Acquired in Dec 2016, this white Alana was my first ever free bra from Bravissimo and is the 2nd of 2 white Alana's that I own. At the time of the purchase of my first white Alana in 40L in late 2015, Bravissimo was enduring a controversy relating to wires popping out of their channels prematurely. I was so thrilled with the fit and comfort of my initial purchases that I decided to double up on my Alana orders with the expectation that I too would have to deal with the wire issue. I have never had a wire pop out on any of my Alana's. Or of any other Bravissimo bra I have. I hand wash all my bras regardless of brand so that may have contributed to my success with the Alana. The wires of all my Alana's end at least 1/4 to 1/2 inch away from the top of the side channel while they do reach the top of the channel in the gore.
One inconsistency I have noticed between different colorways is the softness of the hook and eye materials. Some, like the Papaya's I purchased in 2017 are very soft and luxurious while others, like both of my white Alana's are also soft to the touch but a little less so than the papaya's but a lot softer than the rest of the colors I have.
If you don't mind a tendency to a cakes on a plate look, the Alana may become a staple for you as it is for me. Through the course of time, I have noticed that my Alana's tend to initially have the cakes on a plate look but will soften and become a rounder shape with frequent use. As good as that may sound, it's the result of s slight decrease in cup support which I do notice but doesn't bother me too much. This white Alana does not do a very good job of masking my nipples though so I tend to wear a camisole or add additional layers of clothing or if I have to, nipple covers, to compensate.
I recently purchased the lilac/lemon version which has different straps that tend to roll up and dig in. That feels like a step backwards for Bravissimo and I hope future white Alana's I buy retain the quality of the 2 I own so far.

Sep 2020
I thought it would be interesting to compare my original measurement data for this bra to what they are today.

.......................................... original / current / difference
band length un-stretched..... 33.50 / 33.50 / 0.00
band length stretched........... 41.00 / 42.00 / 1.00
cup depth.............................. 18.00 / 19.00 / 1.00
cup height............................. 14.50 / 16.00 / 1.50

The 0.00 inch change seems unusual as I would have expected some shrinkage with 50+ hand washings.
The 1.00 inch increase in stretched band length is not overly surprising.
The 1.00 inch increase in cup depth is very surprising.
The 1.50 increase in cup height is extremely surprising.

These results lead me to wonder whether Bravissimo deserves its reputation of being small in the cup and a buyer thus needing to size up. Yes, a bra will initially feel small/tight but will it expand with break-in? I plan to explore this further.

Note: I do not use the cup over knee technique to measure cup depth as I think a more meaningful and relative data point is when a cup is occupied by ones breast. I think it makes sense that depending on bra style, bra cup dimensions can also vary during the life of a bra. Also, the cup over knee technique does not take into account the distance and hence volume I gain from a floating gore. With this white Alana, I have 4 inches of floating gore today, I did not record this measurement in my original review.

white colorway

Updated on Sep 11, 2020 Flag this

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