I don't think the stock photo for this bra (in the pale blue) does it justice! I'd call it 'semi-sheer'. This would work well as a skin tone alternative for a pale person. I've been wearing 32H in most brands for quite some time now, but have been feeling as though the band is the tiniest bit too loose in all my bras recently. Knowing that this bra ran large in the band, I got the sister size of 30HH instead and don't regret it. The band and cups are both a perfect fit on me, although there is the slightest bit of quad-boobing ... on my larger side when I pull my shoulders back (related to weight gain, ugh).

I have even fullness that is very slightly weighted towards the bottom and get a nice lifted, rounded shape in this bra that is still somewhat natural-looking (still round, but not super-rounded like, for example, the shape the Panache Sienna gives me). Unfortunately if you are petite/short-waisted and thinking about trying this bra you might have issues with cutting under the arms - I am tall with a long torso, but I can tell this is cut fairly high under the armpits. I'd call these wires average in width, which suits my average-to-narrow root well.

The one unexpected effect I got from this bra is that the shape is very compact and minimised from the side! Might be workable under a button-down shirt. The one fit-related quibble I have is that the gore is a little wide-set for me, but pretty much every gore above a certain height is - my breasts are close-set higher up my body, and at their closest point probably have less than 2mm of space between them. The embroidery on this bra also appears to be a little tighter than the fabric used on the cups - there is a little wrinkling, but this isn't visible under a tight-fitting shirt. The embroidery itself is also pretty much invisible - the only part of the bra that shows through the tight-fitting shirt I wore on top for comparison is the seams of the cups.

All up, great bra! I hope Panache continues making it.
Read more
273 more words

Updated on Jan 28, 2015 Flag this

I own two Dreamcatchers at the moment, this one in the continuity Biscotti colourway and another one in the Petrol colourway. I found the two to fit similarly to the Romance I own in the same size, but this Biscotti one seemed to run slightly smaller than the Petrol. I could still wear both when I was a 32H with some adjusting of straps, so I don't think it runs small enough to need to size up if the other Dreamcatcher colourways fit all right. It's a very pretty basic bra.

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Jun 14, 2015 Flag this

I put this back on after quite a while not wearing it regularly (due to becoming more FOT and projected - when I bought this I was FOB and shallow). I expected to be horrified, but the fit is actually decent. This is possibly because it was a little big for me when I first bought it and it now accommodates my slightly bigger boobs reasonably well.

The shape I get in the Princess is actually quite nice - a rounded, lowish, teardrop sort of shape. Unlike my slightly-too-small Romances, I never saw any upside-down seven shape in this. It's also very soft ... and comfortable - I used to wear the Princess when my breasts were feeling more tender than usual, because I never seemed to feel sore during the day or when I took it off.

Appearance-wise, I really like the colour combination of the rich, Cadbury-like purple used for the detailing and the soft lilac of the cups. It's feminine without being too twee. Even though in the past my fit in their bras has been less than stellar, I've always loved the colour combinations Curvy Kate chooses for their bras. (This is in contrast to Cleo, which seems to work much better for my shape nowadays in general - but quite often, their colours and patterns are less than appealing to me.)

I'll be honest and say that I'm not wild about the look of this bra under fitted shirts. The raised polkadots are very visible, and the low, minimised, rounded shape works better (for me anyway) when trying to wear looser, flowy tops rather than anything very tight. I'd also love it if this bra provided a bit more lift and kept my boobs a little more front-and-centre - although the Princess isn't anywhere near as bad on this count as, say, my Panache Tango II or Evie strapless is.

Overall, I feel like the Princess is a solid construction for Curvy Kate and I can see why it, and Portia, are the only two of their older unpadded styles to have stayed in their current collections.
Read more
256 more words

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Apr 06, 2015 Flag this

This one wasn't quite as perfect for me as I hoped - the wires are very slightly wider than those on my Anna Pardal bras. There's not much information out there on this bra, so I hope this is helpful!

http://drbralove.com/2015/11/06/lingerie-review-abracadabra-set-by-comexim-fo...

Updated on Nov 07, 2015 Flag this

I'm rating this bra slightly lower for quality as when I first got it, some of the looped threads at the side of one strap have come out. However, I like it enough that this doesn't bother me.

This bra gives a really nice rounded shape and doesn't show a lot of cleavage without being 'a lot of bra'. For reference, I am FOB. I have it in the red-black colourway and my usual 32H appeared to be fine apart from some very minor quadboobing on my fuller side - however, I've heard from a few people that some of the older colourways ran ... a full cup smaller.

The gore doesn't quite lie flat, but this and the quadboobing are the only issues I've encountered with this bra and neither of these affect wear over the day or the appearance of the bra on me (with or without a shirt). When I first bought it the underwires cut into me a little but this seems to have softened over time. Band feels maybe slightly less tight than a standard Panache 32 but I wouldn't call this enough reason to wear a different size, and the lace overlay on the band is really lovely when so many other bras have decoration that stops at the cups.

In all, I think it's a real shame that Panache appears to have stopped making this one - it probably gives the best shape of any Panache bra I've tried.
Read more
147 more words

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Nov 04, 2014 Flag this

I know the Tango II gets a lot of hate, but I actually loved this bra when I was correctly fitted! When I was more FOB, I got a nice, uplifted shape. It wasn't the roundest shape in the world, but it wasn't overly pointy either, and I remember being so excited that my boobs actually looked perky for once. Now that I have more even fullness, I do get a little bit of flattening on the top and increased pointiness, but it's not a bra I'd be ashamed to be caught dead in. (And the degree of flattening on top is much less than ... what I get from, say, some of the Curvy Kate unlined cuts). A round shape is nice, but I've never been someone who really needs it to feel comfortable - I was perfectly okay with the Tango giving my boobs lift without shaping them too much. For some reason it gave me a completely different shape to the Tango II plunge I tried in the same size - I regretted buying the plunge because it didn't lift my boobs at all like the balconette did, it just pointed them straight at the ground.

The wire width is again something that isn't great for me now, but was really great at the start of my fitting journey when I had a lot of side tissue. I'd have to say the Tango II balconette cut is one of the most solid constructions I've tried - I actually used to go jogging in it before I bought a sports bra because I felt that little movement in it. I can't stress how much this was a life-changing experience for me - I used to literally have to hold my boobs with one arm while I was running to the bus in my illfitting 36E. I have to say that Panache makes a quality bra - from memory I used to wear this Tango pretty much constantly for about six months, and I haven't noticed appreciable stretching of the band since then. The measurements I have up are recent (June 2015) and the band still measures at a solid 32. It seems to be a pretty standard 32H, which is I think why every proper (read: not matrix) fitting room I've tried has used the Tango II for gauging a size.

I think the Tango II balconette's definitely worth a go for FOB people with some side tissue, especially if you need something that will really minimise jiggle. I did find that the leaf shapes showed up through thinner t-shirts, but this never really bothered me.
Read more
344 more words

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Jun 28, 2015 Flag this

I got this from Brastop on sale in the Boysenberry colourway. It's an attractive shade of pink (darker and more of a muted rose colour than it is in the stock photo). The detailing looks nicer in person than it does in the stock photo, and I'm happy that Flirtelle seem to be one of the few British brands trying to make padded bras up to K cup (even if I'm at a lower point on the size range). However, it didn't work for me.

As far as sizing goes, I wouldn't call this a true 32H. It fits smaller in the cups ... than the 32GG Deco Honey I bought at the same time. This is also a bra in which my breast asymmetry is really obvious. I have major quadboobing on my larger breast, but the bra fits OK on the smaller one. It appears to give a nice lifted shape on the better-fitting side - however, I've identified a problem with this bra that I think would make it very difficult to wear with full-on-top breasts. On my larger breast I have cutting in at the top - this is very rare for me since I'm so bottom-heavy, and I think is only visible because the bra is too small. The top padded section (the one with the embroidery on it) swoops back in at the top, making the bra not very open-on-top at all. In the correct size, this bra would work great for someone with FOB breasts, and the asymmetry problem could possibly be corrected by sewing in a pocket for a removable insert at the bottom (I won't bother doing this since it's too small for me - this would also depend on your degree of asymmetry. For reference, I have about half a cup difference between mine).

This bra was very soft and comfortable - the inside of the cups feels similar to the Curvy Kate Tease Me bras. The straps are fully adjustable and have only a moderate degree of stretch (much less stretchy than the CK Tease Mes - about on par with the CK unpadded balconettes). The band appears to be fairly stretchy. This didn't bother me when I tried it on, but someone who requires a firmer band might want to size down. The cups are narrower and deeper than most CK, but not as deep as the Smoothie I tried - bear in mind this is a bit of a guess as the bra runs somewhat small. Wire comfort was fine, however the gore didn't tack - although I'll stress that this may not be a problem for everyone, as I have close-set breasts that get closer together further up my sternum. Gore height seemed to be about average.

Conclusion: This bra has a stretchy band and runs small in the cup. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone FOT and would suggest those with FOB breasts size up in the cup and down in the band if required for personal preference. Not the best choice for those with half a cup or greater difference between breasts. Otherwise, the bra feels comfortable and of reasonably high quality considering the price point of Flirtelle. I also appear to be the first person to have added the Anneliese to Bratabase, so I would be happy to respond to messages with specific questions about the bra. Finally, I will be listing this bra.
Read more
489 more words

Boysenberry colorway

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Nov 27, 2014 Flag this