Your Spring-to-Summer Lingerie Refresh
When the layers come off, what is underneath them starts to matter more. The heavier underwires, opaque cottons and dependable winter neutrals carried you through the colder months, but they aren’t the pieces you’ll reach for now. Lighter fabrics, brighter shades and bras that disappear under linen or silk, that is what the next few months call for.
A proper refresh doesn’t mean replacing everything in the drawer. It means adding the few pieces that earn their place. The bra you put on first thing. The brief that doesn’t show through cream trousers. The set you want to be wearing when summer plans appear out of nowhere.
What follows is a short, considered edit drawn from the brands we know best, including Empreinte, Marie Jo and Lise Charmel. None of it is fast. All of it is worth the drawer space.
Start with the everyday bra
If a single piece is going to do the heavy lifting in a refreshed drawer, it should be the everyday bra. The one that works under a fine-knit jumper at the start of May and still works under a white linen shirt by the middle of July.
The Empreinte Cassiopee Full Cup is a bra we sell more of than almost any other, and the reason is straightforward. The cup uses moulded Chantilly lace trimmed with embroidery, so you get the visual softness of lace and the smooth finish of a moulded bra in one piece. For fuller cups it lifts properly without straps digging in, and it sits invisibly under a fitted t-shirt. Black, white and peach are the year-round shades. The spacer version is what we point customers towards once the weather turns warmer, when an unlined cup can feel heavier than you would like in real heat.
If you wear cups in the A to D range and want something a little lighter for daily wear, Marie Jo Avero is a classic for very good reason. The soft checked fabric and the embroidered daisies on the strap make it feel less like an undergarment and more like a piece you have chosen. The padded heart-shape gives a rounded everyday line, and the push-up is there if you want a touch more lift. Avero returns each season in fresh colours, which is part of why it has held its place as Marie Jo’s bestseller for so long.
Add a piece that feels like a treat
The second category to think about is the set you reach for when something matters. A holiday. An anniversary. A Tuesday that needs lifting.
This is where Lise Charmel comes in. The Leavers lace, the embroidery and the silks are made to a standard that is genuinely hard to describe in writing. You can read about Splendeur Soie or Soir de Venise, read again, and still not quite expect what arrives in the box. Lise Charmel pieces tend to be the ones customers buy thinking they are for a special occasion, then end up wearing far more often than they had planned.
If a Lise Charmel set feels like a stretch right now, a coordinated Marie Jo Avero in a season-led colour does similar work for less. The soft mints and pinks sit happily under cream and white, which most other lingerie colours don’t.
Refresh the basics quietly
The third thing worth doing is replacing the workhorses. The smooth t-shirt bra you’ve worn into the ground. The nude brief that has lost its shape. The matching set you bought for a holiday three summers ago.
A few practical pointers:
- If your everyday bra has lost its lift, the band is usually the first thing to go. Replace it before the cups start to feel wrong too.
- Keep one nude and one black smooth bra in your current size. Between them they will cover almost any outfit.
- Briefs are the easiest category to refresh. Two or three new pairs change how a drawer feels.
The Empreinte Cassiopee briefs match the Cassiopee bra and stay flat under fine fabrics. Marie Jo Rio briefs sit at a slightly lower band, which suits summer trousers and dresses. Both feel like a real upgrade on a high-street multipack.
A quick word on fit
Bra fit changes. Body shape shifts, weight moves around, and the band on your favourite bra loosens after two years of wear. If you have not been measured in a while, May is a sensible time to do it.
A properly fitted bra is not a vanity exercise. It is the difference between a piece you wear and one you don’t, which makes it the difference between a useful refresh and an expensive one. We are happy to help in store, and over email if coming in is not practical.
Where to shop the edit
Our best sellers collection is the easiest place to start. These are the pieces customers come back to season after season, and the page is a useful filter for anyone who would rather not work through every collection. From there, look at the Empreinte range for fuller-bust everyday lingerie, and Marie Jo for the joyful, colour-led pieces that lift a daily wardrobe.
If you would rather a second opinion before you buy, send us a short email. We will happily talk through size, colour and what suits an outfit you already own.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I replace my bras?
Most well-made bras last between one and two years of regular wear. The band tends to lose elasticity first. A bra that fitted on the loosest hook a year ago should usually be on the tightest by now. If it is already on the tightest, the band has gone.
Which lingerie brands suit a fuller bust best?
Empreinte is the brand we recommend most often for D cups and above. The cup engineering does the shaping work, so the bra holds its line without straps having to take all the weight. Lise Charmel and Marie Jo both extend into fuller cups across many of their core ranges as well.
Is there a difference between Marie Jo and Marie Jo L’Aventure?
Marie Jo is the main collection, focused on classic shapes and signature finishes such as Avero. Marie Jo L’Aventure sits alongside it with a younger, brighter feel and slightly different fits. Both are made by the same house to the same standards.
How should I care for new lingerie?
Wash by hand in cool water, or use a mesh bag on a delicates cycle. Air-dry flat. Store moulded cup bras stacked, not folded inside out, so the cups keep their shape. A few minutes of care quietly adds a year of wear.
