The Eveden brand family was generous enough to send me two swimsuits this year, so here comes my second Freya review, this time of the “Totally Stripe” banded halter bikini top and high waist briefs in size 30GG and large. (I measure 38”-29”-42”, height 5’6”, and bra size UK 28GG/30G.)
Disclosure: This set was received as a review sample. All opinions are my own and based entirely on my experience. The links to the top and bottoms are affiliate links, and clicking them may result in commissions to Hourglassy.
You may recall seeing a preview of this bikini on the Hourglassy Instagram several months ago. It was so cute and had the retro flair that I think you all know I love, so I was excited to try it for myself. The color is called “flame,” and I think that’s really appropriate given that the stripes are a neon coral shade. It’s pretty unique, not quite pink and not quite red.
As mentioned in my previous Freya review, I’m between bra sizes at the moment, hovering between 28G/30FF and 28GG/30G. Last year when I was firmly wearing bras in 28G/30FF, I bought swimwear in 30G because bikinis always seem to run small in both band and cup (across literally every brand I’ve ever tried).
This year, I first tried my old swim standby of 30G, but had to size up to 30GG. So given that I’m basically size 28G/30FF-and-a-half, overall I’d say Freya swimwear tops consistently run a size small in the cups.
As usual with Freya, once I got myself into the right size, the fit is spot-on with excellent support. However, I do find that the straps are quite wide-set for me, so the lift isn’t as good as last week’s Gatsby style that featured normal adjustable straps instead of a halter. I really wish halter bikinis in general were designed to pull more from the center of the breast rather than the farthest outside edge. Freya does offer a high-apex style in this print, but the straps look even wider on the model than this one, especially in back, so I would be nervous about the straps not staying up on my narrow shoulders.
In any case, I wore this set to Rockaway Beach this past weekend to really put it through the paces, and it held up just fine. I swam in the waves and it didn’t move. When wet, the support remained the same and I didn’t feel the need to adjust the tie. Though I do have to admit that the ties are rather short and they are wide, so it creates a fat, hard knot that digs in uncomfortably after a while. I would prefer if Freya made longer, narrower ties that are easier to tie into a bow and don’t create such a gigantic ball of fabric.
These are the same bottom style as the ones I selected for Gatsby, so once again they are not truly high-waisted, but rather mid-rise.
I prefer full rear coverage even though the trend right now seems to be maximum visible butt cheek, so I’m pleased with these. However, the fabric here is traditional swimwear material, so they’re a bit more flexible and stretchier compared to the textured Gatsby bottoms. As such, once they got wet in the ocean, they felt a wee bit loose, and I think size medium might have been better in this case. To be honest, I seem to rarely get along well with Freya’s bottoms, so when shopping for myself, I usually just buy the Freya top and pair it with solid bottoms that I already own.
I am happy to report that this set is fully lined in high-quality white lining (in addition to a white sanitation liner at the crotch), so it was not at all see-through when wet, a common concern for light-colored swimwear.
The “Totally Stripe” halter top goes up to H-cups, and the series also features a high-apex top with convertible straps up to J-cups, a “Bardot” bandeau style top up to G-cups, and two brief styles in addition to the high-waist ones.
