Shot by Provocateur Images wearing Adina Reay lingerie and vintage stockings
Since the early 2010s, quite a few luxury full-bust lingerie brands have popped up, finally providing well fitting lingerie to people who want something more than a beige t-shirt bra. If you've read my blog, you'll know that I talk a lot about British brands because they seem to be doing the most innovative and interesting things in lingerie right now, including capitalizing on the full-bust market.
My own (overflowing) lingerie drawers (I have three!) are packed with beautiful British goodies and one of my loveliest sets is from luxury full-bust brand, Adina Reay. They launched in 2013 and they make lingerie in the UK for sizes 30DD-36G, but I see on their Facebook page that they'll be expanding their size range!
One thing Adina Reay prides itself on is the fact that their bras all have the same strap width. They have a fairly wide size range for a full-bust brand and the strap width on a 30DD bra to a 36G can vary greatly in other brands and change the way a bra looks. Wide straps aren't exactly the sexiest, even if they do a good job alongside the brand with supporting full-busts.
The packaging and shipping was fantastic, it literally came a day after my order. It came in a beautiful box and inside the lingerie was wrapped in tissue paper that my cat loved! She kept sniffing the lingerie and trying to get in the little box.
The set I have is from their Fran collection, which is a staple for the brand that they change season-to-season with different colourways. I chose the set in Scarlet, because you can never have too much red lingerie! Red bras also completely disappear under white shirts, making the need for boring beige not as necessary. I'd much rather wear a beautiful red bra than a regular beige t-shirt bra (but I do have one that I quite like that I may write about at some point).
I found that the bra is very comfortable and the sheer mesh makes it feel light as air. It's also soft against my skin which is quite nice, mesh can sometimes be scratchy when it's lower quality. The sheer panels on top of the cup act as a large sling would inside the cup and give added support and this allows the straps to be thinner and not have to do as much work pulling up the cup. I ordered my regular size of 32F and it fits perfectly and provides the perfect amount of support. I would be interested to hear how people who wear larger sizes who have tried this bra like it because it isn't as structured as many full-bust bras are due to the fabric and I'm curious about how it holds up on different sizes. But for me, it's perfect.
I ordered the matching suspender-briefs in medium and the size is also perfect. They fit comfortably and I love the high waist and all the lovely details on it. My only issue with it is the suspenders themselves, they have a tendency to detach during wear and I'd love to figure out how to get them to stay better. This isn't an issue that lies solely with Adina Reay, detachable suspender-briefs have a tendency to come off.
Adina Reay's other styles don't disappoint either, they're all incredibly beautiful with wonderful attention to detail and I'm curious about how they fit. I love their colourways too, I'm such a sucker for beautiful pastel pinks and dark maroons. I only wish that they would make suspender belts to go with their collections because I love the way a beautiful luxury three-piece set looks. But it may not be worth it for them financially, not many people seem to buy suspender belts which makes me sad.
All in all, I'm very happy with my Fran set from Adina Reay and I think they're doing great things for the full-bust market. I'm excited to see the new sizes they come out with too!
Have you tried Adina Reay? Let me know in the comments!