Arabel has been on my radar for a while now, in the past i've found their whimsical designs attractive if a tad too girly for me at times but i was pleasantly surprised to see that since i last checked in with them, Arabel seem to have matured as a brand and have expanded their ranges to include some terribly beautiful pieces, including a darling lace bra that claims to be suitable for petite ladies and comes in those often overlooked small band/small cup sizes.
These Painted Lady knickers are available with a variety of different coloured butterfly embellishments but i was immediately drawn to the white on white version. Currently i'm going through a massive white lingerie phase and i just knew these would be perfect for me.
I go about life without using public toilets so i'm always desperate for a wee when i get into my apartment building and therefore i've developed the terribly unladylike habit of opening all my post on the toilet. So when i say i wee'ed myself in excitement when i saw these in the flesh for the first time, you know i'm being literal here. I had the immediate desire to buy a pair for my mother but then i saw the price (£60) and thought she probably wouldn't appreciate them enough for me to splurge.
I'm not a huge fan of 3D embellishments and surprisingly even less of butterflies. When i was a young child my bedroom was covered in them: butterfly paintings on the walls, butterfly magnets on the radiator, butterfly broaches on the curtains and bed canopy, butterflies everywhere, so to me they are an infantile symbol but guh, i love these knickers. I think this love has a lot to do with the fluidity throughout the design. The choice of Chiffon fabric with that vertical ruching and the flared hem coupled with the placement of the butterflies over one hip that are almost animated on their journey to the centre of the bum. Yup, it's a mature and exceptionally classy take on my childhood mascot. They're just so perfect for lazing around in my little monochrome world on a sunny weekend (or tuesday)
I was sent these knickers in a size 6-8 and the fit is spot on. As the bulk of the knickers is mostly free size, the only fit issue would be with the waistband, which you can see (can you see?) doesn't dig in and sits quite nicely. My only niggle is with the construction as, as the fabric is ruched around the waist elastic without any stitches to hold it in place, the elastic twists out of place in multiple points along the waistband and is a bugger to untwist and get to lie flat. But other than that the construction is really perfect and although the nature of this piece is to look delicate, i don't feel like it would be very easy to put a hole in the fabric or pull a butterfly off them
(EDIT: I wore these for the first time the other day, having only gently handwashed them and left them to air dry before. I only wore them to bed and yet when i woke up in the morning a butterfly had completely fallen off and upon further inspection i realised that many more were hanging by their threads. So something to take into consideration before you purchase and i am quite disappointed that this has happened).
They didn't come with any care advice but i hand washed them before i shot these photos and there were no disasters however i certainly wouldn't throw them in the washing machine with my everyday knickers.
I'm overall incredibly impressed with the craftsmanship and the subtle beauty of these sweet little knickers and i'm definitely going to pop over to Arabel more often, and keep an eye on this little brands development. I can foresee a very happy love affair between me and them if this is the quality and style of lingerie they keep producing.
If you're interested in owning any Arabel for yourself and supporting an independent, UK brand then you can make that a reality here.
*This garment was sent to me free of charge for the purposes of a review. All opinions are my own