Update 03/03/22: this product has been discontinued.

I’ve had this set for quite a while, but have been struggling to know what to say about it. Lingerie is, in some ways, much harder to review than other products such as sex toys or kink gear. What we individually find aesthetically pleasing in clothing, and what fits each of our wonderful and unique bodies, is so infinitely variable that it’s often hard to know how to review lingerie in a way that is likely to be helpful to anyone. With that said, let’s take a look at this offering from Lovehoney’s Free Spirit lingerie line.

Content warning: this review touches briefly on sizeism and clothing being made with thin folks in mind. Please feel free to skip if that’s going to be difficult for you!

Initial Impressions

“I hate pink,” I text my partner. But this isn’t fair – I don’t hate pink per se. It’s a perfectly attractive colour, taken in isolation. What I hate are the associations of pink. The way that anything that’s assumed to be “for women” (let’s not unpack all the problems with that right now) is plastered in it as if all 3.5 billion of us just go mad over this one specific colour. The fact that it’s used – along with blue – to aggressively gender infants before they are old enough to have any sense of who they really are. The fucking pink tax. But I digress.

The Free Spirit lingerie lines look pinkish-purple, almost lilac, on the website images. In real life, though, these pieces are most definitely PINK. Paired with the dark blue straps and detailing, the effect is quite striking, though I can’t say it’s really my aesthetic. For a certain type of femme look, though, it’s cute.

My other first impression was “lol my tits are never gonna fit in that.” We’ll talk more about fit shortly.

My Free Spirit bra set came simply packaged in a transparent plastic wrap.

Getting into it…

Anyone who has seen me try on lingerie will know that it is not, typically, a sexy sight. It usually involves me getting tangled in straps, swearing, possibly falling over, and trying not to ruin some fancy lace with my unkempt fingernails. So I seriously appreciate that rarest of holy grails: lingerie that is easy to put on and take off.

The Free Spirit bra was a breeze – you adjust the band to fit, slip it over your head and into place, and tie it up. Be aware that the bra is a halter-neck style, so if you struggle to tie things behind you you’ll need to ask someone to help you fasten it up.

The knickers, though, are another story. As you can see from the images, they are straps and straps and straps galore! It took me a number of attempts to get into them properly, and then I kept finding one strap or another twisted and having to readjust. I’d never wear these to an event where I thought I might be having sex, because it would take me half an hour to get back into them afterwards!

Fit

This set is pitched as “one size fits most” but we all know that isn’t really a thing. I strongly suspect that the “one size” thing is a way to keep costs down, as this line is markedly cheaper than many other Lovehoney lingerie ranges. And it is extremely clear from the design of this set that, though it may be adjustable and ostensibly fit anyone up to a size 16, it was ultimately designed with smaller bodies in mind.

I currently wear a UK size 14 and I didn’t find these pieces to be a good fit. My boobs are… probably a E or F cup at this point? (I don’t really know, I haven’t had a bra fitting in like a decade.) And the Free Spirit bra really did not contain them at all. The adjustable band and tie-up halterneck worked well, but the one-size cups will be woefully inadequate for anyone above a C cup.

The knickers were more of the same. The waistband is adjustable, but the thin decorative straps, though stretchy, are not. They stretched uncomfortably over my stomach and pulled the whole piece out of shape. They dug in and kept twisting out of shape, and the thong was pulled so far up my butt that I felt like the damn thing was trying to cut me in half!

This set is supposedly for UK sizes 8 – 16, and there is a plus-size version for sizes 18 – 24. Interestingly, the plus-size version has different knickers which come without all the strappy bits, which I think proves my point that these knickers were designed with thin folks in mind.

If you are a size 8-10, this set may work well for you. If you wear a larger size or have larger breasts, I recommend looking elsewhere.

Comfort

The lace is not as soft as the lace Lovehoney use on some of their other lingerie pieces, though I suppose that is to be expected at this comparatively low price-point. It’s not horribly scratchy or anything, but don’t expect it to feel super luxurious either. The satin of the bands is soft and feels nice against the skin, though.

The poor fit was the real comfort killer, though, and I don’t see myself wearing this set again now that I’ve written this review.

How did I feel wearing it?

As you’ve probably gathered, this set didn’t work for me. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad design or there’s anything wrong with it as such, but it wasn’t a good fit for my body. It emphasised all the bits of my body I’m uncomfortable with, and made me feel inadequate because it was clearly not designed with people of my body-type in mind.

I want to wear lingerie that makes me look in the mirror and go “yes!” This was not that.

Final thoughts

Overall, I think this is the least strong of Lovehoney’s recent lingerie offerings. Moonlight and Wild Blooms blew me away, and some of their one-size body stockings and mini-dresses have worked well for me… but this range would really have benefited from being made in a wider array of sizing options.

I applaud Lovehoney for creating a lower-priced offering, but I’m underwhelmed by the execution.

The Free Spirit Bra Set retails for £19.99.

Thanks to Lovehoney for sending me these pieces in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are, as always, my own. Affiliate links appear in this post. Image is courtesy of Lovehoney and reproduced with permission.