I am not bringing anything new when I say that buying a fitted shirt when your bust isn’t proportional to your waist is a pain. It’s an understatement. I only have one shirt in my wardrobe. Actually it took me days to find it and it is still too big for me anywhere else than the breasts part. Well, I am only talking about work clothing. I have some large shirts that I bought oversized on purpose but when you really want that long-sleeved white well-fitting shirt you need both time and money by your side. This is also true for a lot of dresses and tops.

[Exclusively Kristen generously provided this shirt fort the purpose of a review. As usual, this fact doesn’t affect my opinion.]

In order to fight against this issue, I used to wear some minimizing bras. Note that I am not talking about minimizers, which I find ugly and evil, but usual bras that had the particularity to make my breasts fit into some Audrey Hepburn inspired dresses and shirts. This worked for a time but now I think I am just running out of this type of bras and have no desire to look for new ones.
So when I discovered Exclusively Kristen on Instagram, I thought it was a great idea for people like me. I already knew Pepperberry (Bravissimo clothing) but never got the chance to try their garments. Luckily, a few weeks ago Kristen kindly offered to send me one of her shirts.

At this time I was looking for a job and was more than happy to accept.
According to my measurements, Kristen thought I would be a size 8, which was sold out in the item I wanted to try, so instead, I chose the Classic short sleeved shirt. The shirt arrived super quickly but unfortunately (or fortunately?) was way too big for me. So I was able to try the One and only shirt in size 6 and here are my thoughts on it…

The One and only has a very particular construction. Unlike usual shirts, it features a curved seam (not sure if I can say it that way) on each side of the front allowing some extra room to the breasts. That means that this shirt can never be completely flat when laid down, or it will be crumpled. The buttons are very close together to prevent your breasts from pulling the shirt and create an unruly gap (gap that can eventually lead to the loss of the weaker button) … I also noticed that this garment has a hourglass shape that is very accentuated at the bottom.

I have to admit that this shirt is a little bit too big for me but considering that my shoulders are a little bit wide, I think I wouldn’t move my arms comfortably in a size 4 (note that this size isn’t available in this particular product). Also the cufflinks are very fitted around my ridiculously tiny wrists which makes me think that the size 6 is probaby the best option for me.

Nevertheless, it is safe to say that there is a lot of room for my breasts and even for the rest of my torso. Because of that, I prefer wearing it inside my jeans rather than outside.

The sleeves construction is also different from what I have seen before. The seams start very low from my armpit, which makes my movement a little bit restricted. However this could be a more positive aspect for someone with thicker arms, as I heard that some shirts sleeves are too narrow at the roots for a lot of people. So even if I find it more restrictive for me at this level, this construction gives the same level of comfort wether you have thick arms or thin ones.

I think Kristen’s shirts are made with a nice attention to detail. The collar has a great shape, feminine but not girly. I also appreciate that I don’t look weird when closing the shirt up to the third button before the last one. I usually don’t know where to stop buttoning my shirt. If it’s too high then it looks ugly and if it is too low then I’d look provocative. But with this shirt I didn’t came across this issue. Thanks to the buttons placement I can finally find a balance and just look like I am wearing nothing more or less than a white shirt.

I also really like the cuffs. I am no specialist but I think they really give that professional touch to this shirt.

To summarize I think this item is an addition to my wardrobe that will certainly be useful! Plus it is 95% made of cotton which makes it a nice garment for every season and good for sensitive skins. Just note that it was made with a fuller figure/fuller bust in mind. I am so surprised to actually see a shirt with too much room for my breasts ahah! It is nothing terrible but for the first time, instead of minimising bras I have to use Polish bras to be able to fill the breasts parts. I only wish it existed in a size 4 so it could be a good option for ladies with similar shape as me but with narrower shoulders.

Before ending this review, I have to inform you that this shirt pattern has recently been updated for the best! The subsequent production which will be manufactured in Fall 2017 have smaller armholes which corrects the restricted movements issue and the upper arm sleeve is pinched a bit. Also there will be a button at the neck. This new version will be available in size 6-20.

That said we can make the statement that this company is steadily trying to improve itself and it is very nice to see that most of the inconveniences I pointed out in my review will get better in the future!

Hope this post is helpful! If you have anymore question feel free to ask via comments or email!

Yours, truly,

Wen ✨