Hettie is a bra that I fell in love with the moment it was first announced last year, but was wary about, due to all of the conflicting info about what cut it'd be the most like. As a result, I missed out on the cobalt blue one, only to learn that it should be almost perfect for my shape. Sigh.
My shape: very narrow, very projected, very short roots. I need all of the space imaginable near the wire. UK bras generally cannot accommodate my shape well. Hettie doesn't do so perfectly, but it does do a damn admirable job at it, enough where I'm putting it ...at my best UK fit.
The bra itself is gorgeous, and the quality of the materials is surprising for a Cleo bra. The inner lining is very soft, not scratchy at all. The outer mesh is very smooth and shows just enough of the hot pink to make this lovely deep magenta color. The straps are lined with a thick, fleecy material. The stretch lace on the top has a subtle but pretty pattern that reminds me of crochet. The metal hardware is the same hot pink of the lining, and the bow on the gore is black and hot pink. All in all, it creates a very striking look, and is very comfortable to wear. It also looks a lot more grown-up than most of Cleo's offerings, and that's with it being hot pink!
The fit on me is not 100% perfect. I'm disappointed that Hettie wound up being wider than I had expected. That said, basically every UK bra is too wide for me, so I don't really count it as a huge deal. The gore is just a bit too wide and sits on breast tissue; I may narrow that at some point. While the cups are very closed in on top (excellent for me!), I do get a bit of gaping in the top near the gore. Not enough to be visible through a shirt or for me to really care, but it's there. Again, something I can probably alter to fix. The band is surprisingly stretchy for a Cleo band, but not enough where I'd want to size down. It still feels nice and snug once on, on the loosest hooks.
It does, however, sit in my IMF. I cannot stress how big this is for me enough - I have an extremely hard time finding bras that can do that, due to the fact that my boobs just demand *so much* room at the bottom of the cup for them. No UK bra I've tried, not even my precious Elomi Etta which was, previously, my best UK fit, can do that. Only my Comexim 3HCs can reliably stay in place. But Hettie can do it. And Hettie will stay there all damn day. I am incredibly impressed. And that makes me willing to ignore all of the other minor fit issues and decide this to be my best UK fit.
The shape is a bit on the pointy side, especially on my smaller breast. But I'm not surprised by or disappointed by this; I've seen the bra described as a mix between Envy and Jasmine, so I expected some pointiness. This is also a description that I'd say is 100% accurate - it's got the bottom depth of Envy with the shape of Jasmine, just compressed into a shorter area. I could probably get a more rounded shape if I sized down a cup but...ehh. It's not terribly important to me.
The one thing that bugs me about it is the lining and elastic on the stretch lace that's present in the GG+ cups, and hence in this one. I feel like it's probably unnecessary (I say as someone at the top of Cleo's size range), and that without it the top of the cup could probably conform to my shape better. It also hides the pattern on the lace. But, ehh. It's not a dealbreaker. It's just a small annoyance. Also, as ever, I wish that Cleo would do three-hook enclosures in larger cup sizes, but two still works okay.
Basically - love this bra. Read more 590 more words
Wow that bra really holds you up! The colorway is super vibrant too.
Hettie... well Cleo, really, hasn't been on my radar because the 2 hook aspect really turns me off. It was one of my biggest annoyances with Freya Deco, as well. I'm in your camp; 3 hooks feels more secure! I'm a big fan of Jasmine and Envy tho', so if a Hettie colorway excites me I know it's probably a good bet. Thanks for the review. :]
It looks great on you! I'm looking forward to the spring release (greenish/teal) and I'm probably going to get one and cut the elastic away. This also makes me wonder if I'm less short rooted than I originally thought.
I think this is just reeaaally closed off on top and I'm unusually short, haha. Bardot also wasn't quite short enough for me. I also don't have as much inner fullness near the top of my breasts even though I'm pretty close-set.
I so need that spring colorway, the dark teal and purple just work so well together and those are my two favorite colors.
bliz - the lack of three hooks is annoying but I do feel like it doesn't make much of a difference; it's still comfy and supportive. I'd just love for it to have an extra hook for the band to be a bit wider!
It looks great on you and that color is fantastic!
Amazing on you!!!!
So glad it works for you <3 and appreciate your thoughts! I don't think this bra is *quite* right for me but I might be swayed by sales or the spring colorway!
Cleo's supposed to have fairly wide wires and Lucy good for FOB shapes, so I decided to give it a go. I think I'm pretty happy with it.
I did not expect the fabric to be as thin as it is, though. Maybe it's just because it's white, but it's VERY thin. I can see my nipples pretty clearly through the material, and they are not much darker than the rest of my skin. It doesn't bother me much, but still, that was slightly unexpected.
Aside from that - the band fastened without any issues; it's a bit snug but it's also brand new so that's not too ...surprising. It's not uncomfortable by any means. No real wrinkling on the cups other than a bit on my smaller breast but I've come to expect that anyway. Wires sit wide enough that they don't seem to be on any breast tissue - they're comfortable. Both the gore and the sides don't come up high enough to be annoying; still higher than I want but I guess I need to just cave and buy some plunges for low-enough gores.
The shape is...wow. It's very high and very rounded. Like, it gives me serious "cakes on a plate" boobs. I knew that Cleo is known for high rounded shapes but I kinda didn't think my breasts were possible of the shape they're in while wearing this. Looking at the pics I took, it almost makes the front of my breasts look slightly flat, but I didn't really notice it like that while I was wearing it.
I wish it had a three-hook enclosure instead of a two-hook, but oh well. I'll live, I suppose.
Overall, I'm thinking this one will be a keeper. It's cute, it's comfy, and I need more than one bra that fits me properly. Read more 198 more words
While the bra certainly looks cute at first, it's got a lot of problems for someone with jello boobs like mine. First off, the cup is just too small. The underwires don't contain everything, and while it isn't the worst quadboob I've had, the ribbon across the top of the cup does not have ANY give. In addition, the bra isn't super stretchy, so getting into it was a struggle. This one is also getting returned.
I had a really hard time keeping this bra up in my inframammary fold. At first I thought the bottom was too shallow - which is very strange since this is a highly recommended bra for Full on Bottom women - but looking back through my photos I now believe that the wires were simply too narrow for my root.
It is very similar to the Cleo Marcie (6831) , with the exception that it's top is a bit more closed off to better fit women who lack upper fullness. I have a pretty even shape, and found that in order for this bra to fit, ...my nipple absolutely could not sit at the apex. I'm simply just not flat above my nipple; I'm round.
Even wit my breast sitting in the cup a bit differently to accommodate that incompatibility between my breast and the cup shape, I still found that I had some quad boob at the cup rim and some wrinkling on the bottom (though this would be the first time I've ever gotten that because the lower cup was actually too big, as opposed to too shallow).
All around I think this is a great bra for a woman who has less upper fullness, more lower fullness, and a narrower root than me. The purple color is quite pretty, and I'm sure many women will appreciate the flower patterning on the mesh as well as the flower lace in the upper panel. Read more 137 more words
Cute, I'm not a fan of the red color but it was the cheapest so that's what I got. Cup would either lay flat or wrinkle a tiny bit but nothing wild. I got it hooked easily even though its a 36 and it felt tighter than the usual for me but not too tight. Pretty standard bra in my opinion. On par with Cleo's other bras qualities not as nice as you would hope but fine nonetheless.
My understanding is that Marcie is great for projection, but also FOT breasts.
This is obviously a size or two too big for me, but I think the reason I went with this size is because I couldn’t find smaller ones at the time.
The top lace is so wrinkled I can’t even get a good gauge on the fit. The gore tacks HARD, and this is actually the first bra I’ve tried that physically hurt to wear because of the gore. The bottom is very projected and had plenty of room for me.
The fabric itself is kinda scratchy, I definitely wouldn’t call it comfortable but any means. The wires also are super tall so they stabbed me in the armpit. That issue may be resolved by a smaller size, though.
I might give Marcie another try in a 36GG and 36H just to see.
I previously tried the 36J - Cleo » Hettie Balconnet Bra (9011), and was somewhat horrified by how pointy it was. I thought maybe if I sized down in the cup it would pull things in a little. It did... a little. I am learning that my breasts are so projected and so soft that they will just expand forward into all the depth any cup will offer. They would be happy to go straight out for six inches, it would seem. A smaller cup corrals them a little and forces them to take a nicer shape. But in this case, not enough. The cups seem to fit, but maybe I could go even smaller. Just no real reason to do it, since I have Panache Jasmine and Thea that already work much better for me.
I have previously reviewed the Marcie in 36J - Cleo » Marcie Balconnet Bra (6831) and 34J - Cleo » Marcie Balconnet Bra (6831) . With this one I was hoping for a happy medium of cups that didn't gape at the top and a shape that wasn't pulled quite so high. But even with the black colorway, the band was too stretchy and the cups gaped almost as much as the 36J. Go figure. So if I end up keeping a Marcie, I guess it will be the 34J. Haven't decided.
If you want to mention other bras in your Reviews you can do that by using the @ + name of the bra. Type @*cleo marice (remove the * ) and then it gives you suggestions from your bras or you can also just mention the model. It will look like this Cleo Marcie Balconnet Bra (6831) and will link directly to the bra. It is a feature make it easier so you don't have to post the link everytime you mention another bra in your review. I hope I could explain it properly. If not feel free to ask me again.
What about a 34HH? Or it could be you’re not quite fot enough for Marcie to work? I don’t know, Marcie is so built for all the fot, but it also looks like the wires are too wide and tall on this one so maybe you could size down one more cup.
alisa , thanks for the help with links! I knew there must be a better way! :)
cupandahalf , it may be a shape mismatch - it does seem to give me that bean shape instead of round. But... I ordered a 34HH to try anyway, because Amazon, so why not? Plus, the word on reddit is that Marcie is being discontinued, so maybe can't try for much longer.
Wow, Marcie being discontinued? Hopefully they will come up with something less itchy.
Wow, Marcie being discontinued? Hopefully they will come up with something less itchy.
They discontinue Marcie? Does it not sell anymore? Or they bring out a better version? I remember when it came out in 2012 and was all the rage here. Good old times :D
I *really* wish this bra fit properly, because it's beautiful and comfortable. My husband wants me to keep it anyway, he thinks it fits well enough to wear. The top of the cup gets pretty big wrinkles though, and I think they might be noticeable under a t-shirt. I'll give it a shot anyway.
I wanted to love this bra, but it just didn't work for me. From the front, it looks like it fits, but there are problems. I will start off with the fact that it is uncomfortable. The underwire on the sides cuts into my tissue and hurts. I don't think going up a cup would help this either, because I already have gaping on the top. The fabric on the top of the cups is very sheer and does not offer support, because my breasts don't fill them and there is a lot of extra fabric. This is visible under clothing. It gives me a horizontal, almost squished appearance from the side. Lots of jiggle when I move as well. This style makes me look a bit saggy compared to my Curvy Kate Gia, which boosts me a lot more, and hold me in? Tightening the straps did not help. Oh well, it's not for me, there are many other bras to try!
Even though this bra is designed with the underwires touching at the center gore, the gore still sits on my breast tissue because my breasts are extremely close set. The band constantly rides up and the straps are always falling off of me. When you look from the side, the cups are still a little small for me - I get some quadboob on my larger breast and you can see that the stiff lace material at the top of the cup cuts into my breast tissue, flattening it out.
If I were to buy this bra again, I would try a 34JJ, probably with an extender.
I love the design - I definitely feel very cute while wearing this bra!
This bra seemed a cup size smaller than labeled, so quad boob was inevitable. I didn't fill out the bottom of the cup. The underwires poked my under arms. It's just too small, possibly too closed in at the top, and the cups are too wide.
This bra requires a lot of upper fullness. I had to super swoop and scoop to come close to filling it out. I have a more even shape, and found that the upper cup lace was a bit loose most of the time, but it never shows under shirts so who cares?
The lower cup has great immediately depth, but is a bit snug relative to the upper cup because this bra is designed for ladies who carry most of their breast volume above the nipple. This made it a bit small on the bottom and loose at the top for me, but the underwires never slipped down ...due to lower cup shallowness like many bras tend to on me.
Ladies who aren't significantly fuller on top should instead check out the Cleo Lucy (5851) .
Strap tension is a weird thing in this bra because the straps are connected to the side support panels. It's tempting to over tighten the straps to force more side tissue forward and fill out the cup better (the straps are connected to the side support panels), but I've found that it really is more of a mental thing and doesn't make the shape look any different under clothing and isn't worth the discomfort or strain on the bra.
I really like the material, which is a thin and breathable lace at the top and matching mesh in the lower panels. Some stretch lace at the top on par with the Panache Andorra Full Cup (5675) and Panache Jasmine (6951) would make this bra a lot more versatile, but overall the materials feel really nice and very supportive.
The underwires were narrow for me, and tended to dig in to my ribs at the top, both on the outside and at the gore. Not sure if this is due to the underwire shape itself or just because of how the bra sits on me. If I'd kept it in this size, I would have experimented with bending them a little. Read more 232 more words
I bought this bra thinking it would not show much under shirts or t-shirts but the flowers embroidered on the bottom part of the cups really do show, so as I was looking for a reasonable alternative to a seamless t-shirt bra this was obvioulsy not a good choice. I own a Cleo Ellie in 36H and I thought by going up a cup size I would avoid the slight spillage I get in the Ellie, but this 36HH actually did not enclose my breasts at the bottom properly and the wires at the bottom next to the gore would not lie flat against my ribcage. Also, the lace at the top of the cups cut into the breast tissue giving me quadraboob effect. The band felt quite stretchy and in fact I was able to fasten the tighest hook no problem so I suppose it would strecht too much after some wear.
I found this bra's band quite stretchy. The cups seemed to fit nicely at first but after less than five minutes, i got quadrabood effect plus the breast tissue was not well enclosed at the bottom of the cup next to the center gore. As I have put on some weight recently I decided to go up a cup size from my Cleo Ellie but I did not expect to get a poor fit in this size. Besides, I ordered this bra mainly to wear under summer clothing as an alternative to a plain nude t-shirt bra and although the fabric is very nice, I found that the flower embroidery on the botoms of the cups really do show under shirts and t-shirts. Sad to return it but changing sizes will not help to make it work for me.
This was my first attempt at measuring myself for a correctly fitting bra. I've learned this was not the right size for me (major gaping in the top of the cups) because I've now averaged my leaning breast measurement with my standing one (and there's a significant difference)
I can imagine if this bra were the correct size, I would really like the underwire placement.
Cleo Meg and I are *NOT* friends. https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_wink.gif" alt=";-)" /> This is my second try with a slight size adjustment.
I first tried my go-to size, 36J, and was able to make it wearable with some serious wire bending to get the gore to lay flat and wearing a bra liner under the front band, where the elastic was curling under and digging in. The cups, however, had gaping at the top edge and, more bothersome, there was puckering along all of the cup seams that was very visible under a thin knit shirt or even a thick T-shirt.
I like ...the design. Pretty bra. The print is pretty and I LOVE the tiny charm on the center gore. VERY supportive. So, I decided to give the 36HH a go to see if a smaller cup would fix the few problems I had. And did it? Yes and no.
The gore lays flat - right out of the box! First bra that has done that for me - EVER. And the wires are close to the right spot under the arms. They don't poke, but they might be a smidgeon too far back (wide). I think the cups are 8" wide and 7.5" seems to be perfect for me.
The band fits perfectly snug on the loosest hook. The straps, well, I'd prefer them wider and cushioned. A true comfort strap would be nice. The width of the elastic straps (0.75") and the scalloped edges on them (and elsewhere on the bra) really bothers my sensitive skin. Also, only 2 hooks on the band. Seems to work with 2 hooks, but I'd feel better with wider straps and 3 hooks and I think it would be more comfortable.
The cups do NOT fit. There is slight quad boobing even on the smaller breast and it's making some bizarre thing happen along the top of my larger boob. I tried to get a close-up of it, but it's hard to photograph. Quite obvious in person, though, and weird. Makes the breast look misshapen.
And that pesky puckering? Yeah, still there. Still very visible under a T-shirt. A visible seam I can live with (barely), but a puckered seam? No. I think the seam has no stretch while the mesh has a tiny bit. This equals a pucker all along the seam.
Too bad, because I really like this bra. I don't want to let it go. https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_sad.gif" alt=":-(" /> Read more 341 more words
Wow that bra really holds you up! The colorway is super vibrant too.
Hettie... well Cleo, really, hasn't been on my radar because the 2 hook aspect really turns me off. It was one of my biggest annoyances with Freya Deco, as well. I'm in your camp; 3 hooks feels more secure! I'm a big fan of Jasmine and Envy tho', so if a Hettie colorway excites me I know it's probably a good bet. Thanks for the review. :]