Dress Up Trunk Show

I just love attending Trunk Shows! A couple of weekends ago, my bestie and  I headed to our favorite little boutique: Dress Up (this post is way overdue... Eek). We sipped on some drinks and munched on some oh-so delicious treats like macaroons. In the midst of all of that, we still managed to do some shopping. If you haven't been to the this boutique you are missing out! They have the cutest dresses and the most adorable accessories; from bold statement necklaces to gorgeous bracelets, they have it all. Overall, we had a fabulous time at the Dress Up Trunk Show. I hope y'all have a chance to stop by and check them out some time soon! 

 

 

 

 

Panache Andorra Plunge Review (And Plunge Bra Musings)

I've had my ups and downs with plunge bras. And by that, I mean I've had a lot of downs with plunge bras. The shape of my boobs (full on top and fairly close-set) means that I constantly display 900% more cleavage in a plunge bra than I want to show. I always strive to strike a balance in between no cleavage and a level of cleavage that makes me feel a little overexposed. This photo from Bravissimo's website of the Fabulous Fuschia bikini shows approximately the cleavage level that I personally aim for:

Lovely cleavage!

I love the fact that this bikini top allows her to show this deep cleavage without requiring her to show a lot of the center or sides of her boobs as well. But displaying this subtle shadow of cleavage when you have a lot of upper volume can be a bit tricky. I find that wearing anything with a deep v-neck can lead to a situation in which I am literally showing over half the volume of my boobs in addition to just the cleavage that I'm aiming for.

A supportive plunge bra is really the answer to everyone's hopes and dreams on this front, because theoretically such a bra would dip down enough in the middle to get that shadow of cleavage, but rise high enough to cover enough boob volume to still reign in the girls and give a feeling of support. I've tried a decent number of plunge bras. You can see my review of the Cleo Molly here, the Curvy Kate Elegance here, and the Bravissimo Thea here if you scroll down. I've also owned the Freya Deco, which looks like this on me:

I find that the Deco gives me way too much cleavage for a casual event. Even though it fits me pretty well in a 30GG (yes, I know the back band is riding up a bit), I always felt like it was most appropriate for a very high-energy party or club evening. I've long been searching for something more low-key for everyday. I'd love to be able to wear a v-neck top to class, to lunch with friends, or on a casual date and not feel that I'm making too much of an 'impression'.

The Curvy Kate Elegance was an unmitigated disaster:

 The Cleo Molly was better--okay but not perfect, but it worked much better on my best friend, so I passed it on to her.

My answer, for awhile, was the Bravissimo Thea. As you can see, it gives me a lot less cleavage than the Deco:

However, I also found that the Thea would decline in shape throughout the day. This is something I experience with Curvy Kate balconettes, too--the shape looks great in the morning, but catch a glance at yourself in the mirror around lunchtime and you'll be shocked to see a pointy, downward-facing look. The Thea just couldn't wrangle my boobs consistently unless I shortened the straps a lot, and when I did, I had the same problems I have with the Deco--too much 'push-up' effect and too much cleavage for my comfort.

So I wanted to try the Panache Andorra Plunge. Now, you may remember that I tried the Andorra "balconette" (which is actually a full cup) and was surprised by how well it worked:

The Andorra's success in the full-cup shape I dread came from the side-support panel and the stretchy top section that supported me without cutting in. Because the Plunge version of the Andorra has these same features, I was hopeful that it would have the same success. I ordered it in a 30H, hopeful that it would fit me in the same size as most Cleo bras and also the same size I tried in the Andorra full cup.

And I was really pleased with it:

As you can see, the cleavage level is moderate, but not super-high. Best of all, it gives a REALLY nice rounded shape from the side, better than the Andorra full cup, and it stays like that throughout the day:

The top section is stretchy, which is good for my shape. My upper breast area is very firm, even hard, and has a lot of volume, so I need either something that is cut very open there, or something that has enough stretch to handle my shape. The Andorra delivers the stretch. Because it's stretchy rather than very open, it would also work on those with less stubborn volume in the top. In that way, it's a bra that could work for a wide range of shapes. My one worry with this sort of stretchy material is that those with softer texture might find it does not provide enough support or stability.

I also love the back band on the Andorra Plunge. Not only does it have three hooks, unlike my beloved Cleo bras, but it also sits at a wonderful angle, lower than your typical British bra band. Because of that, it fixes the problems I detailed in this post, sitting like this:

...rather than like this:

The lower angle eliminates back bulges and is much more comfortable and supportive for me.

As for cup size, I think the Andorra Plunge runs true to most Panache and Cleo sizing. For me, I always need a 30HH in Curvy Kate and Bravissimo bras, so this 30H runs more generous than those brands with are tighter and less forgiving in the top. I would say, though, that it's a fraction smaller than Cleo bras like the Marcie, and therefore it's walking the narrow line of needing to size up as someone who is often in between a 30H and 30HH. I do need to slip a finger along the underwire a few times throughout the day to readjust on my larger (left) side, as the upper volume presses down on my minimal lower volume and causes creasing, like so:

This isn't the first bra where I've dealt with this problem. I have it in the Panache Confetti, too. Since it only happens on one side, I find it's something I can deal with to a certain extent with a bra that serves a necessary function. In this case, the Andorra Plunge is so great in terms of shape, support, and comfort for a plunge bra that I'm willing to look away from this creasing issue until such time as I can find something better. Plunges in general aren't highly compatible with my shape, so I'm not really expecting that I will find something better than this one. A great shape and the really startling comfort level of this bra make it a keeper for me. But it's definitely not taking the place of the Cleo Lucy or Panache Sienna as my 'perfect' bra.

I did, however, find that the more recent teal color ran a tiny bit smaller in the cups. For me, this miniscule size difference was enough to send it over the edge in terms of fit, and caused the teal Andorra Plunge to fit me poorly, shift throughout the day, and to not give as nice a shape as the fuschia color. So if you are on the very edge of sizes, as I am, you may find that you would rather take a larger size in the teal color of this bra. Unfortunately for me, it only goes up to an H cup, so I can't size up to a 30HH.

In general, I think the Andorra Plunge is one of Panache's triumphs, and also one of their best-kept secrets. I'm hoping it will gain popularity and get a bit more buzz as time goes on, because I think a lot of people would appreciate the nice shape and comfort given by this low-cut bra, and I don't want to see it get discontinued. However, I'm disappointed by my experience with the teal shade, as I'd hoped the Andorra Plunge could become a mainstay in my bra collection. I'm planning to try the Spice color that will be coming out in this coming Autumn/Winter collection, and I'll report back on my experience with the sizing.

Work It! The Fit Crowd with Sweaty Betty...

When Sweaty Betty contacted me about #TheFitCrowd, they certainly got my curiosity. Then, a couple of weeks later when I got an invitation to attend an evening of fashion and fitness, they definitely got my attention.

Empowering women though fitness is Sweaty Betty's primary aim, and since launching in 1998 there are no signs of this mission slowing down. Their latest stage in this is 'The Fit Crowd' - a collective of likeminded women working together with SB to inspire new communities of fitness focused women. This was something that really appealed to me for two reasons:

1. My absolute belief in cycling having a wonderful impact on your health and lifestyle
2. Being inspired myself by other women to cycle and wanting to do the same via VCG

Last week I attended the introduction evening for The Fit Crowd, held at the Sweaty Betty Kings Road boutique. This was a chance to meet the other women who were part of the collective and check out their new range of clothing, with advice from their personal stylists...

All evening photos courtesy of Sweaty Betty.

I've indulged in their clothing before for my forays into Yoga, but never for the other elements of fitness in my life: cycling and running (which I do with the fabulous RetroRunnersLDN group). The notion of having nice pieces of clothing for BOTH cycling and running was ringing in my head while looking though the racks; something for runs with the Retro Girls, as well as for "go harder"days riding on the Clubman. After having a good look though EVERYTHING in the store & trying some pieces on, I'd put together an outfit that would be ace for both. 

So, after the fashion element of the evening, it was time to get into the fitness half of it... which saw The Fit Crowd having a Barrecore class!

We all headed over to the Barrecore Studio, which wasn't too far from the Boutique for an hour long session. This was certainly a new fitness experience for me, having never done it before...

This certainly put muscles I'd not discovered I had though their paces... this class was hard, fast but enjoyable! There was an interesting "burn" in the body doing Barrecore... my face in the last photo probably tells you that to - ha! I can see myself doing this again soon, alongside my cycling... 

It was a fantastic evening and I'm looking forward to working with SB and the rest of The Fit Crowd collective again! Inspiring more women to embrace fitness IS a brilliant thing & something I hope to do more with VCG and getting on your bike!

YOU can also get involved with The Fit Crowd AND win some rather nifty Sweaty Betty gear! To celebrate the launch of the collective, all you need to is:

1. Take a picture of yourself wearing your favourite fitness outfit 
2. Tweet the picture to @SweatyBetty_UK
3. Hashtag it #TheFitCrowd

The person who takes most inspiring and creative picture will win the SB gear along with some Cowshed Spa goodies. Competition ends on 31st March... so get out there with your bikes and go for it!

Watch this space for more #TheFitCrowd updates... 2013 certainly is turning into the year VCG gets its fitness ON.

The Must Have Brush for Tangled Hair

I am seriously amazed by this brush! The Tangle Teezer solved many of my oh-so annoying tangled hair problems. I have thick hair... Seriously... Thick, poofy hair with tons of tangles. It's especially bad when it's wet! When I get out of the shower, I always spend at least 15 minutes just detangling my hair. That is 15 minutes of my life that I could spend doing something else. With that said, I am overjoyed that someone invented this brush. The only real con is the price... It's around $14-$16. A bit high, but given the time it saves me daily I'd say it's well worth it. Overall, the brush is an amazing pick-up, and has solved my tangled hair problems. This brush is a must-have if you have the same constantly tangled hair issues I have :)

Official Site of Tangle Teezer: Here

This how I feel every morning with  my tangled hair!

Manicure Monday: Magnectic Nail Polish

Today’s manicure Monday is all about the magnetic force in nail polish. I have been eyeing this nail candy for months now, but was hesitant to buy it because the cost of it was more than even the higher-end nail polishes out there. Plus, I was afraid to purchase it only to end up have it not work. Well, my fears were unfounded, and I find that I love this type of nail design after trying it out! It really works! The nail manicure process is not a quick one, though; you have to have some extra time on hand to make this manicure happen. Following are some of the steps that I took to make this work (since the instructions on the bottle weren’t all that helpful). The color I chose was #905 Red-y Response!

Savings ALERT: Go to Ulta and use the $3.50 coupon that the store has to get the polish for $6.50 instead of $10.00 :) 

1. Apply a thin coat of the polish onto your nails.
2. Quickly apply a second coat, though not as thin as the first one. 
3. Once you apply the polish, remove the magnetic top portion of the bottle   and put it as close to your nail as you can get it (without touching of course). 
4. The iron filaments in the polish will start moving after 10 seconds of holding the magnetic piece over your nails. 
5. Once you get the design you like make sure to put a clear top coat to both seal the nail polish and prevent chipping. 
6. And there you have it… Your magnetic manicure!  

Breast Reductions - A Topic Close to the Heart

I read a couple of amazing blog posts this week regarding breast reductions. Check out "The Pressure to Get a Reduction" and "Minimizing Big Breasts: Bras Vs. Breast Reduction Surgery via Slip of a Girl". Reductions are a bit of a hot-button issue for us busty women, with so many different viewpoints and so many possibilities for feelings to get hurt. For this reason, I’ve avoided writing about it until now, even though I spend a lot of time thinking about it. Many women are happy after having reductions, but there are also cases where a proper bra fitting could have produced this same happiness without major surgery.  I also think that a lot of women get reductions ostensibly to deal with back pain, when really what they are dealing with is disgust with their body. I don’t mean to de-legitimize this disgust, but I do want to examine it. The disgust manifests itself in various ways, and is caused by various cultural forces. Although I now believe that this can sometimes be a legitimate reason to get reduction surgery, I wish it was less common as a cause, because I think a lot of the disgust (particularly the part caused by cultural forces) is fixable.

I used to desperately long for a reduction when I was 18-20. My mom was supportive but suggested that I think it over for a couple of years. I am so glad I waited, because I ultimately came to love my boobs, and plan to keep them for life. But much more importantly, I eventually realized that the reasons I had wanted a reduction were all wrong.

It began in my first year of university. After years of being happy with my body, my boob-self-esteem suddenly hit rock bottom. During one conversation with people (mostly females) living in my hall, they crowded around me saying “Oh my God, your boobs are so huge! What size do you wear? Can we look at your bra? Can I touch them? God, they’re just so BIG!” No one in the room said anything like “Your boobs are huge! That’s cool!”  or “Your boobs look good!” I get so mad when I think back on this. It is unacceptably rude to dissect and discuss a single part of someone’s body without at least offering the comfort of a simple compliment. As it was, I ended up feeling like a zoo animal.

In another incident, the best friend of my bitchy roommate purposely walked in on me when I was braless and then ran up and down the hall screaming “You guys, I saw her tits!”

In another conversation, this time with the males living in my hall, each and every one of them declared that big boobs were overrated and lame and they only liked big butts. I didn’t even like these morons but the mere fact that they all happened to have the same preference convinced me that it was universal.

I started to do internet searches of things like “Are big boobs attractive?”, but all that would come up were articles or posts trying to reassure girls with small boobs that their bodies were perfectly attractive, so it did the opposite for me. At that point I had still never heard anyone say “You have a nice body” or even “You have nice boobs”. All I had ever heard was “huge”, “giant”, “massive”.

These factors combined to cause what felt like a deluge of hatred for big boobs from everyone I talked to. I embarked on an overly intense diet to try to make my boobs smaller, adopted a curled-over posture that hid my boobs, and I suddenly couldn’t handle the sight of myself in my old bras.

At this stage, I wanted a reduction because I felt like a monster; my insecurity was verging on body dysmorphia. I thought I would never have a boyfriend because guys seemed to hate big boobs so MUCH. If someone I was pursuing romantically was uninterested, I would immediately assume it was because of my boobs. I wrote in my journal that I did not want to “inflict” the sight of my body on anyone I knew. I never even got catcalls or pervy comments, other than the few distressing incidents I’ve just detailed (mine was the opposite, I suppose, of the stereotypical experience).

These factors were the only reasons I was so disgusted with my body that I wanted a reduction, and once I grew out of my body hatred, I realized my insecurities weren’t founded. There are loads of people, both male and female, who love big boobs or at the very least know how to be polite about the topic—those people just weren’t talking as loudly as the people who treated me like a zoo animal. The most important realization was that I myself am one of those people who like big boobs—I like all boobs, actually. I still feel sad about the fact that no one told me my body was nice when I was young enough that it would have really made a difference to me. But I guess people were trying not to make me feel uncomfortable. Unfortunately, the result was the opposite.

Because of my experiences and the fact that I ultimately came to love my body, it really saddens me to read about girls getting reductions when they are as young as 16 or 17 (even younger in some cases). So many of those girls never get the right guidance or the right length of time to properly make a serious choice which is for life. The worst is when women get reductions without ever learning about proper bra sizing—someone who should be in a 30GG will obviously be miserable in a 38DD but lots of women never learn that, and doctors don’t know that.

These considerations were only part of the reason why, after my phase of body hatred passed, I was extremely negative about reductions and believed that practically no one needed one. I’m glad I didn’t write a blog post about the topic back then because my viewpoint has evolved a lot since. I realize that although I was lucky enough to outgrow my disgust with my body, that sadly won’t happen to everyone. The cultural forces that helped remove my disgust with my boobs were just an unpredictable combination of factors, same as the forces that produced the disgust. When my love for my body was fragile and newly-formed, it was hard for me to deal with the idea of reductions because I felt that someone getting one for reasons other than crippling back pain was passing a judgment on MY body. If they wanted smaller boobs because they found their bigger boobs unpleasant, then I felt they must think that my boobs and my body were ugly and disgusting too.

But I realize now that it is unreasonable to reject the suffering of a woman who feels trapped in an alien body just because doing so might be beneficial to MY self-esteem. The bottom line is that it’s not about me. It’s not even about aesthetic standards of beauty, because there is no single aesthetic for what is attractive or acceptable. Feminism is about CHOICE.

A woman who wants smaller boobs can choose to have a reduction, just as a woman who wants bigger boobs can choose to get implants, finances allowing. In the same vein, someone who is attracted to busty women can choose to date busty women, and someone who is attracted to smaller-chested women can choose to date smaller-chested women. Besides, traits like breast size are very rarely foremost in people’s considerations of whom they love or value. None of the choices I have described are directly equivalent to a judgment on “the other” body type. Everyone feels differently and has their own preferences. If one person prefers something different from my body type, it doesn’t mean that everybody feels the same. It’s not a war.

Mmmm...Vitamins!

 Mmmm... Vitamins sure sounds pleasing, right? There is nothing pleasing about swallowing pills just to get additional nutrients in your body... Unless, of course, they taste like candy! Being in the pharmacy world, I'm forever surrounded by pills, day after day after day. I've noticed that many vitamins are manufactured in horse pill sizes. I don't know about you, but swallowing those pills everyday is definitely not something I'd look forward to. So, shying away from these gargantuan pills, I picked up a bottle of gummy vitamins instead. My favorite brand so far is Vitafusion for women.

 

They have the regular, typical vitamins for both men and women, but there are additional benefits for the ladies in this version of the product. It contains collagen, which is great for your skin as it helps keep the skin healthy, young, and fresh. Another nutrient added to these vitamins is biotin for nails and hair.

 I've noticed that since I started taking these delicious gummies my hair and nails have grown healthier and longer. You only need to take 2 gummies daily; I usually take them in the mornings after a healthy breakfast. In my opinion, as well as many others, there is nothing bad about extra vitamin intake.

A nice little chart I use to eat my vitamins. (From Dr. Oz)

As long as you follow the instructions of the products, they can only help you. Give these little gummies a chance if you happen to run across them; though be warned, they can be very addictive and delicious!

Tights about Town...

As the dark winter becomes a distant memory, the time has come to start pedalling towards Spring and put some colour into my cycling wardrobe.

What better way to welcome the bright days than with Fashion Tights? They are a fantastic way to inject a splash of colour when riding. There is a whole world of alternative tights out there, some of which are guaranteed to put a smile on your legs...

"Schneewichen" & "Otto" - Les Queues de Sardines

If you haven't come across them before, I suggest seeking out independent French label Les Queues de Sardines. Embracing bold graphic prints with a sometimes wickedly dark slice of humour (the Schneewichen tights will give you a clue), LQDS have some fantastic designs in their collection. If you're after an unusual yet stylish edge, they are certainly worth checking out, and are very comfy to cycle in too.

"Crystal Lux" & "Leon" - Bebaroque

Bebaroque Tights are all about opulence and luxury in the world of hosiery. From Swarovski Crystal embellishments to prints that give the appearance of having tattooed legs, Bebaroque provides a unique and beautiful twist to accessorising with your legs on two wheels.