Hopeless lingerie is one of my all time most-wanted brands. I adore their use of unusual cutouts and kinky vintage silhouettes in a way that can completely transform a body. The brand is inspired by campy vintage horror films, and I can see that clearly reflected in this stunningly modern set. Hopeless is often copied, but never equaled. Their designs are quickly recognizable for the almost signature use of circular cutouts and interesting strapping. Also, they’re a small, female-owned, ethically made lingerie company which I am all about 🙂 If you haven’t checked them out yet, do it!
I ordered the Dana knickers in XXS their stunning Ghosts collection and the now discontinued Irena wrap top in XXS (with a band altered to be smaller than standard and made with matching spiderweb lace). One thing I love about ordering from indie companies is that items can frequently be customized! 🙂 As a picky customer with unusual measurements, I find this a godsend. Hopeless Lingerie is located in Australia, so all of their prices are in Australian dollars (something that took me ridiculously long to figure out). They now have free international shipping for orders over $250 AUD, which is something that hasn’t helped my resolve to wait to order more! Without further adieu, lets get into the review.
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I am all about the wrap bralettes these days, and I ordered this piece hoping that it could be worked into my outerwear. I originally really wanted the Dana Top, because it’s silhouette is slightly more unusual/futuristic. Unfortunately, with my custom sizing needs (hello ridiculously tiny ribcage) I had to go for something more adjustable. I ordered an XXS in the Irena top based on advice from Hopeless, but I think in the future I’d go with an XS with a smaller band. This piece does fit, but it’s very low coverage and thus harder to layer bralettes underneath than I was anticipating. It does require a fair amount of adjustment to fully cover my nipples, but once on I really do still love it. This style was said to run a little large, but I think on my proportions its accurate to the size chart (which my bust measurement of 32.5 inches/ 82.6 cm is too large for).
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I really do love this piece despite choosing the wrong size. The cut does look quite different on me than on the model, but that’s to be expected since I’m wearing a size too small and have a different fabric choice. I can’t say enough about how much I love the spiderweb lace. It’s both spooky and beautiful, and I live for that shit. One small issue with my set is that the right sleeve (where it ends) is really, really tiny and is smaller than the left (which is also really small). It measures 3.33 inches (8.5 cm) flat, while the left one measures 3.8 inches (9.6 cm). It’s not a huge deal, and it is still wearable for me, but it does mean that the right arm gives me some fake biceps (is that where they are?). The “cups” are around 5.25 inches (13.33 cm) tall at their apex.
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Sorry for my super awkward posture here, I don’t know what was going on when I took these pictures. You can see here that the Irena minimizes my bust, as is typical for wrap bralettes on me. There are no darts or seaming in the top, so it’s not really going to be doing a lot of shaping or lift. It is tight enough to hold things pretty stable, and that’s really all I ask for in bralettes. I love having the relaxed silhouette for summer anyways 🙂 I’m currently dying for a Stella bralette from them to hopefully layer with this/look badass in.
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I have to say, this set makes me feel like a badass more than anything else I own. I just want to throw on some thigh high boots and go kick ass. Then I remember that I currently live in American Suburbia and would probably get arrested :p Overall the quality of this set is excellent, but in my opinion the value of this brand is in the artistry of the design. How did I live so long without squiggly cutouts on my body? Knowing they were inspired by old-school CGI just makes me love this set a little bit more. The knickers in XXS are a decent fit, even though I’ve gained weight since ordering. Luckily, I failed to read the size chart correctly when I ordered them (happens to the best of us) and ordered based on my full hip measurement, not my measurement at the hip bone like Hopeless calls for. They’re pretty stretchy, and thankfully the cutouts do not cut in and make me feel like a trussed ham (a very real worry when I saw how small these looked).
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I wish I could afford to have Hopeless make all of my clothing! Seriously, I would be so here for a clothes collection with this aesthetic. Anyways, the construction of the Dana knickers is very solid, and they’ve been cut well to be fit a pear-shaped body like mine. The elastics are sewn down with a 3 step zig zag stitch, and they’re clearly high quality, nice to wear elastics. They are fairly soft on the skin, and I appreciate that they’re not the harder type that always cuts in on me. There are no loose threads or visible issues with the sewing, which is what I expect at this price point.
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So, my butt is too big for these, which is to be expected. They cut in a bit, but TBH I’m not about to wear these knickers underneath leggings so it’s not a big deal. For reference, my hip (at the bone) is around 32.5 inches (82.6 cm) and my full hip is around 35 inches (88.9 cm). The size chart says that these are ideal for a 32 inch hip (at the bone) measurement, but that those on the edge should size up. I think that’s probably accurate for those of us with big bums, but if you’ve got a flatter/smaller one (in comparison to your hip measurement) your regular size should suffice.
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So this set wins major points in my book by being so adjustable in the waist and under bust areas. It saves me so much grief! This set was designed for a 23 inch waist, and I’d say that it fits true to size there. The rise of the Dana knickers is around 9 inches (22.86 cm). This set is definitely made for a very small frame, the Irena top is only 12 inches (30.48 cm) from shoulder to shoulder when laid flat. It’s one of the only sleeved things in my life that has ever had the seams lay correctly on my shoulders.
Overall, I adore this set but wish I has ordered an XS instead of an XXS in both pieces. I’m in love with Hopeless’s aesthetic, and I desperately want more pieces from them. I do have one problem though: how on earth can I work this gorgeous set into my outerwear? Readers, let me know if you have any ideas 🙂 This much beauty is too amazing to leave covered all the time.
