September 5, 2016

Freya Fancies: A Two-Part Review

 The past two months have been a whirlwind in the lives of these new homeowners! We've been redoing our living room and discovering a lot of sweet, lazy little surprises the previous owners left behind. Such tasteless, negligent folks they were. For reference, check out this wall color! Just....to die for. However, the light up here is dreamy, and there's plenty of open space. So expect some green photos until we muster up the time and energy to change it.
My lingerie purchases have been along the same vein (lazy and convenient), especially since I have just tipped over the edge into a G cup. I'm pretty bummed on it. A lot of brands that expand to larger cup sizes stop around a G cup, from what I've seen; at least the lower cost ones do. I'm hoping I can stave off future growth. 

Padded half-cup styles are one of those styles I don't see super super often in the full-bust-small-band options above a G cup, so I'll probably be making the most of them this winter. Although I generally am not a fan of padding, the soft yet decisive lift that a they give allows me to make the most of my bust when not trying to hide it, and none of the bulkiness that I often feel within a padded t-shirt bra style. I've had a few over the past year, none of which fit me properly now, and loved the sensual, classy look they give. 
The Freya Fancies Longline is a padded half-cup style, along the lines of the Patsy longline of the past. I actually have a Patsy that I inherited over the past year, but one of these things is not like the other. I, along with a few others, have found that the Fancies does not offer me the same look that I've come to expect from a half-cup style. While it has great lift and the classic rounded shape, I expect a half-cup to give me a full-to-the-brim look, showcasing the goods in a perfectly presentational manner; this just seems to flatten the top of my breast down. 
I purchased this bra in a 30G, my usual size. My first instinct would be that perhaps the cup is a little roomy for me, that maybe I have not truly become the G I think I am? But through trial, I am sure that's not the case. So, then, perhaps this runs full? Perhaps. Although I find the wires are fitting me well, and I don't have any space in the cups. One of my pals has this in a 28GG and feels the same issue. I honestly think this may just be a bit more coverage than what I'm used to in some other half-cup styles. I feel that generally they cut straight across just a touch more instead of cutting across the breast at an angle, with the vertical seams coming up a little higher, and the top of the cup being a little narrower. It just seems like the apex of the cup sits lower than usual.
I'll leave it an unsolved mystery for now. 
As for fit, I have no complaints. I fill out the cup evenly, and the band feels like most Freya bands - just a touch on the loose side. This has five hooks, but only two rows, which is a bummer if this is a style you'd wear the shit out of. However, I find that pretty typical of most longline styles. Fully adjustable straps, as it should. 
I do wish that Freya would include some boning on the sides of their longlines, as Cleo does, because without it, anybody who has a soft body (hi!!!!!) will feel the joyous feeling of the longline part rolling straight up. When I wear this, in fact, it stays like that most of the day, because I can't be bothered to reach up and fix it every time I walk across a room. There is elastic around the bottom to try and help with this, which may work for folks with a longer torso. It has gotten better as I've broken it in some.
Even though I'm making it sound like I hate this bra, I don't!! It's really cute. I tried it on originally in black, and all of a sudden was ordering one for myself, but trying to branch out into more color. These pictures don't do the shade of red justice: it's a bright, almost organgy, screaming red, a really fun color that I think would flatter loads of people. The cup and band are laid over with floral lace of the same color in the front, giving it a more delicate classy flair, with a polka-dotted bow in the middle. The back of the bra is a classic red mesh. 
This fun lil thing is available up to an H cup! It's a fun piece of lingerie, and I don't yet regret it!

Fancies Bralette

The longline is part of a whole collection released by Freya, which includes a plnuge bra, a brazillian brief, a short, that longline, a chemise, and this bralette. It's about time bralettes exist for bigger busted ladies without being custom made! I've seen these puppies accommodate a 32J, so there's no limit to their power.
I wear a lot of Calvin Klein bralettes, because I'm into the whole athleisure thing that's big right now, and thus wasn't really in the market for a bralette when the Fancies came out. However, they sold out of my work the same day they came in, and were backordered for months, so....once I saw this Lime Punch color, I figured I'd give it a go. Anything in the realm of mustard yellow/baby poop green is something I can't help but jump on. 
These really are a piece of ingenious construction, and here's why: selective flexibility. While the mesh of the cups has a good amount of stretch to it, and can move with you, the band and the seam across the top of the cup don't have a whole lot of wiggle room. This means you can squeeze more into the cup while still maintaining decent support. Of course, this is no going-out bra support (not that that's stopped me), but it keeps you controlled well enough. It's great for laying around the house, which is one of my favorite pastimes. Also makes for a great sleeping bra. It's such a relief to have a bralette that doesn't snag on my piercing in the middle of the night. I'm also not above wearing it as a shirt over top of a bra. 
The cup is mesh, with one line of rouching in the middle that helps pull tissue in from the sides ever so slightly, and carries another polka-dotted bow. The fabric is lightly rouched along the band as well, where the fabric gets pulled into the seam, which gives tissue a little more direction than it often has in bralettes or compression-style bras. Lace comes across the top of the cup to conceal any spills and give a little extra daintiness and coverage. It also has a lace band bit attached to the band that comes down the torso. Usually things like this bug me, because they tend to roll up a lot (see: Longline), but because this has so much flex to it, it hangs just right down my soft lil bod. It's loose, even.


Straps are adjustable on this baby as well, which can give a little more control if you're the real deal small-band-big-cup kinda person. I saw a Small on a 28G the other day and she hated how baggy the lace was on her, even though she was teetering on popping out of the top. It's definitely not a solution for everybody, but it's a big step in the right direction for mass-produced lingerie. This bralette is available from a XS-XL. And I can go ahead and let ya'll know this coming out in so many good colors in the spring, many of which I'll probably snatch up in a spending fit.  
I own this in a Medium and it is both comfy, edgy, and just a lil bit dainty. 

I'm kind of into Freya having a collection of styles that are basics, but in a bunch of colors, if that makes sense. The frames they've picked for this collection are all pretty strong. I'll probably be trying that plunge out pretty soon, because word on the street is, my favorite color is on the horizon. Chemises are a current obsession of mine as well lately, so stay tuned! I may just review the whole goddamn thing.