Lounge and sleepwear hasn’t really featured much on BCLC before – I guess you could say my gorgeous Dottie’s Delights babydoll is loungewear, although it’s just a little too glamorous for that really! It might seem that all we lingerie bloggers do is lounge around on an evening in beautiful teddies, lacey babydolls and flowing gowns, but in reality, most of the time we’re just slobbing around in pyjamas and old clothes instead (or maybe that’s just me and all you other lingerie bloggers are super glamorous?!).
I remember when I first saw the sneak peeks of the Ewa Michalak Nina Sleep Top and wondered what exactly it was – was it a sports bra? Crop top? Little lacey half-camisole? When I discovered that it was actually a lounge bra, ideal for those who’d like a little extra support on an evening once the “real” bra has come off, and for those who prefer to sleep in a bra, I knew I just had to get one for myself.
Personally, I don’t wear a bra in bed, but I know several people who do. There’s no general consensus on whether this is a done thing or not – some say it stops breast tissue from succumbing to gravity quite so quickly, while others say it can damage tissue. Personally, I think you should just do whatever you’re most comfortable doing, and I’m most comfortable not wearing a bra in bed. Although, I did have a slight revelation last night when Ben lifted up one of my breasts while I was laying down braless (TMI?!) and the weight off my back!! I didn’t realise I had shoulder pain under my shoulder blades until the weight was gone, and my goodness! Anyway, that aside over – I have a pretty self-supporting shape that I’m pretty comfortable with naturally, so I’m more than happy to wander round braless in my pyjamas (with a top, don’t worry!), but it’s nice to have something a little more comfortable to wear for days around the house or for evenings if you have guests, but don’t want the hassle of a proper underwired bra. So that’s the long winded story of why I bought a sleep top/bra! Now onto the review:
Appearance & Shape
I wouldn’t call this a bra as it’s more of a crop top – it has no defined cup shape or underwires, but acts to “discipline” your bust as the site describes it, by pulling it inwards and holding it in place against your chest wall. This means that the shape from the side is very minimised, as you can can see above, but due to there being no wires, you get no separation between your breasts.
The bra is made up of a 3 panels on each side on the front of stable soft jersey fabric in two layers – it’s thick enough to hold everything in place and keep the top sturdy, but is still breathable. The back panel is wide and made from a pretty polka dot mesh that stretches enough to be comfortable but is firm enough to provide some support without riding up the shoulders. The bra is trimmed along the top and bottom edge with a frilly pale pink lace, and has matching pale pink ribbon strips between the panels that give it a little more interest.
It fastens at the front with a strip of pink hooks and eyes – I can’t actually remember how many right now, but possibly 10? The amount will likely be different in larger or smaller sizes too. The straps are in the same pale pink, as are the decorative bows on each strap and on the centre back.
Sizing, fit & comfort
I went for my usual Ewa Michalak size in this bra, 65G, which I mostly find to be equivalent of about a Freya 28GG (as these are looser in the band than most 28s) or a slightly tight 30G – let’s go for a 29GG/G, shall we?! I tend to choose the 65 band in Ewa Michalak as 60s are custom made and (I think) non-returnable and slightly more expensive – I could probably wear a 60 band from them comfortably, but for the sake of ease and price, I might as well get a 65 band which fits me well too.
The 65G in this is the perfect fit. You wouldn’t want the band in a bra or top like this to be as tight as a normal bra (or at least I wouldn’t) as it’s for comfort wear, and the 65 is very comfortable for me. It’s difficult to judge cup fit as it doesn’t have proper cups, but all my breast tissue is fully enclosed and centred in this, with no spillage, discomfort or gaping.
As I’ve said, this doesn’t function as a normal bra would, so really you’re looking for something different in terms of fitting. For me, this bra does exactly what it says it should – pulls tissue in from the sides and holds it in place on the front of your body with a slight lift. It is full coverage and could be worn as a camisole style top too under clothing where you’d like to be more covered up.
One thing that might be slightly off putting about this top for some is that it isn’t adjustable in sizing at all like a normal bra would be as it only has one set of hooks. I don’t find this to be a problem at all as it’s a good fit as is and hasn’t stretched out at all with the need for additional hooks. The straps however are fully adjustable, so this might help if you need to adjust the fit of the top edge of the bra by tightening or loosening.
I find it super comfortable to wear and I highly recommend it. I wear it quite a lot on evenings as I find it pulls breast tissue from “sticking out” (for want of a better term) at the sides – it feels like magic actually as it minimises and pulls in!
One special mention I would like to make is that it’s ideal for some people who suffer with anything that can cause chronic pain – for example, I have costochondritis which means that some bras (or just some days) can cause me a lot of pain in the ribs. Sadly, the sizing of a bra doesn’t help with this, for example, you might think sizing up in a normal bra might help to take pressure away, but I find it doesn’t help as the weight of my breast tissue can cause rib pain still. BUT, the Nina sleep top has been a wonder-bra in terms of helping with this as it lifts slightly and supports without any particular areas of pressure that can cause me pain.
This would also make a great maternity/nursing bra as it’s got the potential to fit at slightly larger sizes due to the shape of the front and stretch, and it has easy front access. Thinking of it, it would actually be an awesome post-surgery bra too, and great for those with less mobility as it fastens at the front.
And one other thing:
Crazy cleavage!! As I discovered when undoing the bra to take it off one day, if you’re wanting this style of cleavage, this actually could be an option… I mean, you’d have to tuck the edges under to wear it under anything like this, but that’s what’s going on under the fabric of this bra for me! For those that want/need separation between their boobs, this may not be so great, but it just shows how much support it’s giving even without underwires!
The Nina Sleep Top is available to buy at Ewa Michalak for 119 zloty (around £20, which is basically nothing at all for a bra in my eyes!). The sizes range from 65 to 95, E to J (in most band sizes) – this is around 30 – 42, E – J. You can however have it custom made for 20 zloty more in the following sizes: 60FF – 60M, 65H – 65LL, 70L – 70LL, 90B – 90C, 95A – 95C, 100A – 100HH, 105A – 105H. That’s a seriously impressive range of sizes!
It has also been reviewed by the following bloggers:
Fuller Figure Fuller Bust (85HH)
Curvy Wordy (34KK)
See below for more ideas for sleep/around the house/lounge wear bras:
