I normally wear closer to a 28DD but have trouble finding bras that have enough projection at the wire. Curvy Kate's selection in 28 bands is limited. Since their 30 bands allegedly are quite firm, I decided to give 30D a shot.
About the bra itself: The bra is an unpadded plunge style with one vertical and one horizontal seam per cup. The wings are made out of the same mesh. Along the cup edge is a an elastic picot trim. It is barely visible but a nice touch in my opinion. The bra closes with three rows of two hooks each.
I really like the aesthetics of this bra, ... but unfortunately it does not quite fit me. The main problem are the cups. My breasts are FOB and quite projected but only at the bottom which makes it challenging to find bras. In this particular one, I do not fill out the tops of the cups completely and the fabric moves over my skin when I walk. Because the fabric is mesh, this leads to nipple chafing. The bottom of the cup seems also a little bit too shallow as witnessed by some cup wrinkling. The band is definitely firm in itself but also a bit loose on me. This would not be an issue if the cups fit better. In combination though the bra has a tendency to move down my chest in the front. The straps are also on the short side for my low boobs and almost too wide set for me.
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Black colorway

Updated on Jul 01, 2021 Flag this

I will edit later after some wears, but from immediate try on I found that this bra is actually too close set for me (I'm relatively wide set - 2-3 fingers apart), and a little too projected for me (I am on the shallower side). The cups are a little too small, although that could be a shape mismatch too, as when I scoop and swoop I find that there just isn't enough room for my boobs. This doesn't show as quadding, as the cups do not have enough stretch to even cover the boob (thanks to another review for that sentence!).

The band is snug; I am ... usually a 28DD and although I know it should be snug on first wear, and it is black which will affect the size, I couldn't even imagine going a band smaller on this. (Not that it comes in a smaller band, I believe 30D is the smallest size, but still).

If you're somewhat close set & average projection, I think this bra would work great for you. Do consider maybe sister sizing up a band, and possibly even a cup too.
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Black colorway

Updated on Mar 13, 2023 Flag this

I'm not extremely sure, but I think I have immediate projection and am full on bottom.

There's a tiny bit of quad boobing on my larger side, but also a bit of wrinkling around the inner cup near the gore, which is a bit perplexing. I think it's probably the closest overall fit I've found so far though.

That being said, I have dense breast tissue and don't really need the support, generally speaking, a bra gives, bras for me are more for nipple coverage which this one doesn't really do well.

Updated on Jul 26, 2022 Flag this

Me: Average projection. Fuller on bottom. Slightly wider left breast (I suspect this breast is also 1-2 ml taller than my other breast). Usually wear 28DD or 30D.

One of my recommended bras. I bought 30D (my measured size) and 30DD (the recommended bra from Bratabase) because they were on sale (both under $10 each!). 30D gave me slight quad boob but wasn't really noticeable under shirts. Also, the bra lining didn't show under shirts.

30DD removed most of the quad boob but the lining of the bra on the right cup can be seem through shirts. I see wrinkles in the pictures, so there'e a bit of empty space ... on my right breast. My right breast is slightly more narrow, which is why the right cup reveals the lining under shirts. I might end up selling the 30DD.

For both bras, the headlights show a bit in thin shirts when it's cold. They're not too itchy and they don't dig in my sides. If my breasts were exactly the same shape, the 30D bra would be a 10 out of 10 for me. I guess I like both bras for different reasons.
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Red colorway

Updated on Jun 27, 2020 Flag this

The Curvy Kate Lifestyle is a bra I've had my eye on for a long time, but due to its high price, it took a while before I went ahead and ordered it. I originally started with my standard size of 30D, but I quickly found that this is far too small.

This style has a very short and shallow underwire, and I really prefer a long underwire to contain all my wide tissue, so I knew I definitely had to size up. The 30D could not contain all of my tissue on the sides, and the upper cup cut into my shallow roots badly. It ... was a major case of orange-in-a-glass. Thus, I'd recommend sizing up at least one size and potentially more. In size 30DD, I found this to be a very nice fit. Actually, in my opinion, this bra is almost identical to the Claudette Dessous, but in a much softer fabric and with a more minimalist aesthetic.

The Lifestyle Plunge has a 3 piece cut and sew cup, but these cups are made from single layer mesh, which I find to be rather unusual since most cups this thin are double lined. Other reviewers have said this isn't substantial enough for larger cup sizes, so that may be something to bear in mind. In my size, I don't think this will be an issue, and I find the cups to be exceptionally lightweight and comfortable. It would be amazing for sweaty summer days or travel to warm areas where you'd like your bra to dry quickly after washing. The mesh used for the cups is fairly rigid and decently soft, and I have no issues with the seams being scratchy as they are nicely finished.

The upper cup has a bit of decorative elastic, but actually the hem has very little stretch. Since I found this to to cut into my tissue in the smaller size, I'd imagine that it might not work for taller roots or FOT. Other than that, the only notable callout on the fit is that it gives a less lifted shape than bras with double layer mesh, like the Cleo Marcie. This is a much more natural and relaxed shape in comparison.

I found the band to be nice and TTS. It is a standard stretch mesh band with full elastic on the top and bottom, although I would've preferred wider elastic for the bottom. It does feel nice and firm so I don't see any issues with it stretching out. The straps are also wide elastic and fully adjustable.

The only thing I dislike about this bra is the hardware, which is all made of dyed-to-match plastic. It would've been more elevated with gold or rose gold hardware, in my opinion. I also don't like the motif of two interlocked circles, which is used as the center charm and the shoulder strap hardware. I know others like this detail and find it to be a modern and minimalist design, so maybe it's just personal taste. I would've preferred no decorative hardware and something more traditional, like the bows on Dessous.

Overall, I think if you like lightweight mesh bras and like the Dessous, you may have good luck with this one. Unlike the Dessous, all 4 bras I ordered measured relatively similarly and had no quality variations between the colors, making this a better choice IMO. Just watch out for sizing and size up at least a cup!
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Latte colorway

Updated on Oct 31, 2019 Flag this

The Curvy Kate Lifestyle is a bra I've had my eye on for a long time, but due to its high price, it took a while before I went ahead and ordered it. I originally started with my standard size of 30D, but I quickly found that this is far too small.

This style has a very short and shallow underwire, and I really prefer a long underwire to contain all my wide tissue, so I knew I definitely had to size up. The 30D could not contain all of my tissue on the sides, and the upper cup cut into my shallow roots badly. It ... was a major case of orange-in-a-glass. Thus, I'd recommend sizing up at least one size and potentially more. In size 30DD, I found this to be a very nice fit. Actually, in my opinion, this bra is almost identical to the Claudette Dessous, but in a much softer fabric and with a more minimalist aesthetic.

The Lifestyle Plunge has a 3 piece cut and sew cup, but these cups are made from single layer mesh, which I find to be rather unusual since most cups this thin are double lined. Other reviewers have said this isn't substantial enough for larger cup sizes, so that may be something to bear in mind. In my size, I don't think this will be an issue, and I find the cups to be exceptionally lightweight and comfortable. It would be amazing for sweaty summer days or travel to warm areas where you'd like your bra to dry quickly after washing. The mesh used for the cups is fairly rigid and decently soft, and I have no issues with the seams being scratchy as they are nicely finished.

The upper cup has a bit of decorative elastic, but actually the hem has very little stretch. Since I found this to to cut into my tissue in the smaller size, I'd imagine that it might not work for taller roots or FOT. Other than that, the only notable callout on the fit is that it gives a less lifted shape than bras with double layer mesh, like the Cleo Marcie. This is a much more natural and relaxed shape in comparison.

I found the band to be nice and TTS. It is a standard stretch mesh band with full elastic on the top and bottom, although I would've preferred wider elastic for the bottom. It does feel nice and firm so I don't see any issues with it stretching out. The straps are also wide elastic and fully adjustable.

The only thing I dislike about this bra is the hardware, which is all made of dyed-to-match plastic. It would've been more elevated with gold or rose gold hardware, in my opinion. I also don't like the motif of two interlocked circles, which is used as the center charm and the shoulder strap hardware. I know others like this detail and find it to be a modern and minimalist design, so maybe it's just personal taste. I would've preferred no decorative hardware and something more traditional, like the bows on Dessous.

Overall, I think if you like lightweight mesh bras and like the Dessous, you may have good luck with this one. Unlike the Dessous, all 4 bras I ordered measured relatively similarly and had no quality variations between the colors, making this a better choice IMO. Just watch out for sizing and size up at least a cup!
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Lilac colorway

Updated on Oct 31, 2019 Flag this

This bra almost fits. The band is true to size when stretched, but feels tighter than average 30 perhaps because the unstretched length is shorter. The band material is nice and not very loose compared with the elastics on the edge, which is good for those who suffer from back rolls. However the seams are sewed too tight which creates in-cup quadding. The cup fabrics, especially where the cups meet the straps, are also very scratchy.

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Mar 09, 2018 Flag this

Didn't write a review

This bra is not owned any more

Added on Aug 27, 2021