The long awaited Cleo Riley is here! Riley is a new, slightly modified version of the Cleo Maddie moulded halfcup bra.
It's the navy-pink colorway - the main color is a classy dark navy and there are some pink accents. I like that!
The fabric is really soft and smooth and the bra appears to be really well-made and comfortable.
Now, let's talk a little about differences and similarities between Riley and Maddie.
What I like most about Riley is that it has an U-back (or leotard back) instead of a straight back like Maddie. I feel that bras with an U-back fit more comfortably and the band is less prone ... to cut in or move around.
The band runs tight, a little tighter than the solid-colored Maddie and about 1 band size tighter than the older, animal print Maddie. It runs very tight for a 30, so you might want to size up for comfort. (Note: The fact that darker colored bras that run tighter is well-observed in the bra fitting community. If Cleo ever released a brightly-colored Riley version, band fit is likely to vary.)
The cups are similar in Maddie and Riley, molded and in a slight 'sweetheart' shape - the center gore is a little lower than the side wings. The gore fits comfortably and is not digging in.
However, as opposed to the Maddie, Riley runs very closed on top. On the plus side, this means the bra is less visible under a T-shirt. The solid colored Maddie had a very pronounced rim, which was often complained about by people with bottom-heavy boobs.
For my part, this has never been an issue for me. My boobs are quite high-rooted and evenly full at the bottom and on top, and the rim cuts into my roots. At the same time, the cups are gaping a little at the center gore, which indicates that the bra is slightly to big or it just requires more center fulness than I have. (I cannot size down, because it's already cutting in at the outer sides.)
Apart from that, the cups size appear to be on the smaller side, running about 1/2 - 3/4 cups small in my opinion. This is another similarity to Maddie, which is also known to run small. (This is of course dependent on my boob shape, so YMMV.)
tl;dr: If you are bottom-heavy and the solid-colored Maddie always gapped on you, Riley might be a good bra to try out. If you're even-shaped or top-heavy, better stick with Maddie and its open cups.
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Navy/pink colorway
This bra is not owned any more
Updated on Mar 25, 2016 Flag this
Thanks for this review! I always appreciate first looks at new season styles and cuts. I've been wondering how Riley would fit in comparison to Maddie. I used to be FoT, but Maddie didn't work for my short roots, and now I'm more even, so I'll keep an eye out for Riley.