Today I am going to tell you about a fantastic boob friendly clothing brand from the same country as Ewa Michalak (designer and manufacturer of my favourite lingerie): Poland.
BiuBiu is a brand some of you may already be aware of. They make bust friendly clothing in a range of styles, colours and sizes and I have long been an admirer of their work.
BiuBiu's tagline on their website is 'Polish company dedicated to dressing women's curves.' I love the simplicity of this and there is more detail on their 'Why BiuBiu' page (which is a bit like an 'About Us' page):
Are you frustrated by shirts with popping buttons?
Are you tired of clothes which maybe fit your bust, but give you a hunchback appearance, no waist or broaden your shoulders?
Are you looking for clothes which will not give you Arnold Schwarzenegger shoulders?
Are you one of those women who have never owned a dress which would celebrate their curves?
Welcome to Biu Biu, where you will find clothing cut for women who have busts, waists and hips.
We also take into account that busts can be different in size :)
Kinga Robak"
I know I can safely say an emphatic 'YES!' to all of their questions, and as a reader of my blog you may well be able to do so, too.
Many of my fellow bloggers have posted raving reviews of BiuBiu clothing over the past couple of years but personally I had never tried them for myself...that is, until a few months ago when a glorious package of clothes arrived on my doorstep.
The lovely Kinga had selected some pieces and sent them to me to try, without any expectation of promotion or blog review - amazing! I must apologise to her for not posting my volunteered reviews for so long but here they finally are, and today I am starting with the BiuBiu Kyoto Bluebell Maxi Dress.
Image courtesy of BiuBiu
Kinga sent me this dress in a size 42 BB/BBB, which is based on one's standard clothing size (using the Polish sizing system) and generally works from your waist and/or hip measurement. It's explained in detail here. The main concept to grasp is that you should go for the size that would best fit you if it wasn't for your boobs, i.e. if you usually have to size up a few times in order to accommodate your bust then you should go for that lower size.
So, how did the 42 BB/BBB work out for me?
Pretty well, if I do say so myself! As you can see, it really is a true maxi dress and is very long, which I love as far too many maxis skim my ankles, which often comes as a surprise as I am only 5'4 so I can only imagine the trouble taller women must have with finding a full-length maxi. Also, I handwashed this dress and left it to drip-dry on the washing line so that would have elongated it a bit. When I first got it I wore it several times on holiday without having washed it first and it really was a fantastic length for me. In these photos I am wearing the dress with low heeled sandals so at its current length the Kyoto would work best with high-heeled wedges.
The fibre content of the Kyoto is 94% viscose and 6% spandex, and that translates into a jersey-type material. It's a lovely, light fabric but thanks to the added spandex it stretches beautifully to provide a great fit. It's not a flared maxi dress, but nor is it fitted. It is somewhere between the two and is skims my curves to show off my shape perfectly.
How can I not have mentioned the print by now? It is absolutely stunning. It's an exotic floral print but it is not overpowering because it is made up of two base colours, white and blue. There are a number of shades and hues of blue, which is one of my favourite colours, and the overall effect is just lovely. So summery and so sophisticated!
As I mentioned in a previous paragraph, I wore this dress all the time on my holiday to Rhodes in May. When I packed it I wasn't sure how much wear I'd get out of it but it quickly became my go-to evening dress because it kept my legs covered and helped to protect me from those pesky mosquitoes that seem to adore me. I wore the dress with a simple white shrug from Excite Clothing to cover my shoulders and arms on cooler evenings.
The boob room in the Kyoto is great. My breasts are adequately and fairly modestly covered, without a high neckline, and I don't feel squashed or squeezed. The back fits nicely too, with the shaping providing a bit of bare skin, which is always a relief in the summer and especially when on holiday in warmer climes. The shoulder straps felt a bit like they were going to fall off as they were cut fairly widely (you can see the straps of my Ewa Michalak PL Malwa 30KK/65KK!) but they stayed in place without problem. It took me a little while to realise that I didn't have to keep readjusting them as they were happy to stay in place on their own!
The armholes are cut a smidgeon smaller than I would have liked. I am quite surprised to be saying this as usually I complain about large armholes and 'bra show' at the sides, but on this occasion I find that the Kyoto digs in a bit under the arms. Again, it's something I become accustomed to with wear but an extra centimetre or two would have make all the difference for me.
The dress has a lining to preserve one's modesty. It's also made from a stretchy, jersey-type fabric, but it is white and I find that the lining on the boobs sometimes shows, as you may be able to see from some of my photos. I guess this means that I could have done with a little extra boob room but I think what caused the issue for me was the placement of the waistband.
I find the waistband to be a little high as it does not quite sit in the right place and makes the height/length of the available boob space a bit too short for me. I know I am at the higher end of the boob size scale and if there was a BBB/BBBB option I am sure that would have been completely perfect.
So, yes, in order to overcome the slight issue with the waistband I do wear the Kyoto dress with a belt...
Luckily I have a beautiful blue patent leather belt in my wardrobe that was perfect for the Kyoto and helped to create a match made in hourglass heaven!
Unfortunately the Kyoto Bluebell is no longer available but the pink is still in stock and currently on sale!
Image courtesy of BiuBiu
It's available on sale here.
And there is another maxi dress on the site in a similar style but without the waistband - the Kyoto Violet - also on sale at the moment.
Image courtesy of BiuBiu
Absolutely lovely, isn't it?
I thoroughly recommend BiuBiu maxi dresses and if you haven't tried one yet then why not go ahead and take the plunge!
