With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, here’s part three in the Little Cup lingerie lusts!
I’ve always admired Figleaves’ own designs, but never had a chance to try them for myself. With their Valentine’s promotion of 30% off, I decided it was most definitely time to go all out from the Figleaves selection and choose something I would never normally go for…the Tease Basque. Longtime readers might be surprised (or not surprised at all!) to know that I have never tried a Basque at all. It isn’t one of those pieces of lingerie that has appealed to me in the past. Both Sian and I went through a major corset obsession a couple of years ago, but that never quite extended into Basque territory for me. They offer a lot more flexibility (pun intended) and wearability than a corset—I never quite got skilful enough to lace myself in. For that reason and the delightful, unabashedly Valentine’s themed styling, I can totally recommend this as a brilliant V-Day surprise if you’re still looking for a last minute gift, or looking to get a gift for yourself…
The Figleaves Tease Basque is available in sizes band sizes 30 – 36 and cup sizes B – G for £50 at Figleaves, however it is 30% off at £35 in the Valentine’s sale. The matching thong is available in sizes 8 – 16 at £14.00 at Figleaves, but 30% off at £9.80 for Valentine’s!
Shape and Appearance
It’s hard to capture the exact colour of the Tease Basque—in words as well as photos! I think it comes out more red than it is in person. The exact tone sits somewhere right on the border between red and pink, which makes this an incredibly vivid, bold piece.
Alternating between stretch fabric, lace panels, and thin satin strips to accent the body, the design in this Basque does everything it can to flatter your shape. The cups are a underwired but non-padded, lined with a nude mesh fabric to stop them from being too see-through, and covered with the same lace from the bodice.
I’m a big fan how the panels in the bodice have been put together in this design. The different fabrics combine to lovely effect, and the slightly angled panels, all of which ‘meet’ at a central, horizontal strip of satin at the waist, serve to really flatter the figure. Unfortunately for me, my waist sits slightly lower than the ‘waist’ on the Basque, but it is still a very pretty design element.
The cups on this piece are slightly fuller / higher than would generally fit me perfectly in a soft cup. Soft cups are a bit of a danger area for me; when I find the perfect fit, it’s perfect—but that’s few are far between! Being a fuller of the bottom breast type, I find that soft ‘full’ cups (rather than half or balcony style) can gape a little at the top. Being a soft cup just makes that gaping more obvious! It isn’t too bad in this design, but I do find that I don’t fill out the cups here enough to get any kind of cleavage. I also find the wires to be incredibly narrow, which isn’t a complaint I normally make of bras, so they must be quite narrow indeed!
Sizing, Fit and Comfort
I sized up from my usual 30D to a 32B/C in this piece. I did, just about (!), manage to wriggle myself into the 30D (which admittedly fitted better on the cups), but was very small everywhere else…not so flattering!! Getting in and out of this beauty relies on the stretch fabric and one band fastening at the back. I generally wear a size 10 in clothes, and found the 30 band size to roughly equate to an 8 or 6 rather than a 10. Like I say; it is a stretch fabric, so there is room for manoeuvring in there, but getting it on and off can be a problem if the fit is too tight!
Once in, this Basque is a comfortable fit (thanks to all that stretch fabric!). I found the cups slightly uncomfortable due to the narrow wiring, but not to the point of being painful.
The straps on this piece are fully adjustable, and the band fastens with three sets of two hooks and eyes. The set also features suspender straps to attach stockings. The matching thong comes is sizes 8 – 16, and is a perfect finishing match for the set, and a nice and comfortable fit which is true to size.
What a gorgeous piece! It is stunning.
I was wrong. I thought that the “thong in question was a style of bikini bottom. My friend Google, however, corrected me. Thongs are not skimpy underwear in the land down under, they are what our Aussie friends call flip-flops, a staple piece of footwear for every citizen. Although thongs in Australia are, well, not as sexy as the thongs in America – they mean so much more there.
Gorgeous!!!! Stunning! There aren’t enough words!