Another lovely offering from Ewa Michalak, my first unpadded bra which I've tried from them! The design and material quality is high as usual, and they have their usual attention to detail.
Firstly, a few basic facts about the bra- it's got a 4 piece cup, with 3 vertical parts and a horizontal part on top. The cups are made of a single layer of lace, with a large floral pattern. The straps are fully adjustable and have a small decorative detail on them. The colour is a very pale apricot/beige, which acts as nude on me, but may be more of a white/pale bra on someone who is ... less fair skinned. There are 4 rows with 3 columns of hooks.
Some of the things that I don't like? The cups are a lot too tall for me- I have the perpetual problem of breasts which are deeper than they are tall or wide, and it turns out that trying to fit to my depth has awkward consequences. The straps are also too wide-set for my shoulders. I also found that my apex lined up with one of the holes in the lace, which meant that I could potentially have a nipple protrude from the holes (which would be rather awkward). The band is too long (not super surprising as I ordered one band size up to get the volume I thought I wanted), and I have odd looseness in the top of the band between the wire and the strap.
Things that I do like? It looks lovely, and the wires are roughly the correct width. I could maybe do with slightly narrower wires, but they aren't uncomfortably wide. The straps are sturdy and fully adjustable, which is always a plus in my books. The cup has good depth for my projected breasts, and gives a nice round shape at the bottom which keeps my breasts at my front and not at the sides, like the description of the bra.
I'm planning to have a go at some alterations, and will also hopefully add some more notes after I've worn the bra for a while.
Edit: I've now had this bra for about 6 months. I ended up removing the top triangle which attached the strap to the cup, making the cup effectively shorter (and more full coverage). With my breasts which are deeper than they are tall or wide, this was actually a pretty good solution. I like the cup shape, even post alteration, the vertical seams give lift and a round appearance. I also shortened the band a little to make it more firm and supportive.
Unfortunately, the band construction just isn't stable enough to be comfortable for extended wear for me. I think that EM bras are designed with a more 'V' shaped ribcage than I have, and also, the fastenings seem to only hold the bottom 1/3 of the band firmly, leaving the rest loose as they're not tall enough. This means that the elastic at the bottom of the bra tends to dig in and roll under if I actually do anything in the bra, and the wires tend to curve outwards at the sides, compromising cup support and poking me in the armpits.
It's one of my bras in regular rotation, and it's still in good condition after reasonably regular wear (1-3 days a week). The band is still quite firm, and the only real sign of wear I've noticed is a little bit of pilling under the arms (but I'm not sure how on earth you'd avoid that).
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Updated on Dec 18, 2013 Flag this
lol