Disclosure: This set was a personal gift (not from the brand).
I fell in love with this set the moment I saw it. It’s part of Lascivious’ Spring-Summer 2014 collection and I’ve been lusting after it ever since, so when it went on sale a little before Christmas I might have dropped a not-so-subtle hint or two, or three.
For me, this set has everything – a beautiful and delicate fabric, more than a touch of strappiness about it, a striking design and the perfect balance of black and green for a girl who’s trying to add more colour to her lingerie drawer but will always love black the best.
It’s also by a brand I’ve been wanting to buy from since 2011 when I first heard about them. The brand started out as a tiny indie label sewn and photographed at the designer’s home, and has grown to be a pretty major luxury lingerie label stocked in places such as Selfridges and Harrods. So it ticks my ‘indie lingerie’ and ‘total luxury’ boxes too!
Appearance
Well, if you’ve read down to here you know I’m going to give this set a 10 out of 10. It’s the contrast between the thick, bold straps and the very delicate, open-weave lace fabric (which overlays a soft, seafoam-green backing) that really makes this set for me. And of course, the harnessed suspender belt is the stand-out piece – the set just wouldn’t look so striking or unique without it.
Verdict: 10/10
Construction
The Liana set is really beautifully made with no stitching flaws anywhere (in fact, the stitching is barely visible). The bra cups are made from an upper and lower piece, with a seam up the centre of the lower one, which overlap by 2cm in the middle to hold them together and create those cut outs you can see on either side of the cup.
All of those thick straps you see are made from glossy satin elastic, and the set is finished off with thick, brass-coloured metal hardware which is a nice change from the usual silver or gold and gives the set a more unique feel.
Verdict: 10/10
Fit
I went for a 30E, due to my 30F bras getting loose in the cup, and size Smalls (yeah, it wasn’t a surprise Christmas gift). I think this comes up quite loose in the band as I wear it on the tighest hook and it rides up a little at the back, similar to what happens when I wear my 32-band sized bras. It’s not loose enough to be an issue but if it came in 28 band sizes I probably would have exchanged it, so if you like your bra bands to be tight I would recommend sizing down in this one. The cups on the other hand are an excellent fit.
As for the thong and suspender, a Lascivious size Small is equivalent to a UK 8-10 but I think both of these items come up a little small. I’m a UK 6 and the thong is a perfect fit, and I don’t see it stretching to 2 dress sizes bigger. The suspender belt is very adjustable in terms of height (the suspender straps and harness straps) but the waist strap is fixed-length and cuts into my 25″ waist somewhat. If your waist is larger, I imagine this would get quite uncomfortable.
Verdict: 6/10
Washability
The bra is hand-wash only. The thong and suspender belt don’t actually have washing instructions on the label (maybe it was on the tags, I don’t remember) but I assume they’re both hand-wash only too due to the lace fabric. All 3 pieces look just as good now as they did when the set was new.
Verdict: 7 / 10
Value for Money
The original price for the whole set was £285, though on sale it was £121.60. The set is expertly constructed, the materials are nice (though at this price I would have preferred the nylon-viscose lining to be breathable cotton, particularly at the gusset) and really, what you’re paying for above all else is the striking design. This just isn’t a look you can get on a small budget.
The only thing that might let this set down for you is the fit. It’s actually a pretty good fit on me, but I’m not the size it was intended for.
Verdict: 7 / 10
Would I recommend it?
Yes, overall I’m impressed with the set and I can see myself buying more Lascivious in future. As mentioned, I would sister-size down in the bra (down one band size and up one cup size). You can buy it from Coco de Mer and Lily Blossom; I haven’t been able to find anywhere online still selling the thong or suspender unfortunately.
Update: 18/07/2017 – the bra, thong and brief are all still available at Nancy Meyer where they’re 70% off, yay!
What do you think of Lascivious’ Liana set? Are you a fan of the brand’s aesthetic in general?
