So...the highly anticipated Curvy Kate full figure bra....has a lot of problems. There are also some really great things about it. It is a complicated bra. Let’s dive in.

First, the materials are super soft in the hands, really nice feeling. Nothing is hard or scratchy. Neither the band elastic nor the strap elastic has any nasty plasticky loops that are so common on Curvy Kate bras. The bra is lined with a firm but lightweight tulle on bottom and the same mesh as the band on top, under the lace, so there’s no internal quadboob anywhere. The design is a pretty typical 4 part cup where one part is a power bar up to the strap. The shape is more of a high apex plunge than a balconnet, although the gore is a similar height to a balconnet I have in the same size- this is not shown in the numbers, however, because while the wires match up, the gores overlapping A shaped bottom shortens the gore at the bottom. This is possibly my favorite part of the bra and others with high stomachs will love this. Most of my bras cut in at the bottom of the gore so I might be doing a new alteration on my bras from here on out.

The general shape of the bra is good. There is finally enough center and top room and the shape is right for me. The stretch lace is nice and firm. The higher strap attachment in theory allows more centered straps. The cup is plenty deep at the center and deepest part. The gore is not too tall or wide.

There are two main problems with this bra:
1. The bra fits about 1-2 cups bigger than other Curvy Kates I own or have tried in 40JJ. It is both much wider and deeper. I wonder if there is vanity sizing going on, or an actual fit problem, as described below.
2. The bra materials, besides those mentioned, are pretty problematic:

The wires are probably the worst part of the bra. They are the most flexible I've ever experienced. Combined with a firm band, they stretch back to my back. If I stretch the bra at all they begin flexing back. This may be intentional- when I hook the bra on the tightest hooks, they are really at my back, but the front of the bra is fairly smooth and fits pretty well. The sides of the bra don't gap as much. But the straps are then pulled too wide. The wires are also too short for the bra, causing a lot of gapping and loose floppy material at the top of the cup edge, which is exacerbated by the cup edge elastic being incorrectly sewed without stretching it enough. The wires actually end before the comfort cushion part, which means that the cushion does nothing. However, I will say that I can imagine the cushion would be really excellent protection for the chubbier-sided bra wearer. Certainly I can see its benefit for me.

The overlay fabric is likewise terrible. It is very stretchy and loose, and because it doesn't match the tension of the non-stretch tulle lining there are a lot of sewing errors and a ton of strange wrinkles. If I were to keep the bra, I would remove this layer of fabric as it does literally nothing except cause problems.

The straps are not great either. Although I love how wide and soft they are, they are a little too stretchy. I have to shorten them very short indeed to get any lift at all.

I want to compare this bra to my 40JJ - Curvy Kate » Curvy Kate Poppy Balcony Bra (CK10011) and my 40J - Curvy Kate » Dragonfly Plunge Bra (SG5411) , both of which are really excellent fits and pretty great feats of engineering in my mind, to say nothing of their beauty. Curvy Kate can make a really good bra when they spend the time and effort to engineer a good fit. This bra falls short, but there are concepts and qualities that can be improved on. My hope is that, with feedback, Curvy Kate can create something spectacular for the larger band + cup size that marries the elegance and excellent fit of their last season's best bras and the ingenuity and promise of this one.

As I typically switch out bra wires anyway, I almost want to try this bra in a 40J and change the wires, cut off the top fabric, and take in the sides where they gap if needed. Maybe when it goes on sale, or is sold used somewhere I could try it. It has a lot of potential, even if I would never recommend it for anyone to try off the rack.

Latte colorway

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Feb 23, 2019 Flag this

• Show all comments (17)
• 2

  I can't believe those looks are an intentional design decision. Looks like they didn't test it :|

• 2

  Oh no! The promo descriptive photo made it look so promising. Sorry it falls so short of the expectations. :-(

  I love how you can still find the positive gems within the bra, and do hope you get the opportunity to try the 40J soon.

• 5

  I'm looking at insta pictures of it, and on all the bigger cup sizes the models have their arms down and their hair in the way, hiding the sides. This may be a case of, tested well in smaller cup or band sizes, not tested at the top of the size spectrum. Also, there may be sewing errors. I don't know.

• 1

  So frustrating when they "hide" the details. ......

• Wow, this bra is a mess!

• 3

  Uhhh those wires. That canNOT be on purpose. Somebody done fucked up.

• 1

  OMG those must be wires made of pudding… why oh whyyy.

• Oh wow :|

• Wow, that is seriously a mess. Not a well designed bra at all, sadly. The idea of this bra is great, the result though...

• I was looking forward to this review because the whole concept behind it sounded really good... But wow... hopefully they'll get enough feedback to rework it so it actually works in the range of cup sizes they offer

• I had the same side gaping issue with CK padded bikinis tops, must be a CK grading thing in big cups or because the straps are more centered, there is too much fabric there? I wonder how it would fit if it had decent wires, I hope you can get 40J for cheap sale price and do some alternations and bra science with it...

• I don’t get this in other bras of theirs but you’re right, one of the bikinis I have from them did the same thing.

• Have you considered emailing them to show them how horrible the fit is?

• 1

  Wow. WOW. Mine came in today in 34J, so we shall see...

• Can’t wait! I hope yours is good! Maybe mine is a lemon.

• 1

  So yeah, I just tried it on real quick. I will try and do a proper review in a separate post tomorrow, but here are a few things to note:

  I have the same colorway in a 34J.

  The cushion pads do overlap the underwire by maybe 1/4 of an inch. Not much, but enough to relieve pressure imo. I'd say that's a scaling issue on CK's part (as usual).

  I get the same weird side gaping, but I often have extra fabric there because my breasts are so center-full. There's definitely a lot of it, however, more than I'd expect. I wonder if part of the issue there is because the bra doesn't really have side wings. You know how normally it goes cup/underwire, a little piece of fabric, a seam and then the band? This bra goes straight from cup/underwire to the band. Where I have that extra fabric is about where a side wing might be, but the bra is expecting breast tissue. Maybe a better fit for someone with a lot of side tissue, idk.

  I absolutely get the same wire issue as you do. They're just barely not on my back.

  Despite all that I don't totally hate this bra. I'm gonna play around with it and redo the measurements tomorrow.

• triumphof I know, right? There are problems but it’s still got a lot that’s good!

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