I've wanted to give Bravissimo another whirl, and with all these cute new fabrics, now seems the perfect time. I LOVE this bra! The support and shape are stellar -- comfortable underwires, and perfectly (but not overly) round shape. I had some slight wrinkling, particularly on my smaller breast when I first tried it on, but it's gone after wash and wear. My only gripe was that the wires at the gore dug in my sternum the first time I wore this, but I've found that to be true with all of the Bravissimo bras I've tried. After bending them out a bit, the issue is gone. Once ...this was resolved, this bra is astoundingly comfortable. The cups are made of a thick and sturdy material, so there's no headlights coming through, and support is great. This bra feels like a nice big boob hug of support, which I generally only get in my EM padded bras. The print is a good compromise of cutesy -- definitely not what I'd call sexy, but also not knocking on To Catch a Predator levels of cutesy. I really like the touch of bright lace to bring in the, 'yes, I am an adult' factor to this print.
Size wise, this is perfect for where I am now in both band and cup. I seem to be somewhere between 32GG/H and 34G/GG. In my order, I tried two of their padded plunges, both in 34H, and one was much too big and the other was mostly 'meh', so I exchanged them for 2 more of the non-padded plunges. I've read Starburst in particular runs large, but the customer service rep I spoke to about sizing claimed all of their non-padded plunges were cut from the same pattern, so they should all, in theory, be sized the same. I love the wide band and 3 hook fastening, and that this doesn't cut into my FoT tissue at all. The wires are a bit wide, but that somehow magically doesn't impact shape much, if at all. Overall, can't recommend this enough for those who love plunges! Read more 243 more words
This bra is a second-generation Inspire, released in 2013. It is supposed to be the same as the original Inspire but with the slider on the straps corrected.
In addition to this bra, I tried the 32H and the 36G. I wrote a description of the bra itself as part of the review for the 36G: http://bra.pe/RCH5/ so I won't go over the same material but will instead just talk about how this bra fits me.
The straps do adjust short enough, but I have them as short as possible already. The wire width is fairly good for me but I do have some wrinkling ...in the bottom of the cups, most likely due to the bra not having as much immediate projection as I require. The fit in the cups is pretty much the same as what I got from the 32H and the 36G. Here is a comparison with the 32H: http://www.bratabase.com/compare/dhnz7/
The bra gives a much better shape than I would expect from a sports bra. Maybe it is a little bit torpedo, but it's quite lifted. I don't expect to look good while I'm working out, but it's nice to have a slightly less hideous shape from a sports bra. From the side, it actually looks like a normal bra. I've taken pictures wearing a white t-shirt and the 32H bra: http://www.bratabase.com/browse/bravissimo/inspire-sports-au27/32H/
The bra does not go high enough to contain the upper part of my breast. You only see a hint that the top is cutting into breast tissue unless I lift my breasts up with my hands, as I have done in one of the pictures, when the tissue becomes visible. In a filmed bounce test, I found the bra quite good when I was jumping, much better than any other bra I have tried. If all my breast tissue were contained it would be perfect, but instead I have about 4 cm of breast tissue 'quadboob' bouncing above the top of the cup. For any woman with tall breasts this will probably be an issue. The tissue at the top of my breasts is not very thick, so you can only slightly see the top cutting in. In the picture I've included, I am lifting up the bra slightly to demonstrate what breast tissue bounces in the bra. It looks like this at the upward part of my bounce test.
Some of my breast tissue also escapes into the armpit. I think this is due to cut. I have the old version of the Inspire bra in one cup size larger and I do not think a larger size helps contain either the top or the side breast that is escaping. I would go with your usual cup size in this bra. For the band size I would round down rather than up, but not go down a size.
Despite the problems I have with this bra, it is by far the best sports bra I have tried. Here are my other sports bra reviews.
If I could get the coverage of the Panache (which goes up to my collarbone and gets all the side tissue) with the support of the Inspire, I think I'd be completely satisfied!
Branarchist - When it's approved, this review includes a picture of a sports bra cutting into my top 'tail'. Is this similar to what you have?
prettyNpetite - Maybe this sports bra would work for you? We do have different shapes, so maybe not, but like you, I've tried just about everything else.
Thank you for pinging me! Excellent review, very helpful! I'm getting more and more into the thought of ordering the Bravissimo Inspire and trying it out. Usually I think that it's best to order several sizes at once just to try it on, but since you said that you should rather round down than up in this... Maybe a 28F would be a fairly safe bet? I'm somewhere between a 28F and a 28FF, it seems to vary quite evenly. I would say though... I'm much closer to a 28F than a 28G. I am very hesitant that it'll be high enough for me because my boobs attach *very* high up. They don't even attach under my collarbones, they attach ON IT. They're actually so high up that I catch people's glimpses when I'm leaning back in the chair at school and looking down at my cellphone screen, it looks like a head rest, lol. The very best would be finding a bra that's tall enough to begin with, but I'm opening up to the thought that I'll have to complement a normal supportive sports bra with a smash-down crop top, crop tops aren't very supportive for the majority of the breast tissue as it's relatively heavy, but for the last top bit bouncing around... I'm thinking it could work :) It feels kinda bad though that I'll have to resort to that... There should be sports bras specifically aimed for those who need ultra-high coverage too.
prettyNpetite - I would round down on the band if you can, and go with your usual cup size.
I can already say that the straps will be too long for you. They widen over the shoulders, so there is a limited range of adjustment. I've got them as short as possible and they just fit me. My breasts start somewhat low but go up all the way to my collarbone, so I probably need much longer straps than you do despite being close to your height. I expect if your breasts are tall you'll have the same issues with the top bit of tissue bouncing. For me it is better to have 6 cm of thin tissue bouncing than my entire breast bouncing, which is what happens to me in other sports bras. When my pictures are approved, look at the one I took of my collarbone.
I'm wondering if I could bandage down the top of my breast tissue. It is a shame that sports bras aren't made for those of us with tall breasts. The Panache bra is the only one I know of that goes all the way up on me, but I get too much bounce in it. I already asked Bravissimo to make the Inspire higher several times, but I'm only one person.
I mostly recommended this because it holds me almost motionless and none of the other standbys did (at least for the tissue that fits in the cup). So in some way it is different from many of the others, and if you're in luck, maybe it will be different in a way that works for you.
I don't quite get what you mean by "My breasts start somewhat low but go up all the way to my collarbone" ? Kinda contradicting. Hmm... Do you mean that you lack fullness in the upper part of your breast tissue, but that you still would like higher coverage since you do have upper tissue that isn't being contained? Here's a picture for comparison, me in the Panache sports bra in 28F: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AQrkop138bg/UUDinyIPhxI/AAAAAAAAAKM/mKahYJvsyFg/s1600/Bild+2013-03-06+kl.+00.02.jpg
Quite obviously, the breast tissue I have on top is firm. It is by no means soft or saggy. Of course they don't *look* that firm when braless, gravity plays a great deal. Here's two outlines of myself when braless: http://imgur.com/a/dMzhe#0 like you can see, my boobs are very perky, and that in combination with the fact that my boobs attach on my collarbones... Yeah, that explains the severity of my problem with too low necklines in sports bras. Would you say that your top tissue is different from mine or is this the kinda degree of top overflow you get as well?
Thanks for the heads up about the too long straps. How tall are you btw? I'm 5 feet (152 cm), could be interesting to know when I see you reviewing new bras :)
I wasn't very clear at all - I was starting at the bottom and working up. So: the bulk of my breast tissue is fairly low, but my breasts continue quite a bit above where they appear to end. I have about 12 cm of obviously projected breast, and then above that another 6 cm or so that looks flat but is actually breast tissue. It's not a problem in regular bras, and I even wear FoB style bras without getting quadboob, but it becomes a problem in sports bras.
The Panache went higher on me. It just didn't work for other reasons. Looking at you in the Panache, there's no way the Inspire will hold in the top of your breasts. I would only suggest you try it if the other bras are also failing you on bounce.
I'm 160 cm, but I rarely have the typical issues that shorter people have with bras, probably because they are low set (or at least appear low set, if you discount the top 1/3).
Branarchist and I have been discussing this in a few of her adventures. I need to do a drawing of my shape to make it easier to discuss. I think I have less upper fullness than you do, though.
:( ... *sad face* I don't know what to do :( I need a friggin' sports bra! And I need a bra that contains my upper tissue as well because it hurts! :( I've tried the Freya Active in 30D, 30DD and 28DD, obviously the wrong sizes, but they didn't seem catastrophically low cut... I'm guessing the Inspire is cut higher than the Freya. I'm thinking about getting a sports bra that fits the majority of my boobs and then wear a really smushing crop top on top. I'm hoping that'll work... It's hard to find a crop top that fits though, I need a much larger size to accomodate my chest and then it doesn't even come close to hugging my ribs. Do you think it'd be possible to alter one of those crop tops? Take out the elastic in the bottom, cut it shorter and sew it back?
I'm absolutely not a seamstress, but I was also thinking of making a sort of 'cami' that could attach to the straps of a sports bra, which would be made of tight elastic to press on the breast tissue on top.
That's a clever idea too actually, if you just want to wear one bra. Could work great and actually look quite well if you get a fabric with the same color.
I'm still thinking about doing it the way I said it because that way I'd probably eliminate any chances of nipples poking through :) Great alternative though, I'll keep that in mind if I get fed up with wearing two bras at once.
Pictures have been approved, so you can now see the bit of top breast I'm talking about in the pictures for this bra.
Yeah I saw that. It seems to me that my boobs are relatively taller than yours. Yikes, I'm starting to wonder if I'm the woman with the most relatively high-set boobs haha
on Bratabase, that is.
I'm going to move this to an adventure - I think people may get bored otherwise, when they come here some time in the future!
I absolutely love this bra. It’s hands down one of the most comfortable bras I’ve ever owned. The fabric is so soft and buttery, and I barely notice the underwires. I don’t normally like for my bras to show, but the detailing on the back is so pretty that I feel comfortable wearing it under tank tops when going out. It’s perfect for low V neck tops. It’s pretty smooth under clothing, so I often wear it as one of my day to day bras due to how comfortable it is.
The bra also gives me a fantastic shape. For reference, my breasts have changed recently due to ...weight loss, but I’m relatively round to tear drop shaped, fairly even vertical fullness (depends on the type of support), a bit center full, and projected. To be honest, I probably had more cleavage in this bra than I should because of being center full, but I personally don’t mind that at all and sometimes actually prefer it. My breasts were firmer before my weight loss, but I hope it will work well with my softer tissue once I buy a replacement in my new size.
The only nitpick I have is the difficulty in fastening the clasp for the halter neck. Bravissimo recommends fastening the clip first, pulling it over your head, then do up the hooks behind your back. Perhaps I’m just clumsy, but I’m not great at hooking any bras behind my back as my hands usually cramp. This bra’s band is soft but has 4 hooks for cup size GG. I’ve just practiced so that I’m able to fasten the clasp relatively consistently behind my neck, which seems easier on my hands. Others more deft than I will likely not find this an issue at all.
Once you have it on, it’s very comfortable, and it’s nice not having to worry about my straps sliding down. I am 5’5”, and the strap and racerback lengths were no problem at all - it fit me perfectly right out of the box. The clip sits just below the base of my neck, and I don’t notice any uncomfortable pressure even after hours of wearing it. I quickly forget it’s even there.
Overall, this is one of my favorite bras. I hate having to indicate “didn’t fit,” but 34GG is simply too big for me now. I’ll definitely be buying it in a bunch of smaller sizes to test, and I really hope it works well for me again. I’ll report back later! Read more 314 more words
Really pretty bra, quite pointy (but not ridiculously so!) Didn't really fit properly for me, gore wouldn't tack completely, and there was some wrinkling in the top of the cup. This was the first Bravissimo bra I bought, and was quite impressed with the quality. However, when I was wearing it last week, the wire at the gore popped out! Due to the above fit issues, I haven't bothered to try to fix it, so I no longer own this bra.
God I LOVE this bra. Gives that beautiful shelf 'wentch' look. The only issue with it is it looks *massive* when you're not wearing it - quite a shock when you take it out of the packaging. So so comfy, can wear all day long without an issue. The fit problems I have are because I've lost 2 stone now, so my boobs have sadly deflated a bit as well as the back now being a bit big. Before I lost the weight it was my perfect perfect bra.
I have tried this shape in a size 34GG, a 32H and a 34HH. They all have the same problem for me, regardless of size. In a 32H, which was the closest fit, I got an extremely pointy shape and there was loose fabric where the meshy part meets the satin part. It was really nice in the bottom of the cup. But the middle was too loose and very pointy. At the same time the top of the cup cut in to my breast. So it was too big in some places and too small in others. In the biggest size I tried I managed to not ...have quadbood. I filled the meshy part alright, and somewhat the bottom part, but the middle part of the cup, where the seams meet, I could pull out 6 cm. of loose fabric (so that's actually 12 cm, since it lays double of course). So this is definately a shape I can get to work for me. I think it's better if your breasts aren't full on top. (which I from this guess that mine must be..) Read more 77 more words
Branarchist - When it's approved, this review includes a picture of a sports bra cutting into my top 'tail'. Is this similar to what you have?
prettyNpetite - Maybe this sports bra would work for you? We do have different shapes, so maybe not, but like you, I've tried just about everything else.