Beach days and Holidays Styling with MsDizz, featuring the Comexim / Bra Obsessed Harbour Bikini!

Summer is drawing to a close in my part of the world and soon I will be packing away my swimwear and having it on standby for its next appearance:  winter vacation!  Or should I say vacation from winter!  Is there anything better than miles of white sand, blue water and sunshine when you’ve just left the North Pole behind?  No!  There isn’t!    Of course it is important to look good while you’re heading off to the beach, to the buffet, bellying up to the bar, or whatever your day brings, and that is why today our lovely blogger MsDizz has kindly volunteered to show us her own stylish solution for covering up and coordinating with the Comexim / Bra Obsessed exclusive Harbour bikini (reviewed previously HERE) .  If you picked this one up already, then you already know its a great suit and if you didn’t, it is still available through Bra Obsessed.

In the picture below, MsDizz is wearing a Gottex Blush Sail Away Jersey over her Harbour bikini, for a beautifully coordinated look.

This romper is sold out at many locations but I did manage to scour a few sources that still have it available (and at steeply discounted prices!) so that you might snag one up for yourself:

Poshmark.com link

Sweetcouch link

eBay link

No outfit is complete without a great bag.  MsDizz is carrying the Michael Kors Jet Set Saffiano Leather Stripe Tote.  This bag is sold out but I did find it on Poshmark HERE.  There were also several listed on eBay such as THIS ONE.  Another, similar choice would be the  Tommy Hilfiger Adrianna Ribbon tote which I found  on Amazon HERE and one on eBay HERE.

You could complete this outfit with a pair of classic and comfy white birkenstocks:

And of course a great pair of sunnies.  This pair of Rayban wayfarers would be perfect.

Seems like we’ve done your beach wardrobe planning for you.  Now all you have to do is choose your destination!  😉

Happy Holidays from MsDizz and I!

P.S. – if you own this suit, what do you pair it with? Or if you are considering picking it up, what would you add to complete the outfit?  Let us know!

 

 

 

 

Karlee Smith- Body Love Snap Bra

When I heard that I had the opportunity to review a Karlee Smith bra I was really excited. I was even more excited that I got to decide which bra I wanted to review. I immediately began browsing through the website to decide. You see, I had a specific set of things I wanted this bra to be able to do for me, some pretty high expectations. I didn’t expect the choice to be so hard! I did not expect to have color options that included patterned fabric. Zippered front closures but also velcro or snap adjusting straps? In the end I went with the Body Love Snap Bra in grey. I have so many reasons for this, all of which I will get to, I promise!

20 weeks pregnant

The biggest reason that I selected a post op bra was because I wanted something that would stretch to accommodate expanding boobs. I was looking for something to be super supportive but flexible.  You see, I wanted this bra to act as a maternity bra. I am happy to report that this bra has seen me from the first trimester of sore pregnancy boobs to a slowly expanding belly and breasts at 20 weeks.

Bra on initial try on

The Karlee Smith website advertises this bra as a full support option for breast augmentation, reduction, mastectomy, or lift patients. It has a 1.5″ wide band below the breasts which is an ideal feature for me. The fabric content is listed on the website as a nylon/lyrca with “all-over, 4 way stretch, body-wicking moisture control fiber blend”. Trust me when I say I have put the stretch and moisture wicking to the test! 

Here is a list of tests that I have put the Body Love Snap Bra through:

Several 48 hour wear tests.

2+ miles of walking in 90 degree heat.

Low impact stretching and weight lifting.

Nightly use as a sleep bra.

Overall grade has been an A for all of these activities!

Initial try on

I’m not sure if you can see the differences in fit between the initial try on and 20 weeks pregnant, but I can. When I first received the bra I was worried that it would not stretch well around what should be growing boobs. Honestly, I was skeptical that it would fit at all since I have large implants.  When I looked at the fit guide I was surprised to see that it is based on your underbust measurement and the standard matrix sizing (like 32DD).  I was skeptical, very skeptical.  So I went to the “Sexy Fit Calculator Bra Guide” to see what it had to say. Again, the band size was listed as 28-32″ for a small (I am between 26-27″ usually) and up to a 32DD.  Well if a DD is a 5 inch difference, 32 plus 5 is 37, which is what my fullest bust measurement is. So I figured the bra should stretch to fit around a 37″ chest. I decided to take my chances and go for it in a size small.

I’ll be honest here, having larger implants (700cc) I wasn’t expecting it to fit. I have not found a single post op bra that fit me both in the band and around the bust. The one provided from both of my surgeries was sized by band size and always much too large under the bust to fit. I came home from my second surgery in a 36 band bra that just wasn’t going to work. I ended up wearing this weird stacked bra contraption with my post op bra under another bra that was small enough to fit in the band and I just left the top hooks open. It was hot and horrible. Not to mention how often the snaps buckled under pressure and burst open. So when this bra fit, was supportive under my breasts, and stayed zipped all night long I was pretty stinking happy.

Bra Details

Here you have the size tag with washing instructions and fabric content. I bit the bullet for you guys and tossed mine in washing machine and line dried it. I figured it would come out all pilly and a mess. No pilling, some color transfer over to the white. I’m satisfied with that!

The snaps allow me to give some different levels of compression as well as allow for growing room. I do have to have the straps snapped when I put it on, it is easier for comfort.  My favorite feature on this bra is the hook and eye at the bottom. I love the fact that I can quickly hook it and then go about zipping. When you are talking about a bra that is designed with some compression that means you’ll have pressure on the zipper as it goes up. The hook and eye allows me to focus on the zipper (using both hands if I need to) and not hold the bottom closed. Post op bra genius right there!

My old sleep bra 😦

Here you have a visual comparison with what I was wearing for a sleep bra previously. This is just a mass produced, superstore available Hanes bralette. There just isn’t much out there for use as a sleep bra.  You can see the huge differences here. More coverage with out being dowdy, thicker straps, back support, side support, wider underband. I’ll be dropping all of these suckers in the rag pile. No need for these anymore!

Initial try on

On to my only complaint, but it is a small one. Nipple coverage. If you were anything like me, early post op you had majorly sensitive nipples that were on GO all the time. The fabric layers are too thin to hide nipples, as is the case with every other post op or sleep bra I have tried. The difference is definitely in the fabric. Even super sensitive pregnancy nipples are happy in this fabric, so while the headlights may be on, they are at least comfortable.

I also want to use this picture to point out the nice even band placement around my ribcage. Also the front is not super high coverage. The adjustable snap straps can be seen through a super thin t-shirt, but the edge seams are invisible. Which brings me to my final point about this bra as a post op bra, seams and digging. There are two seams on the side of the bra under your arms, nothing on the breast. When you have breast swelling you will not have a digging seam on super sensitive breasts. No irritation from seams is a huge plus in my book.

Like I said above, I put this bra through the wringer. I was skeptical and had low expectations with high hopes. I was not disappointed by anything other than the fact that I had my surgery before I was introduced to the Karlee Smith brand and I put up with horrible post op bra solutions. I will continue to wear this bra through pregnancy and either come back and update this post or write a follow up to let you know how it continues to function as a maternity bra. It is by far better than what I used through my first pregnancy, so I have high hopes!

Review – Karlee Smith Body Love Front Close Sport Bra “Get Fit” with new boobs

Karlee Smith is a company specializing in post operative bras and sports bras especially for women who have had breast surgeries, including augmentation surgery.  If you missed my Retailer Spotlight on  Karlee Smith, you can check that out HERE.  The company graciously offered to send me and three of my co-bloggers a bra of our choice to review.  You can check out my co-blogger Yoomee’s  review of the Karlee Smith  Sexy Lady Snap Me Twice Bra HERE.  Be sure to subscribe to our blog so that you won’t miss the remainder of the reviews to come!

In addition to their line of sports bras, Karlee Smith also offers a line of surgical recovery bras which contain some very  impressive features which you can read about HERE.    Either of the lines would make a fabulous recovery bra and either could be continued to be used long after recovery is complete. I wish I had known about this company back when I had my own surgery.

After some consideration, I chose the Body Love Front Close Sport Bra in pink pin stripe “pink love exclusive”.  This bra features an anti-microbial finish which is an exclusive finish, formulated to absorb moisture and odour.  The fabric is wickable, formulated to adapt to the wearer’s personal body temperature, assuring 24-hour comfort.

This particular bra is available in just three sizes, Small, Medium and Large which gave me cause for concern as I typically wear a 30G UK which is obviously small in the band, but comparatively large in the cup.  After reading the Section on How to Measure and Find Your Perfect Bra Size it became apparent that you only need to know your under bust measurement.  My under bust measures 27 inches and so I went with the smallest size, being the Small (28 – 32 inch band size) and crossed my fingers.

I didn’t have long to keep my fingers crossed because my bra arrived at my doorstep incredibly quickly, especially as Karlee Smith is an American company and I am in Canada.

The fabric of this bra is very soft and lightweight. The fabric composition is 88% nylon, 12% spandex.    It is completely seamless and wire-free and features a 1.5″ soft bottom elastic band which keeps the bra firmly in place.

The comfort level of this bra is unsurpassed.  It feels really good!  I feel so free and breezy in it!  The band feels good and doesn’t move around.  I found the zip front closure easy to do up and undo.  I found it easiest to do up when I leaned over.  This put my boobs in a nice forward position.  I could feel light compression in the boob area of the bra and this helped to keep me in position throughout the day.  Butt crack style boob cleavage was present and you could absolutely wear this as a super light and comfy cleavage bra.

In the interests of disclosure,  prior to my implant surgery I was not flat chested – rather I had sad old deflated flapjack style boobs with plenty of natural hang.  Any upper fullness I once had, had long  left me, probably around the same time that my sanity left me and the first of what would ultimately be four offspring began to arrive.  I am a blend of natural tissue and fantastic plastic.  My implants are 370g Inspira SRF and we will never know really what size I was pre-op because I never knew how to measure properly.  Although I had a crescent lift done with my implants, I still have significant hang.  You know when you see articles asking if you can pass ‘the pencil test’?  Never mind that.  I can jam a stapler under there and it’ll stay put.

I suspect that because of the above, I still experienced fairly significant bounce on significant impact (jogging, zumba etc.) while wearing this bra.  Possibly if it was offered in size XS then there might have been enough compression to better control my bounce.  It does work well for me for lower impact workouts, weight room days, as a lounge bra, a casual wear bra and a sleep bra (yes I wear a sleep bra every night).  On low impact gym days this bra  feels  comfy, cool and amazing compared to my armour-like, sweaty, heavy-duty sport bra collection.   In addition to the uses outlined herein, this bra could also be an excellent choice for women who suffer from hormonal sensitivity, costochondritis, chronic pain and a myriad of other issues.

The Karlee Smith Body Love Front Close Sport Bra retails for $90 USD and can be ordered through their web page.  Some surgeons provide a Karlee Smith recovery bra to their breast augmentation patients.  If you have a surgery booked, you should ask your PS if he or she carries  KS recovery bras.

Feeling Fine in Lilly & Lime!

 

Lilly & Lime is a new swimwear company specializing in D cup and up.  The company is owned by two women who had struggled themselves to find attractive bikinis to fit their own D+ busts, and the idea to design their own line was borne.  You can read all about them in our Spotlight story HERE.

When the owners of Lilly & Lime contacted our blog group and asked if we would be interested in reviewing their swimwear, I headed over to their website and was pleasantly surprised at what I saw.  Lilly & Lime offers three different styles of swim tops sized from  UK 28D up to 38HH as well as three different cuts of swim bottoms, sized from UK 8 up to 18.  A very impressive and difficult size range for sure!

I decided to ask for my swim top to be sent in size 30G.  For reference, I wear a 30GG in Ewa Michalak S styles and I have a Panache 5021 sports bra in 30G.   I chose the 30G because I felt reasonably sure that it would be a snug fit in the cups.  When it comes to swimwear tops, I’d rather err on the side of possibly choosing slightly too small as opposed to slightly too large.  I asked for the bottoms to be sent in UK  size 8, which is a US size 4.  You can view their size chart HERE.  Lilly & Lime made the style choices as to what they sent to each of us, although we had made suggestions to them.

My package arrived quickly and I have to say that when it comes to making a great first impression, Lilly & Lime hit it out of the ballpark.   My suit was prettily wrapped in lime tissue, an adorable tote bag was also included, along with a lovely hand written card.  I was delighted to see that I had been sent the Nectarine halter and matching full briefs, which had been my top choice, although I do like all of the other styles and colours as well, and I absolutely love how the entire collection can be mixed and matched.

In person, I think this suit is even nicer than it appears on the web site.  The colour is vivid and bright, the fabric feels high quality, everything is fully lined and the stitch work is impeccable. I adore the little metal suit tags with the LL logo.  Both the wires and the gore are slightly wide but as this is a swim top and not a bra I have no problem with that.  The projection is excellent and the cup depth accommodates my high profile implants well.  This 30″  band measures approximately 24.5″  unstretched and approximately 31″ stretched.   I found it a comfortable fit on my 27″ rib cage.

The suit fits me just as I had hoped it would.    This is my first decent fitting halter style suit and I’m pretty excited about that.  I love that this is a halter because it looks totally like a swimsuit and nothing like a bra, yet I still get great shape and support.  My boobs are not self-supporting and the cups do a good job on providing shape and structure.

 The top provides me with the perfect amount of coverage.  There isn’t oodles of butt-crack cleavage on display but I still get a very feminine, attractive shape, along with having zero fear of any type of dreaded bikini wardrobe malfunction.   No nervous checks or adjustments required!  The height of the full brief bottoms is perfect for me, as is the coverage.  I’ll be 49 in a couple of weeks and each to their own but I just don’t feel comfortable in skimpy bottoms anymore.   I feel completely secure in this suit, but still sexy, for an old girl. 😉

My 14 year old daughter agreed to be my photographer in exchange for a cold bottle of root beer and a pack of sugar-free gum and we headed off to the beach for a quick photo session.  The backdrop is picturesque Lake Erie, one of North America’s Great Lakes, and these pictures show why I’m so in love with this suit.  The cut, colour and fit are flattering and fabulous.

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In order to provide you with a thorough review I have taken this suit through the paces.  It has been to the beach, to the pool, through the wash and worn with the pads in and the pads out.

Each time I’ve worn it, I I’ve felt no discomfort to my neck from the halter straps.  It holds up great while in the water and I didn’t notice any stretching, shifting or any other issue.  It washes well and there has been no colour bleeding or fading.  The clasp locks and unlocks properly.

Now lets take a peek at the inside of the swim top:

Removable foam pads:

I prefer the top with the pads in.  The pads gave me a more slightly more structured shape.  I would rather that the cups had a sewn in foam lining instead of the removable pads because if you look close enough, you can see the pad edges through the cups.  I don’t think anyone would notice this though, unless they were up close and staring perhaps.

This swim top can certainly be worn with the pads out if you prefer.

With the pads out and sopping wet from swimming as shown below, even in a slightly chilly pool you can’t see any evidence of chill due to that full lining 😉

Lilly & Lime is based in Australia, but in these days of global marketing where on-line buying is the norm, international buying is no longer difficult or unusual by any stretch.  My suit retails for $80.00 AUD for the top and $30.00 AUD  for the bottoms and I felt that this was a fair price for a good fitting, quality and cute swimsuit.  You can use the currency converter on the site or if your country’s conversion isn’t shown, use an on-line currency converter such as  THIS one at xe.com to convert the cost into your own currency (for my fellow Canucks, AUS money is generally similar in value to ours). Free international shipping is offered for all purchases over $100 AUD, so if you buy a full suit, you don’t pay shipping.

Congratulations to Lilly & Lime on nailing it with an excellent first collection.  I can’t wait to see what you do next!

 

Ewa Michalak’s S, SM and SF Styles – Battle of the Bras

With the recent debut of the new SF style (review HERE) from Ewa Michalak, we thought it would be helpful to our readers if we did a comparison of the S, SM and SF styles for you. Although all three styles are similar, they have distinct differences that I will point out that make each one unique and might have you favoring one over the others.

S Kwaity

 I’d like to first do a short recap the three styles for you, starting with the classic S style. The S is a lightly padded balconette with a higher gore and comes with removable push-up pads to give you that extra oomph and/or help with asymmetry correction.

SM Amorek

Next is the SM, which is an unlined balconette with a higher gore and cups made of a stable (non-stretchy) material, typically lace or mesh. This style does not come with removable push-up pads.

SF Gladzioch bez

Lastly we will recap the SF, or Semi-soFt style which the most recent style debuted in the EM line. The SF is a good compromise between the S and SM, being a semi-padded bra with the same high gore as the other two. Like the SM, this style doesn’t come with removable push-up pads. The bottom of the cups are made of a stable (non-stretchy) material while the top of the cups is made of a double layer of elastic tulle, allowing for more stretch and forgiveness up top.

Now that you know the basics of each style, I’d like to get into comparing the three for you.  Let’s start with their similarities. All three styles come with three or four rows of two or three hook and eyes (depending on size of the bra) as well as fully adjustable straps. They also all are designed in a way that pulls your breasts forward to create maximum cleavage. Due to the medium-to-high gore on these styles (3″ tall on my 65GGs), they are well suited for softer breasts that tend to fall in the center when wearing a bra with a low gore such as the PL style, or if you have wide cleavage and want to pull your breasts closer. The down-side to the higher gore is that these styles can be difficult for women with very close-set breasts, as the gore can tend to sit on the tissue (or implant). Lastly, the cup height is mid-level which makes this an ideal bra to wear with a medium neckline, but may be difficult with a lower cut top.

Since we have covered the general style and similarities of these three bras lets move on to what makes them so different, and that really is their cups.  Aside from the classic S style being the only one of the three that comes with pockets for removable pads or “cookies”, it also has light padding sewn into the cup.  The positives: it gives you a little extra oomph without feeling like you are wearing a really padded bra; it covers your nips for modesty (no nipping out in this bra); and the lining is very soft against your skin.  The negatives: in warmer weather this bra can be a little hot, creating the dreaded boob sweat we all hate; and if you already feel like your breasts are big enough, the padding on this bra may not be something you are looking for.  The cups of the SM style are pretty much the exact opposite of the S.  This style does not come with removable pads and is constructed of very thin and shear material.  The positives: this bra is a godsend in warm weather, as the cup material is light and airy; and although it pulls your breasts front-and-center, with no padding it doesn’t add any extra bulk to your boobs.  The negatives: if you are more modest (or your office seems to always be frigidly cold like mine is), this bra is going to have you nipping out a bit; and since this bra has no padding or cookies, the sizing is not very forgiving so you will need to have your size down and may not work well if you have a lot of asymmetry.  Last is the SF, which really seems to marry the S and SM together.  Like the SM, this style does not come with removable pads, however the cup is made with a slightly thicker material so it is not sheer.  Also, if you love the shape that the S style gives you but you find that the top of the cups are too closed off, the SF is a great alternative since the tulle at the top allows for more FoT breasts without creating that “muffin top” look that the S style can sometimes make.  The positives: if you like the modesty of the S style but don’t want a padded bra, this is a great compromise; and if you need more room at the top of your cup, this is a great style.  The negatives: like with the SM, since there is no padding, you really need to know your sizing.  NOTE: Another difference I noticed with the SF is that the cups are more full coverage on this bra than on the S or SM styles.

As far as which is the best style?  I really don’t think any of them are the “best”, as I think that they all serve a purpose, and in my opinion all deserve a spot in your wardrobe 🙂  Personally, I prefer the S style and wear that the majority of the time.  However, on super hot days I will chose between the SM and the SF, and which one I choose is 100% dependent on if I am going to work or not.  As I mentioned earlier, my office building is always freezing and I hate worrying about if my nips are showing, so if I’m going to work then I will wear the SF.  But if it is hot out and I am going to be outside, I almost always reach for my SM.  A small little side note about the SM style for those of you who are also enhanced like me: since I have very little natural tissue and no hang, my breasts do not fill out the very bottom of my cups (a very common thing among implanted ladies).  Though this happens in all my bras, since the SM is sheer it is the only bra where I actually see that gap.  It’s not a big deal, but it did worry me the first time I tried the SM, until I found out this is normal.

If you haven’t tried any of these styles before, my suggestion is always to start with the classic S style first and really get your sizing down.  Once you know what size you are in Ewa Michalak, then branch out to the other styles.  As a quick tip, the SM and the SF do seem to typically run a little big in the cups (or seem that way since there isn’t any padding to fill the cup out a bit), so I might suggest getting a cup size smaller in these styles 😉  I hope you have enjoyed this review and please let us know if you have any questions!