Strapgate

I haven’t been posting for a real long while. Sorry, I’ve been really busy doing other things. This particular post was kind of caused by a recent affair on the English fanpage of Ewa Michalak. For those of you without Facebook this is what happened: one of Ewa Michalak’s clients posted a link to her blog where she describes an alteration to the straps. Edit: it wasn’t FussyBusty, it was somebody from Ewa’s team – they keep up with all the bloggers.

I can only imagine the face of Ewa when she saw it – and mind you, I have very rich imagination, but it was probably the WTF kind. Well, for a start she kept calm (as all of these recent memes advice) and asked if this problem was common. It turned out, that yes indeed, a lot of her foreign customers remade her bras in the very same way.  Hmmm, here’s a funny thing strikes me and not only me, all the English speaking Polish clients of her – why don’t we  have the same kind of problems? The girls posted links to their photographs in the said bras, Ewa looked at them and here I think she was close to banging her head on the nearest flat surface. Her response was in line with her regular straight forward attitude. Sure, she was not diplomatic at all and no PR specialist would advise her to do this, but she told you the truth. Ladies, Ewa’s  system of measuring for bras is not the same as the British one. After you measure your UB – even in inches, get your I-phone or whatever other smart device into your hand, turn on the calculating app (if you can’t calculate into cm into your head) and basically what you get – your tight measurement in cm (exhale, place the tape horizontally and squeeze without breaking your ribs)  is your band size in Ewa Michalak bras. I agree that the cup that you get out the size calculator on Ewa’s website may not be the right one – this parameter is influenced not only by the measurement of your boobs but also by their shape and texture.

Ewa Michalak’s sizing system is supposed to let you choose your band size based on your real UB measurement in cm. The other thing is – her bra styles are halfcups and plunges, so these are styles that do not cover the entire breast – some tissue will be always exposed. One more thing, they are not supposed to fit the same way the British brands do – those in your sizes often have wires that end up almost on your back – much behind your breast tissue. This is the reason I stopped buying Panache and also Freya – in GG in smaller bands the back part of the band gets really really short. Bravissimo in 32GG is unfortunately the same. The wires of Ewa Michalak’s bras are supposed to encircle your breast and to end just where the breast tissue ends. Not further into your armpit.

I don’t really believe there are so many of you that genuinely need 50, 55 or 60 bands from Ewa, but instead of talking more I’m just gonna show you what bra sizes are worn by Polish customers of Ewa. Sizes and measurements. Almost all these data were taken from Balkonetka, a few other entries came from both Lobbies. I don’t give the name of a given model on purpose – to keep the anonymity of the user. What is shown are: – UB measurement -where I could get it: two measurements – tight one and the one without squeezing the tape. Breast measurement (standing, without bending down, unless both measurements were provided), Ewa’s fitting size; and the user’s assessment of the bra and fit with comments (much abbreviated by me).

	UB in cm	Boobs in cm	EM size	rating	remarks
1	68	86	65D	5*	Wires slightly too narrow
2	66	85	70C	4*	The band still holds even though the bra is old
3	64	92	65E	5*	The band slightly looser but still holds well
4	71	89	70C	5*	My favourite bra now
5	76	101	80F	4*	Very comfortable
6	75	101	75E	5*	An ok bra
7	67	93	65FF	5*	ok
8	78	102	75FF	5*	Very comfortable
9	78	115	85HH	4*	Very tight band
10	74	102	70H	5*	Very tight band, have to use an extender
11	71	101	70G	5*	Sensational fit and lift
12	72	115	75HH	5*	The band could be tighter
13	71	92	70FF	5*	Great fit
14	62	86	60F	5*	A bit too small for the bigger boob
15	64	92	60F	5*	Moderately tight band
16	68	95	70FF	4*	Just beautiful fit
17	60	85	60E	5*	Very pleasant on the loosest hook
18	74	102	75G	5*	Beautiful and comfortable
18	66	92	65F	4*	Very nice effect
19	67	97	65H	5*	The band seems loose but holds very well
20	83-87	No date	85G	–	The lift is ok though the wires could be wider
21	68	95	70E75DD	–
22	71-73	92-93	75C		Very tight band (red panther)
23	77	110	75H	4*	After many washings it doesn’t give such a lift anymore
24	87-94	116-128	85GG	5*	I like the effect.
25	79	94	80DD	4*	–
26	90	115	90E	5*	For me – the best (very wide ribcage but no fat tissue)
27	66	91	65FF	5*	Beautiful
28	73	96	75F	5*	The band is on the tight side
29	64	92	60F	5*	The band is moderately tight
30	71	92	70FF	4*	The band is tight (IMO)
31	66	90	65F	5*	My new love
31	67	97	65H	5*	The band seems on the loose side but holds well
32	93	135	95J	5*	Fantastic fit and lift – I can run
33	72	116	70JJ	5*	Comfortable and pleasantly tight – I mean the band
34	72	102	70FF	5*	Just wonderful
35	59	90	65G	5*	A band’s a bit on the loose side, but it’s a second hand
36	76	111	75H	5*	–
37	76	101	80E	5*	I love it
38	59	90	60GG	5*	I love the profile
39	61	85	60F	5*	Tight band, great fit
40	69	93	70FF	5*	Great fit
41	78	108	80F	5*	Great fit, comfortable bra
43	73-77	90-94	75E	–	–
44	69-72	84-86	70C	–	–
45	65-72	83-84	70A	–	–
46	69-76	86-96	70E	–	–
47	75-82	113-116	75J	–	–

None of the numerous Polish customers of Ewa complain about straps cutting into the armpits. What we may complain about are: too short straps, too long straps, straps that adjust only half way, or the fact that the little circle between the front and back part of the strap just gets directly on a shoulder (grrrr, uncomfortable), the straps may roll or stretch or be of not satisfactory quality in our opinion, ect. But never have I heard on Balkonetka or on any of the Lobbies that EM straps cut into the armpits as described by Fussy Busty.

Written by a person who wears EM 75G for 74-77 cm UB and 102 cm around the boobs.

Panthers and vivid coloured half-cups

To begin with I’d like to say sorry for not writing for quite a long time and thank you for coming here and reading my blog even though nothing appeared here since last article about Balkonetka’s catalogue. I’m preparing to open a lingerie shop here in Portugal and I already started another blog to advertise it and also to present the brands that produce full range of sizes. You may have noticed a new link has appeared – Soutienocracia. Yes, it’s the other blog of mine:) However I can’t blame Soutienocracia and lack of time for not writing here – unfortunately it’s also my laziness and addiction to Plants vs Zombies game (which eats up a lot of my free time):P

Today I’d like to return to the Polish brand of Effuniak. It’s one of the brands that I’d like to sell here so I follow what goes on on Ewa’s website quite thouroughly and I also keep on buying some of the bras – just to test them on my breasts etc (I have to know what I’m going to sell, don’t I). At this moment I have to state these are the best constructed bras on the whole market, they just do miracles with the boobs. Mine and not only mine just look spectacular in Effuniaks . You can see that in the Balkonetka’s catalogue. You can also see that recently Ewa did a pre-Christmas suprise to everybody and introduced quite a lot of styles – padded halfcups in black, fuchsia, tourquise, powder pink and red (and complimentary line of plunges in the same colours in bigger cups – apart from powder pink). One more recent novelty is a padded halfcup in glossy cobalt. The latter already has a review on Bramania by kasica_k – a very positive one actually. Kasica’s delighted with it. And you? What do you think about it? The feedback in the commentaries on Stanikomania as well as on Balkonetka (70E , 70D, 70G, 70B)  is kind of mixed. The bra raises very extreme emotions. From the ones of love and delight about the style, fabric, colour and those wide straps, through the ones saying the bra woud fantasic if it wasn’t for for the colour to the ones hating those wide straps as well as the colour. However nobody denies the lifting effect it does to the boobs…

I would like to review collectively 4 more Effuniaks that I bought recently. Two plunges – red panther, black panther (both in 70H) and two plunges – a fuchsia and a tourquise in 75GG.

Here, links to Balkonetka users showing these bras:

red panther: 70C,  70H, 65FF

black panther: 70GG, 65F

fuchsia half cup: 65A, 75GG

tourquoise half cup: 75GG, 65C

FIT

I must say Effuniak produces real back sizes. In most cases taking your British back size is not recommendable. I took these two panthers in 70 and they are real boa constrictors. I would probably be much better off in a 75 in these two models, however as I ordered online and spent quite a lot of time waiting for my sizes to be sewn and then sent to me I decided to keep them. Extenders do exists:P

As far as half cups are concerned I was in Poland when I bought the fuchsia one so I could try it on. Dark half cups are the same boa constrictors as the plunges, for my 73cm of frame measurement a 75 was enough.

The cup size, in my opinion, is standard. I bought the cup size I always take from Ewa – in case of a 70 band it’s an H and GG with a 75 back size.

SHAPE AND UPLIFT

Ewa’s plunges give a shape and uplift that is an absolute mastership of the world. She should be given a Nobel prize for that construction. Half-cups give a shape that resembles more “apples in a basket” image instead of “breast on a tray” effect. Some may say that both of these are indecent… Well, I prefer to be indecent in Effuniaks rather than have my boobs squeezed and unsupported by bras that I would be fitted into in most of the shops.

BEAUTY

Well, as they say the beauty is in the eye of the beholder or you don’t discuss taste… I like wild animal prints as well as bold, deep colours. But I know for sure there are women who don’t apreciate such designs… If we all liked the same things the world would be very boring, wouldn’t it? I give a 5 out 5 mark both to the panthers and to the half cups.

COMFORT

I don’t remember if I mentioned it previously, Effuniaks came high in Bramania’s survey for “the most comfortable bra”. In case of these 4 models I agree too. The half cups are very comfy to wear. The plunges do need an extenter, but once I use it it’s fine, nothing digs in or tries to drill a hole in the sternum or armpits. No discomfort from staps either. The breasts are supported, in fact it’s almost like a luxerious holiday in a spa for them – they just lie in the cups and don’t have to do anything else but look nice. And they almost protest when I take the bra off…

Boob friendly brands – Effuniak/Ewa Michalak

Recently, when I was browsing through Thirty Two D forum I came across a post about new discoveries that mentioned Ewa Michalak website and her plunge bras in all sizes. This is one of the reasons I decided to write about Ewa and her designs, the other ones being the fact that at this moment her bra constructions are the absolute best that are available on the market (even though they still are not compatible with every pair of breasts and the designs may not be to everybody’s liking).

To start with – who’s Ewa Michalak? She’s been a lingerie designer for 15 years and during that time she cooperated with Polish lingerie brands such as Corin, Kris Line (you can often find their bras on Brastop), Kinga, Konrad . As she says herself in the interview for Balkonetka: “I came across the Lobby Biusciastych through “The bra alphabet doesn’t end at D”  article written by Kasica of Stanikomania and Butters77 – the founder of the Lobby. It was kind of funny as a magazine with it had been lying in my place for almost two months and I was just going to throw it away but then I decided to cut out some pics for inspiration. It was then that I found this article, I read it and I opened the Lobby website. And my first thought was “Oh my god, I’m so stupid and I know so little’. And when the Lobby brafitters calculated a bra size for me I almost dropped dead.” Ewa, who chose a nickname Effuniak, stayed on the forum and started to design and construct bras for bigger and smaller breasts. The lobbyists started to test these constructions. These bras were really beautiful and girls who got to test them were really kind of lucky ones – that’s how the rest of us perceived it. You can see some of Effuniak bras from that period here . Weren’t they cute? A lot of them were half cups, even for  large breasts (over HH cups). You can just imagine this long virtual queue of women waiting to get one of their own. And unfortunately, few got one:( The designs were unique and mostly unrepeatable, and  at that stage it was impossible for Ewa to start a mass production of lacy bras mainly because of costs.

Later on, last summer, Ewa opened an impromptue shop on her blog. It wasn’t yet a real shop,  yet it was better than nothing. Still you had hundreds of women waiting for new batches of plunges to appear there, and when they did appear they were selling immediately – sometimes almost everything got sold in just one evening. Just like nude bras, or other colourful ones (banana, watercolour, ladybird, peaches ) or even “cow” plunge or “cat” plunge (however controversial they were).

Finally, last autumn Ewa opened a real internet shop. Finally  all of us could buy plunges – auberine, chilli, denim , that were soon followed by sea moss, red moss , pleated bras and quite a few others. What’s more, in autmn collection  the construction of big cups got improved. Before the cup was made from 3 pieces of fabric, now it’s made of four.  This spring and summer brought more designs, among them my personal favourite – powder dots. What this bra does to my breasts is absolutely astonishing. I must admit I got into a kind of self admiration after putting it on – couldn’t stop staring at my tits in the mirror:) Recently Ewa introduced a strapless bra too – although only smaller cups:( to start with. There’s also a photo of a girl testing Ewa’s halfcup on Balkonetka – so maybe this autumn we’ll finally  be able to buy them too.

What is exactly so unique about Effuniaks? Why were all those women so frantic to get them? The answer is – the CONSTRUCTION. I already mentioned it at the beginning – Effuniaks at the moment are the best constructed bras on the market. H+ cups (or even G+) of other brands often have a construction error –  their producers assume that big breasted women have breast under their armpits instead of having them on their front. This problem of “triangular women” is described in Kasica’s article on Stanikomania ( I really suggest Google Translate, or any other “engine translate”, as the article is very interesting). If you’re a G+ you can try an experiment – just fasten your bra in front of you and see what shape it gets – if it’s a cradle, it’s bad…:( In case of Effuniak bras, this error is not there. The cups are fully on the front of the bra. The other thing is underwires – G+ often have very wide ones, wider than it’s really necessary (it’s also conneted with this first error I mentioned) and also very high – can poke into your armpit. Effuniaks have quite narrow and relatively low underwires even in big sizes. Another thing that makes them so unique is the lift – they were even nicknamed -“ elevators for the breasts“.  Just look at this  uplift.  The girl from the second link is also shown without a bra (but wearing a t-shirt) to show the elevation.  Isn’t it amazing?  What more can I say??? Well, recently there’s been another survey on Stanikomania, this time for  “The most comfortable bra”.. Effuniaks won (though not unanimously)…

To cap it off, some practical advice on how to choose a size of an Effuniak bra if you decide to order one. These bras have very tight bands, so if your frame is say 75cm(30inches), in most cases you will be well off in a 75(34) band. In case of Effuniak strapless, you may even need an 80(36). Anyway you have a calculator on the website – you have to take two measurements of your frame – first one  very tight, the second one without squeezing. As for the cup – there’s also a special way to measure for it. Bend down, so that your torso is horizontal,  make sure the tape is vertical and then measure your breasts. Type in your measurements into the calculator (first the measurement of your frame tight, then loosely, then around your breasts), click “jaki mam rozmiar” and you get the answer. But the answer from the calculator is only the starting point, as usual… According to  Ewa  you have to consider the shape of your breasts too, if they look like:

UU – most probably the cup indicated by the calculator will be fine;

00 – the cup indicated may fit but you may need a cup size bigger one; 

OO – you definitely will need a bigger cup size by one or two cups;

VV – the indicated cup may fit, but you may need a smaller one;

W – the indicated cup will be too big, you’ll need one smaller by 2 or 3 cups; 

^^ – breasts that are long and narrow at  the base ending with a kind of a ball – just like a pear – you should take  2 or even 3 cups smaller size than indicated by the calculator.

I hope this will help you check out for yourselves how Effuniak bras fit and what they can do for your breasts:)