This is the long story about two of the bras from Curvy Kate that have been out there for quite a while, the Tease Me and the Thrill Me. If you just are looking for some sizing info you can scroll down to that part.

The History

From the start Curvy Kate have chosen to have the Showgirl range a part of the their collection, which is just as colourful as the rest of the collection but with a more boudoir feeling to it. In the first collection, the Autumn/Winter 2009 both Thrill Me and Tease where there, two bras that still is available and by now have been manufactured in many many colours.

Tease Me is the padded seamed half cup balcony bra with a sheer lace overlay, that until this season always have been in black but with different bold colours underneath that show through and give these Curvy Kate bras their signature touch of colour and fun. This style have not changed at all from the start, which makes it easy to just pick up another colour if you already have one that fits you.

Thrill Me is a whole other story. In the first collection, Autumn/Winter 2009, there were two colour variations, the charcoal/pink and the navy/lime. Both of these had thinner padding than the Tease Me and with a mesh overlay in the same colour as the padding fabric underneath. They shape was also a bit different. These first Thrill Me was a lot more open in the cup and slightly deeper also, which for some people meant downsizing in this bra compared to Tease Me.

In the Spring/Summer collection of 2010 Tease Me came in two different colour variations, black/coral and black/lemon. At the same time three variations of Thrill Me was released, this time in black/white, ivory/black and fuchsia/orange. These three were dramatically different from the version just a season ago. The outer fabric was now a satin fabric, not a mesh, and the padding was a bit thicker, more equal to the one in Tease Me. This also made the cup less flexible and less able to adapt to the shape, but at the same time, at least in my opinion more supportive. From the ones I have tried this style is still slightly more opened in the cup, just like the first.

When it was time for the next collection, the Autumn/Winter collection the same year, another two colours emerged in Tease Me, black/purple and black/emerald, while the black/white stayed in the Thrill Me together with two new variations, the cobalt/fuchsia and the wine/navy. However, this season the Thrill Me had undergone another make-over. The wire size had from the last season gone down a size, and was now comparable to Tease Me. A 28HH ivory/black from last season was the same size as a 28J wine/navy from this season. The cups had become less open in the top too, and was suddenly right on track with the Tease Me. Still there were some variations due to the different fabrics but the cut more or less became the same.

After that many more colours have been released. Thrill Me got peach/plum and azure/plum in the Spring/Summer Collection last year, 2011, while Tease Me got black/almond and black/pink. In the Autumn/Winter Collection the same year two new colours of each was released again, the grape/jade and the jade/fuchsia in Thrill Me and the black/silver and the black/wine in Tease Me. Though no changes have been made during this time from what I can see there have still been invention going on with new styles instead.

This season a white/blue Thrill Me was supposed to be released but was said to be withdrawn. It can still be found at one of the official Curvy Kate retailers though and in the catalogue. Next season the Thrill Me sadly have taken a break but the Tease Me is still there, for the second season without any black, but in a cherry/blush colour scheme. This seasons Tease Me is in ivory/pink and in blue/ivory, which also is a bit lighter than the earlier seasons.

What This Actually Means When Choosing Size

First, the Showgirl range is known from being big in the band compared to the rest of the unpadded Curvy Kate collection. This means that you may need to downsize in the band. However, the point here is that the cup sizing for Thrill Me depends a lot on which collection that bra is from. The five first versions (charcoal/pink, navy/lime, black/white, fuchsia/orange and ivory/black) are all about a cup size larger than the newer, which basicly is the rest. The newer is also very similar in size as the Tease Me. This means that if you find one of the older bras, they are still out there, you might want to go down a cup size from your usual Thrill Me/Tease Me size. It could also be good to know that the two first Thrill Me's (charcoal/pink and navy/lime) are also different in the shape of the cup, with more depth and a more opened top edge, which might be good for some, and less good for others.