Ewa Michalak CH Lilia Review

This is my first official review of a product. Ever. Not surprising since I’m probably the world’s worst (and least consistent) blogger. This is also my first time ordering from Ewa Michalak directly. I do own the Effuniak CH Toffik. And I have for almost a year. I got it at The Big Bra Bar’s closing sale for about 17 GPD. My good friend over at http://bybabysrules.com/ actually picked it up for me in an order she was doing it and was kind enough to just ship it down to me at no extra cost. Considering their is a whole county between us, that’s saying something. Anyway, the fact that I love my toffik so much was what inspired me to choose the exact same style when ordering a new bra. Ewa Michalak’s facebook page hosts somewhat frequent contests and giveaways (how cool is that?) and I enter maybe 30% of the time. But I took a swing at their Valentine’s day contest and actually managed to win their 150 PLN prize. I selected the Lilia because it seemed like the most versatile option and my husband liked it, too. The bra runs 119 pln (that’s Polish Zloty) and since I’m not a stock size, I needed it custom sewn, which costs another 20 PLN. Then there is shipping, which is usually 45 PLN (only about $14 USD) but rather than have me pay part of that through PayPal and probably lose it paying fees anyway, they didn’t charge me a dime. And I was pretty pleased with that! So I emailed the shop after I made my selection telling Ewa what I wanted. She told me to create an account on the website and she’d create the order for me. She even double checked to make sure I understood their sizing before completing the order. They quoted me 14 days to sew and then 12 days to ship. It did not take quite that long. Here’s the bra:

To the left (above) you see the receipt. It’s Polish. But I imagine it says the usual receipt stuff. I don’t need to keep mine because I couldn’t return my bra if I wanted to. Anything you have done in a custom size is non-returnable. For understandable reasons. If it was a common size, they’d just stock it. However, EMs are a pretty popular brand and you can easily unload anything that doesn’t fit on Bratabase or somewhere similar.

Here you’ll see some removable pads. People like these, I think, because with this open top cup style, if it’s a little big (a lot of people size down in the cup when ordering a CH) then you can keep the pads in and get a better fit. These were awful for me personally. I looked ridiculous. If anyone is curious, I can go into reasons why pads might not work. But my point here is really that you have the option to use them or to just slide them out and stuff them in the back of your lingerie drawer never to be seen again. I chose that.

Hey look! Ewa has started using band size tags! That’s not really a big sell for me since I’m never ever parting with this beauty. But it’d be good if you order and discover it doesn’t fit and want to list your bra online somewhere. This says 55G. 55 is the EU band size, but they seem to use the UK cup sizing system, unlike Comexim. So just take your UK size, convert the band to CM and you know what to order. This would be a 26G. You can see here that the bra has a mesh, polka dot band. I wasn’t sure about that when I first saw it, but I kinda love it now. The band is a lot more firm than my toffik, which was quite stretchy. A lot of people worry about what size to order based on how stretchy or firm the material is from bra to bra. But I found it didn’t really make a difference in fit or comfort. You just have to be a bit more skilled at getting your bra hooked when you can’t stretch your band to reach underneath it and hook the clasps. I enjoy the firm band, to be honest. I felt quite supported. Although part of that might have been that I used the big wide straps for my 12 hour wear test yesterday. It’s very comfortable.

Here is the back of the big straps. I like that Ewa’s straps come with some extra flair to keep them from slipping and sliding out of the length you’ve specifically adjusted them to. I’m pretty sure I’ve never fixed my toffik since I got it just right last year. Speaking of, you can see my toffik in the background of this picture. And my Freya Patsy in Lime.

You can order this to have 3 clasps instead of two, but I find that two works fine and didn’t bother. This bra fits me like a dream with the pads removed. The gore tacks, the band is supportive, the straps don’t slide or hurt my shoulders. I tightened one side too much and gave myself a little muffin boob, but my husband pointed it out and once I loosened it, it was perfect.

And here is a close up of the front details. Just for fun. Because a white basic bra can still be adorable. (And no, you don’t see this through your clothes. I checked in a few shirts after a friend of mine asked.)

• Posted in: Dainty Domestic Diva ♦ Reviews ♦ Under wear??
• Tagged: bra reviews, Ewa, Ewa Michalak, Lingerie, PLN