As a lingerie aficionado, I can’t help but feel that I have tried everything under the sun. Nowadays, for a lingerie piece to catch my attention, it has to be specific to my tastes or different from what I have seen before. Unfortunately, this often means that the pieces that catch my eye are not manufactured in my size.
After blogging for years about finding lingerie that suits my aesthetic and body type, it feels funny to be back to the same issue years later. Nevertheless, I am now way more equipped to find solutions to this inconvenience, so why not share my insights with you?
The best of both worlds
Many independent designers and smaller brands are happy to take on custom orders. A rare few however are also willing to work with other brands to create a set that will actually fit your body type.
The beauty of such collaborations resides in the fact that not every brand specialises in the same aspect of lingerie. While designers might be happy to help you by doing the customisation themselves, sometimes the product of your dream is not their specialism (e.g. corsetry, or heavy-duty support). As someone who buys more custom pieces than ready to wear, I have learnt that the best way to go about it is either to ask for customisations that are in line with the designer’s current offering or, if what you want it far outside their usual style/size range, to go directly to someone who can easily perform the task.
Custom lingerie: brands that will gladly help you find your match
Harlow and Fox (28-38 DD-G cup)
Harlow and Fox is a luxury full-bust brand from the UK that works with silk, delicate embroidery and lace to create supportive yet dainty lingerie. In addition to their own designs, the brand offers custom and bespoke services to modify their product to your convenience. Here are examples of custom sets made using other brands’ fabrics, but in sizes and patterns that are aligned with Harlow & Fox standards:
Right: Custom-made Harlow & Fox set
Right: Custom-made Harlow & Fox set
The process is fairly simple: you can contact Harlow and Fox’s customer service via their contact page to explain the details of the products you would like to create with them. From there, the brand will be able to give you a quote. Of course, you’ll also need to reach out to the designer whose initial design piqued your interest, to see if they’d be open to such collaborative work. You might have to buy the fabric from them. To make the manufacturing process smoother, put them in contact with Harlow and Fox.
Angela Friedman (XS-XXL or custom)
Just mentioned above, Angela Friedman is a luxury brand from the UK known for their ‘Marie-Antoinette meets old Hollywood’ aesthetic. Their silk ruffles and embroidered robes are designed and sewn with exquisite attention to detail by their namesake designer Angela.
Angela Friedman is an approachable and very professional seamstress who has worked several times in collaboration with Harlow & Fox to make both of their customers’ lingerie dreams come true. While Harlow & Fox specialises in full-bust lingerie, Angela Friedman offers silk and lace bralettes and tends to offer lingerie for more standardised cup sizes; you’ll notice that their bras are sold in sizes XS to XXL, hence more suited for core-sized people. If you dream of Harlow and Fox’s DD+ designs but are sized out, or prefer the fit of a wireless triangle bra to their wired balconettes, Angela Friedman could easily create the bra of your dreams in a shape more suited for your needs.
Right: Custom-made Angela Friedman set
“Each design is custom to each client, and the possible variations do depend on availability, material widths, coordinating trims, and colours. But many wonderful things are possible! So if you have something custom on your mind, email either Harlow & Fox or our team at Angela Friedman for more details!”
– Angela Friedman
Helen Valk (XS-XXL or custom)
Helen Valk is an Estonian luxury designer who exclusively uses silk for the brand’s lingerie and loungewear collections. They offer playful and comfortable designs, beautiful craftsmanship, and a true attention to sustainable and ethical practices. Every piece is designed, sewn and shipped by Helen Valk.
As a 30G/GG, I spent years avoiding triangle bralettes as they tend to be unsupportive or uncomfortable in my size. Helen Valk is the brand that made me reconsider this entirely. Their silk-lined, custom-sized bralettes are some of the most supportive, well-made and durable I have encountered. Because of that, I naturally contacted her when I needed to complete a set by luxury Chinese brand Pillow Book. I’d owned Pillow Book’s Aime set for many years but wasn’t wearing it often; I was gifted a dudou for the top but this combination, while gorgeous, didn’t suit my everyday needs.
Right: Custom-made Helen Valk Thalia bralette matched with Pillow Book Aime suspender and thong
I contacted Helen, and we decided to customise Helen’s Thalia bralette in order to match my set. I own a few Thalia bralettes, and they usually feature a longline band made of 3 wide, silk-covered elastics. For this custom order we went with two, so as to balance the amount of black and white in this design while keeping a supportive width.
The result is simpler than the Pillow Book original design, but it is perfect for what I had in mind. In fact, the Thalia’s cups have some elasticity that would not be present in the original design. Plus, the extra seams present in my dudou, while being a true work of art, cut into my breast tissue and create bulging in the wrong places. Helen’s adaptation of this design answered my needs perfectly and I can now wear my three-piece set regularly.
Ihuoma (30-36 A-F cup or custom)
Ihuoma is a black-owned British luxury brand offering lingerie inspired by ancient African deities and the power of womanhood. The brand features custom embroideries and luxurious silks in a warm and earthy colour palette. Their signature cowry shell finds its place at the central gore of their bras, where other brands would usually add a bow or a pearl. Size wise, Ihuoma offers bras with flexible band sizes and has its own sizing system. They also offer bespoke services for clients who would be out of their size range or who are in need of other customisations.
Centre: Harlow & Fox Carina set
Right: IHUOMA custom-made bra using Harlow and Fox material (and Ihuoma Mami Wata Silk Balconette, behind)
On the far right, you can see a custom order, manufactured by Ihuoma using material from the Harlow & Fox Carina collection. Without being in contact with the customer, it’s clear that they desired a bra aligned with Ihuoma’s patterns while loving Harlow & Fox’s Carina range. The end result is also is a good match for the Harlow & Fox Carina and Eden collections; the customer could easily mix and match coordinates.
Conclusion (or How to Avoid Disappointment)
Custom or bespoke lingerie is a very niche part of the fashion industry. Buying lingerie online, even basic ready to wear, can be anxiety inducing. Going custom adds an extra layer of stress about the results and expectations. Some brands have made it their identity to create unique pieces to suit their customers’ needs and creative ideas, while others offer custom sizing only when required.
The best advice I could give you is to do your research. First, find a designer who is good at creating for humans that look like you, to avoid any mismatched fit expectations. Then don’t be afraid to send a polite email about the possibility of custom work. Buying custom sometimes come with extra design fees but many designers only charge you extra if they have to change their original pattern, or source new material. Openly discuss and see what could be done within your budget.
Have you ever ordered customised lingerie? What has been your experience and would you do it again? Do you know of any other cross-brand custom designs such as those featured here?