The eLai "Back in Time" collection is truly one of the greatest lingerie collections of all time in my opinion. I was enamoured with the lookbook the moment it appeared on my radar but alas, i somehow never got around to purchasing a piece from it for myself. This collection embodies how fun and exciting lingerie can and damn well should be. So i was over the moon to receive a little eLai made gift from the moon of my life, my sun and my stars, Amélie in our biannual lingerie care package swap. I do go backwards and forwards on eLai, it's something Amélie and i agree on, as they have a couple of incredibly inspiring collections but no lack of pretty dull, un-innovative pieces too. So when they're good, they're beyond exceptional but when they're bad, it's hard to believe all the pieces come from the same designer. It's not an out and out negative, as everyone has different tastes in lingerie and many do prefer the simpler basics but i'm a sucker for new and exciting details.
This peterpan collar playsuit in blue is now sold out, but it was the first piece that sold me on eLai as a brand, way back when this collection was first released. I'm a sucker for light blue for sporting reasons, with this being a shade or two shy of my team colours. And a broderie anglaise collar on it's own would have sealed the deal but the choice of sheer fabric and elastic strap detailing (connected by an o ring at the belly button, what a majorly pleasing design feature) goes above and beyond, "shut up and take my money." So yes, it is surprising i've shown so much restraint.
Amélie picked out this playsuit in an XS for me, and as usual (with almost all XS knickers) it fits perfectly across my hips but there is apparently too much junk, in my trunk, and we get a nice bit of quadrabutt making an appearance. It's something i'm used to and i've learnt to love my quadrabutt. So whilst the XS is perfect for my hips (they measure approx 32"), the strap detailing around my mid torso and waist (which falls just over my lowest floating rib and is approx 24") is not ideal. Alas these straps are unadjustable, a "one size fits all," job but they are just too large for me and won't stay put. It's not the end of the world, the straps look just as cute when they're kinda pooling together and i could easily add a little stitch in the back to adjust them to fit properly.
The collar is fully adjustable and damn cute, it's currently making appearances all across my summer wardrobe (where white babydoll style dresses reign supreme when i can bring myself to brace the heat). It's a nice little touch that makes this "playsuit" a playful piece of outerwear too.
One minor negative is that i, personally, prefer a cotton gusset as it's a breathable, hypoallergenic fabric that all in all is better for vaginal health. But since this isn't really an everyday piece of lingerie, i can survive without it. As far as the construction goes, i am very impressed, all the seams are finished neatly and there's no loose threads/wonky stitching.
My love for eLai has been reinspired and i'm hoping to get my hands on the Anglaise set when i'm not sodding poor and hopefully before it sells out or is discontinued (although it might be a while as my current priority list is: rent, bills, Mimi Holliday, food, anime figures, train fare to visit my family and then eLai, in that order). But i'm interested to see if the bras are the smallest of small bust suitable so y'know, maybe family and food can wait...
As ever, if you'd like to purchase your own eLai you can do so from their official store here where you can find all their collections, including previews of their upcoming Constellation collection (which looks amazing and i am devastated to say i was offered first dibs with a decent discount but couldn't afford it at the time so hopefully will be living vicariously through other bloggers).
One minor negative is that i, personally, prefer a cotton gusset as it's a breathable, hypoallergenic fabric that all in all is better for vaginal health. But since this isn't really an everyday piece of lingerie, i can survive without it. As far as the construction goes, i am very impressed, all the seams are finished neatly and there's no loose threads/wonky stitching.
My love for eLai has been reinspired and i'm hoping to get my hands on the Anglaise set when i'm not sodding poor and hopefully before it sells out or is discontinued (although it might be a while as my current priority list is: rent, bills, Mimi Holliday, food, anime figures, train fare to visit my family and then eLai, in that order). But i'm interested to see if the bras are the smallest of small bust suitable so y'know, maybe family and food can wait...
As ever, if you'd like to purchase your own eLai you can do so from their official store here where you can find all their collections, including previews of their upcoming Constellation collection (which looks amazing and i am devastated to say i was offered first dibs with a decent discount but couldn't afford it at the time so hopefully will be living vicariously through other bloggers).