We’re leading on from our last Gossard review—Sian’s fantastic Barbie-esque Superboost Lace—we definitely had fun with that photoshoot! For me, it’s the Lacey Everyday set in the brand spanking new colourway ‘radiant orchid’.
When we got asked to help out with some reviews of their SS16 collection, it was a really hard to task to pick a set out of the many we’ve lusting after! Queue the usual volley of emails between Sian and I: what about THIS? Noooo, actually, look at this! Oh no—the band size doesn’t start low enough! HAVE YOU SEEN THIS GORGEOUS ONE?! —No kidding, this kind of back and forth can last anything from a couple of minutes to a whole day. We have been known to exchange 64 emails in the space of one hour. But you know what? Sometimes the difficulty of choice makes it just about justified! I’ve had amazing experience in past, in the form of my favourite set ever—the Retrolution. I’m still very tempted to complete the collection and grab myself the same set in black, plus the slip. But excessive desires aside—luckily, there was a recommendation for me to try: the Lacey Everyday in the colour. And what do we think?
Shape & Appearance
The Lacey Everyday plunge bra and short in radiant orchid lives up to its name. In pictures, the set looked a little ‘extravagant’ to me for everyday wear—but I was totally wrong! The lace detailing on the cups is discreet whilst still adding a lot of detail: it doesn’t show under tight tops, so as long as I’m not wearing white, I can pretty much wear this under anything. I also wasn’t 100% sure of the colour in photos. I’m not much for pink, and I did think it looked a little pink for me. In person, it’s a far richer tone, tending more on the purple side to my eye. I suppose the people at Gossard faced the same problems with this set as I’m facing now, and they came up with the only answer—which is radiant orchid! It is most definitely that bright, rich, pink-purple of the orchid. And it is definitely vibrant. I especially love the way it looks with my red hair, which I hadn’t at all expected when I was thinking something more pink was going to pop through the door!
It’s a true plunge style with a very low gore, decorated with their signature ‘G’ on a gold accent. There’s a distinctive design here which looks, at first, like the bra hasn’t been put together properly. The edge of the cups don’t meet and end of the gore, but extend slightly beyond it. I thought it looked a little odd at first, but actually now I appreciate it being something a little different to what you usually get. The cups are only very slightly padded and (from what I can discern through the lace!) made up of three parts, with a seam roughly in the middle of the bottom of the cups. Shape-wise, it doesn’t give me much of a cleavage, but I assume on a different shape that would be a different matter. It generally gives a quite round but natural uplift, with a smooth finish underneath tshirts. The bra fastens with three sets of one hook and eye; I’m used to wearing bras with two sets, so on first wear it felt a little flimsy, but hasn’t been a problem with fit or comfort. The straps are fairly thin, and fully adjustable.
What I do love about the band on this bra is the back! I’ve seen this before on Gossard products but haven’t had the chance to try one out, and I love it. Sian and I have spent many hours discussing the difficulties of backs on this blog. We’re probably going to do a bit of a humorous discussion about it in another post, but let’s just say for now—there is almost no chance of taking a flattering photo of a bra from the back. Believe us: we’ve tried. You don’t want to see the outtakes…Having the cutout section on this, though, gives you a far better chance to look good, in my opinion!
Sizing, Fit and Comfort
Ideally, I size in at a 30D, but when 30 bands sizes aren’t available, I generally don’t have much trouble sister-sizing it to 32C. In this bra, the fit is fine. I’d prefer a tighter band—for comfort and how I’m used to it feeling, more than as a support issue.
The gore sits snugly to my breastbone, and I don’t find any obvious gaping along the cups. Historically, I’ve always found the plunge style gives a good fit me, and this coupled with the cut of the cups along the top (fairly low, subtle curve, with a sudden upturn toward the straps) gives me a very comfortable fit on my shallow and fuller-on-bottom breast type. The underwiring is narrower than I’ve found on other bras, but doesn’t cause any discomfort. For anyone looking for a reference point—it’s much narrower than my beige Ewa Michelak, and a little narrower than this Curvy Kate. I’d say, for me, my optimum underwiring would be the CK.
The thinness of the straps and the cutout at the back can become a little irritating towards the end of a day’s wear, and this is the only downside to the comfort of this bra. I was a little disappointed in this regard, as the thickness and quality of Retrolution Staylo Plunge was incredible, and I don’t think the Lacey Everyday can compare in this way. Then again, there’s a significant price difference between these two items, so perhaps it’s only to be expected. I would prefer slightly thicker straps, band and an set of hook and eyes, but then maybe that would make the pretty cutout design on the back impossible?
What I have noticed in the positive for the Lacey Everyday is the beautifully soft fabric used to line the cups. I have no idea what it is, but is it SO soft, and SO comfortable, and I want EVERY bra I ever wear to be lined in this fabric!
The shorts to match this set are also amazing. To be honest, it’s the pairing of the bra and shorts that make this a true winner of an ‘Everday’ set for me. Quite often I find the matching pants to a nice bra can be a bit of a let down for everyday wear (another upcoming post Sian and I have to write on brands insisting on making knickers with lace panels that are basically designed to ride up!!) This, however, is the perfect fit, the perfect shape, and the perfect companion piece. I’ve already worn the set dozens of times and it has survived washes beautifully. If you’re looking for an everyday set with a little bit of oomph; I don’t think you can go far wrong! I’ll certainly be considering a second colour soon if I keep wearing this one so much…
The Lacey Everyday Plunge is available in sizes from 32A to 38DD for £24; the matching shorts (£12) and thong (£10) are available in sizes XS to XL.