This post was supposed to go up on Friday but I (Darlene) was in the thick of a women’s conference and out of my publishing routine. Welcome back, Leah!!!

Hello, Dear Readers. Leah here. Long time no see! As Darlene mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been on hiatus from Hourglassy since September. The reason is that my colleague and I started our own business—and then I went on a three-week vacation right after we registered the LLC!

Not the best timing, but the trip had been in the works for over a year. My husband and I flew into Las Vegas, then rented an RV for three weeks and hit up several national and state parks: Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater, Petrified Forest, Canyon de Chelly, Monument Valley, Canyonlands (Needles and Island in the Sky), Dead Horse Point, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Valley of Fire, and finally a couple nights in Vegas at the end.

Hiking Valley of Fire in a Panache Sports Bra and Trashy Diva dress because it was the hottest day of the whole trip and this was the coolest article of clothing I’d brought with me.

The trip was truly amazing, likely a once in a lifetime opportunity. But after three weeks living in a tin can on wheels, we were definitely ready to get back to civilization—and I was eager to get back to blogging about boobs and wearing non-athletic outfits!

This week, I’m reviewing two tops from Lady K Loves—who you may remember from my glowing review of their curve-friendly Hug Me Baby jeans. I’ve been receiving the Lady K newsletter ever since I first tried their jeans, but the brand’s tops never really grabbed me until I checked out their Instagram, where they share absolutely amazing customer photos. Once I saw the Teresa and Splendid tops in action, I just had to try them myself.

My usual size medium was out of stock in the colors I liked best. But at current measurements of 38” bust and 29.5” waist, I’m in between medium and large anyway. So I emailed Lady K to ask what size they recommended, and was advised that size large would ensure my chest would fit and I could always tie the waist tighter.

The Teresa top is basically perfect. I really wanted cleavage coverage in this case so that these tops could be work-appropriate, and I think a size down in the Teresa would not fit the bill. And true to Lady K’s advice, I can tighten the waist plenty. Unfortunately, the Splendid top would have been better in a medium. While the wrap-around tie waist means that part fits fine, the bust is actually too big! You’ll see in the photos below, and I’ll go into more detail thereafter.

Here’s the Teresa as an outfit. Even with very high-waisted jeans, you can see a sliver of skin. This is a true crop top and requires very high-waist bottoms if you don’t want it to look like a belly shirt.
How amazing are these sleeves??

With sleeves this voluminous, there’s no worry about visible side-bra under the arms, no matter how much you stretch out.
The top shows just the faintest hint of cleavage, but you can cover that up by pulling up each side of the top so that it rests on top of the breast rather than curbing under it.

The sash ties in a knot in back. It’s not long enough for a bow.

Made of organic non-stretch woven cotton, the top is a gorgeous saturated mustard yellow that doesn’t show your bra through it—I’m wearing one that’s bright red with navy blue lace overlay and you can’t see it!

My only complaint is that the fabric wrinkles so badly. In these photos, I just finished steaming the top, but you can still see a lot of creases. And the moment I laid the shirt down on my bed after taking it off, new creases immediately formed. I love that the cotton is organic, but I wish there was some kind of treatment or weave that would keep it from wrinkling so easily.

As for the Splendid top, it has much different construction. There are no shoulder seams; instead, it’s more of a fitted dolman sleeve. In addition, whereas Teresa’s waist sash was a gradual narrowing of the front of the shirt into a point, Splendid’s front pieces simply stop and then have a long, thin sash sewn to the point of the triangle. As such, while you can tighten the waist just fine, you can’t really tighten the bust.

The Teresa shirt-front construction.
The Splendid hits about the same length as the Teresa.
Soooooo much fabric around my armpits and side-boob area.
With the front being so loose, I had a hard time getting the collar to behave.
At least the neckline is high enough that it still provides ample coverage even with the looseness.
Here, you can really see how much excess fabric there is. But you can also see how long the sash is—enough to tie it in a bow in back or a funky knot in front or off to the side.

Unfortunately, there were no size mediums in this color, so I couldn’t size down in an exchange. Instead, I’m just going to do some minor alterations. I’ll sew up the seams on the side so that the armpits and backside aren’t as baggy, and I’ll pinch some of the gathered front section to the waist sashes so that the opening rests more flush against my chest.

On the left side of this photo, I’ve tucked some excess fabric under my arm, and on the right side, I’m holding the sash in place where I’ll tack it higher up on the shirt-front. This gives an idea of how it’ll fit when I’m done.

Overall, I think both of these tops are extremely big bust-friendly and I would definitely recommend them. But if you’re between sizes in the Splendid top, definitely size down! The Teresa’s construction means it’s easier to pull it snug across the front and the conventional shoulder seams keep it looking tailored, so I think you could go either way with that one.

Unfortunately, there are only limited sizes left in stock for either of these tops. And Lady K’s garments (aside from the jeans) are all made of limited fabric stock, so the same top can never be replenished. But the company just announced that they’re introducing some new tops and skirts soon, so hopefully new colors in these two styles will follow as well. I would kill for more Teresa colors!