Petits Bisous 1st Anniversary Party!

 

   Luxury lingerie boutique, Petits Bisous, celebrated its first birthday on the 13th February and in honour of the occasion, a glittering party was held at their King's Road boutique. Since launching, Petits Bisous has garnered increasing attention from the Press; its lingerie has featured in top publications such as Vogue UK and it has been seen on celebrities from The Saturdays to Kate Moss. Having spotted Petits Bisous on Made in Chelsea a little while ago, I have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to visit the boutique, so when an invitation to their anniversary party popped up in my inbox, I accepted with great anticipation!

   The boutique is perfectly located in the heart of Chelsea, at 187 Kings Road. On arriving, I was met by a Valentine's window display, which was steamed up due to the cold weather, but which fit aptly with the Valentine's/ racy underwear theme! 

   The event was peppered with an array of celebrity attendees, such as Sophie Anderton, Jason Gardiner and Lucy Mecklenburgh (who arrived just before me and who was literally pounced upon by waiting paparazzi!)

 (Credit right: Petits Bisous)

   On stepping in to the boutique, I was delighted to be met by a glass of champagne and a decadent-looking interior that exuded the feel of an upmarket Parisian boutique. The boutique was filled with the excited chatter of party guests and a live singer serenaded guests with her acoustic guitar. Exquisite luxury lingerie adorned the rails and it was only moments before I was drawn into a dream of lace, silk, satin and chiffon...

   Petits Bisous is a veritable haven for lingeristas with a penchant for exquisite undergarments. The boutique boasts a delectable array of bras, bodies, corsets, sleepwear, shapewear, swimwear and accessories, alongside a personal service that offers lingerie stylists and an in-house tailoring service, which caters to bespoke lingerie requests. 

   The boutique is host to highly sought-after lingerie brands such as Bordelle, Damaris, Fleur of England, Nichole de Carle, Made by Niki, Lascivious, Dirty Pretty Things, Empreinte, Bijoux Indiscrets, Shell Belle Couture and many more, with a growing DD+ selection that includes Harlow and Fox, All Undone and Mimi Holliday. 

   Petits Bisous is owned by Esther Fieldgras, an expert in the beauty industry (with over 30 years experience) and founder of EF Medispa. Esther cherry-picks her brands, always keeping an eye out for emerging lingerie brands that will add that 'je ne sais quoi' to her boutique collections. Esther's love for lingerie is apparent by her desire to provide clientele with jaw-droppingly beautiful lingerie and the 'styling experience' to go with it! 

(Credit: http://esthersbeautyblog.co.uk)

Esther cuts the Petits Bisous birthday cake!

   The decadent soirée was held in partnership with Mozafarian (purveyors of fine jewellery). After I had finished perusing all of the lingerie on the ground floor, I spotted some stairs and descended to the basement boudoir, where more lingerie, sparkling diamonds and lingerie-clad models awaited...

(Credit: http://esthersbeautyblog.co.uk)

There was even an amazing pressure-sensitive 'bottom' light, created by Joseph Begley, which definitely brought a grin to my face! (Apologies for the very short video clip!)

   What could be better than an evening spent amongst diamonds and designer lingerie, with a side helping of sparkling champagne, cake, live music and glamorous lingerie models? 

Bon anniversaire, Petits Bisous!

Love,

*****

Check out the video coverage of the event: here!

Visit the boutique at: 187 King's Road, Chelsea, London, SW3, 5EB

Shop online: www.petitsbisous.com

*****

Harnessing the power: Body harness OOTD and review of the Freya Deco 'Spotlight' !

   For my birthday last month, my husband was kind enough to treat me with a trip to The Crazy Bear hotel in Beaconsfield. The hotel is nothing short of opulent, with its brocade-patterned doors, chandeliers, gold leaf walls and quilted seating (and that's just the restaurant and bar!)

   Our room was situated in the town house and it epitomised boudoir decadence with dim lighting and a backdrop of dark brocade wallpaper, heavy velour drapes with gold tassels and scarlet red carpet. The room was furnished with gothic-baroque elements such as an ornate gold mirror and a golden chandelier (dripping with red and black crystals)!

   Having been to The Crazy Bear once before, I wanted my dinner outfit to reflect the outré décor and eccentric glamour of the hotel, so I put together an ensemble that centred upon a lingerie-come-fashion-accessory that I have not felt daring enough to wear out... until now! The item in question is my gold-studded, black, faux-leather ASOS harness (which has been hanging in my wardrobe, unworn, for around a year or so!) If the Crazy Bear was not good enough excuse to channel bondage-inspired outerwear, then I don't know what would be!

   Harnesses can be very tricky to wear as outerwear because the styling has to be spot on - showing too much flesh was a 'no-no' for me as I felt that too much skin on display with a harness could look slightly indecent! I chose to channel the Crazy Bear colour scheme of red, black and gold in my outfit, starting with a simple bodycon midi dress in crushed red velvet, which I picked up in Primark for about £10!

 The 'midi' has become a real wardrobe staple for me, as at 5ft10, they often come up shorter on me (to around knee length). This Primark dress feels lovely on and hugs my curves (with a good amount of stretch over the chest!) - ideal for showing off your figure without showing much flesh at all!

   I decided to jazz up my outfit with a pair of patterned tights. I chose my eye-catching, black Wolford 'dolly dots' tights to pick up the circular stud detailing on my harness. The quality of these tights is excellent and they seem much less prone to laddering than my usual tights!

   The heel-boots are again a bargain from Primark and I thought that the faux suede and black strapping detailing with gold studs mirrored the harness detailing perfectly.

   I finished the look off with gold earrings, a slick of bright red lipstick, cat-wing eye make-up and, of course, some matching lingerie! The underwear that I wore with this outfit was the Freya 'Spotlight' Deco, which I bought from Figleaves when they had a 15% off code (naughty me!) The claret red tone and black polka dots match the theme of my outfit perfectly. With its trademark seamless finish and cleavage-flattering moulded cups, the 'Spotlight' was extremely practical underneath a bodycon dress too!

   In true lingerie blog style, my review would not be complete without briefly touching upon the look and fit of this new Freya Deco.. 

   The 'Spotlight' bra delivers a fashionable twist on Freya's best-selling 'Deco' design. The unusual claret base colour adds a touch of sophistication, keeping the polka dot pattern from looking too 'cutesy'. I love that Freya have inverted the colour scheme on the straps, trim and central bow (burgandy polka dots on a black base) and I am also glad that the pattern and trim continue down the bra wings - it really pulls the design together!

   Whilst this bra, for the most part, delivers the same fit and support of a regular Deco bra, the 'Spotlight' did not feel exactly the same when worn. Although the fit is only fractionally different, the top of the cups of the 'Spotlight' appear to curve inwards more than the regular Deco or Deco 'Honey'. I would attribute this 'curving inwards' to the presence of a thicker (and stiffer) elastic trim, which is present on the inside and outside of the 'Spotlight'. 

(Comparison of the outer trim of the 'Spotlight' compared to no trim on the regular nude Deco)

(The inner trim of the 'Spotlight' is significantly thicker/wider than the interior trim of my regular nude Deco)

   For those that experience slight 'gapping' at the top of the cups on the regular Deco, the 'Spotlight' could help to reduce this. Conversely, this design alteration may result in a slight 'cutting in' on those that are quite full-on-top in shape (this may not warrant having to size up in the cups, however). 

   All in all, I found that my usual 28FF was a good fit in the 'Spotlight' and like all of my Freya Deco bras, the 'Spotlight' feels comfortable and supportive when worn. I am looking forward to adding more Deco bras to my collection in future. Take a look at these beauties that are coming out this S/S14 and A/W14!

(L-R: Freya Deco 'Lagoon' (S/S14), Freya Deco 'Delight' (S/S14), Freya Deco 'Rebel' (A/W14))

***

As always, I hope that you enjoyed my blog post. Let me know what you think of my outfit! 

Would you be daring enough to wear a body harness out? 

Love,

2012 in review & a sneak peek at what 2013 has in store..!

   First and foremost, let me start by wishing you all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR and thank you, readers, for your continued support in my lingerie pursuits! 

   2012 has been such an exciting year for me personally (I got married!) and as a blogger there have been so many great events and launches that it is hard to pick my highlights! Never-the-less, here is a little overview of my blog over the past year...

   2012 kicked off with my first guest blog "What I look for from a lingerie boutique" for Lingerie Buyer trade magazine, followed by meeting the fabulous Gok Wan at the Simply Yours/Simply Be S/S12 press event, the Swimwear 365 launch with TOWIE's Sam Faiers, the London Fashion Week 'indie' lingerie designers catwalk show, various lingerie press days (including the hugely popular Eveden A/W12 and Panache A/W12 press events)..and much more! 

   I was also thrilled to win Jonathan Aston's 2012 blogger 'style off' competition and this has given me the confidence to introduce more clothing, nightwear and shapewear posts on my blog. (Take a look at my lingerie-inspired Halloween look, 'Work fashion' style file, luxury highstreet nightwear review and Charnos corselette shapewear review) I have also started to use a few pictures of myself wearing garments that I review to hopefully give an even better idea of how things look in the flesh! 

   2012 has been a great year for lingerie reviews - both of brands that many of us know and love, as well as of some emerging and independent designers that cater particularly to the fuller bust market. Some of my favourite lingerie discoveries over the past year include the 'Parfait' by Affinitas fuller bust line, tattoo-inspired creations of Tatu Couture, new C-J cup lingerie brand, Alegro, Mimi Holliday's luxurious bras and highly acclaimed polish lingerie brand, Ewa Michalak!    

   2012 has indeed been a busy year and 2013 undoubtedly has some great surprises in store for you, lingerie fans! I am particularly looking forward to...

*Freya bringing out their longline bras in a 28 back for S/S13 - it looks like my continual badgering at press events has paid off! ;) 

(Pictured below L-R 'Just Flew In' and 'Patsy' - sizes 32-38C and 28-38 D-G.) 

* Freya's first ever shapewear styles and a Deco multiway bra..I can't wait! (Sizes 32-38 B,C & 28-38 D-G)

* Cleo by Panache's swimwear debut this Spring/Summer (cue a colour explosion of eye-catching summery brights, bold patterns and oh-so-cute details..starting from a 28 back (D-J cups):

* Curvy Kate's first ever babydoll ('Lola') which goes up to a K cup - it really fills a gap in the fuller bust market for sexy 'boudoir lingerie' and A/W13 cannot come around quick enough!

* Claudette's introduction of 28 backs to their 'Dessous' range - after months of lusting, I can't wait to get my mitts on these bright neon bras in my size!

* Miss Mandalay's high fashion, high impact swimwear for 2013 - fuller busted ladies are in for a treat with the new collections (all up to a GG and one range up to an H, with 28 backs in many styles). The 'Los Angeles' bikini (below, right) is bang on trend with its sexy cut-out details - it has my heart doing somersaults already!

* Even more Parfait by Affinitas longline bras for me to hanker after! Here is the ineffably stylish 'Danielle' bra in 'imperial purple' for A/W13..it must be love!

   This 2013, I hope to bring you all even more exciting lingerie, swimwear and fashion related pictures, previews, news and reviews. Blogging is in many ways about self-exploration and I am always striving to bring even more excitement and new ideas to the table when it comes to what I write about. I am pleased to say that I have a few new things in the pipeline for you all..one of my big aims is to bring in some thought-provoking content about the lingerie industry, bra fitting and body image, so keep your eyes peeled! 

   As always, if you have any suggestions regarding what you are interested in seeing on my blog, I'd love to hear from you - this blog exists to help people in their quest for well-fitting, gorgeous lingerie, so do get in touch here..and don't forget to join me on Facebook and Twitter for daily lingerie updates or just a general natter!

Love,

Kitty xo

Stepping into sophistication: Masquerade by Panache 'Amor' lingerie review

   Undercover Lingerista readers will likely be aware of my love for fuller busted lingerie brand, Panache and their Masquerade line. Masquerade lingerie is commonly characterised by sophisticated and elegant designs, sumptuous fabrics and ornate detailing, which combine to offer the wearer great fitting luxury lingerie at affordable price points. Masquerade tends to be slightly more expensive than Panache's other sub-brands ('Superbra' and 'Cleo'), but the Masquerade line is such a decadent approach to D-H cup lingerie, that it is hard not to fall in love with the collections! 

   When it comes to bras, I tend to favour moulded bras due to the great rounded shape and cleavage that they offer. One of my favourite bras from Masquerade is definitely the 'Capella' bra which I reviewed a while ago..so much so that this beautiful bra became one of my 'go-to' bras for both special occasions and under my everyday work wear (as it was so comfortable)! Unfortunately my 'Capella' is slightly too small for me at the moment, so when I spotted the new Masquerade 'Amor' sweetheart moulded bra at the Panache A/W12 press day, I couldn't help but lust after it!

   

   The Masquerade 'Amor' set consists of a stunning moulded underwired bra and brazilian briefs in a rich sapphire jewel tone. The bra comes in back sizes 28-38 with cup sizes D-G and the matching knickers come in sizes 8-18. In line with my current Panache size, I went for a 28G in the bra and a 10 in the briefs, courtesy of the lovely people at Panache..

   The Masquerade 'Amor' bra looks even more exquisite in the flesh and the play on detail actually resides in the contrast of the sapphire satin with the matte blue fabric sections. As you can see from the pictures, the satin has an opulent sheen to it when it catches the light, making this bra look very chic and high-end. The matte blue sections run across the cups and down the centre gore of the bra in a 'V' shape, drawing the eye down to a central cleavage point. The 'Amor' is similar to the 'Capella' in that it is a balconette-plunge style with a 'sweetheart' neckline, which gives a more subtle and 'natural' cleavage than a deep plunge bra.

   The straps are also fairly thin (compared to Freya bras for example) and measure about 1.5cm thick (the same as the straps on the other Masquerade bras that I own). Unlike the 'Capella', however, the 'Amor' bra's straps are fully adjustable, which is always a bonus in my book as it lends to a longer 'strap life' and is useful for those that need to tighten their straps considerably.

   The bra fastens with two hook and eyes and the back band is double lined with a matte blue stretch fabric and bordered by satin wrapped elastic. Initially the 28G 'Amor' band felt similar to the Masquerade 'Anise' and because it felt a bit too tight when I first tried it on, I exchanged it for a 30FF. I now wish that I had stuck with the 28G and worn it with an extender until it loosened up - the 30FF band loosened up very quickly and I need to go on to the middle hook after wearing it just once! 

   That said, the 'Amor' is a lovely bra and the satin is silky smooth. When worn, the bra gives a very rounded shape and a natural looking cleavage that is perfect for all occasions. Thanks to the smooth lines of the 'Amor' bra, it would work well under most clothing. I often reach for plain moulded bras for work (e.g. my Freya 'Deco' bras), so the 'Amor' makes for a more luxurious substitute. There is nothing nicer than going to work knowing that you're wearing comfortable and equally stylish lingerie!

   As for the matching brazilian briefs, I am glad that I exchanged the 10 for a 12 as they look more flattering in the bigger size. 

   The 'Amor' brazilian briefs are interestingly not a direct match to the 'Amor' bra and are instead made from a soft matte stretch mesh with satin-wrapped elastic edging. I actually quite like that the bra and briefs are not 'matchy matchy' as it makes the set a bit more unusual. The fabric is also very slightly sheer, meaning that they steer away from looking like 'standard' plain blue knickers:

   The briefs are very smooth feeling and practical as they are seam-free. Although they are comfortable, they are not my favourite knickers. The elastic borders dig into your flesh a little bit, which although not uncomfortable, is not hugely flattering or conducive to creating a sleek silhouette under clothing. 

   The 'Amor' is a lovely lingerie set and I can see the bra particularly being worn a great deal in the upcoming festive season - whether it is under a dress to a Christmas party or as an everyday set under work clothes or casual wear. It has an understated appeal that makes it a timeless set and the luxe satin and sheer matte fabric combination elevates it beyond being 'just a blue lingerie set'. 

   With Christmas approaching, the 'Amor' would also make for a luxurious gift. If you can't afford real diamonds and sapphires, the 'Amor''s jewel tone satin will be enough to seduce any lady and make her feel spoiled! There is nothing more indulgent than gorgeous new lingerie and the 'Amor' set delivers everyday luxury aplenty. 

   One thing that I have learnt in my bra journey is that beautiful lingerie makes me feel good, so why save it solely for special occasions? Whether you're at the office or just lounging at home, wearing that pretty lingerie set will make you feel like you really 'have it together'!

The Masquerade 'Amor' is available to buy from My Curves and Me and other retailers. (Now there is even more reason to treat yourself or someone else as the 'Amor' bra is currently reduced from £42 to £24.50 and the briefs are reduced from £18.50 to £10.79!)

(I have also heard that the 'Amor' is coming out in 'Berry' for 2013, so keep your eyes peeled!)

Click here to see more of Panache's Masquerade collections.

Love,

Kitty xo