Ewa Michalak PL Milady Bra Review

Way back in October I was fortunate to be a winner in the wonderful Curvy Wordy's blog giveaway. The prize? An Ewa Michalak plunge bra of my choosing. Being a huge EM fan, and having recently lost a bit of weight, I decided to size down to a 26 band. My choice? The newly released PL Milady. I also sprung for these waist high briefs, because they are so awesomely retro looking. I have to say that my choices in every way could not have been more excellent.

This bra is gorgeous, and the sheer paneling and lace on the briefs makes them 50s pin up as opposed to granny panties (btw their sizing chart for panties is spot on, I would definitely follow it). The fit is also perfect, I sized down from my previous EM size of 28(60)GG to 26(55)H and the band feels snug but not tight on the first set of hooks. For those who are wanting to try Ewa and wondering about sizing, I take the same size as I do (or would) in most UK brands. However everyone is different and I recommend trying a range of sizes in their non-custom range and returning what doesn't fit.  I am so happy I was able to take the plunge and try out a 26 band, I will certainly be ordering this size in the future. Thank you to Caroline of Curvy Wordy and the brilliant bra engineers at Ewa Michalak!

DD vs GG: How Bigger Cups Make Breasts Look Smaller

One of the hang ups a lot of women, particularly in America have about wearing a cup size larger than DD is that it is and will make them look unfathomably huge. In fact wearing the correctly sized band and cup can greatly improve and minimize the appearance of a large chest, while a bra with a bigger band and shallower (or even sister sized) cups often lend to a larger and frumpy appearance. I decided to take some quick pictures to illustrate this point. Please excuse the quality and my phonehead, my digital camera needs a new charger :P

Wearing a 34DD bra

Wearing a 28(60)GG bra

Notice how my breasts pull away from one another in the 34DD bra? This is due to inadequate support and creates the illusion that they are larger than they actually are. The 28GG gently pulls everything to the center and makes me look smaller on top.

Here are close ups of the bras I am wearing under the sweater. The 34DD is a t shirt plunge bra from Victoria Secrets worn on the tightest hook. The 28GG is the PL Lato from Ewa Michalak and is worn on the second loosest hook of four as I have had it for a few months.

Notice the contrasting fit in the center gores: the VS bra creates visible space between my sternum and itself, the wires are not lying flat either. The Ewa Michalak bra is lying directly against my skin and my breasts are uplifted.

To better see the effect in clothes I put on a form fitting tank top and switched my EM plunge for a halfcup style.

Ewa Michalak CHP Kurczak in 28/60GG

In CHP Kurczak

In VS

As you can see again the Victoria Secrets bra is causing my breast tissue to migrate outwards, creating an ungainly shape. The correctly fitted bra does a much better job of creating a flattering silhouette, this is why correctly sized lingerie is such an important factor in the overall fit of your clothes.

Lastly I am going to address the "saggy" issue. Big endowments often have this insult leveled at them, which aside from the fact that tearing down bodies with such comments is never okay, is often a misconception that perpetuates itself due to the incorrect information most women have been fed about sizing. There is also the notion fostered by the omnipresent media that all breasts sit directly under the chin, so in many cases what is considered saggy is actually normal (and gorgeous). But judge for yourself which looks better:

VS Bra

EM CHP bra

Can I just say how amazing I feel in this top with the Ewa bra? It changes an ordinary tank top into something with a jab of oomph. And that is what I hope everyone takes away from this post: a properly fitting bra can change more than just the way you look. Even if the tag says GG.

Introduction and induction into the DD+ Club

"Your boobs are about to bust out, go bra shopping already!"

My sister pointed this out to me during Christmas 2008. I was seventeen years old, and (I thought) a 32C. I did not notice until that moment how the tops of my breasts were spilling out of the cups, like excess batter in a cake pan. I didn't always have large breasts, and in high school never thought I would become a card carrying member of the DD+ Club nor aspired to be one. My older sister and aunt are perticular well endowed and I've seen first hand the issues big breasts can cause. At sixteen I was happily buying 32B bras without a thought, they were cute and seemed to fit.

But after those holidays were over I went to Target and grabbed a 32C. In the fitting room I noticed how it pulled and did not contain my breast tissue properly. There was no D in the 32 band, so I tried a 34C and noticed the same issue. Gulping, I found a 34D and went back to the stall, not thinking it would actually fit. It did (or seemed to). I was schocked. A D cup was huge! Something women my size (I was a zero-two at the time) could not possibly be that large without pulling a Pamela Anderson. But I bought the bra and slowly began to accept my fate as a small girl with a large endowment. A few months later I was fitted as a 32DD and continued to wear that size for a couple years, but I was still plagued by problems. My straps perpetually fell off my shoulders, the underwires never sat properly on my rib cage, and finding clothes that both fit and flattered my chest was almost impossible.

Earlier this year I finally figured out the correct way to measure bra size and have settled into a 28G/GG. Whenever it comes up peoples' jaws tend to drop but as anyone who has discovered they are a small band/large cup can probably attest, my chest looks more compact and less ungainly than it ever did in my 32/34DDs. My ribcage actually measures 26.5 inches loose, and you are supposed to measure band size tightly so I'm toying with trying a 26 band from my new favorite company Ewa Michalak, who to my knowledge is the only bra-maker that produces 24 and 26 bands. I hope this will change in the future, and maybe cataloging my journey and experiences will in some small way contribute to bringing that change about.