I had almost given up on Curvy Kate bras after trying two sizes of the most recommended style, the Princess Balcony Bra, and being disappointed by the fit (digging wires! overly projected cups!) and quality (inconsistent measurements! cheap looking details!). However, I decided to give Florence a try after reading about it here on Bratabase, and I am so thrilled that I did. So far, Florence is my best fitting unlined balcony bra yet!

Florence fits me exactly how I wanted Lucy and Marcie to fit me. No adjustment needed to get the cups to lay perfectly, no issues between the larger and smaller side, and ... no gapping top panel to deal with. Visually, Florence looks like a Lucy dupe, but the fit is closer to Marcie. I am so happy to find this style, but not so happy that it is discontinued and only available in a handful of colors.

Like Marcie/Lucy, Florence is a 3 piece cup made from soft, double layer mesh, making it comfortable, lightweight, and supportive. The upper cup is embroidered mesh with no elastic edge, which is awesome as it can stretch to sit flat against very shallow roots, or flex to accommodate more upper volume. The underwires are very similar to Marcie, being wide and shallow, but I feel that the shape is slightly more curved than Marcie. I tend to have issues with brand new Marcies until I make some underwire adjustments, and Marcie also tends to cross spontaneously at the gore. Florence doesn't do that, and I think it's because the ends of the underwires are a bit more perpendicular than Marcie's, which are more open and splayed. The cups are a little on the shallow side, but they can accommodate more fullness on top as none of the tops are super closed off. I think the proportions of this bra are great for both shallow and wide shapes as well as more projected shapes.

The styling is very similar to Lucy, so close that I thought this was a Lucy dupe at first. However, Lucy has small flowers embroidered directly on the cup, and Florence has a solid cup. Both styles have very similar floral embroidery on the upper cup, but Florence has a small floral button at the center gore while Lucy is trimmed with a simple bow. Florence also has two little bows tacked at the straps. Both styles have the same scalloped wide straps, similar wings, and the same leotard back construction. The main structural difference is that Florence has a full band, with elastic running through the cradle and under the cups, while Lucy has no elastic under the cups. This is a very important construction detail, as I couldn't figure out why Lucy didn't feel secure on me and I kept shifting around in the cups. I really need a full band to keep all my tissue in place.

The only criticism I have for Florence is some inconsistency in fit. So far, I've purchased 3 Florences. The Blush one fits me perfectly with no adjustments needed. The first Black one ended up measuring taller in the embroidered portion of the cup, so no matter what, it kept wrinkling at the top. The second Black one measured better, but the fit of the upper cup is not as spot on as the Blush. Given the spec disaster I had with the Curvy Kate Princess Balcony Bra, I feel a little worried about inconsistencies, as I haven't had this level of measurement variation in Cleo. Still, I am happy to have found Florence, and will be hunting down as many as possible before they disappear for good.

See my separate review on Ellace for why this related cut doesn't work for me https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_sad.gif" alt=":(" />
Read more
544 more words

Black colorway

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Sep 20, 2019 Flag this

I had almost given up on Curvy Kate bras after trying two sizes of the most recommended style, the Princess Balcony Bra, and being disappointed by the fit (digging wires! overly projected cups!) and quality (inconsistent measurements! cheap looking details!). However, I decided to give Florence a try after reading about it here on Bratabase, and I am so thrilled that I did. So far, Florence is my best fitting unlined balcony bra yet!

Florence fits me exactly how I wanted Lucy and Marcie to fit me. No adjustment needed to get the cups to lay perfectly, no issues between the larger and smaller side, and ... no gapping top panel to deal with. Visually, Florence looks like a Lucy dupe, but the fit is closer to Marcie. I am so happy to find this style, but not so happy that it is discontinued and only available in a handful of colors.

Like Marcie/Lucy, Florence is a 3 piece cup made from soft, double layer mesh, making it comfortable, lightweight, and supportive. The upper cup is embroidered mesh with no elastic edge, which is awesome as it can stretch to sit flat against very shallow roots, or flex to accommodate more upper volume. The underwires are very similar to Marcie, being wide and shallow, but I feel that the shape is slightly more curved than Marcie. I tend to have issues with brand new Marcies until I make some underwire adjustments, and Marcie also tends to cross spontaneously at the gore. Florence doesn't do that, and I think it's because the ends of the underwires are a bit more perpendicular than Marcie's, which are more open and splayed. The cups are a little on the shallow side, but they can accommodate more fullness on top as none of the tops are super closed off. I think the proportions of this bra are great for both shallow and wide shapes as well as more projected shapes.

The styling is very similar to Lucy, so close that I thought this was a Lucy dupe at first. However, Lucy has small flowers embroidered directly on the cup, and Florence has a solid cup. Both styles have very similar floral embroidery on the upper cup, but Florence has a small floral button at the center gore while Lucy is trimmed with a simple bow. Florence also has two little bows tacked at the straps. Both styles have the same scalloped wide straps, similar wings, and the same leotard back construction. The main structural difference is that Florence has a full band, with elastic running through the cradle and under the cups, while Lucy has no elastic under the cups. This is a very important construction detail, as I couldn't figure out why Lucy didn't feel secure on me and I kept shifting around in the cups. I really need a full band to keep all my tissue in place.

The only criticism I have for Florence is some inconsistency in fit. So far, I've purchased 3 Florences. The Blush one fits me perfectly with no adjustments needed. The first Black one ended up measuring taller in the embroidered portion of the cup, so no matter what, it kept wrinkling at the top. The second Black one measured better, but the fit of the upper cup is not as spot on as the Blush. Given the spec disaster I had with the Curvy Kate Princess Balcony Bra, I feel a little worried about inconsistencies, as I haven't had this level of measurement variation in Cleo. Still, I am happy to have found Florence, and will be hunting down as many as possible before they disappear for good.

See my separate review on Ellace for why this related cut doesn't work for me https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_sad.gif" alt=":(" />
Read more
544 more words

Black colorway

Updated on Sep 20, 2019 Flag this

I had almost given up on Curvy Kate bras after trying two sizes of the most recommended style, the Princess Balcony Bra, and being disappointed by the fit (digging wires! overly projected cups!) and quality (inconsistent measurements! cheap looking details!). However, I decided to give Florence a try after reading about it here on Bratabase, and I am so thrilled that I did. So far, Florence is my best fitting unlined balcony bra yet!

Florence fits me exactly how I wanted Lucy and Marcie to fit me. No adjustment needed to get the cups to lay perfectly, no issues between the larger and smaller side, and ... no gapping top panel to deal with. Visually, Florence looks like a Lucy dupe, but the fit is closer to Marcie. I am so happy to find this style, but not so happy that it is discontinued and only available in a handful of colors.

Like Marcie/Lucy, Florence is a 3 piece cup made from soft, double layer mesh, making it comfortable, lightweight, and supportive. The upper cup is embroidered mesh with no elastic edge, which is awesome as it can stretch to sit flat against very shallow roots, or flex to accommodate more upper volume. The underwires are very similar to Marcie, being wide and shallow, but I feel that the shape is slightly more curved than Marcie. I tend to have issues with brand new Marcies until I make some underwire adjustments, and Marcie also tends to cross spontaneously at the gore. Florence doesn't do that, and I think it's because the ends of the underwires are a bit more perpendicular than Marcie's, which are more open and splayed. The cups are a little on the shallow side, but they can accommodate more fullness on top as none of the tops are super closed off. I think the proportions of this bra are great for both shallow and wide shapes as well as more projected shapes.

The styling is very similar to Lucy, so close that I thought this was a Lucy dupe at first. However, Lucy has small flowers embroidered directly on the cup, and Florence has a solid cup. Both styles have very similar floral embroidery on the upper cup, but Florence has a small floral button at the center gore while Lucy is trimmed with a simple bow. Florence also has two little bows tacked at the straps. Both styles have the same scalloped wide straps, similar wings, and the same leotard back construction. The main structural difference is that Florence has a full band, with elastic running through the cradle and under the cups, while Lucy has no elastic under the cups. This is a very important construction detail, as I couldn't figure out why Lucy didn't feel secure on me and I kept shifting around in the cups. I really need a full band to keep all my tissue in place.

The only criticism I have for Florence is some inconsistency in fit. So far, I've purchased 3 Florences. The Blush one fits me perfectly with no adjustments needed. The first Black one ended up measuring taller in the embroidered portion of the cup, so no matter what, it kept wrinkling at the top. The second Black one measured better, but the fit of the upper cup is not as spot on as the Blush. Given the spec disaster I had with the Curvy Kate Princess Balcony Bra, I feel a little worried about inconsistencies, as I haven't had this level of measurement variation in Cleo. Still, I am happy to have found Florence, and will be hunting down as many as possible before they disappear for good.

See my separate review on Ellace for why this related cut doesn't work for me https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_sad.gif" alt=":(" />
Read more
544 more words

Blush colorway

Updated on Sep 20, 2019 Flag this

This was a little too big underneath and lots of room in the lace on top. The wires fit well. (They could have a longer side swoop, but so could all bras on me) I love the button in the center.

Shocking Pink colorway

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Jul 29, 2019 Flag this

.

This bra's measurements have been altered

Bend the wires to make the cup more narrower

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Jul 09, 2019 Flag this

One of the worst bras I tried. First of all, the quality of the bra I got looks very cheaply made, with dropped stitches, and fraying threads in the cup. The top seam cuts into my roots and one of the mid seams gives me in-cup quadding which I had never experienced before. The height of the gore is not bad, I still wish it was shorter and more closer together for me.

Blush colorway

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Apr 16, 2019 Flag this

The center gore doesn't lie flat. I am already wearing it on the tightest hook. It's a pretty bra, good support

36:7 36F

Wrong cup size?

Curvy Kate

Florence Balcony Bra (CK8001)

1 suggestion

Updated on Apr 10, 2019 Flag this

Hated this bra. Please see my review of the 32E here: https://www.bratabase.com/bra/diyr4/

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Feb 06, 2019 Flag this

I have slight wrinkling on the bottom of the cups, but otherwise this bra firs me well.

Blush colorway

Updated on Aug 23, 2018 Flag this

I'm surprised how supportive this bra is given that it's constructed with what feels like a thin mesh fabric. The band is stretchy and this bra is initially comfortable to wear and holds my boobs well. Whenever I move there is a "creaking" sound at the gore underwires. The gore does not tack on me and the wires at the gore are actually resting on my centre breast tissue, but at least I don't get any quadboob, so there is room for my centre fullness. But I feel the gore becoming uncomfortable where it's cutting into my breast tissue. There is some in-cup quadboob along the seam between the lace upper and lower part of the cup. Wires are a little too wide at the sides.

Black colorway

Updated on Jun 29, 2018 Flag this