Review: Gooseberry Intimates Paris Demi Body

Disclosure: I was sent this lingerie free of charge by Gooseberry Intimates. All opinions are my own.

Gooseberry Intimates are a Bali-based independent brand, with an aesthetic that leans on the delicately lacey and softly unstructured side of the lingerie world. The brand first caught my eye last year after they were featured on TLA, and I adore their carefully considered use of sheer meshes and strategically laced lace scallops - so when I was offered one of their pieces to review I jumped at the chance!

I was sent the black Paris Demi Body in a size medium (I normally wear a size 30D/32C bra and UK 12 knicker). The style is available in sizes XS-L and retails for $125. The body is also available in white, and the Paris range contains other co-ordinating pieces such as bras, camisoles and knickers.

The body is made with a mix of very soft and stretchy nylon mesh and a delicate eyelash lace. Cups are unlined and comprised of three parts for soft shaping and lift, with a soft elastic finishing along the neck edge. The wires are very soft and flexible and encased in a soft and plush casing. Shoulder straps are made of a satin finish elastic with gold toned adjusters.

The top and leg edges are finished with a soft and stretchy plush elastic. Eyelash lace is symmetrically seamed and appliquéd onto the mesh on the centre front and as additional hip embellishment - a particularly cute and pretty detail! The gusset is lined in cotton jersey and features poppers for convenience. The body is finished with a tiny little satin bow and gold charm with the brand name at the centre gore.

I must admit that I was surprised at just how well this style fit me. I have a slightly longer than average torso, and a history with bodysuits being far too short to accomodate it. Fortunately, the mesh in this style is so soft and stretchy that I can imagine it would fit a fairly large range of different body shapes. I have a pear-shaped body and was pleased to discover that the mesh and elastic fit my hips and bum well, without any bagginess in the top half of the body.

The body is a pull on style - although the bra wires meant this required a little wiggling when getting dressed, it didn't cause any real issues.

The wire size in this size medium is a little larger than I would normally wear in a bra (I would estimate it to be best suited to a 32D/34C). It's a bit too wide for my breast shape, but I didn't find this caused any major issues - this isn't a particularly supportive style anyway and the wires help to add a little structure.

It's a matter of personal preference, but I did find the gusset width on this style to be far too narrow. Clocking in at just an inch and a half, it offers very little coverage and was something that I found a little uncomfortable. I also feel that the finishing could be just a little neater around the gusset; the fabric is a bit too wide for the popper tape it's stitched into, so it ruches up at this point.

I've only worn this bodysuit a couple of times and gently handwashed it once, and have been upset to find that the stitching around the lace appliqué on the hips has broken, causing the lace to come away from the mesh. The lace had only been lock stitched (straight stitched) onto the mesh - a problematic construction method, as it means that the stitching has no stretch. As the fit of this piece relies so much upon the stretchiness of the mesh, it's no surprise that it has broken. A closer inspection also revealed that several areas of stitching around the appliqué had been skipped, which would further exacerbate this problem. Although the lace could be fairly easily stitched back on, it's still a little upsetting for such a pretty piece to have such poor longevity.

Overall, although I'm disappointed with the stitching of the lace embellishment, I still think that this is a very cute lingerie piece at a relatively affordable price point. It has a lot of carefully considered details and a really good fit - I just hope that in future collections the brand can slightly fine tune their construction methods!

Readers: Have you ever tried Gooseberry Intimates? What do you think of their lace pieces?

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