Alterations: Stiffening the cups

Most of you have probably heard by now that I have some problems with the much loved Ewa Michalak bras. 

My main problem is that they are too shallow at the bottom, and thus collapse - My inability to fit in the bottom of the cup can't really be helped much, but I've experimented with preventing the bra from collapsing, by making the lightly padded cup a bit more stiff.

My first attemps have been pretty half-arsed, by using the plastic from Q-tips, to sew a small bit of boning in. This was obviously not a good solution, and I was thus on the look-out for something better.

I then stumbled across the plastic-sheets that you can roll up and stick in your long boots:

It was thin and sturdy, so it seemed bendable and supportive enough to do the job.

My first go was to try and make an entire plastic pad - I used a pad from a PL bra as a template, and cut out a piece, and then made holes to stitch through. The cutting was easy enough, but making the holes were a tough job. I made these with nails that I hammered through, but it was tedious work to get them all done, and even then they were quite small:

I quickly stitched it on a pad, and stuck it in a PL bra to see how it worked - well, not well!

As you can see, the profile is awful - the pad is completely stiff, and stick out.

Furthermore, it doesn't follow the bottom of the cup, and thus actually makes the fold more extreme. Not what I wanted.

So, my next attemp was cutting a little "wave" - I figured this would follow the curve much better, direct the breast towards the middle, and make a smoother transition from boned area to soft area. I cut the wave shape first, and then adjusted the bottom to fit the curve of the wire.

(sorry, forgot to take pictures of the process!) This time, I cut the holes with a scissor, which was much easier, and the holes were about the same size as with the nails anyway - Experience told me that the smaller the holes was, the more difficult it was to make small neat stitches!

I has just recieved an S and a PL bra, so I would test this out on both types:

On the S bra, I sew them on the inside - This was tricky work! I tested where my dreaded fold was likely to form, and then safty-pinned it in place. I made sure to try get it under the seam of the wire, to prevent potential pinching.

Here's how it ended up looking:

For most of the stitches, I could make sure not to stitch through the outer-most layer, keeping it smooth on the outside. This was a little difficult at the bottom of cups, as my hands didn't have much room to work in, making neat work more difficult. But it's not really enough to show through anyway:

So here it is on!

I would saya it's definitely a succes - more uplifted than anything! And no signs of anything going on in the cup. And it's surprisingly comfy too - I can't feel it at all! And added bonus, I usually also feel like the gore doesn't really tack on me, but this seems to tip the whole bra upwards a bit, forcing the gore a bit closer to my chest. All around good points for this!

Next up, I tried it on a Pl - The difference here being that they have pockets on the inside for pads. I therefor had to sew on the outside. 

This was much much easier, because it wasn't the nitty-gritty work in the cup, but the results aren't as good either. The edges would not completely follow the cup, and this could stick out a bit, which does show through clothing:

So, I'd deem this one succes (that I will definitely repeat!) and one not so much (though not unbearable for me). I don't know if this will inspire others to make alterations like that, but there you have it, this is how I intend to make EM's work a bit better for me!

Formal wear for the XL Hourglass

I don’t really do style posts, mainly because I do not have much style (how do you think I got cast for that make-over show I posted about?) but here comes one ;) I just found a nice, curvy- and plus-size-friendly outfit, so I had to share!

First things first:

The dress is the Yvette Dress from Gina Tricot in size XL, 299dkr (£32/$52)

I’ve added sleeves to mine. Here in the midst of winter, bear arms isn’t really the look, plus I prefer not to show my upper arms in general, so I go through all sort of hoops to add sleeves to my tops and dresses (can’t tell you how many cut-up shirts I have!).
I had an old see-through shirt that had a tear at the body, making it a bit trashy, so I put those sleeves to good use. I felt it would be a shame to put a cardigan over this dress, since the sheer back and shoulders are kind of the point, so I felt this worked well. Gina Tricot has lots of sheer sleeved tops (must be the trend atm), but since it would be used to cut up, you can probably find something cheaper elsewhere, if you wish to do the same.
I really love this dress, as the full skirt makes it very comfortable and flattering, accentuating my waist-to-hip ratio, and not constricting in any way. The sheer shoulders gives a nice illusion of not being as covered as I actually am. It definitely doesn’t downplay my chest size, but seeing as I like that in order to balance out my larger lower half, that is just a plus for me! The soft material, viscose, feels soft and warm, and I don’t doubt I’ll feel nice and comfy in this during the Christmas festives J I would have wished the neckline was a bit larger, either showing a bit more shoulder or more collar bone, just so it isn’t that covered, but since I don’t have a sowing machine or any sowing skills, that is one alteration that will have to wait, if I decide to do it.
The sheerness of the back continues down a good bit lower than the buttons, which again helps balance out the covered-ness. And, with sheer rather than completely cut out, you can get away with a lot more, I think. A black bra going across the sheer area can easily look intended ;) 

 

On to the sizing,  you can see from the stock photo that this dress obviously fits me differently than intended (aka. the skirt looks like it was supposed to start at the top of the hip, though on me, it is more like an empire cut), but I don’t mind, I think it looks fab J It’s a bit tighter across the seam where the opaque (I know it seems a bit see through due to the flash in the pictures, but it really isn’t) meets the sheer, so I wouldn’t want to size down, even though the rest could easily have been smaller:

I generally find Gina Tricot to run much larger than other comparable brands, especially in those items listed S, M, L rather than numbers.

Check these pictures I took last summer:

These tops look identical in the store, but the left is size XL from H&M, and the right is size L from Gina Tricot! And Gina Tricot also has up to XXL in some items, so even though they don’t have a plus-size collection like H&M does, I’d say they are a good place to go for larger sizes, even though their size chart doesn’t really indicate this: XL is said to match measurements B: 105cm/41” , W: 87cm/34”, H: 112cm/44”: This dress must be much larger than that in all three measurements, since I measure around 48”-34”-49”. So I think ladies much larger than me from the underbust and down would also have luck in a dress like this.

I think my curves make it shorter than intended too: Their dresses are based on a woman of 172cm (bit less than 5’8”), and I measure 173cm (bit more than 5’8”), but it came up a bit short with heels.

They don’t have this dress on their website for some reason, but it was part of the news in the store, so they should have plenty left if you go to one. If there is none near you, check these similar dresses you can shop at their site:

From left to right, that is the Majkan Dress, the Elin Dress, the Mildred Dress, and the Marcia Dress.

Because of the loose waist, I’ve added a belt. I don’t have many, but this one fits my needs. I don’t know the brand, but bought it at Gunnva, and they also had it in beige, and in bigger sizes (this was a “75”, and they also had it in “85”. I don’t think that is cm, since I wouldn’t be able to fit something that measured 75cm. Maybe they are inspired by EU bra-sizing? Since it is an under-bust belt).

Note that it actually had 3 of those leather panels, but I cut one off, as it was just adding too much bulk. Now it can sit more smoothly at my waist and underbust.
If I want to wear this dress for not so late evening events, I think I’ll pair it with a more colorful belt. I want to wear it for Christmas I think, so I’ll try to get my hands on a red belt, and perhaps some red accessories to lighten it up a bit J

The shoes are from Vagabond. They are so my style, and very comfortable and practical, and I use them a lot, but they still look all new, so it’s excellent quality. I think a “lighter” shoe would match the elegant style of the dress better, but a) I don’t have other fancy shoes and b) I like these too much to pass up a chance to wear them ;)

Under this dress, I am wearing Trinny&Susannah All In One Seamless Body Shaper in a size Medium.

Not me, obviously. 

I don’t know what’s up with the sizing, because according to their size charts, medium fits a waist of 27”-30”, which I am obviously not. But, this is the only shapewear piece I’ve tried that actually shaped my waist, which is sort of the point of why I want shape-wear in the first place, I have an annoying roll between my underbust and waist, and I have some rolls at the back, right around where I would like a belt to sit smoothly.
Extra bonus for giving me a nice bum: Despite being an hourglass, I don’t actually have a bum to write home about, my bottom half fullness is more due to my thighs, hips and lower belly. But in this piece of shapewear, I got a nice little shelf!
Speaking of my bottom fullness, aka. thighs, this is of course too tight there. Not as bad as on other pieces, showing that this piece is definitely more curvy in its sizing, so I can wear it without having to alter it/wear something  over it to keep it from rolling. I may still alter it at some point (as I’ve done with other pieces) to get a smoother look on my thighs in case I want to wear it with more form-fitted things.
I just said I didn’t have to wear something over it, but that is not entirely true: Because the fabric is stretched to it max, the texture get rather ribbed, meaning it makes a loud swooshing sound when I walk. But, easy fix, some cheapH&M leggings in 2xl cut off at mid thigh, and you are ready to go (are you sensing a trend of me cutting up stuff to make things work?)
One thing that puzzles me about shapewear, is that the backs come up so high – if this one was to sit tight and shaping at the top of my bra-band too, it would come up to over my shoulders, and the straps are way too long for that. I may alter this, cut it lower in the back/make the straps shorter. But not for this dress J
A last note of praise for this shapewear piece is the crotch area. These all in ones are a nightmare to wear to a party, because they aren’t meant to just quickly take off and on, but still the crotch area isn’t always so manageable. But this one is much better, it is more elastic in that area, which means it also gets bigger when you put it on, and isn’t so much of a hassle. To make it even less of a hassle, I have cut the seams a bit of the overlap, so they overlap more loosely, and I now won’t worry one bit when getting tipsy at a party.

I am wearing this dress with my newest Ewa Michalak bra, since they black and nude colors work well with this, even if it is seen a bit at the corners of the sheer parts, the nude will camouflage itself, and the black will look like a seam/part of the look. Plus, no bra gives as attractive a shape as the EM’s do, so I really prefer to wear it J