American Women, Get to know Hunkemöller!

Every woman wants to feel sexy and confident.  They want to be able to wear flattering clothes and sexy undergarments, while feeling comfortable and beautiful while doing so.

Despite being a healthy size, I’ve always been large breasted, which leads to difficulties when buying shirts and bras.  So many times, we large breasted women have to settle on the boring, unsexy bras that come in only 2 styles.  And let’s not get into the padding issue.  Common sense makes me wonder why bras with a cup size of D and above have padding in them.  We don’t need it!

Last fall, I was fortunate enough to visit Belgium for a few days. On a trip to Mons, I visited Hunkemöller, a European lingerie store. Hunkemöller is Europe’s answer to Victoria’s Secret, as they specialize in lingerie, swimwear, sleepwear, hosiery, and more.  I bought a couple of sexy, unpadded bras and a nightgown in the Mons store and was so pleased with them that I went online to order more.  Unfortunately, I learned that Hunkemöller does not ship to the US.  I even contacted customer service to try to see if they could help me out, but had no luck.

So, I went online to check out Victoria’s Secret and other retailers to see if they had bras and nightgowns like the ones I purchased in Belgium.  Most retailers here in the US cater to women with cup sizes A-C, with heavily padded bras showcasing new colors and fabrics or constructed with beautiful lace. Apparently, those of us that need the support the most, have to wear bras designed in the 60’s…with fabrics to match the granny panties they also sell.  To be fair, minimizer and large cup styles and designs have improved over the years, but they still have a long way to go to match what women actually want – an attractive, supportive bra in ALL sizes.

Hunkemöller has bras in so many different sizes, it puts American retailers to shame.  In addition to standard sizes, they also carry DD, E,F, and G sized bras. And guess what? They’re actually sexy and supportive!  Hunkemöller has numerous unpadded sizes in very attractive designs AND at reasonable prices.  Where you can expect to pay $35-60 for a Victoria’s Secret bra, a bra from Hunkemöller averages $30-$40 per bra.

The Hunkemöller nightgown I brought home, I fell in love with (it’s pictured at left).  It incorporates an elastic lace to the bust area to add some support, instead of the usual ‘triangles’ of fabric that simply cover, not support.  I’ve looked everywhere around my hometown and online and couldn’t find anything similar.  It’s like they actually put thought into what women will need in their lingerie.  Not only that, what women with larger breasts want in lingerie as well.

I love that Hunkemöller actually seems to cater to what women want, and not what men want.  Not very many nightgowns at Victoria’s Secret actually cover enough of a body that I’d be able to wear it in front of my children. Besides, most, if not all, don’t have any support in the chest area.  Obviously when you are sleeping, you don’t need underwire support, but just a little elastic to hold yourself together goes a long way for us larger busted ladies.

Hunkemöller also seems to have better sizes.  If I wear a large nightgown from Victoria’s Secret, half the fabric gets bunched up around my chest so I end up wearing a nightgown that barely covers my ass. Once again, not something I’d wear in front of the kids.  This doesn’t happen with nightgowns from Hunkemöller.

So, as an independent reviewer and traveler, I hope and wish Hunkemöller would branch out in the US.  I actually felt good shopping there. When walking into Victoria’s Secret, sometimes I feel like the 38 year old “old lady,” since I don’t fall into their 16-28 year old demographic.  Hunkemöller definitely did not make me feel that way.

So, if you’re a woman and you find yourself in Europe, do yourself a favor and find a Hunkemöller store! You’ll love it!

See additional posts: The Trouble with Bras in America, and Hunkemöller Knocks Out the Competition.

** An Update! Hunkemöller now ships to the US!

Happy Travels!

Julie