Order from BiuBiu! (Part 1: Button Down Shirts)

Though I just started this blog, I've been reading curve-focused blogs for a while (like Thin and Curvy, Curvy Wordy, Braless in Brazil, and Fuller Figure Fuller Bust), which really brought to light the many clothing fit issues I have, and thought there was no solution for.

One of the big issues for any relatively busty woman, is that it is nearly impossible to find a properly fitted button-down shirt.  For the day-long interview for my current job, which was a few years ago, I wore a suit with a button up shirt underneath buttoned to just over the lower portion of chest (not crossing the apex), with a matching tank top underneath. I spent a lot of time carefully looking down when I had a moment to myself, and carefully adjusting things so I looked professional and covered, but not sloppy, since the shirt was two sizes bigger than I needed anywhere else (even though it still couldn't fit over my chest fully).

If the button up fits well everywhere else, it will gape horribly at the chest. If it can fit over your chest, it's hideously baggy everywhere else, and it will still gape if you move your arms wrong.

I've noticed that the majority of button-down shirts intended for women are designed fundamentally the same as they are designed for men in the chest region, but perhaps with a slightly smaller waist, and slightly larger hips. For large-breasted women, we may have the same overall chest measurement (let's say 38 inches, which is a generous but reasonable clothing size for me)-- it's not as simple as having a 19 inch back section and a 19 inch front section-- going across my back to under my arms, where a shirt seam usually sits gives a measurement of 15 inches, meaning that the remaining 23 inches needs to be on the front of the shirt (if that doesn't happen, the shirt will be too broad and boxy in the back, while still not having enough room in the front to prevent buttons from gaping, even though based on measurements it would be the right size). The shirt will also need darts and seams so it can comes in at the waist, so I won't end up looking pregnant or misshapen.

So I was incredibly intrigued when I heard about a Polish company, named BiuBiu, that looked like they had beautifully fitting button-down shirts for women. Even better, their clothing charts were sized to allow for a variety of bust sizes for each waist size-- something like Pepperberry, but with better quality and more consistent sizing (good for me, since Pepperberry runs large and I would wear their smallest size, according to their size charts). In addition, whether due to a favorable exchange rate or simply terrific pricing, BiuBiu was right up my price alley, even on my student stipend.

I put off ordering for a few months, disregarding it as "frivolous spending" but one day, I took a look at their on-sale "City" line of shirts, and realized that I had spent $15 each on three cowl neck sleeveless shirts at Target, when I could have spent an extra $1.90, and been able to try one of their well tailored, beautiful, and more versatile button down shirts.

So, I placed an order. I was very excited when the order came, though since it was sent registered and no-one was home when they attempted delivery, I had to go to the post office and pick it up.

First, the Vanity Size, which is a fairly basic, white long-sleeved button down shirt. I decided to try this style (compared to the Vanity Fair, which comes in many more colors-- and I love color!) because the more straight hip looked more my style. I'm not an extreme hourglass, and only have a 10-11 inch difference between my waist and hip/ bust measurement, so I didn't need the extra room offered by the Vanity Fair in the hip region.

I ordered according to the size chart, that put me in a 36BB (remember: to convert measurements to centimeters from inches, multiply by 2.54. Or, use google).

I had no idea a button down shirt could look this flattering on me.

The cuffs are long and pointed, I had them flipped back (which made the sleeves the perfect length for me!) but they make much more of an elegant statement when worn down.

As you can probably tell, I wore a white camisole underneath this shirt to prevent show-through-- the shirt is not as sheer as some I've tried, but it is too sheer to wear with anything other than a nude bra, and definitely would require a modesty tank top underneath or a business jacket over for wearing to work.





Next, I looked at the City White-- a short sleeved, cuffed white button down shirt. The cloth for this shirt was much more sheer, but I still thought the look was very flattering overall. I think I might add a little more visual interest, and make the sheerness more of an advantage, by wearing different colored camisoles underneath (I already have a wide variety of camisoles in vivid shades, because I enjoy color-- so this will probably work well for me).

 White camisole + white sheer button down + blue bra straps is not a great look, but for demonstration purposes, I will share it anyway.



 

 

The final button down I have to share from BiuBiu, is the City Violet. This shirt runs smaller than the others, and it's recommended to order a size up-- unfortunately, since the City shirts appear to be discontinued (or at least on sale), they didn't have the size I needed to order a size up (which would have been 38BB)... but I really loved the color and really wanted to try it, so I ordered it in one "bust size" up, in size 36BBB.

Before washing, the shirt was very fitted, but it did fit nicely. After I washed it (which needed to be done before I took pictures as the shirts were majorly creased), this one shrunk enough in the dryer to make it not really fit anymore. I intend to gently stretch it out a bit and then air-dry it when I next do laundry, to see if I can get that extra little bit of room to make the shirt wearable. Nonetheless, here it is, in all its too-tight glory.

Even though it is too tight and had to be stretched to button up, there still is no major gaping between the buttons, because of the tailoring and the placement of the buttons-- much closer than usual. The buttons are also square on all of the shirts I tried on, which I think will prevent buttons slipping from the button holes and causing an accidental peep show.

If this were the proper size, it would be my favorite button up-- the material has a slight sheen, is a great color and most importantly, is totally opaque, so I could wear it without needing an under-layer for modesty.

I still have a few more items to review from BiuBiu, but I think this is enough information and pictures for today! I'm really happy with everything I received (even when they didn't fit exactly the way I expected), and am very glad I decided to order.