Happy New Year lovely people!

I am so happy to be writing this post right now! Indeed, I have been wanting to introduce to you Adina Reay since last summer. This Autumn semester has been pretty hard for me since I started my Master, and there are so many posts that will remain unpublished sadly… Anyway, 2018 is there and I have new plans for this blog! I want to say, more reviews, but also some new topics… Now I shouldn’t talk too much, you’ll see! 🙂 Hope you’ll like it!

I am excited because this review is about a set that I love dearly, and also because my mum and my aunt have taken most of those pictures, which will remain a wonderful family memory. I am still trying to find balance between the aesthetic of my blog pictures and their usefulness as a customer. This blog is a platform where I mean to express my creativity as well as my love for lingerie, something that is rather hard to do in my everyday life. I hope you keep finding what you are looking for there, despite the fact that some pictures are taken from quite far. In this post I added some more detailed pictures from the last Curve NY, so you can have a better idea of the product itself (click to see them in a bigger format). Enjoy 🙂

[Disclaimer: Adina Reay generously gifted me this set for the purpose of a review. All thoughts and opinions remain my own.]

Adina Reay is a young fullbust lingerie brand on which I have had my eyes for a couple of years now. I remember the first time I saw their designs. The brand aesthetic was so refreshing and unique! Their cuts looked sometimes very risky for a full bust brand considering the customer’s expectations in term of support in the fullbust industry. I was wondering if their designs could ever fit me but I was (as often) too scared to try because, you know… Student budget… Custom fees… No existing reviews… My eternal lingerie lover existential issues…

Indeed, Adina Reay is not only a fullbust brand, it is also meant to be luxurious. A lot of their designs feature silk and beautiful lace but also some very original fabrics and textures which I can’t describe in a professional way because they simply look too new to my eyes. While I saw their designs on Instagram, I had an even stronger crush on them when I met the brand at Curve. I met the passionate owner of the brand, and the result of her hard work was just impressive. Her honesty also touched me and I had a great time chating with her about the industry and the struggle of feeling different and left behind as a full-busted woman. Plus every pieces looked so well-made with a strong sens of femininity and modernity. Well, you know me, I was sold.

My favorites from the brand were the Ava and the Pru, although I loved pretty much everything they made. Ava was my dream collection for its interpretation of the classical lingerie luxury in a way that hasn’t been made in my size so far while Pru was a litteral dream: something I could not even imagine to be made and work for fuller busts. So I was intrigued, but the brand believed in its designs and I wanted to believe in them too.

So last month, Adina Reay PR got in touch with me and offered to send me some lingerie to review, an offer I could obviously not refuse. I ended up ordering a Adina Reay Kate and a Pru set which weirdly seemed to be the best options for my breasts shape. I say weirdly, because I usually have troubles fitting in padded and especially half-padded bras, but well, I tried and it worked. So let’s talk about my experience of Kate in this sunny review.

First of all, I received the set wrapped in silk paper, in an elegant branded box. Adina Reay Kate is a padded balcony bra made of three parts, all covered with silk satin ( 71% silk). The brand sent the bra in a 30G and the short in size Small. Note that their size range starts at a 28DD and goes up to a 36G.

The first thing I loved in this set was its gorgeous ink blue and its luxurious guipure embroidery. It was also my first time seeing (I mean IRL) a padded bra made with silk satin in the outside and the inside. It looked super comfy and incredibly precious but also elegant in its simplicity. I am truly in love with the way this set looks.

Sizing wise, I found the brand to run rather big in the cup and band. I had the opportunity to try some bras in 32G and while my breasts are now in between size between a 30G and a 30GG, I really found the 32G to be big in the cup, so it could propably fit a 32GG depending on the breasts shape. For me the 30G is just perfect in the cup, in fact, I have no padded bra that fits me so well in this area. The cup shape pushes the breasts up and center. My breasts are uplifted with no overspilling and it gives a beautiful cleavage to my shallow breasts. I was worried that it would look pointy but it doesn’t. The band, however, runs quite big. It is made of silk satin and features three sets of 2 hooks and eyes. Ideally I would need a 28band in this bra, since I am comfortable wearing the band at the tightest set of hooks. My perfect Adina Reay size would be a 28GG if that size was available. I highly recommend to size down in the band in this brand.

To my surprise, the wires are amazingly narrow, something that was not obvious on the Curve NY sample, and reach my roots at the sides in a comfortable way. This allows my projected breasts to stay into the cups even when I lean forward, which is often an issue for me in padded bras. The cups are also closed enough at the top to be secure for my high set nipples. I am truly impressed with the way my breasts feels and look in this bra. That said, the straps aren’t fully adjustable which for me is an issue especially because they are quite long. Ideally, I would need shorter straps. I have to tighten them as much as possible to truly get the support I need but I will eventually use a strap saver at some point.

Considering that the brand is still young, I think this bra is far from a bad start, but a more true-to-size band and fully-adjustable straps would definitely make this bra more suitable for everyday wear. I truly adore it and I am kind of scared of wearing it too much because I don’t want it to get looser. That said, I have worn it several times before writing this review, and it didn’t fail me. Hopefully, the band won’t stretch too fast.
Going back to the aesthetic, this bra is made with wonderful attention to detail. I am not sure if you can see it on my pictures but the seam in between the 2 lower parts of the cup is invisible from the outside. The outer part of the cup is lined with silk satin and embroidered applique in a way that the bra looks like a 2 parts bra with super neat seams.

The brands clearly aims to provide the delicacy usually seen in luxury core size ranges in a full-bust range. The straps are thing and covered with silk (at least the non adjustable part), they are also well situated to stay in place throughout the day. Although the bra features from the inside a full-bust construction, it doesn’t look as overly structured as most full-bust bras from the outside. The band is rather wide, except in the hooks and eyes closure, and features side boning which are hidden by a gorgeous navy blue embroidery. The bra is secure, supportive, and comfortable. It is also very flattering but keep in mind that it fits more like a deep 32FF than a true 30G.

About the coordinate, I had seen them at Curve and immediately fell in love. I was quite into the suspender belt and thong which had a very architectural aesthetic but I had the surprise to receive the short in size Small. This piece looks so precious actually! It makes me feel like a true mermaid. I first thought it was a pair of French knickers as I found them to run loose at the waist and around the hips. I think a Extra Small would fit me better but when I received them, I didn’t know that the brand was making this size. That said, the other coordinates that I received fitted me perfectly in size Small. I am probably going to wear this with a suspender belt underneath so it is not such a big deal if it runs a little big.

The Adina Reay Kate short is made with 43% silk satin and feel amazing against the skin. The gusset is lined with cotton (I think, but I haven’t found its composition on the tag). This short isn’t meant to be in direct contact with your intimacy in the way a brief would be but it is always good to have a coton lined gusset. Actually for it to be as “secure” as a brief in the gusset area, I need to wear it up to my natural waist. I think that a XS would be more fitted and more similar to a boxer brief but the Small works like a pair of French knickers. This doesn’t make it uncomfortable but keep this in mind as you can choose to size down for a more fitted feel.

The waist is elasticated around the back and sides but it is smooth at the front. I admit that the knickers are rather crumpled on my pictures but I am a bit reluctant when it comes to ironing precious pieces… The guipure embroidery is absolutely breathtaking in this piece as it takes its whole span. Even now that I own this piece for a month, I keep admiring this work. There is still place for improvement in the bra construction but Adina Reay Kate is an amazing surprise for a padded bra hater. I hope it will keep its shape for quite a long time as it is my new favorite padded bra.

Adina Reay is a luxury label that is not affordable to most people but it is good to see a small business working hard on research and development and using quality material to create unique pieces. All those things can explain the price tag. In my opinion, this brand is trying to fill a gap in the industry and is definitely on the right track.

Hope you are surrounded by love and I wish y’all a really happy and full of self-improvement new year!

Yours truly,
Wen

Liked it? Take a second to support Wen on Patreon!