Image courtesy of Ewa Michalak
I love how the beige colourway makes it look as though the bra is 100% black floral lace and I was intrigued to see if the look was the same against my own skin. I was sent the PL Cappuccino bra in 30L/65L and matching high waist briefs in 16/44.
It's fabulous! The beige definitely works as a 'nude' for me and the bra very much looks like there is no other material and only black lace in most of my photos.
In fact, the cups are lightly padded with foam and have beige material overlaid with black lace. The 30L/65L cup is a good fit for me, although it may look a little small in some photos due to the fact I am wearing the removable pads - yes, this is another PL with pads inside the bottoms of the cups that can help correct asymmetry, or to give a little extra 'boost' if wished.
The wires are a great width for me and sit at the outer edges of my breasts without cutting into my breast tissue. The central gore lies flat and is narrow so sits nicely without sitting on my inner breast tissue. This can be a problem for ladies with very close-set breasts so I would highly recommend Ewa Michalak as a brand where this is less likely to happen than with others.
I found the 30/65 band to be very firm and in fact I think a 32 might have been better for me overall. Instead, I use a band extender and wear it only one row of hooks and eyes away from the band itself so I expect with time and wear the band will stretch to enable me to wear it without the extender. In fact, if I wear the bra for a second time without washing it in between it fits perfectly well without the extender.
The bra has three hooks and four rows of eyes so there is plenty of room for adjustment to ensure the perfect fit. Having three hooks means that the band has enough width to ensure stability when wearing, whereas only two would have meant it was too narrow to support my boobs.
The half-adjustable straps are also very unstretchy due to the fact that the front half has no stretch at all and the adjustable part on the back only has a little. They look very pretty as they are black with a beige ribbon running down the length of the front of the straps. I really like this effect as it adds a splash of colour and blends in well with the look of the set.
Once adjusted to the desired length, I found the straps did not move at all, which is fantastic. So often I find that the strap adjusters slip with wear, meaning that you end up with droopy, unsupported boobs, but this was not the case at all with the PL Cappuccino.
There are the usual pretty features to this bra - a bow and beads on the central gore and a tiny beige bow on the tops of the straps. I love the simplicity of this set and these additional items make it extra special.
As with my PL Milady and PL Ametyst, which are essentially the same bra in a different colourway, I found the 30L/65L cups came up higher on my boobs than previous Ewas I've owned. This must be because I have gone up a cup size and therefore the extra height is required for stability and overall I don't mind it but it did take a bit of getting used to as I had to adjust my clothes so that there was no bra peeking out! I have found that with the 30L/65L I do not need to adjust my boobs due to spillage so this definitely seems to be the correct cup depth and proportion for me.
Now, on to the 16/44 high waist briefs.
I absolutely LOVE them. As mentioned in the item description on the EM website, these briefs have a slight slimming effect on the tummy, making them a kind of shapewear! They really do pull my tummy in but are also incredibly comfortable to wear.
I found the backside coverage was good but the briefs were cut a smidgeon too high for my liking, meaning that they verge on wedgie territory if I am not careful! I would prefer it if they were cut more straight across the bottom of my cheeks as this would be more comfortable to wear. I could always size up but then I suspect I would lose the super duper tummy smoothing effect I get with these briefs and seeing as they fit well everywhere else I don't think it's really a viable option.
Some readers have asked for photos of me wearing the bra under a top, so I threw on a (fairly loose) vest and took a couple of snaps to show what it looks like:
When I wear a tighter vest, as I usually would as this is just a 'house vest', the shape is much more noticeable. Basically, Ewa Michalak plunges give me terrific support, with the added bonus of an uplifted, rounded shape that makes me feel amazing.
The PL Cappuccino is my favourite bra at the moment and I wear it as much as I can. But there are so many lovely new designs from Ewa Michalak at the moment that I think I will have to try something else soon. Did you know that you can ask them to make any of the new 'S' style bras in PL if wished? I have my eye on the S Fiolek - such a gorgeous colour!
