So over the festive season (which is decidedly unfestive for those of us who work in retail and have January exams) i managed to win a competition run by Bluebella. This was my entry and apparently me being a massive nerd actually worked in my favour for once. Sorry to everyone who isn't a massive nerd yo, it must suck to not be excited by theoretical AGN driven galaxy evolution. My prize was a lovely £100 voucher to spend on whatever i pleased in their online store. Weirdly though, i was given a very immediate deadline for my purchases, the email stated 7 days but when i actually placed the code through the website, i was told i only had 5 days to spend my voucher and it all had to be in one go. Since Bluebella are/were in the midst of their sale and some things were low in stock, i found this a bit inconvenient. I ended up panic buying a few pieces, with one being a size too large, because i didn't feel i could take the risk and wait to see if my size came back into stock. I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth but it seemed like a very strange way to conduct the winnings of a giveaway. But i digress, most of us don't shop on deadlines and winning giveaways (or any stroke of luck) is so rare for me that it's not a legitimate complaint.
I picked up the Vivienne Bra and Suspender in ivory and Basque in pink. Overall, i had to put a small amount of my own money towards this purchase but the £100 did cover most of it. There are various styles of Vivienne knicker but they were either a vile cut, sold out in the closest thing to my size (an 8 when i prefer to wear a 6, so naturally sizing up to a 10 would've been a bad idea) or not available in the colour-way i wanted. So i ended up going without in the hopes that i could pair something plain black/pink/ivory with these instead.I picked up the Vivienne bra in a 30B, my usual size, although not my actual size (impossible to find 28C that isn't hideous) but i wouldn't say it runs true to size. The band measures 22" and stretches up to 29" and the cups fit large, although this could just be due to the nature of the high apex not being a style particularly flattering and suitable to small, shallow and wide-set busts.
The basque i had to get in a 30C due to the time constraints and the 30Bs being completely sold out. It's exactly the same fit as the bra, measuring 22" and stretching to 29" and the cups were way too large for me. Luckily, i'm getting pretty adept at sewing darts into bras and so i was able to adjust this to a better fit. The actual basque has two columns of hook and eyes down the back and i would say fits a UK 6, possibly a UK 8 at a stretch. So not great for any girls out there who have small busts but are of a larger dress size further down their torso. Weirdly, the basque isn't quite long enough for my torso (and i would say i have a pretty average length torso, it just happens to look longer as my waist lies ridiculously high up). So those of you who do possess a long torso might want to pass on this one. Although i'm not an expert on basques (or anything for that matter).
The suspender belt i picked out in the smallest size, a 6-8, and the fit is pretty good actually. There's three rows of hooks at the fastening and so the size ranges from 22" to 30" when stretched fully.
As all three pieces are from the same style, i can pretty much comment on the design and quality as a collective. All three are constructed from a relatively fine black mesh with large floral lace overlays . On both the basque and the bra, the lace covers the full cup however the mesh only covers the outer half. I find this a little strange as it means, due to the large seam down the middle, that the cups lack any structure. It's just billowing fabric, which is not flattering to the small bust as we need all the help we can when it comes to shape. Speaking personally, i'm more nipple than anything else so i either need a soft cup bra to be tight and flatten me out, or to have structure and provide shape. Otherwise i just look horrendously pointy and completely flattened on the outside of my breasts. The construction is fine, not exceptional but not bad either. There are a few loose threads and seams that haven't been finished properly but i'm pretty easy going with these sorts of things and they can either be carefully cut off or they lie on the inside of the garment so they don't show when worn. I do love the design, i wish the cups didn't increase in depth towards the outside as this is where i hold the least volume (this was left unaltered in the bra but remedied in the basque at the time of photographing this set) but this is definitely an issue with all things high apex not being compatible with my shape or size.
Overall i'm pretty impressed with Bluebella and it's nice to see a new-ish brand offering 30 bands in some of the smaller cup sizes! I'm going to keep up with them as a brand and hopefully they continue to offer mature, exciting lingerie in sizes for those of us who are often left wanting.