I tried the Cleo Lily on a whim. I'd sized myself at a 26C/26D, and except for The Little Bra Company's sizing running weirdly small, I'd figured I probably fit best into a B or C cup when trying a 28 band. But the Lily was on sale, and I wanted to know if I truly was sized out of this brand, with its adorable prints and bright colors.
I may not be!
It's not ideal, though. While it fits half of me fairly well... it is glaringly troublesome for the other half. My unevenness hasn't been an issue with the other bras I've tried and kept, but it is ... with this one. I may end up altering it. My bigger left breast fills the cup quite well. There's no real crumpling of the fabric anywhere, I like that the wires are wide enough to encompass my shallower breast tissue at the sides, and the fairly closed top of the cup, surprisingly, neither cuts in nor encompasses a bunch of empty space. There is a little bit unfilled along the diagonal seam, but it's a mostly smooth line along the top, and even with my shoulders hunched, the left cup doesn't have a ton of gapping. Again, it's not perfect, but it's pretty close for that cup. The right breast is a different story. The outside of the cup is filled alright, but there's a lot of wrinkling next to the gore, all the way up to the top of the cup. Because of this, there's also a fair amount of gapping. If I tuck the excess fabric along the underwire and gore, the cup fits much better. Ordinarily, gapping doesn't really bother me (I wore 34A bras; I'm accustomed to that), but because of the unlined cups, it's vaguely irritating. The somewhat rough mesh doesn't feel great crumpled against my breast tissue, and it's hard to ignore. I have some soft foamy inserts I borrowed from my TLBC Sascha, but I can't seem to position one in a way that alleviates the issue.
Beyond my cup problems, the bra fits fine. The band is tight enough for me, the shoulder straps are good, and the gore is comfortable.
As far as the bra itself goes, I quite like it. I do wish the cups were lined, but it's comfortable for half of me. The swan print is adorable and I love the touches of green. The band is stretchier than the other brands I've tried, but it's still good. It gives me a nice round shape.
Read more
Updated on May 14, 2015 Flag this
Just a note, I think this bra and many others will fit you better if you would scoop and swoop your breast into the cup. I can clearly see breast tissue under your armpit in these pictures. Just take your hand around your back and pull all your tissue up and into the cup. You will fill it out much better, if not overfill the cup.