Ewa Michalak- Rose Mist

We really need to talk about this bra. This gorgeous, sexy, sheer, blush colored bra. The Ewa Michalak Rose Mist. You won’t find it on the Ewa Michalak website. This is one of those special, you can only find it if you know where to look bras. Don’t worry, I will give you all the info 😉 I picked this beauty up from Brava Lingerie, out of Australia. Their customer service is top notch. They want their customers to be happy, regardless of the country they live in. Becky, my wonderful contact at Brava is so amazingly sweet, helpful, patient and knowledgeable. Becky’s email is customerservice@bravawoman.com.au. The bras on their website do show in Australian sizing, but she can help you figure out the size that you need if you know your Ewa Michalak size. Feel free to stalk the website for your next purchase 😉

On to the bra!

This is the most beautiful shade of blush pink. It is an SM style, and the cups are made of a single layer of sheer mesh which offers amazing shape and support, as all Ewa Michalak SMs seem to manage.

What sold me on this bra? The seams. They are a delicate pink satin. In my size (80GG/14GG AUS) this is a 3 part cup. The seams do not show through clothing and provide a nice smooth shape. The top of the cups are adorned with pink lace and the same lace is stitched onto the straps which are fully adjustable.

There are pink satin bows at the gore and at the straps. Where the cups meet the straps, there are two layers of mesh for added support. There are 4 rows of 3 hook and eye closures.         

As far as Ewa Michalak bras go, you would think this bra is almost plain. There are no bold patterns, no contrasting colorways that make up a beautiful piece of artwork. But this bra is still very much stunning. It is sheer, subtle sexiness, and it deserves a place in your bra wardrobe.

Until next time

~Tanzilove

Ugly Betties

Before my surgery, you would never hear me talking about bras, or at least not with happiness or excitement.  If I did mention them to anyone, it was to moan and complain about how much I hated them, and my boobs.  Nothing ever fit.  I always had empty, gaping cups, or an awful (to me) pointy shape if the bra wasn’t padded.  Even while breastfeeding my daughter, the only one of three children I could successfully breastfeed, my boobs were ugly pointy reminders that I was deformed.

I always knew I looked different from everyone else.  I didn’t look like my Mom or my sister, or any of my friends that changed in front of me, completely free of inhibitions because they looked ‘normal.’  It wasn’t until I tried to breastfeed my first baby that I came to learn that not only were they ugly, but they were also useless.  They couldn’t even do what boobs are designed for.  I had nightmares about what I would do in a zombie apocalypse if I couldn’t get formula and feed my baby.  One night, at about 2 a.m. in a sleep deprived stupor, I realized that the can of formula I had just bought that day was expired.  I immediately drove to the grocery store where I bought it and pounded on the door until a poor unsuspecting night stocker opened the door and took the brunt of my wrath.  Fearing for his life, he exchanged the can and backed away slowly before calling the police, I’m sure.  I cried like a baby when I got back into my car because I shouldn’t have to buy formula!  I read all the books, I made sure every nurse on the floor where I delivered knew not to give him a pacifier.  I fed all day and all night.  I fed him until I was bleeding, but he still screamed.  When I realized that despite all my efforts, I was  essentially starving my baby, I was devastated.  My body had betrayed me, and there was nothing I could do about it.  One day I was watching a show about plastic surgery and a woman was having a consultation for a breast augmentation.  I noticed right away that her boobs looked like mine!  When the doctor told her she had tuberous breasts, and that it was a congenital defect,  I immediately looked it up online.  What I found were dozens of other women with stories just like mine.  It was comforting but it also made me hate my breasts even more.  I always wanted surgery to make them look more normal, but now that I knew they were actually deformed?  The idea of slicing and dicing them appealed to me even more.  For years I pled with my husband to have the surgery.  He hated the idea and didn’t want to talk about it.  Money was always tight anyway, so it just wasn’t in the cards.  I had my 2nd baby, and I didn’t even try to breastfeed.  My mom urged me to just try, but I couldn’t even talk about it.  I had a form of post traumatic stress over it.  I could not go through it again.  Then of course, PPD kicked in and I felt like a criminal for not trying.  When we started talking about having a third baby, I decided I would try everything I could to breastfeed, even if it only met some of the baby’s needs.  Through a lot of research, lactation consultants, herbs and tears, I was able to have a successful breastfeeding relationship with my 3rd and last baby.  When she was done nursing at almost 2 years old, I decided I was going to finally have surgery to correct my ugly Betties.  By this time my husband was on board, and we had the money to do it.  It was the best thing I’ve ever done for myself.  Someday, if there’s interest, I’ll write a post in detail about the surgery process.

Fast forward to 3 months after surgery.  I met a group of women online that had an almost cult-like love of Polish bras.  Polish?!  Why?  I’ll tell you why.  If you size out of Victoria’s Secret which seems like the only place to buy bras (it’s not!) and you don’t want to wear something that looks like your ancestors who came through Ellis Island wore, you need a Polish bra.  They are a thing of beauty…and support!  They are beautiful, fit wonderfully (usually after some trial and error) and give amazing shape.  For some reason, a lot of bra makers think that if you’re larger than a D cup, you want to wear something called a “Minimizer.”  Um, nope!  I bought these bad boys, I want them on display!  I want cleavage and lift, and I want pretty colors, and fabrics!  Polish brands just get it.  They get that even women in a ‘N’ cup (yup, we’ve got one of those!) want a pretty bra, and they want it to fit without the cups coming up to their neck, or without wires wrapping around to their back.  If you’ve never heard of Polish bras, please do yourself and your boobs a favor and have a good look around here.  If you have heard of them, stay tuned for reviews of specific bras and brands and leave a comment about your favorites!

 

xo Treschic

Too many bras?

Can you ever have ‘too many’ bras?

When you are a certified Polish bra addict like me, the phrase ‘too many bras’ can seem as ridiculous as saying there is ‘too much fresh air’ or I have ‘too much money’. Like a curator of fine art or vintage cars, I collect exquisite Polish bras. When my fiancé and I recently purchased our home, the first order of business in my closet was to figure out where I was going to store these beauties so they would each be able to be hung and displayed in all their Polish glory. With that in mind, I have about five feet of hanging space that is solely dedicated to my collection (I’d have more, but I suppose my fiancé needs a little space for his clothes 😉 ).

As with any collector of fine goods, I spend (way too much) time admiring my collection. I can remember when I picked each bra out, the excitement I felt when my package arrived, and even when I tried it on for the first time. For those of you who look at bras as mere undergarments, I’m sure you are thinking I need to be committed to the loony bin about now…but for the women out there who are true junkies like me, you know exactly what I’m talking about!

I’m sure you are wondering have I ever let a bra in my collection go. And the answer is ‘of course’! I have sold almost as many bras as I have kept. Typically I have sold bras for two main reasons. The first is when it just doesn’t fit. This happened much more frequently when I was first starting my collection and still not completely sure of my size in the different Polish brands and styles. For me this is (usually) pretty straight forward, if it doesn’t fit then there is no reason to keep it. The second reason can be a little more difficult and falls into the category of when I just don’t necessarily love the bra. This could be due to the look, style, cut or fit. Sometimes this takes me wearing it once or twice to figure out if it’s a keeper or not.

Now comes the question that (I’m sure) every collector has had to ask themselves at least once or twice in their lives…‘can you ever have too many…?’ For some, the answer is probably a resounding “NO”! For me…the jury is still out. I have come to a critical point in my Polish bra collection. I have curated about 20 gorgeous bras that both FIT and that I LOVE. “What’s the problem then” you ask? Two things…one (and most importantly): I’m not rich (haha)! As much as Polish bras are very reasonably priced (especially for the quality), when you have an addiction like mine, the cost adds up. I consider myself very lucky that my sweetie doesn’t complain about my bra purchasing habit, but I still don’t want to run us into the poorhouse (even if I’d be wearing a fabulous bra while we were there 😉 ). And with the new collections that Ewa Michalak and Comexim recently put out, those new bras are just begging me to take them home!  The new Ewa Michalak S Cyklamen and Comexim Charme are TO.DIE.FOR! And two: I’m running out of space! Even with my five feet of closet space, my beauties are getting a bit cramped 😦 .

Alas, it appears that if I want to add to my collection, I may need to ‘thin the herd’. Now comes the excruciating task of deciding which of my gorgeous bras to part with 😦 I’ve been putting this off for a while now, but new bras are calling my name and I just can’t ignore their pleas any longer. So if you happen to wear Ewa Michalak 65G or 65GG or Comexim 65J, keep an eye out in our Bra Bazaar as a few of my beauties will most likely be up for sale very soon!

Comexim Snow- Plain Jane or Simply Sweet?

Meet the Comexim Snow, a seemingly Plain Jane of a bra, fitting in with Jelzzz’s last post on the simple but surprising Ewa Michalak Bezus. While this bra may look pretty plain, it has some details to make it stand out from your basic white bra. In fact, this bra is enough of a wardrobe staple for me that I have purchased it twice now!This post is going to cover both my new 60M Snow, with no alterations and my older 60L Snow with a reduced cup and gore. I usually order a 60L with those alterations, plus now the straps moved in, but lately the sizing just hasn’t been right. I’m not sure if there is a change in things from the company side or a change in my boobs, but something is most definitely different. The 60M is technically a fit, but there are some of my own fit preferences that it does not meet. I definitely prefer my usual requested alterations with this bra. The cups are filled, gore is flat, wire is great, but the top of the cup and strap placement is not ideal for me. It could possibly be solved with just moving the straps in, no reduction in cup height. I’m a short person (5’1.2″) with a small ribcage, but it is wide across the front and narrow from the side. This means I need a wider implant to fill my chest wall width, and with that goes more implant height.
The photo above shows exactly what I mean with the strap and end of the cups. The height looks good in theory, but the strap placement is just a touch wide. In the first photo you can also see how I need to angle the straps inward slightly to maintain their fit on my shoulders. The second photo and the detail photo on the bra strap shows that they are definitely too far into my armpit, I have some wrinkling in the strap. The wings of the bra are nice and low while still being wide. Perfect in my bra world!   The straps themselves are fully adjustable, great for the short torso ladies! But they are stretchy material. Those with heavier breasts may find that they must continue to tighten their straps. Details, on the plain side, white strap hardware with a pretty white bow. Nothing to write home to mama about, but this bra doesn’t need anything flashy.
Like I said before, I have owned this bra twice now. I’ve worn it to the point that it is dingy grey from washing, even though it still has wear left in it. At some point between when I first ordered and my recent purchase the bow in the center gore has been updated. Just a touch of different, again nothing super special. Pretty, basic, fitting with the bra style.   Here is the money maker on the bra!  The bra itself is basic white. But the cups and the front of the band are covered in a leaf print mesh material. Cute, different, and just enough to take this potentially Plain Jane out of boring bra territory. The back band is also a power mesh, but no pattern. The top photo is the new Snow, bottom is my dingy greyed Snow. You can see how the mesh is such a light pattern, it is hard to capture on photo. But luckily my dingy grey Snow shows it better. Makes me wonder how this bra would take to a soak in fabric dye. Suggestions for color?

But no matter how pretty a white bra is, time will take its toll. This bra did get dingy over time, even with careful washing. If you want your Snow to stay white I would recommend a gently sink handwash more often, and on it’s own (or with other white bras). I think with the care I provided this bra and the wear it received the appearance is fitting and well within expectations for normal wear.
We get so many questions about what the alterations on a bra can do for the fit. Now keep in mind that the bottom bra is a 60M, one cup volume bigger than the 60L. Take a look at the Bratabase table so you can compare sizing measurements when comparing how the alterations change the bra. On the 60L the gore is reduced and the cup height is lowered. I definitely prefer the reduced gore, but both bras tack. I prefer the reduced gore because the shape of the cups more closely matches my breast shape. A gore that is not reduced has the cups starting higher on the breast which can sometimes lead to gapping with movement for me. Reducing the cup height also helps solve the strap problem for me. It also reduces the area covering the side of my breast down into the wing. I think that having the straps moved in on their own would be enough to fix the strap issue and may be a more ideal cup height for me, but the reduced cup really benefits me along that sideboob area into the wing.

White bras are a bit of a pariah for many in the fullbust spectrum because before finding brands that offer variety, women are often stuck in a boring plain white, black, or beige bra. I really encourage anyone to take a closer look at these “Plain Jane” bras. Check the details, look closely. You may be surprised that they are not so Plain Jane at all; they are basic and functional while still being pretty and unique. Don’t let a solid color bra pass you by, you could be missing out!

Measurements for the 60M

Ewa Michalak S Bezus – a Bradrobe Staple

Although brightly coloured, fun printed bras are great to have and work well under many outfits, I think that there is still an important place for simple, beige  bras in all of our bradrobes.

Ewa Michalak’s S Bezus is one of those bras that I had overlooked previously, possibly in my haste to focus on those fun, bright bras instead, but also because I find it more difficult to imagine how a bra will look on me unless I see it on a model who is a similar size to me.  While this bra looks very nice on the model, I had difficulty in visualizing it on myself.   Maybe I just don’t have the best imagination but maybe other readers are guilty of this also?

Stock picture from the Ewa Michalak site:

I recently had an opportunity to purchase  the S Bezus when it came up for sale from another implanted lady who had purchased it in a size too small for herself.  This bra, in size 65GG, is one cup size larger than I normally wear, however, my 65G bras do fit quite snug and I’m unable to wear the ‘cookies’ in them, so I thought it was worth a shot.  I was pleased to see that it does indeed fit, with the cookies in, making it a good ‘oomph’ bra for me.  Band measurement on this one is approximately 23″ unstretched and approximately 31″ stretched hard.  I have a 27″ ribcage and the band felt snug but not uncomfortable and did not ride up, however, if you prefer your bands very firm, you may wish to sister size down with this one.

Lets take a look at the lavish little details which always set Ewa Michalak bras apart from the crowd.

The cups are covered in a shiny beige knit.  The benefit to this is a smooth appearance under clothes; the flip side of that is that the fabric could snag if you don’t treat it with care.  Washing it carefully and keeping grubby man hands away from the goods should take care of those issues 😉   The lace at the gore and sides of the cups is gorgeous and elevates this otherwise quite basic bra to a thing of subtle beauty.  A small satin bow and ‘diamond’ drop detail at the gore gives a pretty, feminine touch.

A close up of that lovely lace:

This insides of the cups are lined with cotton for comfort.

The bra comes with removable ‘cookies’ which can be used to even out asymmetry or to give an extra cleavage boost.

Four rows of three hooks offer extra stability.

Interestingly, I did notice that although moving to the GG cup gave more depth, there was very little difference in cup height as compared to the G.  I checked this out by laying my 65G S Kicia Szalowa  bra over top of the 65GG S Bezus to see what the actual difference was and found it to be very minimal:

Below, I am wearing my S Kicia in size 65G in the top picture and my S Bezus in size 65GG in the bottom picture.  My cleavage is less mashed together in the GG, but the cups are not noticeably higher.

It would appear from this little experiment that when keeping the same band size but going up by a cup size, although the larger sized cups will be deeper, the cup height will be scaled down.

Clothed appearance is predictably smooth.  As the bra is quite close to my own skin tone, this will work well under light coloured / thinner tops as well.

If you are looking to add a beige bra to your own bradrobe, it may be time to give the S Bezus a second look.