Boob Growth and Some Other Stuff

Hey guys! I have a fluid mechanics test coming up on Monday, so you know that means it’s time for me to write a new post 😛 My favorite form of procrastination!

So what prompted me to write this was realizing that my PL Mak, which when I first received it almost 3 months ago, was a little too big without the push up pads in place, now fits perfectly without them. Picture evidence:

Now

Before

Before

Now

Now. (Ignore the pit stain 😛 A college student with only 1 well fitted bra doesn’t have time to hand wash something very often! Haha)

Before

 

 

 

This is one of the reasons Ewa Michalak really meets my needs. Maybe the pictures don’t show it as well as I can see it, but this bra is much more full now than it was at the beginning of January. I don’t know if it was tissue migration, the fact that I’m only 19 and could well be experiencing breast growth still, or something else, but I love that with Ewa I can order a size up from what my “safe” choice would be and I don’t have to worry about it much. I also love that now that this bra doesn’t gape without pads, I can use them just for extra cleavage when I feel like it (and if I’m being honest, I always feel like it!). So yeah. If you know your boobs are growing (mine seem to have been growing steadily since around last April), ordering a cup size up in an Ewa Michalak bra that comes with removable pads is a good plan. I know that before I got this bra, I was having to buy a new bra in a higher cup size ever 3 months or so. I just do not have the money for that! I got three months out of this bra with the pads, so hopefully I’ll get at least three months out of it without the pads before it is just all around too small. That will still be twice the average life span of my bras prior to this.

The “other stuff” I mentioned in the title is just this little thought I had inspired by the semi-controversial Bras I Hate & Love post about using +2 instead of +0. I personally disagree, but to me it also doesn’t matter that much what the starting point is because I’m going to end up  just telling everyone to do what’s comfortable for them, and +0 is just more logical to me than +2 (I personally find it much easier to tell if a band is too small than if it’s too big) but that isn’t what my thought was about.

After reading the post, naturally I tried on a few bras to see if I was falling victim to the very tight band look that she had going on in 28 bands. When I saw that picture, it looked very uncomfortable! I thought, “Surely my back doesn’t look like that! Wouldn’t I have noticed?”. Then, she mentions strained hooks as a symptom of a too small band. And my super comfortable, perfectly fitted (in my opinion) PL Mak has strained hooks! So today I took a picture of what my back looked like in it, to see if it was indeed too small.

The hooks do appear strained, though not nearly as strained as the ones on the 28 bands in her post, but I don’t get the corset-like compression she describes. I think my back here does look similar to her well fitted 30s (it’s hard to see what the hooks in her well fitted bras look like because her example is a darker bra and it’s a rather dark photo).

But the hooks on this bra do look pulled out when I take it off. But the more I looked at all my bras… all of my hooks look strained.

28K PL Mak hooks

28J Tease Me hooks (usually worn on the 3rd set)

34DD Victoria’s Secret push up bra hooks

So, yeah. Obviously the PL Mak is the most pulled, as it is the smallest of the bands shown. But it’s also the only one that doesn’t ride up and move around. The 28J Tease Me stretches to 32″, far above my underbust measurement of 28.5″, but still shows signs of strain and pulling out. Even on the 34DD, the hooks I usually wore the bra on are pulled further out and show some strain (compared to the first pair of hooks which I don’t think I ever used), though obviously they show the least strain, since that band stretches to ~36″.

Basically I’m not sure that for everyone, strained hooks is a sign of a too small band. Two of these bras are definitely too LARGE in the band for me and the hooks are still pulled. Also when you look at how the back of the PL Mak fits me, I don’t think it looks too small. It has the normal amount of bubbling underneath the band, but none from the top, but the hooks strain. But I can pull it around 3″ away from my body, and it’s perfectly comfortable to me.

I guess ultimately it doesn’t matter. If your hooks strain but the bra is comfortable to you, wear it. I keep worrying that I’m wearing my band too tight, after reading about reversed letterphobia and the Bras I Hate & Love post, and I keep doubting myself. But then I remember that I have multiple bras in a 30 band that lay unused in my drawer because I can’t even leave the house without pulling the band back down to the correct level. I wish I could wear a 30 though! So many more options!

The other “other stuff” that I’ll go ahead and mention again, in case you don’t follow me on Facebook, is that I’ve made a couple purchases relevant to the blog! I bought the Small Red dress from Urkye in a 36oo/ooo and the Carmen bra and Carmen stringi from Comexim in a 65L and a size large. I’m in between sizes at Urkye, and in hindsight feel like I should’ve gone for the 38oo/ooo for the extra boob room (my bust measurement is too large for any of the size 36 clothes), but whatever. I’ll just wear shapewear and hope for the best on the boobs, since it’s made from stretchy fabric. The Comexim bra is going to be an iffy fit, because I bought it in what’s essentially a 30HH. I hear the bands run tight sometimes, and would rather have a slightly too large band than an unwearable one, so I went up a band size. Nowadays I think I’m a 28JJ (I think?!?!?!), and therefore would’ve needed a 30J, but the Carmen doesn’t come in a larger cup size, and it’s sooooo sexy… I couldn’t pass it up! And honestly, all my bras aside from the Mak are too big in the band and too small in the cup, and that doesn’t stop me from wearing them, and that won’t stop me from wearing Carmen assuming all else looks good.

Red Dress from urkye.pl!

Carmen set from comexim.pl

Hopefully you guys don’t mind my hodge-podge post! Haha I just had a little to say about a lot of things. Also, how would you guys feel if I branched the blog out to other things (makeup, shoes, non-busty-specific clothing, general woman-with-curves things, delicious recipes?). I don’t really have enough money to do bra reviews very often, and now that I’m kind of buying exclusively from Poland, there isn’t much selection for me either. Let me know what y’all think!

Ewa Michalak Review: PL Mak

Ok, I’ve been trying to hold off on reviewing my Ewa Michalak bras until I’d properly broken them in and worn them around and whatnot… but I am too excited to wait any longer to review these bras! I’ve worn them both quite a bit, but only around my house because I’ve been having a few extremely lazy days. Regardless, I think I’ve gotten a good enough impression to give a review, and if anything bad happens somehow after this gets written, I can always come back and edit it!

A picture of the set, no pads in the bra

As I’ve mentioned a million times, the PL Mak was an “extra special” order, but I’m glad I requested it over the CHP because, although I haven’t tried CHP specifically, I now know that I definitely prefer the PL to the CH style (and CHP is obviously more similar to the latter!). Based on some comments from the helpful fitting community on Bratabase, as well as a comment on my review of the PL Lilia, I decided to order 2 cups higher than the 28J I tried out in the Lilia. This meant I was getting a 28K (!!!!!!!!) and I was extremely skeptical that it would fit, because in my head my boobs are admittedly large… but not the highest cup size made by most UK brands! Ewa Michalak cups I think fit a bit smaller than the average UK brand, but I honestly can’t say too well because I don’t have any UK brand bras that fit well. So if there is someone who is more informed on that manner, I would love to hear your input!

My first thought was “Holy crap that’s a huge bra!” and my first impulse was to put it on my face. Look how little my neck is in comparison! And my chin and forehead are both in the cup. When I look down it doesn’t look like I have two heads on my chest…

This bra is absolutely GORGEOUS! In case you can’t tell by their sub-par quality, all of my pictures are taken with my phone (someday I’ll get a real camera!) and as a result the lighting isn’t always the best, but I think that the picture of the CHP Mak on the website is the most accurate depiction of the color.

CHP Mak, photo from http://www.ewa-michalak.pl

It’s a really basic bra, without any embellishment on the cups, but the few decorative accents it has are gorgeous! The lace on the band is accented with an opalescent embroidery that is kind of impossible for me to photograph, but when the light hits it the right way it sparkles and is just gorgeous! I also really like the style of bow that is on the center gore and straps of this bra. I tried to get a good picture of the bow on my Freya Deco so you could see how it’s different, but unfortunately black bras don’t photograph that well on a phone camera. The straps are embroidered, which both makes them prettier and keeps the straps in place once adjusted.

Strap embroidery and the pretty bow 🙂

Super gorgeous lace on the band

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As far as the fit of this bra goes, it’s almost right on! The band is pretty tight, but fits very comfortably on the loosest hooks. It came with removable push up pads, and without them my boobs don’t quite fill the cups. Since the pads aren’t a whole cup size (I’d estimate they’re about half a cup) and based on the way that the 28JJ Karmlki I ordered fits, I think I’m in between 28K and 28JJ in Ewa Michalak bras. I think getting the 28K and wearing the pads is what I’ll do from  now on, especially since I like my bust to be emphasized. It’s great that these are effectively push up bras for me, as that’s something I’ve sorely missed since finding my correct bra size!

No pads

Pads in

No pads

Pads in

No pads

Pads in

The underwires are the right width for me, but the combination of my height (5’3″) and my high set boobs means that the wires can get a little pokey! This fortunately only happens if my migrated tissue sneaks back to my armpit, or if I’m sitting down, so in both cases it’s something that just a little adjusting solves. The straps are already pretty short, but they’re kind of stretchy so I need to keep them adjusted pretty tightly too (once again my height and high set boobs are a factor). I usually struggle to find bras whose straps are not too long for me, but these straps were a great length.

I also purchased the Figi Mak to complete the set, although the color of this bra lends itself to literally every pair of red underwear that I have! I’m so excited! I have a lot of red underwear and it’s actually kind of amazing how well this bra matches almost every pair. It’s like the dye is called “lingerie red” and all lingerie producers have been using it 😛

Warning, the following picture is of my butt. But I wanted to show off the back of this underwear, because it’s gorgeous and it’s what made up my mind about buying yet another pair of red underwear.

Butt aside, aren’t these gorgeous?!?!?!

Yeah. So. This is pretty much my favorite bra right now, and I’ve worn it all three days since it got here. It’s sort of a shame that I’ve been wearing it so much, because it means I haven’t had a chance to really break in my CH Karmelki yet, but I just cannot get enough of this bra!!

Here is a link to the Bratabase listing for measurements of this bra 🙂

Ewa Michalak: The Custom Ordering Process

Hi everyone!

As some of y’all might already know, I just received my Ewa Michalak order! The bras are absolutely AMAZING and I am completely smitten, but before I review the two sets I bought, I thought I’d do a quick overview of the custom ordering process.

I’d read a ton of reviews of Ewa Michalak bras, and how to order custom sizes from them, but for some reason was still nervous about it! I just wasn’t sure exactly how things were supposed to work, and I have an extreme planning personality: I need to know exactly what is going to happen, and when it is going to happen or else I just start to get anxious and uncomfortable. So emailing EM to begin the custom order process was nerve wracking for me, and as a result, I’m going to describe how it went for me here, in as much detail as possible!

First, I decided what I wanted from the website. I knew I was going to get a CH Karmelki and the matching thong, but I also really wanted a new bra in the PL style. Unfortunately, no other bras were appealing to me as much as the CHP Mak. So, thinking to myself, “how hard could it be for them to take a completely solid colored bra and cut it a different way?” I emailed them (at sklep@ewa-michalak.pl) and said:

Hi!

On the website, only the CHP style is listed with the Mak. Will a PL version ever be available, or could one be requested? I love the color but fit better in a plunge style.

Thanks
Robin

They responded fairly promptly, simply asking what size I’d like the PL Mak in! I responded with the size, and then also asked to add the other items (CH Karmelki, Stringi Karmelki, Figi Mak) to the order. At this point, they asked me to create an account on their website, as I didn’t already have one. So I did, and then since I was unsure what to do I just emailed back saying “Hi! I created an account. What should I do next?” They requested that I repeat my order, as well as confirm that I knew that custom orders were not returnable/exchangable, so I wrote back:

Hi,

I understand that I can’t return or exchange my order. I’d like a PL Mak in a 28K, a CH Karmelki in a 28JJ, figi Mak in a 12 (40) (this one: http://www.ewa-michalak.pl/product-eng-304-Figi-Mak-.html) and stringi Karmelki in a 12 (40).

Thanks
Robin

The next email they sent me said they had created the order for me, and included the price (in zlotys) that my order came to, as well as the order number. They said they would be sending a payment request soon, and I received one the next day. The payment request was through Paypal, but was unfortunately in Polish. I didn’t really deal with figuring out the Polish thing though, because I just forwarded it to my parents for them to pay (the order was my Christmas present from them).

Once the order was paid for, I received an email saying that my order was placed on hold because some items weren’t in stock (I figure this is standard for custom orders). A few days later, I received an email saying that the order had started being processed, and then later the same day I got an email stating that it had been shipped.

My package was shipped on December 20th, and I received it January 5th, so it took 13 business days from Poland to South Carolina. It might normally be faster than that, but I ordered right around the holidays, and we all know how much slower everything goes at that time of year!

Overall my experience with Ewa Michalak was great, and I am much less hesitant and nervous to order from them in the future. The customer service was always prompt, usually responding to my emails by the next day, and they were very accommodating to my “extra special” request. The English wasn’t perfect, but it was always understandable, and the language “barrier” wasn’t really a barrier at all in the ordering process. I’m very thankful that they speak English, as I don’t know a lick of Polish (Actually not true! I learned that “mak” means “poppy-seed”! So I know one word of Polish!), and if I couldn’t order from them I would not be in bra heaven right now!

I think the best thing you can do if you have a question about Ewa Michalak… is to just ask them! I wanted to know if I could get a PL Mak. I thought it would be a longshot, but I asked anyway, and it paid off! I am very excited to order from them again 🙂

 

Excuse my holiday tummy and the less than perfect lighting in these pictures, but I wanted to give y’all a look at what I got! Reviews to come soon 🙂

Some Thoughts On Reversed Letterphobia and Wide Wires

I’m sure many of you have read this blog post before, since it’s been around for a while. This is something that I’ve been thinking of for the past few days, prompted by me ordering a new Ewa Michalak PL bra in a 28K. I try not to have letterphobia, and just buy what fits, and according to my experience with the PL Lilia, a 28K should either fit, or be slightly too large. Either way it shouldn’t be far off the mark. But every time I go up a cup size, I worry, am I falling victim to reversed letterphobia?

In case you were too lazy to click the link above to the fantastic blog post by Drueber und Drunter, reversed letterphobia is when women, frightened of wearing too large a band and not getting proper support, begin to wear bands that are too tight with cups that are too large.

This phenomenon was first pointed out to me by a comment on my early review for the Curvy Kate Emily. The woman pointed out that the wires were being bent too far back and being distorted, which was causing my problems with the shape in the front. I’d noticed this before too, as I’d tried on a 30H Romance in Breakout Bras whose cup shape I was much happier with, but the band was much too large. Even on the tightest hook, it rode up in the back and had to be adjusted after just a few minutes.

So today what I’m thinking about is this: How many women wearing small bands are actually falling victim to reversed letterphobia, and how many are just suffering from bras with wide wires? Are there women out there who are having problems with cup distortion even in brands with narrow wires? Because I have never seen such a case!

Writing out this short post while constantly adjusting the band on this 30H bra has calmed my mind, at least when it comes to wondering if I’m falling victim to reversed letterphobia.

But now I really have to wonder, how many women wear a 28 or 30 band and fit well into the wires of, say, the Panache Tango II balconette bra?  From Bratabase, a 30JJ Tango II has wires that are 8.5″ wide, and a band that stretches to 30″. This means that, if these wires fit well, the root of this woman’s breasts take up over half of her torso, assuming she measures 30″ around. I know that there are women who need wide wires, but how many? I feel like I see almost all women struggling to find narrower wires! Women love Ewa Michalak for this reason! Looking at the reviews for this bra on Bratabase, the only time people complained about the wires on the Tango II being too narrow was when the cup was too small all around.

I guess what I’m trying to say, in this long winded post, is why is it that wide wires are the norm, and not the exception? I know that it’s hard to find wires narrow enough, but do any of my readers struggle with finding wires that are wide enough for their shape?

Oh, and one more thing, that I’ll probably address more in a future post, but this is where using the same underwire for sister sizes doesn’t make sense to me. Why in the world would a 28J woman need the same width of wires as a 40F woman? Can anyone enlighten me? Am I just filled with bra naivety?