Basics: Freya's Hero

Let me start off by saying, sorry, the pictures are not all that I dreamed. Having an apartment with little-to-no natural light is getting more and more old every day.  But for catching the fifteen minutes of light after a day of work in the only window with light, while also having to pause to clean dog vomit off my bed after getting off the first shot, these photos do the job. Much like this bra.

I pull Freya's Hero for my customers any time I can. It goes up to a 38K, making it a less industrious looking bra for those big cups, and in true Freya fashion, starts at a 28 band, so it covers a lot of boob ground. I love pulling it for 30J customers, who often have never worn anything like it, and seeing their eyes light up. The Hero lives up to its name. Women whose breasts have been pushing their arms into jumping jacks finally get to see their gorgeous silhouette, or at least come close. The four part cup has a thick, hard-working side-support panel, and three parts of the main cup made of two different patterns of mesh. At a glance, it looks flimsy, but this shit is tough. I've always been a fan of a more pulled-in, front projection when it comes to bras/breasts, and that always comes to the table when this bra is invited. Yet, I didn't buy it. Three out of my four girls who would buy it, did, some in multiple colors. They loved it. And yet, I still didn't buy it.

 Two years ago, for whatever reason that no doctor nor my plastic surgeon can explain to me, I developed a painful lump in the edge of my left breast. It would swell up particularly before and during my period. When I finally got a proper sizing and proper fitting bras, it receded almost completely. And now, it is back. And it's working full time. 

As I mentioned before, the baby pills hit me in December, and my titties went up half a cup. The expansion didn't happen on the top so much as it did on the sides. Wires that used to just hold me now create a tiny wing of extra boob that just can't be pulled in.  Perhaps it's the hormones that have angered the lump?  I suspect it's the pinch of the wire, separating and indenting my tissue. Either way, with only one bra fitting my properly, I was in misery. I was coming out the tops of all my go to-bras, and had a nagging pain every time I dropped my left arm. In a fit of menstrual rage, I grabbed this bra up. Who knew when how long my size would last in the store?

I'm so glad I did.

I snatched this baby in a 30FF, which is the size I'd done in another Freya bra I'd gotten recently (the Kiyoko). It checks all the boxes fit-wise for me: great lift, strong side-support, and tolerable visage. I have found this bra to run loose, not just for me, but for my customers as well. I can usually do a 32 band more comfortably, and do, because I am a baby when it comes to breaking in my bras. In this bra, a 32 would have been unmanageable. In fact, when fitting with this bra I almost always size down in the back.

Visually, I never fell in love with this bra, and probably won't. I found it absolutely hideous in the pink it came in, and the blue coming this March ain't doing much for me either.  A silver trim rides the straps from start to finish, and lines the top rim of the bra from front to back, giving a little bit of flash and flare to and otherwise bland (to me) basic. The patterns for the mesh are nice enough, and read very smooth under clothing. I haven't had any trouble with seams showing through either, not that I give a shit. The plunge is pleasing.

What really has me wearing this bra 4 out of 7 days a week isn't just that I'm too lazy to get my clean bras from the basement. I truly love the way this bra fits me. I love the shape under clothes as well. Under button-downs, I've found it slightly more minimizing than some of my other bras, possibly because my breasts don't pull at the sides as much. The width of my breasts is perhaps the one thing that bothers me the most about my bigger chest. As I've mentioned before, most of that is due to being post-reduction and still having the width of my old boobs. The Hero takes care of that. I can almost deal with my size again. *dreams*

#softbody

 Naturally, I'm not the only one to review this bra! Naturally, I'm late to the game! One of my resolutions this year is to do a pull-up tho. So expect to see me on top of my game soon.

Take home point: Freya's Hero is the hero I didn't know I needed, and definitely the Hero I didn't deserve. 

A Hopeless Lingerie Christmas

There's been a big lull on here, of which I am constantly thinking about but not acting on. The past two months have been a whirlwind in my household. My partner's extended hours throughout the month of November, and then absence for almost the month of December, coupled with a second job for myself and an international trip left little time for anything beyond eating, sleeping, working, and trying to love my pup in between. Little time and meager funds meant nothing to talk about.  I debated on a Christmas wishlist, but to be perfectly honest, my partner gifted me Hopeless Lingerie and a trip to Japan for Christmas, so there's nothing else to wish for (I try to tell my bratty ass self). We arrived back on the night of Christmas Eve to find packages for me! Lingerie is almost enough to make up for the fact that I'm not still in Tokyo eating ramen ten fuckin times a day!!!!

I haven't had anything from Hopeless since 2013 when I picked up a pair of faux leather garters. It was the first time I'd spent "big money" (70$) (I was just a baby) on something that was on the less practical side, so naturally it took a lot of courage-building to get myself to even consider receiving a whole set.  It may actually have been liquid courage that got to me to ask for this set, along with the free choker deal that was being run at the time. All I gotta say is: Drinking really pays off.

In my younger days, my hands used to shake as I opened delicate tissue paper, reluctant to rip apart any stickers, hyperventilating, but now - not even close. I tore this package open with a maybe a little too much reckless abandon and immediately tore off the clothes I'd been flying in for the past 20 hours, suddenly rejuvenated and ready to face a whole night of Christmas Eve festivities.

I first slid into the Jeanne Knickers, which I got in a Large. I obviously missed the fit notes that mentioned to size down if you find yourself in between sizes: My waist is 30 inches, putting me smack in the middle of Medium and Large, and this fabric's got great stretch. Thus, it's supposed to be a high-waisted brief, but on my tiny stumpy torso, it is high. A good two inches above my navel. And that's cool, because the diamond mesh is the most comfortable thing I've maybe ever had on my body, and the more it's touching, the better. It is so soft that I forgot to take it off before leaving, forgot I was wearing it, which never happens with any other highwaist panties I have, and forgot to change my underwear for the next 24-36 hours. The bamboo gusset really holds up.

The Lita Choker came next, which I also got in a Large, based on advice to go with your knicker size. If I'd followed the original advice to size down in the panties I'd be in business. It is still a fully adjustable choker that I can make work, with two sliding adjusters on each side of the neck. The back connects with a hook on one end that you put into the loop of the satin elastic choker on the other.  Just on my own finickyness, I'd rather not have both adjusters be on the front of the neck. Again, a sizing error that is completely at fault of my own.  This is my first time wearing a choker since I had one of those stretchy plastic ones at age 9, and I've really been working to find exactly how tight I want it without feeling like gagging, but still holding it high on my neck.

Last, I navigated my way through straps, hooks, and adjusters into the Rosemary Bralette, which I  got a Medium in based on recommendation to size down if you were in between sizes. In retrospect, this is the only tip I should have ignored. I'm 30in at my underbust, which puts me in the game for the Small, but my bust at the time was a 38, right in between the Medium and Large. As a 30FF, it's no secret that bralettes aren't really meant for me, and this was no exception. My gut told me to go with the Large, but the written word pulled me to the Medium, and I was worried about running out of adjustment slack on the underbust.

Hindsight is 20/20. I should I have gone with the Large. It doesn't help that I've grown half a cup size since I ordered back in early November, thanks to the godsend that is hormonal birth control. Spillage is a reality. An upsetting reality. This bralette still works well enough and feels amazing, and yields amazing visual results, but I'd be more comfortable with a little bit more coverage. The roundness and softness of my tum also makes the band roll in the front every time I move, but life goes on.

Sizing qualms aside, this set is still a success in my books, and the comfort is unrivaled.  Tiny roses take me back to a childhood of tacky-necked sweaters and days of the week underwear, and coupled with the dark mesh, this set has both edge and enough softness to temper the wound afterwards. The next time I find myself swimming in extra funds, or the excitement of a high-paying job, I may demand more Hopeless come my way.