The other week my Beau and i reached a big milestone for us, our one year anniversary. It's a date that happens to fall a week after his birthday and less than a month before mine so the months of April and May are particularly indulgent for us. That being said, we're currently saving up for our new member of the family (July can't come soon enough) so i put together a list of inexpensive gifts to cover both events (mostly comic books and figurines) but one lingerie set did slip on and Beau being the sweetest Pickle in the world surprised me with it (after many other amazing gifts).
Cream Intimates are a British indie who popped onto my radar via instagram. Whilst not all of their styles are my cup of tea, i was instantly drawn to the Limited Edition Iris Ring Detail set. As you know, i love strappy designs and i love hardware so total no brainer right? After my last disaster with putting lingerie on my gift wishlist i was nervous about adding this set but its aesthetics won me over and since i'm on a bit of a lingerie spending ban, i thought it was worth a try to get someone else to pay for me to indulge in a new, local (as in same country), indie brand.
Beau ordered the bra in a 32A and the knickers in an XS small for me AND THIS TIME, the fit was perfect! Like snug all over but not digging in perfect. Like fits my 24" waist and my 32.5" hips perfect. Like sits actually on my waist and not twenty inches below it perfect. Like gives me a great smoothed over shape with a little lift and minimal wrinkling in the cups perfect. Like i could wear this for days and on long haul flights and to sleep and to climb a mountain and feel comfortable perfect.
But i'm getting ahead of myself. Once i undid the bow and removed Beau's perfect wrap job (he's getting better than me at all things domestic) i was confronted by a simple black box with a Cream Intimates logo on it. It's so minimalistic and pleasing, i'm adding it to my list of lingerie storage i would be happy to have on display in my apartment. Inside the box was a chunky fishnet laundry bag (i also love this bag, a lot) and inside there was my Iris. So perfectly presented in a vessel befitting of the lingerie inside it.
The set itself is a very fine micro mesh with matte satin elastic strapping and overlapping gold metal hardware. The knickers have a flattering low rise cut to them in the front and a high rise cut in the back. The elastic strap around the waist gives the illusion of a large cutout detail but without the commitment of actually cutting parts of the fabric away. It's clever. It's effective. It's comfortable. The bra has wide set cups (yassss) with a central dart for shaping and a thick band which keeps my little goodies securely in place whilst lifting a tad. Both sets of straps are functional and fully adjustable although i will say the sliders are a bit stiff at first.
As for a more thorough overview of the sizing, the 32A bra measures 25" around the band and stretches up to 34". The XS knickers measure 24" around the waist strap and have a couple of inches stretch in them too.
This set exceeded all my expectations. I expected it to be a cute set, nothing overly special but cute. What i actually got was a very special set, one that makes me feel good about myself, one that reminds me of someone i care about a great deal, one that is comfortable and one that feels like me. No airs, no graces. This is me as a lingerie set. This is me wearing the same lingerie set for the rest of my life. This is me happy. So that's a win.
Think i'll have to pick up the Pamela bra next although i'm kind of praying they release knickers with high waisted strapping detailing to match because i'm not about that high leg life, but i'm all about straps going all up my body... Duh.