dMondaine Shapewear

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Recently i've found shapewear has become a desirable garment but if you'd have asked me three years ago if i ever thought at twenty years old i'd feel the need to wear shapewear, i'd have said a flat no. Surprise surprise, bodies mature. Three years ago i was still rocking a concave stomach, however now, like the vast majority of women, i carry a layer of fat on my stomach. It's not a great amount of fat, but it is present and when coupled with my poor posture (many years of ballroom dancing and now i can't seem to break the habit of arching my back, all day, every day) my protruding stomach is greatly noticeable. Obviously this is most noticeable to me. We're all hypersensitive to changes in the structure of our bodies and we all also view our bodies from an unfortunate angle so i'm anticipating the "You don't have a tummy"/"You don't need shapewear"/"You're making others feel bad" comments and that's understandable but what's worth remembering when you read this review, is that what's important to me is how i view myself, in my natural, non-posed posture, in my daily, non-static environments. So whilst i work on adding some muscle tone to my stomach and whilst i struggle through a bout of terrible, spontaneous bloating on the regular, i've been on the look out for something that's just going to smooth everything down and do a wee bit of sucking in so i don't feel absolutely ghastly when i catch myself in the mirror thirty times an hour, at work.
When dMondaine contacted me i had the initial "who are dMondaine and what do they do?" moment that i have with a lot of companies that contact me. After clicking through to their webstore i had a little hallelujah moment. Granted there is a decent amount of beige going on, the seemingly "go to" colour for shapewear (many companies operate under the assumption that beige is an appropriate nude colour for all women. I'm sure if we all compared colour charts against our skin many of us would find much more suitable shades, other than beige. Especially those with darker skintones) and one colour i absolutely dread, the actual garments completely redeem themselves. It's a great sign that style has not been compromised for functionality when my first initial thoughts are how amazing ALL the slip dresses would look belted, with a chunky knit cardigan and in my everyday wardrobe. So much so that i can't help but feel like all of my little black dresses (and i only own little black dresses) are inferior in comparison to their Rita slip
Needless to say, i was impressed and i'm still impressed.
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dM1
dMondaine were kind enough to send me their Bridget and Lana in a size small.
Naturally i was super excited when i arrived home the other day and found these waiting for me, clothes *were* removed as soon as i was safely past the threshold. 
However when i first saw the Lana kickers, i was crestfallen, especially after spying the small on the label. They were tiny, i was pretty convinced they'd never get passed my bum and if they did, well the next time i was desperate for the loo i would be in danger of not being able to pull them down in time (i am an old lady when it comes to bladder control, yes). I was ecstatically proven wrong though. Obviously, if you hadn't already clocked from the photos adorning this post, the knickers fit. And comfortably. Usually in high waisted knickers, to keep the shape there's only limited stretch and in one direction so getting them on and off is a bit of a faff. With these, there's stretch in all directions and once on, nothing feels too tight or digs in. And yet, they are shapewear and they do indeed give shape. The diamond design on the front, whilst fabulously geometrical, subtly pulls in my lower stomach and disguises the part of my body i feel needs it the most. 
The Bridget bra is adorable. I love the sling shape of the cups and the fact that there's no underwire only a band of elastic and yet i get a nice lift that, if i had a larger chest, would most definitely be the makings of some cleavage. The design of the cups and the fabric used means that it fits my 30B chest with all the fabric lying flush against skin but i'm damn sure it would also fit a larger chest, there's room in here but not in an uncomfortable, it doesn't fit kind of way. This seems to be the nature of the design, the cups seem to be suited to hold many sizes that fall within the Small, Medium and Large range. 
I think the reason i'm so impressed with dMondaine is that they managed to break every negative i'd associated with shapewear. Their garments are stylish, unique, comfortable, well fitting and are suitable for small busts. Not to mention the Lana knickers give me a little bit more confidence in my side profile, which was my ultimate goal.

If you'd like to invest in your own dMondaine lingerie or read about the technology they've employed in their designs you can do so on their website here.
Has anyone else considered or owned shapewear and did it help boost your confidence?
*These items were sent to me free of charge to review. All opinions are my own, i am genuinely very impressed. 

Brands for Small Busts: Mimi Holliday by Damaris

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Okay so a full week and a couple of days after the fact, i've finally made good on my promise of a post introducing Mimi Holliday as a brand for small busts. As usual (do all my posts start with an apology of sorts? I feel like they probably do) i've been incredibly busy but only actually getting a fraction of what i'm supposed to be doing, done. So this is not the only thing i've been neglecting but my excuses are like so:
I was waiting on a package from Mimi that would validate some of my points in this post but, through no fault of Mimi Holliday, this took a lot longer than i anticipated and i also wanted some sort of cover photo for the post but just could not muster the motivation to get it shot (and naturally in the weeks its taken me, the weather has turned and so these photos aren't cohesive in either lighting or editing, but for once i do not care). 
Naturally, one of the things i love about Mimi Holliday by Damaris is their vast ranges of sizes. Not many of their current bras are available in the 28AA, A, B or 30As that are so uncommon but i've seen more than enough examples of these sizes from their past collections so i assume they crop up relatively regularly. It's refreshing seeing a brand continuously creating for not only the very small busted, but also the larger busted and everything in between, of course. As a 30B, my size is pretty commonly found within their ranges so i've pretty much bought out everything in the sale i could get my hands on in my size (as you'll read later, my actual size and the size i prefer to wear in Mimi are different). However i've found a serious case of vanity sizing and unsuitability for small busts throughout their styles so i though i'd share my knowledge in the hopes that, if any of you are thinking of buying you will be able to find a fit comfortable for you first time around. 
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Not Pictured is the "Coquette non-padded Shoulder Bra" in a 30B that was sent back almost immediately but of which the fit will still be discussed.
First things first, when buying a bra in this style, a little bit of thought towards the shape needs to happen. The bra i chose to send back, from the Coquette style had such a high apex and full cups that, although tagged as a 30B, it would have been better suited to a 32 C/D. There was no way my shallow or otherwise known as bottom heavy bust was going to fill out more than a 1/3 of that fabric and since i'd bought it full price, i was lucky enough to be able to send it back. 
The other two bras have exactly the same fit even though they are a cup size apart. The bands run very large and i find these most comfortable when worn on the tightest hook so a band size down from your usual is probably the best option. Due to the nature of the cups, they also run large and yet again, if i were to purchase another Shoulder Bra, i'd want to size down in the cup (although this isn't an option as they don't seem to offer an A cup below a 32 band in any of these styles). Luckily allover lace cups with a high apex don't gape and often the excess room/fabric isn't immediately apparent or at all uncomfortable.
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The "Bisou Bisou fully padded Plunge Bras" are currently my favourite bras (with the exception of my Ultimo bras) and i'm now the owner of four: the Bisou Bisou Cherie pictured), Pearl, Frost (worn in cover photo) and L'Amour but i've also got my eye on the Rose if it ever drops to sale price in the future.
Something i noted in my full review of the Bisou Bisou Cherie set is that although i purchased my usual size of a 30B, i felt a 28B would be a better fit as the band seems to run large across all Mimi styles. Cue my impulse purchase of the Bisou Bisou Frost and L'Amour in a 28B. And it turns out i was right, going down a band size was a good idea, the 28B fits like a true 30B and having spoken to a close friend who wears a 30FF (when not pregnant) and owns the same set, i can safely say she also felt like the band runs a size too large. It's also worth noting that she drew my attention to something i hadn't picked up on in my review for the Cherie set; these bras fasten with only one row of hooks in the back and so are not suitable for regular, all day wear for those who have a large bust and put more strain on their bras. This is something i'd never considered to mention as it's not a problem for small busts but is something i intend to check and include in future reviews anyway.
As for the fit, when wearing the right size, there's no "plunge" action, it's a pipe dream for me as i just don't have enough mass at the top and centre of my bust to get that shape whilst still encasing my nipples, but these do give a nice shape regardless. One thing to note is that due to the nature of "padded plunge" bras, your nipples will sit very close to the top of the cups, it's not something i personally find uncomfortable but i know isn't ideal for everyone. 
Something i can safely say is that there's none of the dreaded gaping for me, in fact there's very little room in the cups at all. I wore my Bisou Bisou L'Amour to work, where i usually stuff my locker key into the side of my bra and they were pretty touch and go all day. So great for my bust, but not so much for my ingenius locker key storage.

Mimi Holliday most definitely doesn't have perfect sizing (i have testimony as to a balcony bra in a 32A fitting someone who usually wears a 28/30A) but it's so rare to see a brand continuously flying the flag for very small busts. If you are planning on buying from Mimi Holliday's full price range then know that my experience with their returns was very positive and i got my money back almost as soon as my item arrived back with them. If you want to buy from Mimi Holliday's 60% off sale, in which items cannot be returned unless they are truly faulty, then i would always suggest going down a band size if possible, double checking the shape of the bra is compatible with the shape of your bust and weighing up the risk (currently most bras are around £22 right now so for me that isn't a huge risk as if i do end up with an unwearable size, there's always ebay, friends i can gift to or failing that, i'm lucky to work two jobs and know i can make that money back in one day, but take into account how big a risk it is for you and whether it's worth it).
If anyone reading this has any Mimi Holliday in their collection then please do comment with the item you have and how you find it fits so we can build up a nice little resource for the small busted (and large busted) who are thinking of purchasing something.

Edit: MariĆ«lle my darling detective and fellow small busted blogger, extraordinaire, did something clever (no doubt) and came across testament that as of SS13, Mimi Holliday increased their cup sizes (so a 28B would fit like a 28C) as they were receiving many complaints that their cups came up small.  So this is something to keep in mind and although i personally, have found that going down a band size works well for me, if you have the option of going down a cup size (which i do not) then that might be an option for you too.