictures were released that the photo had been drastically photo-shopped. Her naturally slim size 8 body had been skimmed to a very tiny size 4. She took to instagram with before and after pictures showing her disgust in the editing that had taken place. She wrote that she thought it highly unacceptable for people to see these pictures of her and think that they are realistic. After all, she had a beautiful body in the first place so why did that have to change? The story went viral and Fella swim were forced to apologise and remove the edited photo from their site, however this doesn’t take away the principle of their editing in the first place.

  I was also shocked to find that a similar situation had occurred to more prestigious celebrities. Beyoncé is well known for her beautifully toned and curvaceous size 12/14 body. However her swim campaign with H&M last year had similar troubles as the H&M editing team tried to slim her body and tone down her curves for the campaign posters. She was absolutely outraged when she found out and disallowed them from changing her shape and size, forcing them to use the original photos.

  Beyoncé was highly criticized for her decision to stay on with H&M for the campaign, but why should she give it up? This should not make her give up the campaign just because of her size. By staying and forcing the company to use the original prints taken, the summer campaign was represented by a woman who is naturally gorgeous in shape and reflects a positive body image to millions of teenagers. The spokesperson for H&M released a statement after the incident stating that they were very pleased to have Beyoncé involved with their campaign as they wanted to market the brand towards women with all body shapes. This seemed like it would be a positive outbreak in high street fashion and one step closer to more realistic models, however they compromised this the following year and have returned to using unhealthy looking models for their 2014 swim collection.    

  This was furthered again earlier this year as H&M featured a woman who looked to be a size 10/12 in their magazine as a plus size model. This sparked outrage, and although H&M insisted that the model was in fact a size 14 there was still room for criticism. After all if the plus size range provides for sizes 16+, why is it being modeled by someone who doesn’t fit into that size range?

It isn’t just the models brands choose that is giving the industry a bad name. La Perla were criticized in May this year about the mannequins that they featured in their New York Soho window. The mannequins were baring ribs on their skeletal frames as well as having indents between their chest and around their hips and stomach. La Perla use very slim models in their campaigns anyway such as Cara Delevigne in last years swim campaign; therefore they should be more careful about the image that they are projecting. With the fashion industry at present is very much blamed for encouraging a slender and anorexic physique, so brands should be more aware of what they are advertising behind the clothes. Some customers commented on the Vogue article reguarding this issue that some people are naturally skinny and that sometimes this look is not about being unhealthy. However there are certain considerations that need to be made when looking at what kind of body image they are promoting to the younger generations. There is a line, and in a lot of cases perforated ribs are not deemed healthy, but a sign of an eating disorder.

  However this isn’t the first run in La Perla have had with their mannequin sizes. 7,500 people signed a petition against their Florida branch when a mannequin with appallingly stick thin legs appeared in the shop window. With the fight against model sizes being more prominent in the industry than ever, brands like this really need to be looking at how actions like this will cause their brand to be perceived.

  Although, more recently some brands have been neglecting the use of regular skinny models that we see day to day. A recent brand Dear Kate have released a collection promoted by normal New York women. The collection is named after the supposed world first computer programmer Ada Lovelace which works perfectly with the collection that is modeled by women who work within technology and have absolutely no modeling experience.  The lingerie is made for purpose and is meant to be the comfiest everyday underwear around, working perfectly with these normal, but beautiful women that you would see on a day to day basis. Unfortunately there was a lot of criticism that surrounded this campaign relating to the models that were used. One critic showed concern that these women featured in the campaign may not be taken seriously by male colleagues when they return to work when they have been privy to the photos of these women in underwear. Why should this make a difference? There is absolutely no reason that a women cant be independent and smart as well as confident enough to show off her beautiful body. Another critic also suggested that this campaign is a set back in the fight for women to be seen as more than objects. How this objectifies women in any way more than a regular lingerie campaign where women lounge about in a sexual nature I couldn’t tell you. If anything this is promising for the reduction of objectifying women; it shows  that women should be comfortable whatever shape and size they and can wear lingerie without being a typical sex object. Ada model Arikia Millikan also pressed a very good point. Why should she turn down the opportunity to go to a photshoot and flaunt herself about in beautiful lingerie because she looks and feels the best she has in years. All in all, it really shouldn’t make a difference.

  Aside from this negativity from the press, some high street brands have positively supported the fight against the ‘ideal’ woman. Debehnams and Aerie lingerie have announced that from 2014 onwards they will not be photo-shopping their lingerie models as well as Debenhams being the first department store to promote their clothing on size 16 mannequins. Its changing the little things that will have a massive impact on the fashion industry. So why are we not using models of all sizes all the time? After all, isn't it the figure that a lot of men claim is desirable? And I think most people would definitely agree that it is a more healthy look that will leave a much better impression on the younger generations who are brainwashed into thinking that they need to be the size of these unrealistic models. I applaud Dear Kate, Debenhams and Aerie for their new campaign featuring these beautiful women, more brands should definitely be following suit.

Nipple Fact Friday's.

Nipples actually form on the human foetus before the biological sex of the child can be determined...thats why both mean and women have nipples.

Dear Kate Campaign: The critics have got it all wrong.

• These women won't be taken seriously by male colleagues when they return to their jobs.
• "Posing in your underwear undermines the message that you want to be taken seriously as a technologist"
• This campaign is a set back in the fight against objectifying women.

WRONG, WRONG AND WRONG.

Why should it make a difference if their male colleagues have seen the photoshoot? There is nothing about being able to flaunt your beautiful body in amazing lingerie to a camera that makes you any less intelligent than the men of the office. And there is no reason that it should make you be taken less seriously. After all, this campaign has amazing aims behind it and showing the younger generation and the intimate apparel industry what beautiful bodies really are is surely admirable rather than degrading. On top of this, i can see in no way that this is a campaign that fights for the degrading of women. And nowhere in this campaign do i see scantily dressed females with their pouting seductively with their legs apart in seductive and provocative poses like any other lingerie shoot you will see. 

I really do think critics are picking it apart for the sake of having an opinion; it's the principle behind the campaign that really matters. It's about time brands started thinking about what kind of effect their campaigns will have on the industry as a whole.

Arikia Millikan did a blog post on her experience modelling with Dear Kate which i found really interesting and inspiring, the link can be found here.

New Additions for the Gym Scene.

  I'm so excited to be back in Leicester and start going to the gym again! But before i do that, i think the purchasing of some new gym wear is necessary. Ive been looking around and found some absolute gems.

  I was looking at the Marie Meili bras (as from my previous post i was very satisfied with their gym bras). I came across this £16 gym bra in a hot pink colour. It has the same style back as the bra that i own which proved very supportive, however i thought that the shapes and mesh detail on the front of this bra made it quite a bit more interesting. Although this definitely has a higher neckline than my previous bra, i thought that the v neck shape of the bra made it a little more fashionable and a bit prettier.

 Another bra that found was from Nike. I have never bought a sports bra from there before, however i have heard really positive things. I loved the print of this bra because it was so simple in colour, yet a statement. There really is nothing worse than boring and frumpy gym wear. I also liked the cut of it because even though the neckline is quite high, the binding on the neckline, arms and bottom make it look more like a crop top than a bra. I would definitely consider wearing this alone with some leggings in the gym as it looks merely like a supported gym top.

 Then i was absolutely blown away by Forever 21. I wasn't actually aware that they has an active wear range until a few days ago and this is the first time that i have had a chance to look at it. There is so much choice, but i would say that the highlight for me was definitely the sports leggings. I have been looking for a decent pair for a while now, and as expensive as they are, they still seem to be very plain. However Forever 21's leggings were quite the opposite. These are just a few of the pairs i found on the forever 21 website, ranging from £13-£18. They really are a steal.

Reckless Wold A/W Campaign.

Its finally here. After having to watch at least four teaser trailers for the new Reckless Wolf campaign, the full version has finally been released. It features some of the classic bestsellers from last season such as the Reckless Wolf crop and the 'Prey' bra in black and white, along with some new editions such as the 'Raw' wired bra which is a personal favourite. 

Its definitely worth a watch...

Reckless Wolf Ice Hockey Campaign

L'Agent.

So the last week all i have been seeing on other lingerie blogs is L'Agent posts showcasing their new A/W collection, which if I'm honest I'm really bored of seeing over and over again. So i thought i would do something a little different. Instead of showing you the whole collection or telling you why certain sets are my favourite i thought i would show you which garments have the most gorgeous  back detail. A bit different i know, but here goes....

   The Idalia Playsuit                                     The Rosalyn Ouvert                                     The Esma Slip

 I love a good cut out on the back and you really can't go wrong with an overt back knicker, but i do think that the Idalia playsuit really is the most beautiful piece created by L'agent so far. As well, for £110 instead of the £300+ you would pay for the Agent Provocateur core range you really can't go wrong.

We Are Handsome: The Catalyst.

I guess this ties in with one of my most recent posts that was also about We Are Handsome. I do love a good campaign ad, and this one has to be one of my close favourites so far...

We Are Handsome: The Catalyst

My Parisian Chic Project.

Im going to be starting my second year of university in a few weeks, so just thought it would be nice to share some photos of my favourite project from first year. This set was inspired by my trip to Paris and being the adventurous (and silly) design student that i am i decided to make something as difficult as this. After being new to pattern cutting only this year this really was a nightmare to make, however i was so happy with the outcome and after making it as one of the 25/75 to make it to catwalk with their designs it couldn't have been a better end to the year. I'm now looking forward to my swimwear module next year and living in fear of how difficult corsetry is going to be...