Full Marks to Marks's (Marks & Spencer Underwear in general)

Member Name: LauraElliott

Product:	Marks & Spencer Underwear in general
Date:	20/02/03 (4580 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Extremely comfortable, Very feminene and pretty designs, Good value for money

Disadvantages: Some of the designs look a tiny bit frumpy

In 1987, it was estimated that approximately one in every three people wore Marks and Spencer's underwear. This means that there must have been a lot of women in England wearing girdles with the Marks and Spencer's brand name on them. Marks and Spencer's did not used to create the garments themselves. Instead they used big manufacturers such as Courtauld's to make them for them. A wide range of girdles was available, ranging from light and average control through to firm, and even super firm control clothing.

Nowadays Marks and Spencer's offer a huge range of lingerie suitable for everyone tastes. If women do not already own a pair of Marks's knickers, then they are certainly missing out. From personal experience I can reveal that they are the most comfortable knickers I have ever worn, and they're not too frumpy too. The feel of the different textures against your skin is really nice. They sell the sorts of knickers that you would love to wear when going out on a hot date, knowing that your date might see them at the end of the evening - they are certainly nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, yes, they still sell the sort that your granny might like the look and feel of, but this doesn't mean that you can't find nice, pretty and feminine styles too.

Their slogan at the moment is 'Lingerie to fall in love with' and it is exactly that. Even when I'm browsing through the different ranges in Marks and Spencer's, as soon as I spot something, which I like, I automatically want to buy it.

My favourite sort of underwear is usually not too flash, but nice in its own way. I tend to go for silky garments with no lace on because I find lace to itchy for my skin. I have been told that the lace in Marks and Spencer's underwear does not rub or cause rashes, particularly after it has had a few washes, so maybe this is something that I will try in the future.

I like the fact that the under
wear always seems great value for money, particularly for the wonderful quality that you are getting. This isn't the cheap sort of material that you could pick up in BHS or from a catalogue (no offence to anyone who does purchase underwear from these places - each to our own, eh). You can pick up a pair of knickers for only a fiver, and a decent bra for around twelve pounds at Marks's.

Most of the underwear seems to be machine washable, even the under wire bras, which I was surprised about. I have always washed my bras by hand if they are under wired and my mum always used to put them in one of those delicate bags that you then put inside the washing machine, so that the wire wouldn't pop out of the side!

Most of the underwear comes in standard ordinary colours such as white, light camel (beige) and black, but you can get some of the underwear in girly pastel colours such as light green and sky blue. There are also more outrageous colours such as shocking magenta for the more 'I want to make an impression' sort of girl, and also animal prints such as tiger skin or zebra stripes for special occasions.

The bras come in a huge range of sizes, right from a miniature 30 AA all the way through to a 40G (lucky girls!), possibly even bigger in some of the ranges.

The knickers come in a big range of sizes too, with the smallest starting off at an 8-10 to a fuller figure size 28. This could come in handy for me when I have eaten too many take-away's during the week.

They do a nice plain minimiser bra, which is ideal if you have a bust which you wish to appear less large in size. The bra is very comfortable and the under wire is there to provide maximum support.

A bra, which is good for people who wear tight fitting t-shirts, is the Smoothlines under wire bra. It has seam-free cups and low profile edges, so only you will know that you are wearing it. The bra has recently been reduced from £16.00
to £12.80. They do matching high leg knickers, to give you the definitive outline, which I noticed were reduced from £6.00 down to £4.80, last time I was in my local store.

If you do like lace, and unlike me, don't find it itchy, then the lili lace would be a lovely bra to have. It's made from a soft, luxurious lace that is so comfortable that you could wear it as 'everyday underwear' if you wanted to. This bra is up the dearer end of the price scale at £19.00.

I love embroidered items because you can tell that so much care and attention has been made to them, that it may almost appear as If it has been hand made. Marks's do an all-over embroidered bra that has little daisy flower cut outs towards the top of the cups.

In my opinion, the best under wired bra that Marks's do, is the 'adored padded balcony bra', because it does all of the jobs that it should, and comes in two lovely colours: bright mauve and pink mix.

They also do an excellent range of non-under wire bras, if you find that bras with wires give you that little too much support. Like with the under wired bra's though, they offer a minimiser bra. Obviously it does not offer much support and does look a bit like a crop top, but it does appear to do the job well.

They have many of the same bras as in the under wired range, in the non-wired range, so this is an advantage to those who like the style of bras in the under wired range but thought they were unavailable in the sort that they wanted.

The light support non-wired bra is a total bargain at only £6.00. It is perfect for women with smaller breasts and looks wonderful under a plain work shirt.

The worst bra in the non-wired range has to be the Total support embroidery bra. Yes, I may like my embroidery, but this bra is awful. The top of the cups comes up so high, that there is hardly any strap at the front, and the cups are massive, even in the smaller
sizes, and make you feel a bit intimidated if you haven't got enough to fill the cups right out.

One thing I do love about Marks and Spencer's is the way that they offer a measuring service so that you can find out what your real bra size is. This saves with all of the kafuffle of getting a tape measure out and then measuring. One point to note is that you shouldn't feel embarrassed of letting them measure you. My mum took me along to get my first bra in there when I was about fourteen and I was like 'Arghhh, I am as flat as a pancake - they're going to tell me to get a vest from the kiddie section'. This wasn't the case thankfully; otherwise I would never of forgiven my mother. The trained bra fitters just ask you to lift your jumper or shirt up (it's best to be wearing a crop top or a loose fitting t-shirt), and then they measure you with their tape measure, that has all of the lists of bra sizes written on it, for more accurate fittings.

If you are too shy to get yourself measured in-store, or you are planning to buy underwear online, then this is the way to measure yourself. When measuring yourself, try wearing a bra that fits you fairly well.

1. Measure underneath your breast, around your rib cage - very snugly, but not too tight, otherwise the band on the bra will feel too stiff. Make sure that the tape measure lies straight all the way around, with no twists or anything.

2. Add 5 inches to the rib cage measurement that you just got, then round it to the nearest even number. The result is your bra size or band measurement. For example: If you measured 28 inches around the rib cage, you would add 5 inches, equalling 33 inches, and round up to the nearest even number - 34 inches. 34 would therefore be the number that goes in front of the letter.

3. Measure loosely around the fullest part of your bust (usually across the nipples), keeping the tape measure straight all the way around r> your body. Round to the nearest whole number. For example, you might be 37 inches around the fullest part, so you round up to 38 inches.

4.
Subtract your bra size (band measurement) in step 2 from the bust measurement in step 3. The difference between the two determines your cup size.
A - 1"
B - 2"
C - 3"
D - 4"
DD - 5"

An example: If my band measurement was 34 inches, and the fullest part of my bust was 38 inches, I would do the easy sum of 38 minus 34 to give me 4 inches, meaning that I would be a D cup. (Bra size: 34D)

Anyway, back to bra styles. The multi-way bras are a marvellous idea. The Microfibre moulded padded bra is a bra which you can wear under strapless, off the shoulder, halter neck and one shoulder tops. In other words, it is the ultimate bra! The bonus is that it comes with clear straps - so you can choose to leave them attached or not, and either way, they won't be seen.

The new 'stick on bra' is interesting - to say the least. Clearly, the bra cannot be returned once the seal is broken, because basically the entire bra is made up of two cups with a join in the middle and a bit of sticky tape to hold it in place. It is great for wearing under elegant evening dresses though. I don't know if I would buy this bra because I am not sure how many times it would stick back down on me again and the bra tape is fairly expensive so I hear (£10 a pack apparently). Also, I am not sure if it can be purchased in Marks's itself. The bra alone is priced at £20.00, so, is it really worth it?

The frontless bra is nice for low cut tops and dresses that reveal a little cleavage. The bra is just like a normal bra apart from the straps and the bit across the middle attaching both cups, is clear plastic.

The sheer backless wrap bra has clear straps at the back, but they are like twisted lower down than where you would normally find the back st
ra
p. This is so that your dress can be worn fairly low and the back straps come below that, and are clear, just like the arm straps.

Gel Pads can be bought for only £5.00, and are excellent for that extra bit of padding that normal foam padding can't give. The great thing is that they feel and appear like real breasts - terrific say the lads!

If you already own a strapless bra and it has hooks on it for straps to be attached, then it might be handy to note that they sell clear plastic straps for only £3.00 a pair.

At £30.00, the Changeant Lace Bustier may set you back a bit, but it is definitely worth it. It is made of black lace with a purple and magenta colour silk underneath it, to show through. It is fabulous for that 'one of occasion', and a definite for any honeymooner.

If you are more of a sporty chick and find your boobies going 'bom ba bom bom' when you are playing your game of tennis on the courts, then I would recommend investing in one of Marks and Spencer's great sports bras. They do non-wired, total support and light support bras. Also they have shock absorber bra that can prevent pain in the shoulders and neck. Mesh crop tops prevent the bounciness during high impact exercise.

I must own at least 20 pairs of knickers from Marks and Spencer's. This is great when I go away on holiday, because I don't have to take washing powder with me, and at such great value, it is very affordable. The Mini style is my favourite because it isn't too high up on the leg and it isn't too high on the waist either. The high legs are a bit too high cut for me, around the legs and they sees to come up almost to my belly button, which is a pain when I wear hipster trousers, which I often do.

The cheeky mini is a nice style of knicker, because the sides on it are very thin and string like, and the front is almost like a mesh material. The best thing is that it comes in only bl
ack - my favourite colour choice for underwear.

Knickers also come in full briefs and shorts style I personally don't find these very nice because I feel completely ugly wearing them. They feel a bit like granny bloomers because there is so much material to them, and I would be completely embarrassed if I was in a changing room trying on a pair of trousers, if people were looking at me wearing these boxer short style knickers! I suppose it is comfort that is the main factor that influences people's purchases, but if I don't think that I look alright wearing it, then I wouldn't step out of the house wearing it - even if it is only underwear and no-one would be seeing it. Just knowing that it wasn't the right sort of style for me, would ruin my day!

Knickers can be bought in multi-packs of about 5 pairs, for a bargain price of only £10.00. This works out at only £2.00 a pair, which is extremely cheap considering they are about a fiver each to buy separately.

'Shapewear' is what I would recommend to anyone who is on the verge of stepping across to the full brief or shorts designs. This is because they give you a nice looking figure at the same time as looking fairly attractive. They are not just plain white and cotton like the average full briefs; they come in lace and with string sides too.

The wild hearts collection contains products, which would have made ideal Valentines Day presents. It is like a black lace with a red material underneath. The lace is cut out in hearts and flower shapes to give a sultry and seductive look.

The orchard leaf collection is made up of exquisite lacy and embroidered designs. It is very stylish, especially in the gorgeous blue colour that it is available in. On the cups of the bra, there are many silky leaves and the same appears on the top of the matching knickers.

Salon Rose has to be my favourite collection. It looks superb in the black mix collecti
on, be
cause it is all sorts of zigzag patterns in baby pink on a black background. In the middle of the crisscross design is a lovely baby pink bow, just to finish it off. If you are feeling in a very sexy mood, then the suspenders might just be your thing.

Marks and Spencer's specialise in Maternity underwear, which is good because your body needs a lot of care and attention at that important time. Every single woman is different during pregnancy but due to increased hormonal activity, it is common for breast to enlarge and even change shape. It has been known in cases, for women to increase up to four bra sizes, during pregnancy. They say that there are five stages during pregnancy that you need to be measured for a bra at.

1. As soon as you find out you are pregnant
2. 18 weeks
3. 26 weeks
4. 30-32 weeks
5. 37 weeks

I am not going to be able to give you as much information about maternity bras as I could, but that might be because I have never experienced pregnancy yet. All I can say is that the ranges that they do are not completely old fashioned and unattractive, because pregnancy is not an illness at the end of the day - and is supposed to be one of the happiest experiences in women's lives.

I did say at the start of this opinion, that Marks and Spencer's did not sell frumpy underwear - or not too much of it anyway. But here is a little bit about the lovely thermal underwear that they do, which is guaranteed to keep you warm on a cold winters day. Keep the heat in with one of the items in their thermal range, including: camisole, long sleeve vest, leggings, short sleeve vest, and ordinary vest.

The Marks and Spencer's brand has stood for quality for a long time in the United Kingdom, and even the girdles produced in 1987 that were still being made right up into the 1990's, were no exemption to this.

Like I mentioned before, you can also shop online. The webs
ite to go to is at: www.marksandspencers.com, although when purchasing underwear, I would recommend buying it from the actual shop itself as it is easier to get the right size.