I really want to love this bra. The detailing on it is so beautiful, and despite the wrinkle in the cup, it give a nice appearance under shirts. The band is very firm and feels quite supportive.

The underwires are not friendly to my sternum, and stab in at the gore. An hour of wearing this bra yesterday left my sternum red, irritated and feeling bruised even still today. I do really like that the underwires encapsulates all of my breast tissue, rather than stopping short at the armpit like Freyas do.

The cup wrinkles just slightly at the top, at the sheer panel between the lace and the bottom part of the cup. If I fold that section into the cup, so that the lace meets the solid part of the cup, the fit is perfect. So I would say this cup is just a tiny bit too big. I wonder if bending the underwires would help the fit at the sternum?

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Nov 18, 2012 Flag this

The Princess Balcony is one of the most popular Curvy Kate styles, and since I've had good luck with three-piece cut & sew unlined bras, I had high hopes for this one, Unfortunately, I tried two different sizes, and I don't think this is the right fit for me.

Bratabase most consistently recommends 28DD for me, but I found that the 28DD band was far too small, thus it pulled the wires right into my ribcage and into the sternum. The Princess Balcony has very firm wires, so they didn't give when strained, and caused me a lot of pain. It is really important in this ... style to find the right band size for you, because the wires won't flex if the band is too small for you!

However, I do appreciate that Curvy Kate uses a really firm elastic on these bands, giving them a solid degree of support. The wide straps and U shaped leotard back also contribute to this feeling of strong support. Straps feel really secure and stay nicely in place.

I didn't really care for the styling of this bra in person, although I liked the idea of the design. The flocked polka dots made me worry that they would attract clothing fibers from different colors and look dirty. The floral embroidery at the top of the cup is cute, but I didn't feel that it looks expensive and elegant, especially since this bra costs more than similar styles from Freya or Panache. The ribbon detail, embroidery, and polka dots did not feel cohesive to me as part of the design, and I felt they would be better off on separate styles. They also are all quite textured and look like they would be visible under clothing.

The main problem for me with this bra is the fit of the cups. While the measurements of this bra aren't too different from other similar cuts from other brands, the cup depth is deeper, so it's designed for someone with more projection. This particular bra seems to be an anomaly, since I measured it at an 8.7" cup depth and the average is 8.2", so I think this one was wildly off-spec. I fill out the majority of the cup, but the top portion under the lace edge is pretty empty on me. You need more upper fullness to fill out the bra as intended. However, the upper edge is a narrow 1/8" elastic, and I think this would be flexible enough to suit tall roots without being too closed off. The cups are also lightweight, comfortable powermesh that give great shaping and support. Much softer than Panache Tango brand new!

My opinion of the bra is that this is an excellently engineered design, and if it works for your shape, it would be a great functional piece. Aesthetically, I am not a fan of the design elements, and I am wary of the inconsistencies in measurements across individual bras.
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Black colorway

Updated on Apr 21, 2020 Flag this

I have conical breasts that act more like full on bottom/projected/short roots. Therefore, I don't fill out the tops of the cup! There is some wrinkling on the sides as well. The bottom of the cups are filled out pretty well (by my bigger side). Everything else is pretty comfortable. The band is snug, the underwire is the right width, and the center gore feels comfortable.

Nude colorway

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Feb 18, 2018 Flag this

The wires fit great and would suit anybody with forward, narrow rooted breasts.
The gore isn't too high, great for anybody with close set breasts although I've noticed the gore does get higher as cup size increases.
The colour is a very vibrant, orangey pink, its gorgeous.
My only problem, which is quite a big one, is the band was incredibly stretchy. Laid flat is was 22 inches but once stretched it was 34"! This means the band rides up my back horridly and I can fit a fist or more underneath the band.

Flamingo pink colorway

Updated on Jul 20, 2017 Flag this

All of the detailing on this bra make it the prettiest one I own at the moment, but I can't quite fill out the sheer detailing on the top. Since I'm FoB, it just wrinkles into itself and looks rather sad, even on my larger breast. The band is very firm and supportive and I didn't find the bra itself uncomfortable, though.

Updated on Sep 13, 2015 Flag this

This review is for my first and, at the time of writing, only "real" bra which I bought after measuring myself for the first time and making an educated guess as to which model/brand to buy, but hopefully it'll still be helpful.

The band fit great, comfortable and snug, and it did feel supportive. I have small, narrow shoulders and the straps weren't a problem either; they adjusted as needed and sat comfortably without slipping or digging in. The cups were soft and pretty, and the underwire encased my breasts comfortably at the root, as far as I can tell: no poking into my armpits, no cutting off of ... breast tissue.

I do believe I may have a sizing/shape issue as the cups do wrinkle across the front always, and although the top of the cup lies flush against my skin when I'm standing or sitting straight, there's noticeable space the moment I slouch or lean foward slightly. I also noticed that even though the underwire seemed shaped correctly for my breasts, the wire didn't feel very supporitve of them; it felt like the bra was flattening my breasts, not lifting them.

Unfortunately, the only real gripe I have about the bra itself is a pretty major one: The ends of the underwire in the center gore were way too high, possibly too close together, and pressed painfully into my sternum, even after attempting to readjust the straps to rectify the problem (which only resulted in ill-fitting straps). Even if the bra were a perfect fit, I don't think I'd keep it for that reason.

If I were to try this bra again, I think I'd try a 28D as opposed to a 28DD to see if that eliminated the wrinkling cups.
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Updated on Apr 28, 2015 Flag this

I got this one because the 30D I tried a while ago worked pretty okay but the band was too big. Turns out the band was hiding a few fit issues, so I can actually say that this bra doesn't work for me. Too band I can't really return it without crazy shipping costs.

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Nov 08, 2014 Flag this

This bra is so close to being a good fit for me! The problems: The wires don't extend very far or high on my sides, which allows tissue to escape into my armpit. The lace lies flat across my chest, but there is just a little extra room at the top of the cup. If I was handier with a needle, this might be fixable, but I'm not quite willing to venture there yet. This is a great bra to look at though! It has a bold floral lace at the top of the cups and along the straps. The fabric is soft with velvet polka dots.

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Jul 30, 2013 Flag this

Didn't write a review

Pink/white colorway

This bra is not owned any more

Added on Dec 04, 2015

Prettyncharmeuse

4198 reputation

338 bras

Didn't write a review

Blueberry colorway

Added on Feb 03, 2017