Missed and Matched I.

     Originally, this post was going to showcase my many, many, mismatched knicker, suspenders, and bras. Since I have been making an effort to rescue my collection from being a lot of random pieces I want to focus on how my random purchases work out for me in the long run. I am not an impulse buyer, but I have a knack for convincing myself over a period of time that I should buy certain lingerie on sale because the deal is too good to miss. Unfortunately, what often happens with sales is that I'll fall in love with a set that isn't completely available in my size. 

     This isn't always a bad thing because sometimes I only really like one piece, or I can only afford to choose one piece that I really want from a set. However, I prefer having a completely cohesive bra, suspender, and knickers set and it requires a bit of creativity on my part to incorporate these out-of-place pieces into my lingerie wardrobe. Lately, I've been making an effort to fill in the "gaps" where needed.

     Most of my out-of-place garments tend to be suspenders. Unlike for some people, suspenders are not really a special-occasion garment, but one that I use often with stockings in place of more widely used tights. (I'll get into how much I absolutely hate tights, eventually.) I bought these two suspenders from Mimi Holliday on sale from Journelle a couple of months apart:

Left to Right: Mimi Holliday suspender in 'Tinkerbell' and Mimi Holliday in 'Pizazz'

     The colors were what attracted me to both of these suspenders, but their colors were what made them hard to introduce into my everyday lingerie. Although I used them just to hold up my stockings, I like feeling like my "outfit" underneath my outfit is as put together. Unfortunately, when I bought these on Journelle's website the matching bras and knickers were not available in my size. It wasn't until over a year after the purchase of my 'Tinkerbell' suspender that I found the matching bra on Dolci Follie's website in size 30C and knickers in XL. Though far from my size, the knickers are a quick fix! When I actually get around to altering them, I'll post about it! I was relieved when I completed this set! Although the truffle color of this suspender is beautiful, I found it nearly impossible to match with anything else.

     As for my 'Pizazz' suspender, I managed to find a really cheap yellow set at Forever 21 that looked good with it. However, I'm still always on the look out for something that goes with it (since Forever 21 lingerie definitely doesn't last for more than a couple of uses..)! This suspender's color is a very bright canary color that I've found looks really well paired with nude lingerie.Moving forward, I'm not limiting my search for solely yellow lingerie, but expanding it to finding colors that would look well with it. (Light pink for example?) 

Dita Von Teese 'Madame X' suspender in white

     I had never owned a white suspender, or thought I would until I saw this one from Dita Von Teese's lingerie collection. I had seen the Madame X set in black and had fallen in love with it immediately, but when I saw it in white, I was determined to own it! I originally bought this on Black Friday after Thanksgiving on Bloomingdale's website. The bra was not available in my size at the time, but I figured if I could just match it with another white bra. 

Dita Von Teese Madame X bra in white

     Recently, I added the bra to my collection in an effort to fill the "gaps" in my collection. While most white bras would have worked with my suspender, the "caged" strap motif looks better when it's also reflected on the bra. I have yet to acquire the Madame X knickers, but I hope I get them soon!
     
     I think any good collection, whether it's lingerie or mugs, deserves to be well curated. While I have been a long time lingerie "enthusiast"-- I was convinced at age 13 that I was going to make a career out of designing lingerie-- this is the first time I am able to afford putting the time, effort, and money into building a collection I'm excited about. I'm very excited to see how my lingerie collection grows, and how my miss-matched pieces find their pairs!