Review: ‘Ginger’ by Miss Vivienne

I love discovering the work of talented independent lingerie designers through recommendations from friends and so was very excited when, last month, I saw Tigz Rice mention Miss Vivienne on her Instagram stories. Not only are the designs stunning, with beautiful fabrics and details, but Vivienne Lynch also makes every piece to order in her studio in the Scottish Borders. This means that, to keep waiting times down, as she sews everything herself, Vivienne closes her shop once she’s reached capacity and only re-opens it once all those orders have shipped. I browsed her site and instantly knew what I wanted – the Ginger set, with its colourful tropical embroidery – and I put a reminder in my diary for when the shop was next due to open, so that I didn’t miss out.

Knowing how fast things sold out last time, as soon as the reminder popped up I rushed to my laptop to order the Ginger balcony bra in my usual size of 32F, and the Ginger high waist brief in XL (I most often wear a UK size 16 on my bottom half). It arrived yesterday and I’m so excited that this must be the fastest I’ve ever got a review up on the blog! Even opening the box was quite a thrill because, well, the first thing I need to tell you about this set is that my rubbish quality iPhone selfie camera photos (see below) really don’t do this fabric justice. The embroidery is absolutely stunning and I’m definitely going to be sharing some close up photos of it in my Bra Details series on social media very soon.

I absolutely love everything about this set. The fit of both the bra and the briefs is spot on, with the stretch fabric used on the back of the briefs and the bra band ensuring a snug fit without any uncomfortable tightness. Every time I order a 32F bra from a brand I haven’t bought from before, I panic and start to wonder if the band will be so firm that I should have ordered a 34E instead. As I get older, I get less tolerant of a really tight band as, even though I know that a snug fit is more supportive, I like to be able to wear a bra for an entire day without having to fling it across the room in rage before the evening has even started. It seems that Vivienne agrees with me on this and has perfected the fit of her bras in a comfortable way.

This focus on comfort also extends to the softness of the embroidered tulle and the double shoulder straps, which are perfectly placed to avoid the usual pressure points on my shoulders and are made of elastic that is firm yet somehow still soft. Even though the band is supposed to support 80% of the weight of your breasts, somehow the shoulder straps still end up doing a lot of work on some of my bras (perhaps the ones that I should stop wearing now?) and so my poor shoulders were really glad of a rest! Every little detail of this set makes me smile, so I couldn’t wait to photograph it. Better photographs will be shared later in the year though, as it seems only right that I wear this set for my next virtual boudoir shoot with Tigz.

If, like me, you adore well-fitting lingerie that is made with love and attention to detail, from fabrics that will make you smile, I highly recommend that you follow Miss Vivienne on Instagram and set yourself a reminder for the next time she opens her shop. Wired bras are available in 28-40 band B-G cups, and briefs are available in sizes S-XL (UK 6-18). Custom options are also offered, so do get in touch if you don’t see your size listed.