It seems a bit counter-intuitive to be posting post-wedding bridal trousseau lingerie before I’ve even shared the actual wedding day lingerie, but as yet, we haven’t received back the wedding day photos where I got our photographer to snap a few BCLC snaps of my chosen set for the day. The edit time is just a bit longer, so I’ll keep you waiting a bit longer, but I’m so excited to share the set I actually chose for the day soon!
In the meantime, I’ll share a couple of bridal trousseau looks from our minimoon in the Cotswolds. We’re doing a bigger honeymoon in September where we’re going to Florida and Upstate New York, so I can drag out this wedding thing just a liiiiittle bit longer (and more bridal lingerie!), but we wanted a few days away immediately after the wedding too. We stayed in a lovely Airbnb with a gorgeous view out over a rolling valley looking down to the village of Hook Norton, which made an excellent backdrop for some sunset lingerie photos (that’s the next post!). The interior of the Airbnb was also pretty gorgeous too with these old French style shutter doors in the entrance to the bedroom that made another lovely backdrop.
I took 3 robes with me on our minimoon – that’s probably a few too many for a short break, but I’d amassed a small robe collection as part of my bridal trousseau and I couldn’t leave any behind. Originally, Figleaves gifted me with this stunning short robe as a possible wedding-day-getting-ready garment, but in the end, we realised it was a little bit too see through for that purpose, considering the fact that we had several people popping in and out to drop things off and get ready while I was sat with my hair in rollers! The next post features the robe I chose in the end (and also took on our minimoon), but I realised that this one made for the perfect lightweight and lacey topper for my white and ivory bridal lingerie sets.
The Gigi Galloon Lace robe is made out of a delicate ivory lace set on a sheer fabric background that’s scalloped around the neckline, sleeves and hem. I would normally say it “fastens” with a silky satin sash, but here I’d instead say it’s “adorned” with it. The contrast between the intricate lace and simple smooth bow is gorgeous.
The Figleaves Gigi Galloon Lace robe costs £50 which I think is pretty reasonable for such a gorgeous piece for your wedding day or honeymoon. I know others might look to spend less than this, but considering my robe budget exceeded £100+, it seems excellent value. There is also a matching lace chemise available at Figleaves constructed out of the same lace that looks super pretty for £40.
Another reason why I chose to keep this robe for honeymoon wear rather than wedding morning preparations is due to the length. I was looking for something that went to about knee length whereas this really just skims the upper thighs on me. It’s ideal for wearing beautiful lingerie underneath that can be shown through but kept slightly hidden.
Speaking of which, underneath I’ve got a set I bought way back on Black Friday last year. This is the Honey Birdette Tiffany bra and brief which were £48 and £28 respectively, but I got £10 off with their Black Friday offer. I’ve been wary of ordering from Honey Birdette for a little while due to some controversy over sexist working conditions. I’ve read around the subject but can’t say I know all that much about what happened at the time, and I hope that changes have been made since then. They’re originally an Australian brand but are expanding in the UK right now, so I expect to see more from them in the near future. I’ve heard that Honey Birdette are looking to take up the gap that Agent Provocateur seems to be leaving in the market right now due to their changes in administration, so I wanted to try them out and see how well they did for me, and to get some more reviews out there from the UK.
Considering that they’re aiming towards Agent Provocateur’s aesthetic, Honey Birdette do seem to be considerably cheaper for the most part. This makes them slightly more accessible to those who are looking for lingerie that touches on luxury but isn’t necessarily of a considerably higher quality. It’s a tricky part of the industry to break into, but they seem already very well established in Australia and somewhat known in the UK.
Looking specifically at this set, I really decided I would buy from them when I saw that they offer some F and G cups (no FF, so the G where it’s available is equivalent to this) where Agent Provocateur only offer up to an E cup in limited styles. The aesthetic of these two brands, with sheer cups, cut out sections, interesting strap detail and designs is something that I really want to be able to purchase but often find it tricky to do so. There are brands that are stretching out into this area of the market for DD+ cups (like Scantilly), but the selection is still far narrower. The point being, if I can squeeze myself into a nearby sister size to get the look I want, I will do my best! And so I found myself scrolling the pages of 32F bras at Honey Birdette. (Also note, they do have 30 bands, but I didn’t think a 30F would work all that well for my usual 28GG size!)
The Tiffany bra and briefs are constructed out of a pretty lace covered in a shimmering rose gold foil which adds a layer of interest to an otherwise pretty but fairly simple set. The cups are triangle shaped, with eyelash lace at the edges that goes up to the point of the shoulder. The fabric is very sheer, which is why the front views of this set are pretty limited! (And you may note that some are from a different shoot I did at home just after I got the set!). The band has a “gateway” fastening at the back, with cut outs between the elastic at the top and the bottom. This is something you don’t often see in DD+ bras so I really appreciate it. The centre front of the bra is decorated with a ribbon with long studded tails and a plastic gem.
The fit isn’t perfect on me – the cups are definitely at least 1 size too small and the band is at least 1 size too big, but it’s definitely still wearable enough for my liking. Due to the open edge of the cup, I don’t get a huge amount of spillage, and the low cut of the wires at the gore – it’s almost a uni-wire where they connect in the middle – means they don’t cut in at the middle.
The matching briefs echo the bra with sections of the eyelash edged lace and large cut outs, as well as the same bow and gem at the front. The I chose these in a size medium and there are areas where they dig slightly, so I’d say they definitely run on the small side considering that I usually wear a UK size 10 to 12 in bottoms. The back view is gorgeous with a large cut out framed by a large cross in the satin straps at the top and the lace along the bottom edges. Interestingly I’ve seen images of these briefs with another bow at the centre of the cross at the back too but mine didn’t come with that, so I imagine it must have been changed at some point or mine was just missing.
So keep your eyes peeled for more minimoon and wedding lingerie – see you soon!
YOU ARE FABULOUS …