Strapgate

I haven’t been posting for a real long while. Sorry, I’ve been really busy doing other things. This particular post was kind of caused by a recent affair on the English fanpage of Ewa Michalak. For those of you without Facebook this is what happened: one of Ewa Michalak’s clients posted a link to her blog where she describes an alteration to the straps. Edit: it wasn’t FussyBusty, it was somebody from Ewa’s team – they keep up with all the bloggers.

I can only imagine the face of Ewa when she saw it – and mind you, I have very rich imagination, but it was probably the WTF kind. Well, for a start she kept calm (as all of these recent memes advice) and asked if this problem was common. It turned out, that yes indeed, a lot of her foreign customers remade her bras in the very same way.  Hmmm, here’s a funny thing strikes me and not only me, all the English speaking Polish clients of her – why don’t we  have the same kind of problems? The girls posted links to their photographs in the said bras, Ewa looked at them and here I think she was close to banging her head on the nearest flat surface. Her response was in line with her regular straight forward attitude. Sure, she was not diplomatic at all and no PR specialist would advise her to do this, but she told you the truth. Ladies, Ewa’s  system of measuring for bras is not the same as the British one. After you measure your UB – even in inches, get your I-phone or whatever other smart device into your hand, turn on the calculating app (if you can’t calculate into cm into your head) and basically what you get – your tight measurement in cm (exhale, place the tape horizontally and squeeze without breaking your ribs)  is your band size in Ewa Michalak bras. I agree that the cup that you get out the size calculator on Ewa’s website may not be the right one – this parameter is influenced not only by the measurement of your boobs but also by their shape and texture.

Ewa Michalak’s sizing system is supposed to let you choose your band size based on your real UB measurement in cm. The other thing is – her bra styles are halfcups and plunges, so these are styles that do not cover the entire breast – some tissue will be always exposed. One more thing, they are not supposed to fit the same way the British brands do – those in your sizes often have wires that end up almost on your back – much behind your breast tissue. This is the reason I stopped buying Panache and also Freya – in GG in smaller bands the back part of the band gets really really short. Bravissimo in 32GG is unfortunately the same. The wires of Ewa Michalak’s bras are supposed to encircle your breast and to end just where the breast tissue ends. Not further into your armpit.

I don’t really believe there are so many of you that genuinely need 50, 55 or 60 bands from Ewa, but instead of talking more I’m just gonna show you what bra sizes are worn by Polish customers of Ewa. Sizes and measurements. Almost all these data were taken from Balkonetka, a few other entries came from both Lobbies. I don’t give the name of a given model on purpose – to keep the anonymity of the user. What is shown are: – UB measurement -where I could get it: two measurements – tight one and the one without squeezing the tape. Breast measurement (standing, without bending down, unless both measurements were provided), Ewa’s fitting size; and the user’s assessment of the bra and fit with comments (much abbreviated by me).

	UB in cm	Boobs in cm	EM size	rating	remarks
1	68	86	65D	5*	Wires slightly too narrow
2	66	85	70C	4*	The band still holds even though the bra is old
3	64	92	65E	5*	The band slightly looser but still holds well
4	71	89	70C	5*	My favourite bra now
5	76	101	80F	4*	Very comfortable
6	75	101	75E	5*	An ok bra
7	67	93	65FF	5*	ok
8	78	102	75FF	5*	Very comfortable
9	78	115	85HH	4*	Very tight band
10	74	102	70H	5*	Very tight band, have to use an extender
11	71	101	70G	5*	Sensational fit and lift
12	72	115	75HH	5*	The band could be tighter
13	71	92	70FF	5*	Great fit
14	62	86	60F	5*	A bit too small for the bigger boob
15	64	92	60F	5*	Moderately tight band
16	68	95	70FF	4*	Just beautiful fit
17	60	85	60E	5*	Very pleasant on the loosest hook
18	74	102	75G	5*	Beautiful and comfortable
18	66	92	65F	4*	Very nice effect
19	67	97	65H	5*	The band seems loose but holds very well
20	83-87	No date	85G	–	The lift is ok though the wires could be wider
21	68	95	70E75DD	–
22	71-73	92-93	75C		Very tight band (red panther)
23	77	110	75H	4*	After many washings it doesn’t give such a lift anymore
24	87-94	116-128	85GG	5*	I like the effect.
25	79	94	80DD	4*	–
26	90	115	90E	5*	For me – the best (very wide ribcage but no fat tissue)
27	66	91	65FF	5*	Beautiful
28	73	96	75F	5*	The band is on the tight side
29	64	92	60F	5*	The band is moderately tight
30	71	92	70FF	4*	The band is tight (IMO)
31	66	90	65F	5*	My new love
31	67	97	65H	5*	The band seems on the loose side but holds well
32	93	135	95J	5*	Fantastic fit and lift – I can run
33	72	116	70JJ	5*	Comfortable and pleasantly tight – I mean the band
34	72	102	70FF	5*	Just wonderful
35	59	90	65G	5*	A band’s a bit on the loose side, but it’s a second hand
36	76	111	75H	5*	–
37	76	101	80E	5*	I love it
38	59	90	60GG	5*	I love the profile
39	61	85	60F	5*	Tight band, great fit
40	69	93	70FF	5*	Great fit
41	78	108	80F	5*	Great fit, comfortable bra
43	73-77	90-94	75E	–	–
44	69-72	84-86	70C	–	–
45	65-72	83-84	70A	–	–
46	69-76	86-96	70E	–	–
47	75-82	113-116	75J	–	–

None of the numerous Polish customers of Ewa complain about straps cutting into the armpits. What we may complain about are: too short straps, too long straps, straps that adjust only half way, or the fact that the little circle between the front and back part of the strap just gets directly on a shoulder (grrrr, uncomfortable), the straps may roll or stretch or be of not satisfactory quality in our opinion, ect. But never have I heard on Balkonetka or on any of the Lobbies that EM straps cut into the armpits as described by Fussy Busty.

Written by a person who wears EM 75G for 74-77 cm UB and 102 cm around the boobs.

Sexy curves, clothes hangers and dressing for big “gala” occasions

First of all I’d like to thank all of you for reading the blog even though I hardly published any articles in 2011. However, as much as I’m still keen on brafitting and new bra collections, my lingerie needs are now fullfilled in 99% by Ewa Michalak. I may admire new Freyas, Curvy Kates, Masquerades or Bravissimo line, but when I finally get to order anything new it turns up to fit and shape much worse than Effuniak’s plunges and CH half cups (which are a marvel for the breasts). I see that the growing lingerie blogging community is also starting to appreciate this Polish brand, as well as another pro-boob company from Poland – BiuBiu (which I also love).

Dressing a curvy woman is a challange, isn’t it? There are not so many companies that cater for the needs of hourglass shaped women. We have Bravissimo – now Pepperberry, BiuBiu. I remember Mauzonka of Balkonetka once wrote about Bratique Helene… (but unless you have a very conservative taste in clothing and don’t want to look like your own grandmother I don’t really recommend it).  Georgina of Fullerfigerfullerbust mentions several brands, like PinUp Girl clothing (btw, Georgina, those dresses are really nice) or Simply Be. Brittany of Thin and Curvy likes Trashy Diva… But what made me think about writing this note is actually this article. It’s not a recent one, mind you (which just shows how long I have been sitting on it). Sooo, the world’s sexiest woman had to BEG for a gown – because designers think she’s too curvy… IMHO, this just shows how crazy and gain oriented the fashion world is. Obviously designing and making clothes that would fit real women, not half-starved waif looking fashion models is a challenge, you do have to put all those seams, God knows how many darts in various places, which is awfully difficult… To me it looks like those great names of fashion reputed to be great designers and taylors apparently are not capable of making a dress, or a shirt, whatever to accommodate feminine curves… and it doesn’t only refer to gala glamorous dresses. Just out of curiosity, once I dropped into Escada shop on one of the main avenues of Lisbon and decided to try on a dress… Just an everyday casual dress, nothing fancy. Obviously my boobs didn’t fit into a 40 or 42, and 44 was not available. Anyway, even 42 looked like a sack of potatoes on me… And for this I was supposed to pay over 500 euros… if I were stupid enough to buy it…

So, the point of this note is, we do already have some clothes for everyday wear, more or less casual or even formal occasions. But what about really BIG events when a glamorous gown like the one Christina Hendricks is wearing on the photograph IS absolutely necessary? Her example shows that we can’t really count on big designers (even if any of us could afford to throw several thousand bucks for a dress to wear only once). Well, what do you do then ladies? Are there any companies that make gala gowns or do we have to resort to having taylored them to our size individually?

2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 50,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 19 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Soutienocracia is already online

Hello, everybody.

I’d just like to say that my bra-shop is already operational. Anybody who speaks or understands Portuguese is welcome: www.soutienocracia.com

What I have in stock now is some part of the Curvy Kate spring collection, and also Ewa Michalak bras. Actually, you’ll be able to buy them all, it’s just that for some models the delivery time will be longer….  (Sorry, didn’t rob a bank which I would have had to do to have all the models in all the possible sizes from Ewa:P

I’ll just repeat the address one more time: www.soutienocracia.com

 

Soutienocracia is already open

I would like to invite everybody to my shop which is already open.  I received the first shipment of bras – 5 models from spring/summer collection of Curvy Kate. Princess in beige and pink, Emily in black and tourquise, Tease me in black/almond. I’m still waiting to receive a coral Thrill me and Elegance in ivory, but they should be here on Friday at the latest. So, at the moment and have almost 76 sizes in stock, and I’m going to have more after I receive Effuniaks.

How to buy from me? Anybody here from Braga, Portugal? Yup, the shop is located there, at the moment in my house:) Sorry for not having a proper stationary store, but I simply prefer to invest money into stock to give you more choice rather than  pay the rent and the cost of furnishing it and also employing somebody to help me (however I know that I won’t be able to escape this “fate” in the future). So anybody living in Braga(land) can come and try on bras and of course buy them:) In order to do it  it’s advisable to make an appointment by calling 91 020 3194 or writing to soutienocracia@gmail.com , I’m sure you can understand why it’s better to do it… Apart from all sizes of bras I guarantee additional attractions – namely 5 feline ones. Eeeeverybody loves them. But if you’re allergic, just notify me about it in advance, I will isolate the cats and air the “shop room”.

The other way of selling I’m offering is  a “bra-home-party” at a customer’s apartment. We simply arrange a date that is conveniant for both of us and you  invite a few of your girlfriends (and/or female members of your family) to your home for coffee and gossip, I come too with a big suitcase or two full of bras. There we sit, chat, you try on bras (and buy them of course) and we generally have a good time. As far as the number of women at the event is concerned, well, as they say – the more the merrier:) However,  more women to fit into a good size of a bra means more time that the party will take. The optimum number is 10, more or less.  It’s also advisable to provide me with the frame and bust measurements of the participants. Unfortunately all the bras that I will have in stock won’t fit into 2 suitcases, I would need several more… So we need to limit the number of lingerie to be carried to the event to the general area of the size that should fit you. Inside Braga this type of service is free, outside I have to ask you to cover the cost of relocating to the event. I suppose, after dividing the cost of it into 10 people it will be less the the shipping…

And finally Soutiencracia is going to sell online. The website is under construction, it should be ready more or less in March… 

Ps. Come to my Soutienocracia Facebook profile too.

From 80C to 70H or why most women still wear bad bra sizes?

Recently when I was browsing through my old photographs I came across one that gave me an idea for this note (and also another one for the other blog). The photo shows me wearing one of my old bras from the times when I wasn’t bra-conscious plus a top (of course:) ). As I still had access to that old top a decided to make another photo, this time in a well fitted bra just to see the difference. Here’s the result:

The old bra is a 80C(36C) from Victoria’s Secret (yes, I used to think that this brand was a bra paradise), the bra that I wear on the right photograph is an Effuniak 70H(32H). There is a difference, isn’t there? And I must say that the old photograph shows me when I was actually 2 kg less than now… And still, a well fitted bra makes me optically lose even more than these two kilos….

And the bad effect you see above is an everyday bread to a lot of women. Big brands as VS, and also media showing incorrect women’s body image are the culprits who force women into believing that a look shown on the pics below is ok.

 

And mind you, these are photos from VS fashion show, where not everything may happen to be fitted correctly. Even Panache happens to dress their models into bad sizes as kasica shows here. However it seems that VS should learn a lot from Panache about fitting models into lingerie. Other films made by kasica at the shows of spring/summer collection  don’t show too many examples  of bad fit as the one with Masquerade. Victoria’s Secret’s website and catalogues show that they don’t have an idea about how a bra should fit  too. Have a look at some of photos from their website:

Really, a ton of examples of badly fitted bras. And they make the same errors as they did on their show(s) – too wide bands for all these slim girls and too small cups. The problem is that  VS is not the only one providing examples of bad fit for the public.  The internet is full of images of celebs, models and also ordinary women wearing incorrectly fitted lingerie (or clothes that don’t allow enough space for the breasts).

 The garments that the girls above are wearing on their breast can be only called nipple covers… These pieces of cloths don’t deserve the name of a bra.

I must say it seems like a constant fight… To convince all women that don’t know their correct size yet and believe that what they get from big brands is ok…

2010 in review

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

About 3 million people visit the Taj Mahal every year. This blog was viewed about 31,000 times in 2010. If it were the Taj Mahal, it would take about 4 days for that many people to see it.

In 2010, there were 28 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 35 posts. There were 69 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 50mb. That’s about 1 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was November 23rd with 225 views. The most popular post that day was What does it mean to wear D or DD cups?.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were busenfreundinnen.net, forum.gazeta.pl, forum.miau.pl, facebook.com, and eternalvoyageur.xanga.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for gigantomastia, macromastia, 32f, curvy kate, and bfcidade.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

What does it mean to wear D or DD cups? April 2010
2 comments

2

G and GG cups – do they always stand for “get a reduction”? February 2010
7 comments

3

Plastic surgery – is it worth the bother? July 2010
8 comments

4

Boob-friendly swimwear May 2010
4 comments

5

What has a correct bra size given to me? February 2010
9 comments

Panthers and vivid coloured half-cups

To begin with I’d like to say sorry for not writing for quite a long time and thank you for coming here and reading my blog even though nothing appeared here since last article about Balkonetka’s catalogue. I’m preparing to open a lingerie shop here in Portugal and I already started another blog to advertise it and also to present the brands that produce full range of sizes. You may have noticed a new link has appeared – Soutienocracia. Yes, it’s the other blog of mine:) However I can’t blame Soutienocracia and lack of time for not writing here – unfortunately it’s also my laziness and addiction to Plants vs Zombies game (which eats up a lot of my free time):P

Today I’d like to return to the Polish brand of Effuniak. It’s one of the brands that I’d like to sell here so I follow what goes on on Ewa’s website quite thouroughly and I also keep on buying some of the bras – just to test them on my breasts etc (I have to know what I’m going to sell, don’t I). At this moment I have to state these are the best constructed bras on the whole market, they just do miracles with the boobs. Mine and not only mine just look spectacular in Effuniaks . You can see that in the Balkonetka’s catalogue. You can also see that recently Ewa did a pre-Christmas suprise to everybody and introduced quite a lot of styles – padded halfcups in black, fuchsia, tourquise, powder pink and red (and complimentary line of plunges in the same colours in bigger cups – apart from powder pink). One more recent novelty is a padded halfcup in glossy cobalt. The latter already has a review on Bramania by kasica_k – a very positive one actually. Kasica’s delighted with it. And you? What do you think about it? The feedback in the commentaries on Stanikomania as well as on Balkonetka (70E , 70D, 70G, 70B)  is kind of mixed. The bra raises very extreme emotions. From the ones of love and delight about the style, fabric, colour and those wide straps, through the ones saying the bra woud fantasic if it wasn’t for for the colour to the ones hating those wide straps as well as the colour. However nobody denies the lifting effect it does to the boobs…

I would like to review collectively 4 more Effuniaks that I bought recently. Two plunges – red panther, black panther (both in 70H) and two plunges – a fuchsia and a tourquise in 75GG.

Here, links to Balkonetka users showing these bras:

red panther: 70C,  70H, 65FF

black panther: 70GG, 65F

fuchsia half cup: 65A, 75GG

tourquoise half cup: 75GG, 65C

FIT

I must say Effuniak produces real back sizes. In most cases taking your British back size is not recommendable. I took these two panthers in 70 and they are real boa constrictors. I would probably be much better off in a 75 in these two models, however as I ordered online and spent quite a lot of time waiting for my sizes to be sewn and then sent to me I decided to keep them. Extenders do exists:P

As far as half cups are concerned I was in Poland when I bought the fuchsia one so I could try it on. Dark half cups are the same boa constrictors as the plunges, for my 73cm of frame measurement a 75 was enough.

The cup size, in my opinion, is standard. I bought the cup size I always take from Ewa – in case of a 70 band it’s an H and GG with a 75 back size.

SHAPE AND UPLIFT

Ewa’s plunges give a shape and uplift that is an absolute mastership of the world. She should be given a Nobel prize for that construction. Half-cups give a shape that resembles more “apples in a basket” image instead of “breast on a tray” effect. Some may say that both of these are indecent… Well, I prefer to be indecent in Effuniaks rather than have my boobs squeezed and unsupported by bras that I would be fitted into in most of the shops.

BEAUTY

Well, as they say the beauty is in the eye of the beholder or you don’t discuss taste… I like wild animal prints as well as bold, deep colours. But I know for sure there are women who don’t apreciate such designs… If we all liked the same things the world would be very boring, wouldn’t it? I give a 5 out 5 mark both to the panthers and to the half cups.

COMFORT

I don’t remember if I mentioned it previously, Effuniaks came high in Bramania’s survey for “the most comfortable bra”. In case of these 4 models I agree too. The half cups are very comfy to wear. The plunges do need an extenter, but once I use it it’s fine, nothing digs in or tries to drill a hole in the sternum or armpits. No discomfort from staps either. The breasts are supported, in fact it’s almost like a luxerious holiday in a spa for them – they just lie in the cups and don’t have to do anything else but look nice. And they almost protest when I take the bra off…

How to use Balkonetka’s catalogue?

You probably remember one of the Polish portals about brafitting – Balkonetka, I described it once. Today I’d like to give you some instructions how to use its catalogue – add your own photos etc.  It’s amazing how big it became over this year or so. And how all the women there are really friendly, tolerant and kind to  each other. We know nobody’s perfect, so nobody’s body/boobs gets criticized, we tend to limit their comments to the bras that are shown. And even if somebody’s body/breasts gets a comment, it’s a good one. We don’t allow criticizing just for the sake of criticizing and getting somebody upset about it.  I’d really like you to be able to  share this atmosphere and use this great tool of catalogue too. Can Balkonetka’s catalogue become international?  It’s up to you…

How to Register:

Whenever you open the homesite of Balkonetka there’s a log in/register field to click on in the right top corner – after you click register you get the above picture. Just fill in, accept the regulations (they get fairly adequately translated by Live Search, in my opinion they are understandable, if in doubt write to mauzonka@gazeta.pl or ask on Balkonetka’s Facebook site). After registration you get an email from Balkonetka with a link to click to confirm your registration. If you are already registered and just come back to the website, just click log in and you get this:

Straightforward enough so far?

Ok. After you register you can fill in your profile:

Next to the position “how many babies have you nursed” there are options: Nie karmilam (didn’t nurse any) and numbers, you just choose whichever refers to you. A bit lower there’s also a question if you’re a man (mężczyzna) or a woman (kobieta)… Btw, I don’t think there are any man at Balkonetka… It’s not as they could find much of interest for themselves on the website. The breasts that are shown in the catalogue are dressed in bras, photographs are anonymous as you don’t show your face… You can change your settings in the profile with an edit function, change the password or even remove the account at all.

We are getting close to one of the most important functions – adding your bra purchases to the catalogue. To do it, you just need to click onto Twoja Szuflada (Your drawer) on the black menu on the top of the page. Your drawer will contain all your uploaded purchases, it will be visible to anybody who chooses to click onto your nickname. You click Twoja Szuflada and you get this view:

After that you click “Add a new item to the catalogue (Dodaj nowa rzecz do katalogu):

You upload a photo – mind you, one only so it’s better to put several together in Photoshop, Paint, Gimp or whatever other graphic programme, fill in the required fields, click Dodaj (Add) – and done:)  Other Balkonetka users can see what you bought and comment or advise you about it. I suggest using English in your descriptions. It seems to be the most popular and you’ll probably get the biggest feedback… I don’t guarantee you’ll get many responses in other ones…

Sorry for the quality of the images. I haven’t mastered Print Screen yet and I was forced to make photogaphs of the screen… That’s why it doesn’t look as good as it should…

Update:  I was just browsing through Eternal Voyager’s blog. It seems she bit me to writing about Balkonetka’s catalogue… The article’s available  here…

Curvy Kate – Emily Flame

Today I’d like to write about a bra from the brand that I already mentioned in this blog twice – when I was decribing their spring/summer and autumn/winter collections. I just received a package with some bras from the current collection – I have been waiting for them very long, since summer. Curvy Kate website was announcing that the collection was going to be available from August… Well, it wasn’t:( And I just wanted an orange bra… And a few others… Finally, when they started to be available in Lovebras, I purchased them at once. So, ladies, today here’s my very first consumer review:

CURVY KATE EMILY FLAME 32GG

For the sake of order, I’m going to follow the review layout used by kasica of Stanikomania. Kasica, don’t beat!

BEAUTY  (4,5 out of 5)

When I removed the bra from the package I must admit a was a bit disappointed. Flame for me means orange. I was axpecting a fiery bra. I got one that is reddish/coral/ strawberry/raspberry (whatever you decide to call this colour) with an orange embroidery. However, the embroidery is very detailed and cute, the flowers are very well done. There are some nice ribbons at the centre gore and at the apex. Moreover the match of both colours gives a kind of enexpected effect. I had never seen a red and orange bra before…

FIT (5 0ut of 5)

Fiery Emily has quite a tight band. For my 29 inches of chest measurement a 32 was enough and feels stable. Actually, other soft bras from CK that I ordered alos feel snug enough. It’s kind of good that it’s not necessary to go down the size of the band so much anymore – smaller band with a recalculated cup means a bigger letter – in this case H – I’d rather not check out if that size is much more built up than 32GG …

SHAPE AND UPLIFT (5 out of 5)

This model seems to be really compatible with my breast giving them a nice round shape. Which unfortunately I cannot say about another of the bras that I ordered…:( The breast in Emily are elevated to the proper level. This may become one of my favourite bras for the dark and dull season that has just begun.

COMFORT (5 out of 5)

I’m giving a 5 – the bra is comfortable. At least it seems to be so, I haven’t had the chance to wear it for a longer period of time yet, so I can’t say anything more definite yet… For the several minutes that I was wearing and photographing it, I dind’t feel any potential discomforts – wires poking into the armpits or drilling holes into the sternum, or scratching straps, or whatever else. However, I may change my mind. For now, I’m giving the highest mark – it may change…

If you like sets of lingerie, panties are cute too:

 Here you can see the bra on “unphotoshopped” breasts.