(Warning: throughout this review, the words ‘boobs’, ‘boobies’, ‘bazookas’ and occasionally ‘breasts’ will pop up at an alarming rate. If you’re not in favour of any of the above, please use the ‘back’ button and exit left. Thank you.)

It’s always been quite nice to have a womanly figure – so what if men notice your boobs before your face? At least they’re looking...at least, that’s the confidence boosting way to look at things! Anyway, whilst we’re on the subject of ‘boosting’, it’s pretty incredible how when I visited one of my local La Senza stores the other week, I was informed that my bazookas had boomed up a couple of bra sizes without the aid of knives and other messy instruments. It’s most women’s fantasy to be able to say that but I met the news with utter dread, only to be consoled by the lovely shop worker who kindly told me that I was ‘deceiving’.

Believe me, it’s not the first time I’ve taken the word ‘deceiving’ to be a compliment...

So how did my La Senza journey begin? Well, it’s a long and fairly convoluted story but to sum up, after a mishap with a tape measure (hey, I’m an English student not a Mathematician!), the buying of the wrong sized bras and a now ill-conceived complaint to the La Senza team online, I was able to return a couple of bras I’d previously purchased from one of their stores for an exchange and a refitting at my convenience. Now when I say my ‘local’ store, the truth is that the two La Senza stores closest to me are about an hour’s drive away so, as you can tell, it’s not always practical for me to get over and see the friendly staff at either Lincoln or Skegness regularly. However, on this occasion, I managed to get to the La Senza store in Skegness within the 21 days specified on the receipt for all refunds or exchanges, a gesture that would have been gladly extended by the online staff if need be.

BUT FIRST THINGS FIRST: WHO ARE LA SENZA?
La Senza are a lingerie store that specialise in bright, colourful and funky bras and underwear that are ‘for women of all ages’, according to their official site. Personally, I disagree with that; I can’t imagine my Grandma going into a La Senza store (mainly because it would mean shopping somewhere other than Tescos) and being enamoured with the vast array of styles and shades on offer. In fact you could almost describe La Senza stores as being quite intimidating; once entering the shop, there is a lot of choice for the majority of bra sizes so you can adorn your breasts in almost any colour you desire, from florescent pinks and yellows to plain old white and black, so it’s easy to get confused as to how you want to dress your finest assets. There are many styles to choose from but with the help of the shop workers, it’s a lot easier to pick a style to compliment your boobs as opposed to buying something just because you like the colour or pattern.

Because I’ve never done that before...

However, whilst La Senza do a respectable range of pyjamas, swim ware and various gift sets including perfumes, jewellery and sunglasses, it’s important to remember that by nature they’re a shop for bazookas; if you need scaffolding to hold ‘em up with, La Senza could be one of the first lingerie shops that would spring to mind. There are several stores dotted around the country, mainly in big cities such as Leeds and Nottingham, with the one in Lincoln being a new addition to the Waterside Centre, but it’s a good idea to check the companies online store finder before you trail around aimlessly in hope of finding a La Senza; the shops aren’t necessarily few and far between but La Senza are mainly tucked away in a shopping centre rather than out on the high street, or that has at least been the case on the occasions when I’ve visited the stores.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT WHEN YOU GO IN THE SHOPS
I’ll give you three guesses as to what you can expect when you walk into a La Senza store: Do you first see A) an ice cream parlour B) a pet accessories store or C) lingerie? If you answered either B or C you’re right (don’t tell me you’ve never heard of boobs being called ‘puppies’ before?!) and should continue with the remainder of the review. Nonetheless, when you first go into a La Senza store, you’ll see vast quantities of bras hung on the walls and they’re normally arranged by style; the smaller sizes are normally at the front whilst the larger sizes are at the back. The sizing is mainly done in cup sizes so if you’re lucky enough to be a 32A, your bra of choice will more than likely be at the front of the rail whereas 32Gs are nearer the back of the rail, due to the increase in cup size. There are normally two rails of each bra style, in their varying colours, so hopefully La Senza should stock your size somewhere along the line! Directly below the bras are matching thongs or briefs which stick to the bras colour and style so if your bra of choice has nice little green frilly flowers on it, the chances are the knickers will have too.

How oddly convenient...

On rails just inside the doorways are a selection of pyjamas and nightwear, which normally come in the sizing of small, medium and large or alternatively from sizes six to eighteen. Prices for the PJs vary according to style but you can expect to pay in the region of £16 for a cami top and short set which I’d say is pretty reasonable. However, some of the more fitted pieces – such as the bodices – which have underwiring in them may only go up to a cup size of FF; if you’re any bigger than that ladies, it seems as if La Senza want you to shop elsewhere, but the majority of the bras in the store, regardless of occasion, start at the size 30A and finish at a 38G.

My first impression each time I enter a La Senza store is just how much choice there appears to be on offer; there are lots of different styles to compliment the smaller busts to the larger ones in lots of different colours and patterns. Although – as you’ll learn – it’s not always a case of having lots of different styles and patterns to choose from, depending on your size, but for the majority of women, La Senza will be bra heaven; I can’t help but think that if you want a yellow bra with pink, purple and blue stripes on it, you’d be in the perfect place...apart from an opticians. In all of the La Senza shops, you’ll find that the different styles are separated into sections with the everyday pieces being together and the slightly dressier pieces being together. With that in mind, it’s easier to locate the type of bra you desire after a couple of visits to a La Senza store and the layouts, whilst sometimes a little cluttered to hopefully cater for all sizes, is fairly immaculate and well cared for, especially when it comes to finding your bra size; the majority of the rails I looked at were well ordered in ascending cup sizes which made it fairly easy for me to locate which bra I needed.

FITTING AND FINDING YOUR SIZE
La Senza stores also allow potential customers to try on bras before purchasing, an invaluable asset which really can make the difference between making a good and bad purchasing decision. You can try the bras in one of two ways either, predictably, grabbing your bra size yourself before trying it on or asking a staff member to help you decide. I couldn’t actually recommend the ‘shout for a staff member’ option enough; if you haven’t had your boobies measured in a couple of years or have bizarrely increased in size since a couple of days ago, a La Senza worker will be able to not only judge just from looking at you what size you could be but also be able to go and grab the correct back and bust size from the store whilst you’re stood admiring your bazookas in the mirrors. This service is free of charge with of course the notion in mind being that you’ll be so impressed with the staff workers choosing that you’ll have to buy the bras as a sign of gratitude although I don’t think they’d be an over abundance of pressure to do if you don’t wish to.

The changing rooms – from my experiences – are very well kept with a chair in each to plonk your bag/clothes/rejected bras on and usually a very pleasant red or purple velvet curtain to keep out any prying eyes. It’s all quite luxurious but the privacy of a door that actually locks is something missing from the Lincoln and Skegness stores; during a shopping expedition at Lincoln, a lady had her very young daughter with her and, not quite the shop-a-holic just yet, the little girl was getting rather tired of having to wait for one of the two changing rooms to become available, to the point where she wanted to actually peek behind the curtains to see if there was anybody in there! Obviously, not all La Senza stores come with an impatient little girl outside of the dressing rooms but the most cubicles I recall in a La Senza store is three so during busy periods such as weekends, you may find yourself waiting around before you can get to try your items on.

Due to my predicament with returning and exchanging some of my items, the manager of the store instantly looked at me and went ‘oh no, you need a 34(fill in the blank). The assistant went and picked up a bra in that size before telling me I didn’t need to purchase that style but rather it would be a good indicator as to which size would be the most suitable. This is where I want to reiterate just how important it is to try bras on; the manageress, someone that deals with boobs everyday, didn’t get my size right and in fact, we had to try on a good couple of bras before both the assistant and I were satisfied we’d found the right pouch for my breasts.

You may have noted that there’s no mention of a tape measure in the fitting process; although that was the method I’d initially used (following La Senza’s online guide) the manageress told my Mum and I that the method was completely flawed as you can’t get the same tight fit with a tape measure like you can an actual bra – fair comment. Basically, after trying each bra on, the shop assistant came in and explained why the bra was right or why it wasn’t; it was pretty much determined straight away that the back size was 34 but the cup size was a little more difficult to understand. I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all; I had my own space in which to try each bazooka wrap on and simply called for the shop worker as and when I needed her evaluation.

CHOICES AND MORE CHOICES!
I think that one of the things that separates La Senza from a lot of their lingerie competitors is just how varied their selection of bras can be; although I was disappointed to learn I was limited to a choice of just two bras, this won’t be the case for long as La Senza, come September, will supply all of their bras up to the biggest sizes. Although clearly it isn’t September right now, I’ll certainly be revisiting La Senza once they do start manufacturing all of their bras in the bigger sizes; whilst somewhere like Ann Summers stock lingerie that is designed as evening wear, La Senza produce many practical selections that can suit any taste.

The priciest of such collections is the ‘Pure Luxury’ range, a collection that is very much an opulent and dressy range with silk, lace and satin being the fabrics of choice. In this collection, the prices start from £18, with some of the most expensive bras being £25 but these – it has to be said – wouldn’t be a girls everyday sort of bra; there are a lot of frills and ruffles and it’s got a sexier edge than some of the other ranges, which can also be a case with the ‘Glam & Sexy’ collection. With satin finishes and animal prints galore, prices start at just £14 per bra and conclude at £22 but I have to say that the ‘Glam & Sexy’ collection really isn’t the most appealing of all of the La Senza bra ranges; many of the colours are a bit garish and the prints a bit generic so you have to be a bold ‘say it loud and say it proud’ kinda girl to wear lingerie from this subsection of La Senza.

The ‘Girly and Gorgeous’ array is always the first one I look at when shopping in the store. Currently, there are about six different types of bras to choose from in this range and whilst the ‘Girly and Gorgeous’ seems to be mainly for black and white lovers, La Senza do currently offer one of their bras in pastel and neon colours, just in case you want your bra to resemble an 80s disco! The ‘Girly and Gorgeous’ selection does seem to be a bit of a notch up from the ‘Beautiful Basics’ selection with prices ranging from £14 to £16 in the former. Currently, the ‘Beautiful Basics’ range mainly caters for sizes A – DD and the bras, as you may have gathered, in this section are less showy and are designed for comfort rather than high end fashion. However, they are rather pretty little bras with a few ribbons and a little lacing and it’s a collection I’d very much want to buy – the prices start from just £7.50 a bra so for just casual wear, that’s a very good price and it’s certainly not going to break the bank for a spare bosom box.

However, whilst the La Senza range of bras is very eye catching and certainly suitable for all ages because of the sometimes simple cotton fabrics and playful monkey designs (no really – there was a bra in the Lincoln store with monkey faces!) a lot of the bras do come with padding. I’ve always deemed it unnecessary for bras of DD+ to have padding as it makes a bust look a little bit unnatural. Whilst some padding is of course necessary to hold everything in place, I’ve noticed that more than often not La Senza bras come with a layer of padding or indeed gel insoles, some of which can thankfully be removed, so it’s important to keep that in mind if you’re a La Senza virgin who doesn’t like to look rounder than you really are.

As I mentioned earlier, I was a little disheartened to discover that I only had a couple of bras in my size to choose from; on one hand I wasn’t too bothered as being a Libran, my indecisiveness would have driven the lovely staff members crazy but on the negative side, I do like to have lots of options. The bra I decided to go for in the end was one from the ‘Girly and Gorgeous’ range, mainly because that particular bra came in a number of different colours. However, there was a problem; fellow ladies who shared my size had jumped on the bandwagon rather quickly and managed to steal the pretty purple, mint and blue colours before I had a chance to! Limiting myself to a choice of either black or white, because I didn’t want to look like a half baked Mr. Blobby with the fluorescent pink bra, wasn’t a problem but I must admit, I wish I’d had more of a choice than just those two colours as the others were so cute!

QUALITY CONTROL
Although I’ve only ever purchased four bras from La Senza up to now, I have to say that overall, I’ve been impressed with the company; I’m not a fan of the padding and hopefully, once the company start providing the larger sizes more readily this September, that won’t be too much of an issue. The two bras that I have kept are quite different though, with the most recent purchase being my favourite buy so far. The appearance is always going to be the most delightful aspect of the La Senza ranges but I love the little details that the bras have to offer; with my latest bra from La Senza, over the polyamide and cotton base, there is a layer of embroidery, specifically a daisy chain pattern with appliqué flowers between the two cups and at the base of the straps. The underwiring is concealed by smooth, satin fabric and to make the bra breathable and comfortable, the elicitation of the support straps is concealed by a mesh fabric and more even lacing.

All of the different materials are finished off nicely with the tag of ‘La Senza’ just near the metal fasteners and I have to say, it doesn’t look – or indeed feel – like a bra that’s cost me just £16; the materials are very thick and plentiful to give the impression that it’s a long lasting, durable bra. I was impressed the first time I wore it as it was nice and supportive and relatively comfy, even if the underwiring was a bit too stiff and essentially it made the bra a little uncomfortable to wear in the beginning. Thankfully, as the bra has gotten used to the shape of my body, this has loosened off a bit and it makes a pleasant t-shirt bra; as the padding is quite full on, and the edging of the cups finishes with some more of the lacy flowers, there is no way I could wear this bra with a light, evening top because it would simply show up too much. Again, I’m sure this is a problem that will improve as the company expands on its sizing in all of its collections but with so few options for me to currently choose from, I naturally went for the one I thought would be the easiest and most pleasant to wear – wrong again!

Another niggle I have with this particular bra is the fact that it’s not machine washable. Now I’m far too lazy to want to stand at a sink and wash one sodding bra after each use so, for now at least, this bra is very much one I wear on odd occasions, when all of my washing machine friendly bras are not clean. Not all of the La Senza bras come with the tag of not being machine washable but, as my Mother said, ‘trust you to pick the most awkward bra in the shop’!

OTHER SHOPPING WITH LA SENZA
The only other occasion to date when I purchased a bra from La Senza was in preparation for my Year 11 prom; I’d picked my perfect dress, a purple, backless number, only to realise that I needed a backless bra to finish the look! Back in the days when the bazookas were smaller hand grenades (bad analogy) it was a lot easier for me to buy bras...or so I thought. After visiting the La Senza online store as at the time there were simply no shops in my area to go and visit, and the lingerie stores that there were in my general area had nothing suitable, I managed to purchase a little self adhesive bra that should have been appropriate for my needs. Costing somewhere in the region of £11, delivery was £2.95 which was very reasonably priced. The UK standard delivery is still that price, with Express delivery being £6.95 and arriving the next working day. You can however get free delivery with purchases of £35 or over which, considering many of the bras are about £15 each, wouldn’t be too difficult for you to spend in one go.

Back to the story in hand and after paying roughly £14 for the not- so-wonder bra, including delivery, I was delighted when about three days later, it showed up in a very pretty box with the

company name sprawled across it; presentation is key to La Senza’s cause and when I opened up the box, I was pleasantly surprised by the whiff of a floral scent which was as a result of the fragranced beads beneath the delicately wrapped bra thingame. I loved the complimentary gift wrapping as it made me feel that La Senza were a company that prided themselves on the special, little details which made receiving an ordinarily mundane item a little bit fun.

I was a little disappointed to find that this bra in question didn’t carry the La Senza label but none the less, it was a bra and it should have served the purpose of purchasing it in the first place. Yet, when it came to prom night, it was an intolerably sticky June night and my bra was pretty useless; the self adhesive nature of the bra meant that what I got in the packet was essentially cups for your boobs with fabric plasters to stick them in place with! With the aid of some more plasters, I managed to get the bra stuck on (in a fashion) but it was far from practical and generally wasn’t very good; I recognise that it was silly not to consider the thought of plaster/sellotape layers against skin during the hot weather but surely the summer is the time of year when these kinds of bras would need to be purchased – when women are going to fancy proms and balls and wanting to wear backless dresses.

Thankfully for any potential customers, those types of bras are no longer available on the La Senza website or in store but by the looks of their current backless stock, (the oddly entitled ‘Bra Solutions’ range) if you’re going to a fancy ball this summer, I would try and get a dress with plenty of material around the back, especially if you’re a big chested lady; the silicone adhesive bras don’t look very stable, neither do the backless and strapless sets, and whilst they’re only available in sizes up to a D cup, I’d recommend you take a look for another dress than banking on one of those bras to get you through the evening!

Also concerning sizing, La Senza do a range of Nursing Bras but, like the Bra Solutions collection, if you're any bigger in this case than a size E, La Senza will be unable to help you; although the Jersey material is said to be stretchy, I doubt whether you'd be able to comfortably fit into a size E if you're actually a G or above! The sizes here seem a bit limited – it’s only natural that a lady’s bust increases during pregnancy and if you’re already a size E, the chances are it might be a tight squeeze if electing for that size from La Senza.

STAFF AND SERVICES
This is a subject I really, really cannot fault with La Senza; whether it’s been online or in the stores, I’ve found the staff to be really helpful and accommodating.

When I was looking into exchanging the bras that were unsuitable for me, I contacted the company via email but there is also the option to discuss any enquiries over the phone. The lady that helped me with my problems to begin with was very apologetic and offered me an exchange or refund at my convenience, regardless of the 21 day clause on the receipt. She recommended that I contacted her with a date that would be the most suitable for me, when I could get to the store either in Lincoln or Skegness, so that I could have a fitting with one of the trained members of staff and resolve any other issues. All of the co-operating emails were replied to rapidly, sometimes within a couple of hours of them being sent, and before I even visited the Skegness store, I was impressed by the staff and their approach to their work.

The staff in the Lincoln store, although not in abundance, were helping a couple of people decide which bra would be best for them and the lady on the till was speedy and pleasant, which is all I ask for when purchasing anything.

In the Skegness outlet, things were pretty much the same; I was made to feel that I was the only client in the store, even though I wasn’t, and that my needs were important. The lady who helped in terms of the fitting was an absolute gem; between sympathetic glances every time she went to pick up another bra size to informing me that I don’t look as big as I am, she was so attentive and supportive before, during and after the fitting and purchasing process. The lady helped to highlight exactly what to look for in a bra to compliment my shape and size whilst reminding me that the shop would be catering more and more for my size in the coming months so I should be able to have the pick of the whole store!

Hurrah!

OVERALL: DID I MAKE A ‘BOOB’ BY SHOPPING AT LA SENZA?
I really, really want to answer with the word ‘no’ here but the truth is there are some issues that I expect many slightly larger chested ladies will be confronted with when they go shopping in La Senza. The lack of choice for a buxom babe is rather disheartening, although it’s something that will be improved upon over the next couple of seasons; if you have a slightly unusual size – mainly for the larger busts – it would be a good idea to shop either online or early in store so that you manage to get yourself the bra of your choice in the colour you want. Also, the fact that some of the bras aren’t machine washable means that the store is distancing itself from the ‘everyday solutions’ lingerie that many stores such as Marks and Spencer’s and others are trying to perfect.

All of that being said, I think that the prices are particularly competitive; whilst looking around some of my local department stores, you’d be lucky to get such pretty and clearly heavy-duty bras for £16, never mind the special offers La Senza often promote; there is currently an offer of two bras for £20 out of a select few in a couple of different colours and you can often stock up on underwear at the bargain price of five pairs for £12! The fact that the knickers are made out of the same material as the bras leads me to believe that they too would be durable and obviously, who doesn’t like to mix and match every once in a while?

And for all of you men that have been so good to read all of this: why not treat your special lady to something from your local La Senza store? The complimentary gift boxing can be done in store during non-sale periods so it would make a lovely gift for your lucky lady.

Just make sure you know her size in advance or you may end up making a total t*t out of yourself!

CONTACT DETAILS
Website: www.lasenza.co.uk
Ordering over the phone: 0800 783 2968 (open Monday to Friday between 9am and 5.30pm)
Store opening times (Skegness as an example): Monday to Saturday – 9am to 5.30pm and Sunday from 10am to 4pm.