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The Chantelle Everyday Lace Wireless Bra was a random item I picked up at Nordstrom Rack while looking for something with a little more coverage than a standard bralette. This style is a bit of a hybrid between a soft cup bra and a bralette, as it has more true bra construction than a regular bralette, but less cup construction than a real soft cup bra. Surprisingly, I found this to be one of the most successful hybrid styles I've tried, and is also probably the only racerback style that I can wear comfortably without putting too much pressure on my shoulder muscles. I have ... been wearing the original Blush Pink colorway for about a year now, and decided to pick up another in Raspberry as I quite enjoy it!
The band on this style is meant to fit rather like a standard bra band, and is made of wide, plain elastic. The measurement on this band indicates that it is basically equivalent to a 30 band, which makes sense as Chantelle's size range starts at a 30. Since I am a 28 band, it is not quite tight on me to be considered snug, but is firm enough to be supportive. The back construction is very unusual as this combines a racerback with a standard back closure without having a J hook. The band itself opens normally, but the beautiful floral mesh lace wings actually come up and cross over to create the racerback panel, so you do end up slipping this bra over the head. However, the band closure means it is infinitely more comfortable to put on than a standard pullover bra, so I'm not complaining. The additional back coverage helps the band feel more secure. Furthermore, the band even comes with four rows of hooks!
The racerback portion on this bra is adjustable, which is a huge plus. I suspect the adjustable racerback and the soft lace used to create the wings and racerback are the reason why this doesn't cause me pain. Almost every racerback I try ends up sitting on my levator scapulae muscles and causes pressure that turns into pain after a few minutes. I think the design of this is fantastic and this is the only racerback in my collection that I can actually wear!
The cups are designed as a modified triangle cup with lace overlay over foam cups. The foam cups have a center vertical seam as is standard, but also have a second vertical seam closer to the gore. I think this construction works well to provide more projection than is standard in molded cups and in triangle cups in particular, but the only downside is that the seam creates a pointier shape. Under clothing, this can be visible, so I don't tend to wear this out of the house with thin clothing. I think that a full vertical seam would be able to keep the projection but create a more rounded shape under clothing. Size-wise, this fit me well when I was a 28DD and still fits me well at 28E. I think this would comfortably fit up to 28F/30E, so I'd say that size S is good for 28DD/E/F or 30D/DD/E. No, this won't be suitable for a full bust, but it's still pretty amazing to find a bralette that is designed for larger than B/C cups and actually provides adequate support!
My only gripe with this bra is that I do not like the overlocked seam connecting the cups to the band. None of the seams feel scratchy or uncomfortable at first, but after wearing for some period of time, I find that this particular seam ends up pinching or chafing me right in the IMF. Since we are used to underwire bras being constructed with soft, padded fabric at the wire channel, I think this bra would benefit from additional finishing at the band/cup seam to ensure comfort. Despite this, it's still a lovely bra, with beautiful floral mesh lace and much better shaping than a standard bralette. Definitely give this one a try if you don't typically have luck with bras like this if the sizing suits your size range!
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Raspberry colorway
Updated on May 17, 2020 Flag this