I’m sure a lot of you guys will be able to relate to the daily/monthly struggle of bra shopping as a plus size teen. At the time, the only pieces available for us were Mumsy, neutral bras, big pants with loads of lycra, thick straps and 100% total boob coverage with no scope for even a hint of sexy. It was dire and I hated it.
As a 17/18-year-old, I hated popping into the ‘middle aged’ department stores shopping for what was essentially maternity bras, while my age-mates were shopping in places like New Look, Agent Provocateur, Victoria’s Secret and H&M. Why couldn’t I wear harness bras? Why couldn’t I wear a lacy bralette with the nipple cut out? ‘WHERE ARE THE STRAPLESS BRAS FOR THE BIG TITTY BRIGADE?’, I exclaimed internally.
It just goes to show that clothes and underwear can have a powerful effect on your state of mind, as by wearing these geriatric, beige bits of underwear with thick straps and lycra, I started to feel really old and dowdy myself. I HATED what I saw when I looked in the mirror. I felt ‘othered’. When you’re a teenager whose body is rapidly changing all the time, it becomes a pivotal moment when you start to discover who you are physically, but at 18, I thought I had the body of an 80 year old. It wasn’t because of my actual body, however, it was due to the bras I was wearing.
Fast forward to 2018, and the choices for underwear has never been greater. The plus size community is a hot commodity, and lingerie brands are beginning to hop on board, finally! We now have access to strapless bras, lace bralettes, luxe silks and satins, keyhole features and harness straps, and in turn, this allows us to feel great in our bodies and to not feel so ‘othered’. One of my key pieces of advice when it comes to confidence has always been taking photos of yourself in beautiful underwear – adorning yourself in luxe fabrics can have an amazing effect on your self-esteem!
As you guys know, I’ve been working with Parfait Lingerie for a while now, and love their body positive stance when it comes to underwear and feeling good in the skin you’re in. They create beautiful, luxurious, high-quality underwear sets at an accessible price point. Here, I’m wearing the Charlotte Padded set in Bronze, and just a note that since receiving this bra, I’ve had my bra refitting and have discovered that my bra size has changed, so always make sure you’re up to date with your sizing!
I’ve always found it particularly difficult to find padded bras size DD+ and up. It’s almost like brands think that ‘big’ boobs don’t need the lift or volume, hahaha weird right. Well…not all big breasts are created equal, and some of us do not have the volume on the top half of our boobs, so sometimes a bit of help is needed! Parfait have you covered in this instance with the gorgeous satin Charlotte padded bra, featuring contrasting satin and matte detailing and a strong underwire to keep the girls in place. I love the accompanying briefs too – they are proper Brigette Jones-esque bloomers, but they are SO COMFORTABLE. Sometimes you just wanna chill out in big pants and that’s fine too – big pants can be sexy!
Shop Parfait Lingerie