Being a lingerie addict means that I cannot help myself when I come across a new lingerie boutique. I must enter and enjoy all the pretty things. It also means that I am surprised when I hear people say that any D+ size is impossible to find anywhere. For me, this statement just proves that the lingerie industry has a hard time reaching new customers. First of all, D+ sizes are far from uncommon and clearly there are options. So in today’s article, I want to introduce to you one of my favourite lingerie places in Montreal : Underworld.
[This article comes from my own initiative. I haven’t been paid to write this review. All thoughts and opinion are my owns. This article contains affiliate links.]
Quickly after I moved to Montreal, I discovered by pure luck the Underworld lingerie store, located in Place Ville-Marie. I immediately fell in love with this very intimate little store. At a time when I didn’t know where to find my favourite brands in Montreal, Underworld looked like a benediction.
[Simone Pérèle After Work set]
Despite being small, it is one of the best place to find lingerie in the city. They stock quite a wide variety of brands and I appreciate that they carry many different products too. You will find luxury lingerie, nightwear and even clothing and lingerie wash, from the basic to the sophisticated. While this sounds quite normal for a lingerie store, I would say that their selection is really good. They even have full bust sports bras which are fairly hard to find here in Montreal.
[ Simone Pérèle 1948, Empreinte Ashley and Aubade Belle D’Ispahan]
I believe their bras go up to a G cup (but since French brands tend to run big, some of them will definitely fit bigger cups) and they have a few 30 bands as well. I admit that most of their lingerie starts at a 32 band, though. For your info, as a UK 30G/30GG, I usually fit into Simone Pérèle 32F, Empreinte 30F, PrimaDonna 32F and Aubade 30G or 32G (depending on the cut).
They stock a lot of Empreinte, and Simone Pérèle but also Chantelle, Aubade, Prima Donna, and Marie Jo. You’ll find hosiery brands like Philip Matignon, Filodoro and Omero. It’s actually one of the only stores that sell stockings as most of them only sell tights and hold ups. They also have tons of options in term of fantasy legwear.
The staff is composed of very nice women who are trained bra-fitters and are always so patient and helpful. I love to be able to shop or even try things on without feeling harassed by sell persons. If you are looking for a size or even a particular product that isn’t hanging in the store, you can always ask about it and if you are lucky, they might find it for you. There is also the option of ordering your size or a specific product from the brands they carry if they do not sell it.
You must know that here in Montreal, the budget for a fine lingerie set is usually between 150 and 300 Canadian dollars (+ taxes) which is definitely not cheap. However, most stores take pride in selling only quality brands that they have known for years so that they can guarantee a good experience to their customers.
If however, you are on a smaller budget, Underworld can still be a good option as this store has a permanent sale section where they sell old or discontinued collections for 30-50% off the regular price. I really suggest to keep your eyes open because I always find gems in this section and they have many sizes available.
The store recently started to sell Eucalan wash which is amazing as I used to go all the way to La Bobineuse de Laine in Mont-Royal to buy mine. I consider this store to be a very good place to start your Montreal lingerie shopping. The selection is appealing to women of all age and nobody will body shame you or force you to buy anything. I believe you can always find something nice in this place and I love to visit any time I can.
You can find Underworld at 1 Place Ville Marie, Montreal, but I believe they also have a Toronto store (3138 Dundas Street West). I never tried this one though.
Update: These two stores aren’t related.
I initially planned to write only one article with a listing of my favourite Montreal lingerie stores but I think it would be so long and annoying to read for you guys and I decided to write about them separately. Hope this is helpful! <3
Yours truly,
Wen
If I am ever in Montreal I will try to make a point of visiting Underworld Boutique and shopping for lovely lingerie there. It looks irresistably inviting.
It seems to me that there are two different meanings of “full bust” and I feel like we need different terms. Some brands think full bust can stop at UK G/GG (European H), and this “H-boundary” is as widespread in Europe as the DD-boundary is in the US. Back when I fit into Prima Donna, I had no trouble walking into any decent lingerie store (in western Europe) and emerging with a good fit. But once I sized out of Prima Donna, options dried up.
There’s a reason many women who describe themselves as full bust feel under-served by physical stores, and it’s because only British and Polish brands routinely go over the H-boundary. This category – beyond EU H – needs to be distinguished from the D-H category which is, I agree, fairly well satisfied by continental European brands.
I know I am always frustrated when I hear about an attractive “full-bust” option only to find that it stops below my size and that is why I think it would be helpful to have different terms for the (UK) D-G part of the market and the GG-J part of the market (and then beyond – a lot of brands stop at J which must be frustrating for people who wear JJ+).
Hi Ann,
Thanks for sharing your opinion.
I agree with you, it’s very annoying that the notion of fullbust stops at a G cup for so many stores. Here is Montreal, there are only a couple of stores that carry British brands and GG+ bras. I will include them in that store review series actually. I know that in Toronto, there are more options but French and Quebec stores have a hard time introducing new brands to their customers, hence the limited options. I really wish these stores would also carry Avocado and Ewa Michalak but it takes time and money to create new relationships in this industry. Let’s see what the future brings!
-Wen
For me it works well enough to order Polish brands online, since I live in the EU. (British wires are too wide for me.) I think that’s a more challenging option if you have to worry about customs duties.
It’s a fairly minor frustration by comparison to get excited about a brand and then realize it stops below your size. I think of E/F/FF as average sizes (if everyone were correctly sized) so if it were up to me I’d only use full bust to describe G+ or GG+.