Luxury Lingerie Review: Fréolic London Silk & Lace Appliqué Lingerie Set
Disclosure: I paid for the garments in this review with my own money. All opinions are my own.
Freolic London set in pale pink
Fréolic London are a London based brand specialising in silk and French lace lingerie. The label has evolved since its debut collection, and no longer offers seasonal collections. In recent years it has shifted its focus to making their entire lingerie offering to order, with a high degree of customisation available to customers.
Freolic London set in blue silk with black lace appliqué
All products are hand made in its London based atelier. There is a particular focus on lace appliqué work, a personal favourite design detail that requires a great deal of skill and time to execute well.
Silk & lace appliqué lingerie by Fréolic London. Photography by K. Laskowska
Order Details
The brand offers a range of very affordably priced limited editions (custom made silk and lace sets for £120/$165!), as well as fully customisable products. The exact price is calculated according to your silhouette and fabric choices. I was extremely curious as to how a brand could offer such complex products, with so many options for customisation, at such a relatively affordable price.
When I placed my order, the current iteration of the website was not yet available, so I communicated entirely via email. I knew which garment shapes I wanted - an unpadded silk lined balconette and high waisted brief, both with lace appliqué embellishment. However, I couldn’t bring myself to decide on the silk or lace colours. I asked if they would be willing to pick a colourway to surprise me instead, and thankfully they agreed!
Silk & lace appliqué lingerie by Fréolic London. Photography by K. Laskowska
My set was made in a soft powder blue silk with metallic blue lace. This combination of colours and shapes can be ordered here and costs £300/$413. The bra size range currently available covers 30A-E, 32A-DD, 34A-DD, 36A-D, 38A-C, and coordinates are available in XS-XL. The set was completed and delivered within 6 days, which is impressively fast for such complex and made-to-order lingerie.
Lingerie Details
The balconette bra is so well made that it's almost as beautiful on the inside as the outside! Every panel and trim is fully lined in silk. Bra by Fréolic London, photography by K. Laskowska
This lingerie set is indisputably beautifully made. Every detail of this lingerie is encased in luscious silk satin. The bra wire channels are made of silk, all of the elastic is encased in silk. The brief is fully ‘bagged out’, with all elastics and stitching encased within a silk lining. It’s a beautifully considered construction approach and makes for a lovely wearing experience. It’s also very time consuming to execute, with a high sewing skill level required to handle and finish silk at this level.
The knickers are fully lined in silk and 'bagged out'; almost all of the stitch work is invisibly concealed on the inside of the garment. Knickers by Fréolic London, photography by K. Laskowska
The bra comes with two shoulder strap options, which can be switched out with gold plated hooks and silk loops. There is a standard narrow, silk encased elastic strap, and a wider tapered option. They are both adjustable with gold plated components.
The bra fastens at the centre back with a gold plated clasp, and the wings are made up of fully adjustable straps. The brief has a keyhole opening at the centre back, and fastens with an adjustable elastic strap and gold plated hook.
Although the lace appliqué stitching is not as fine as other luxury lingerie brands, the embellishment is still beautiful and visually striking. Knickers by Fréolic London, photography by K. Laskowska
Both pieces are embellished with fine French leavers lace appliqué. This is a technique in which individual motifs are cut out of a wider lace pattern and stitched onto another base textile. A zigzag stitch follows the edges of the lace pattern.
The stitch length of the appliqué is a lot wider than I would normally expect to see used for this technique. It is quite visible up close, though goes some way to explain why this technique is available at this price point. Lace appliqué is one of the most time consuming embellishment techniques in lingerie, which is why you generally only see it in premium brands like Carine Gilson and Merle Noir lingerie.
Silk & lace appliqué lingerie by Fréolic London. Photography by K. Laskowska
Fit & Comfort
The bra fits fairly well and true to size. The cups are a good size and fully encase my breast tissue, with the gore tacking comfortably. The wires are set quite widely at the centre front, which is something to keep in mind if you have a narrow bust profile. The adjustable strap wings allow for a good deal of fit fluctuation. It is worth noting though that the large cut out space at this point can result in some uncomfortable flesh spillage if you are used to wearing bras with a very firm band.
The brief fit is a little peculiar on my body. I found that the centre back keyhole gapes no matter how I adjust the briefs, and that the side waistline panels tend to buckle during wear. This style is elasticated, with the elastic caught on the interior of the silk. I do find that the elastic is a little tighter than I would like on this kind of shape, so if you are between sizes I would recommend sizing up.
The silk linings on these pieces are very noticeable on the body. It's a truly luxurious experience to feel this wonderfully soft textile on every element of the garments.
Silk & lace appliqué lingerie by Fréolic London. Photography by K. Laskowska
Final Thoughts
Fréolic London offer phenomenal value for money. Its products are some of the most customisable in the luxury market, and at a much more accessible price point than I’d expect to see with such luxurious materials and time consuming construction techniques.
Although there are some fit issues, these feel minor against the beautiful silk linings and lace embellishment work. I hope to place another order with them in the future, and for the time being will continue enjoying their regular social media updates of gorgeous custom colourway creations.
