A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending The Lingerie Edit AW16 show down in London and it was magical. Much love to Becky (of Invest in your chest) and Vicky of The Lingeristas for dragging me down and making my weekend extra special. One of my great loves, Bluebella, had a booth there. We did spend an unreasonable amount of time browsing through their SS16, AW16 and new "More" DD+ range. Our coos could probably be heard from space and we waxed lyrical about how much we loved and respected Bluebella so much that i think the girls operating the booth were like "get lost already" by the end. Haha whoops. But it goes to show that, as consumers, we feel Bluebella is consistently putting out designs that fulfill almost all of our needs and continuously impress us (and lingerie bloggers are notoriously hard to impress because we're the most lingerie fatigued of all). We were particularly impressed with the quality and price points of all their pieces and of course, them expanding to a DD+ range (with some show stopping pieces) on top of already catering to 30 bands in small cup sizes (always a winner for me).
Anyway i digress, if you're a fan of lingerie or a fan of Bluebella then you will be so so pleased with what AW16 has to offer and i cannot wait for it to be released. But a couple of weeks ago Bluebella got in touch with me to ask if i'd like to receive a piece from their equally stunning SS16 collection. From the email i didn't get the impression that they knew i was one of the girls bugging them with compliments at TLE and they genuinely had remembered working with my blog last year and wanted to do so again. Honestly this is so nice. In 2015 Bluebella took off big style and they have fans in, and collaborations with, so many large fashion blogs because of their innovative and pleasing designs. So it's exceptionally lovely to have them considering Lingerie Bloggers, who obviously are more niche, to still work with them too. It's that kind of brand loyalty that will keep them in the favours of many and do them well.
Rambling again, but i was offered my pick of the SS16 collection and naturally i sent back a long list because i couldn't decide (it's a damn good collection, go see for yourself) and asked for them to surprise me. The keen eyed of you will have clocked by now however that this post is a bit of a two for one. My dear dear (oh my gosh) dear friend Becky drew my name in our girl gang secret santa and we exchanged gifts last week. Knowing me ridiculously well she opted for a Bluebella set but customised it in the most incredible way. I figured i'd include it here to review the quality of the Bluebella set underneath and also as a big thank you to someone who i have so much love for and possibly the only someone in my life who would realise i needed lingerie with "Piss Flaps" embroidered on it somewhere.
Let's start with the Blake bra and brief from SS16. I was sent the bra in a 30B and the brief in a UK8.
After the success of their Nova bra, quite rightly Bluebella are staying true to themselves and experimenting with more ouvert and cut-out styles. I love this because these styles always come available in small band/small cup sizes and we so rarely get people thinking about us when designing architectural lingerie. The Blake bra is definitely exciting. The really chunky mesh panels (and band) mixed with the micro mesh completely do it for me in the fabric department. I maybe would have opted for a more matte finish, instead of the satin finish, on all the piping and underbust as i feel it's a little too out of place with the overall edgy style of the bra but believe me, i'll survive. The geometric design of the cups is wild. I love how it's not symmetrical within the cups, of course each cup is a mirror image of the other but the actual panels of the cups don't have a distinct pattern. They just are how the are, organically (and also yay for micro mesh over your nipples and not chunky mesh to get caught in your piercings...). If i were the designer i'd have been tempted to make it symmetrical with the second micro mesh panel made of chunky mesh instead but that's why i'm not a designer. It's too safe, to obvious. This is better. The little gold hardware of the strap sliders and the tag engraved with the brand name are a really nice touch too.
On top of all the exciting panelling, fabric changes and cutout details you also have an adjustable halter neck detail (with a hook fastening for convenience). I love a good halterneck as i always feel it naturally pulls and lifts my small bust in the ways that flatter it the most. Because i'm not carrying much weight in my bust, i can also find it comfortable for long term wear. Unfortunately those who are bustier may feel that this reduces the amount of time they can comfortably wear the bra for, so something to think about if you're not small busted.
The briefs are a little safer, with the mesh panelling being symmetrical and a cute little cut-out detail over the arse. They're also not quite full bum which appeases me because i prefer having half my arse hanging out of everything, i'm weird like that.
The fit of the bra is spot on, everything sits flush against me and stays in place. As a set with no padding and only one set of supportive straps, i don't get some massive lift nor shaping effect but that is mostly due to my small bust. People with larger busts than mine would probably get a lifted, separated shape from this bra, which coincidentally might be why the bra works so well for me in fit, it's suitable for wide set breasts too.
The briefs run a little small for a UK8, i would say they're more like a UK6. If i weren't so soft around the hips (seriously i'm doing everything to shift the fat deposits here and work on my muscle tone but damn, obliques are stubborn) these would look in like they really do fit in real life. Because they do. They're comfortable and don't dig in too much but the low angle of the camera and my soft hips really do make it look like i'm squishing myself in... As with most knickers who have a firm waistband (this one is satin covered fyi), either you size up and have a saggy bum or deal with a little muffin top. Sorry guys, it's just another way the universe makes us practice our decision making skills.
Now onto the Selena set in a size small (sorry guys the amazing patches don't come as standard, you need to have amazing friends, or your own needle and thread, to make these bad boys happen) and you're in luck it's on sale now too!
Can i just preface by saying this set feels like i'm wearing silk or water or nothing at all but with a little more support than nothing at all... I've had this set a week and i've hand washed it about 3 times (necessary to stop the patches coming off) because i keep wearing it to lounge about my apartment or sleep in. I cannot get enough of it. The whole set is made of micro mesh with all the seams lined in a soft almost jersey material. Everything has like 4 way stretch and just feels so damn comfortable.
The bra fits nicely although there's enough stretch and space for a much larger set of breasts. It's not firm around the band but it stays in place for me. The knickers fit perfectly, and no muffin top. As far as comfortable, flattering lingerie goes, Selena is my new go to set. And she also comes in a cream/beige version (please Bluebella rename this anything but "nude").
Clearly i'm impressed with Bluebella still and i'm so looking forward to seeing what 2017 and beyond brings for them too. Keep your eyes peeled for their AW16 collection because it's stunning and go peruse their SS16 and More collections as well. Bluebella is about as affordable a brand can be without sacrificing their ethics and garment quality, so there's no excuses to not support them if you do love their designs.
*These items were gifted to me free of charge from Bluebella and Becky respectively. All opinions are my own.