Like many of us, Lorraine Morton grew up with a dearth of fashionable swimwear options, but she’s one of the few who decided to do something about it. Nine year ago, she created her own company, Miss Mandalay, to offer fashionable big bust swimwear without sacrificing fit and function. Along the way, she has become a strong and steady pioneering force in the full bust market.
Rather than create a wire for a smaller size and then grade it to fit larger cups, Lorraine begins with super firm underwires created specifically for large cup sizes (her sizes range from 30D to 38HH*). In 2007, she created an underwire plunge shape that gives large-busted women a version of a triangle top. Bravissimo had a 90% sell-through rate in the first five weeks that they began selling it. No wonder companies like Eveden soon followed her lead with a similar shape.
Miss Mandalay has also offered a balcony shape with 2 mm foam padding and fully adjustable straps, such as the one below that I saw at the 2013 Swim Show. I didn’t see any balconies in her Spring/Summer 2015 lineup at Curve, but I hope she’ll reintroduce this shape in a future collection.
Here’s another look from last year’s show.
Here’s my favorite look from Curve earlier this month. It’s called the Bardot and is scheduled for delivery in February 2015. The top will come in 30-38 D, DD, E, F, FF, G and GG.
The Boudoir Beach is one of her most popular styles, and with its elegant hardware, I can see why. It comes in both “ice white” and “mocha”. It’s also scheduled for February delivery and comes in the same sizes as the Bardot.
Miss Mandalay suits are manufactured in Morocco of European fabrics, and you can find a good selection of them at Linda’s Online, Asos and the Miss Mandalay website itself.
Reviews, however, are harder to come by! Bravissimo customers love the Los Angeles, and Amy raved about her red gingham set on FussyBusty last year. In 2011, Undercover Lingerista told us great things about her Boudoir Beach bikini. If you’ve tried a Miss Mandalay swimsuit or can point me in the direction of more reviews, I’d love to hear from you.
And if you’d like to try Miss Mandalay at your own local boutique in 2015, now is the time to urge the boutique owners to place their order!
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*Although I’ve heard in the past that Miss Mandalay goes to HH, the highest cup size I can find in the S/S 2015 line sheets is for an H cup in the Amelie bra in powder (bands 30-38), due for delivery in February 2015. (True & Co. also carries Miss Mandalay bras, but do you think they’ll ever offer them in an H cup? If they do, I’ll have to revise my low opinion of them.)
You can find a picture of the model wearing this bra in Miss Underpinnings‘ recent excellent review of Miss Mandalay’s lingerie showing at Curve. I am infatuated with the Amelie bra because of its satin one-way stretch outer sling that is meant to center our boobs. Lorraine herself is wearing the Amelie in 30G in the photo below.
As you’ve probably realized, in her mission to provide fashion for big boobs, Lorraine is committed to technical expertise. She isn’t rushing to bring the next new thing to the full bust market. In fact, when I asked her at Curve if she had anything new, she told me that there have been no changes except the prints “because what we’re doing is still working.” (Sorry, Leah!)
Damn, I want that white Boudoir Beach! I would have sworn Miss Mandalay had been around for 10+ years. Anyway, I remember having a chat at their stand at SIL a couple of years ago and they said that they could and would produce HH cups if they had an order up to that size from a major retailer, but would stop at an H cup if not.
Thanks so much for this info, Astrid! That makes total sense.