It fits! The center gore is about an inch away from my sternum, but that's not a deal breaker. I was worried that the cups would be too wide, but it's totally fine, and nothing is stabbing me under the arm. This thing is incredibly supportive and well-made. Nothing is pinching or pulling or bruising or chafing. There's a lot of raised decorative stuff on the straps and the tops of the cups, but it doesn't show through a t-shirt and neither do the seams. It's squishing my boobs down a little and pushing them to the sides a bit (almost into my arms) rather than to the ... front, a little more than they'd like to be squished, but not enough to hurt, so even though a little more projection and a little less width would be nice, this is honestly perfectly fine. (They do hurt a bit when I take it off, but not while I'm wearing it.) I'd like it if the gore tacked, but I'm shocked at how much coverage I'm getting with this bra. I'd sort of resigned myself to buying full coverage bras that only covered half of my boobs. But nope. This is secure, sturdy, and pretty comfortable. And I'm not popping out anywhere! The straps slip a little bit because my shoulders and neck started to hurt when I tightened them, but that's fine. And my nipples don't show through this fabric. The band under the wire is comfortable and not digging in or chafing. The lace on the cups themselves is slightly itchy, but I mostly don't notice it and I think it'll soften with use. Hopefully the creaking and squeaking will ease with use, too.

Overall, I'm very happy. I think this is a good option for top-full, projected, pendulous breasts, even close-set, narrower breasts. Might work for east-west breasts, though, considering how it seems to want to go out toward the sides.
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Natural Beige colorway

Updated on Jan 13, 2021 Flag this

This is a very sturdy bra with a ton of support and lift. The band is nice and wide, not flimsy at all, and with not much stretch. The band fit perfectly, except where the too-small cups were pushing it away (and causing it to pinch just slightly in one or two spots). Even with the center gore and most of the wires floating pretty far away and riding up onto breast tissue, there was still a ton of lift and support. Having finally found an underwire bra with narrow wires (and a proper-sized band), I can now definitively say that it makes a massive difference.

Unfortunately, looking ... at the measurement charts, the next cup sizes up do have more depth, which I need, but also more width, which I don't need, so the wider wires will almost certainly reach under my arms where there's no breast tissue. (My tight underbust is 33" and snug is 34", so I'm thinking I have a narrower chest/narrower shoulders than I realized.) The straps sat nicely on my shoulders, not too wide.

There was a bit of cone-shaping going on, but since the cups were too small, I'm not sure how they'd fill the right sized cup. Still, I think I wouldn't even care too much about the shape at this level of support. It was such a difference from what I'm used to. And it's clearly constructed with large breasts in mind, not just scaled up, which is nice.
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This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Jan 05, 2021 Flag this

I had high hopes for this bra. When I tried it on, it is really comfortable, too. But, when I looked in the mirror, I was very disappointed. I started looking at more pictures here and elsewhere and I realized the SMALLER cup sizes look great... larger cup sizes - meh. NOT the shape I'm looking for. Seems kind of pointy, east/west, and droopy. Really disappointed in this one, so it's going up for sale.

Also, this is also a strangely NOISY bra, at least when new. There is a lot of creaking and groaning as the wires move in the channels even with small movements. Hopefully this is something that would stop after a break-in period, but I haven't noticed it with others before.

Updated on Jan 04, 2013 Flag this

I have worn this bra for years as it is so comfortable. I keep looking for something sexier that sits lower at the front but I always come back to it. A lot of the bras I have tried are to high at the side and the wires poke into my armpit. It is a little tight at first but slackens off.

Updated on Jun 17, 2014 Flag this

I ordered a cup size that was too large for me, so it's difficult to give this bra a fair review, but I'll give it a try.

The band was nice and snug and the shoulderstraps seem to be comfortable.

The underwires felt a bit too wide and also high between my breasts, and it's hard to tell if this problem would exist if I was wearing a proper size.

This bra has a rather high cut and it's not really my cup of tea, so I won't give another size a try.

Updated on Apr 04, 2013 Flag this

This bra was purchased at the same time as a beige Belle. Check that review as well.

As with the beige, the first thing I did was measure the un-stretched and stretched band lengths, both of which seemed quite normal at 31 and 39 inches. Cup depth and height were 17 and 16 which put this Belle in the same territory as my Alana's but as with the beige I was quadding everywhere. Top, sides, bottom, everywhere! To be fair, this bra still needed to be broken in.

Being a black bra, I was not surprised that it seemed a little stiff but I was surprised how less uncomfortable it ... was. I was expecting soft and luxurious but instead got even more stiffness than the beige. As with the beige, this black Belle is also pretty but they are both already a little east-west which will likely get worse as they stretch out. In my review of the beige Belle, I mentioned another review of a 38JJ whose measurements seemed way off compared to what I got, I cannot imagine this bra stretching anywhere close to that other entry.

The cup dimensions seem to be very similar to my usual 38L Alana's but I was quadding far more than my Alana's ever did.
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Black colorway

Updated on May 12, 2022 Flag this

The year prior to joining Bratabase in 2015, I had never shopped online for my bras but once I did join, I became aware of the Fantasie Belle. This bra certainly did seem old school in appearance but all the reviews I read emphasized how comfortable it was. The measurement data here though were concerning and in particular there was one where the stretched band of a similar 38 was 44 inches! As a result, I was left hoping someone else would review and measure the Belle to confirm it was really that stretchy but here we are, 5+ years later and no additional entries with confirming data. ... The Belle appears to be discontinued as it is no longer available on most online stores, the one exception being Bravissimo. In fact, Bravissimo seems like they have a significant inventory of them as they are regularly purchased and reviewed. I don't like the idea of buying and returning something that "I know won't fit" but I decided to bite the bullet and ordered both a beige and black while fully expecting to return them.

The Belle is an under wired, non padded, full cup design with 3 hooks, adjustable straps that are supposedly closer set than normal to reduce slippage and is still available in white, beige and black at Bravissimo. Yes I know, pretty boring, especially the available colors but there have been no new color releases in over 5 years.

The first thing I did was measure the un-stretched and stretched band lengths, both of which seemed quite normal at 31 and 39 inches. Cup depth and height were 17 and 16 which put this Belle in the same territory as my Alana's but I was quadding everywhere. Top, sides, bottom, everywhere! To be fair, this bra still needed to be broken in but I am comparing a UK 38JJ bra to my more typical 38L

The bra seemed a little stiff and was less comfortable than what I was expecting. From all the reviews I read, I was expecting soft and luxurious but instead got stiff and meh softness. For me, it is pretty but it is a little east-west which will likely get worse as it stretches out.

If I did not have any well fitting bras, I would consider hanging on to the Belle but I have so many that are significantly more comfortable and better fitting that I will likely return it.
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Beige colorway

Updated on May 12, 2022 Flag this

This Belle seems to be made for more shallow and wider set breasts. Definitely not the right projection and narrow width that I need. The fabric is a bit scratchy, too.

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Nov 01, 2021 Flag this

Really comfy. Looks like my grans

Updated on Sep 10, 2014 Flag this

One of the few flattering things I can say about this bra is that it completely encases my breast tissue and it is comfortable. I like full-cup bras for daily wear, but I feel no more supported in this bra than I do in my halfcup or balconette bras, and certainly far less lifted. It is a rather dowdy bra in appearance, and I look dowdy when I wear it, as the shape it gives is much more saggy than I like (a "blue" shape). I feel lumpy and fat when I wear it, so I keep it for around the house or under sweaters.

The ... band stretched out quickly. After about one month of use (wearing about once every 5 days) I had to move to the second set of hooks. The center gore is too wide for me, which means that it isn't possible for it to lie flat - one wire will always be angled.

It is important to note that the measurements of the bra were made in early January 2013 and the bra was purchased in late October 2012. The band measurement WILL show stretching!

Update (February 2013): I am now wearing this on the innermost set of hooks, about three months after purchase with wearing it about once a week (and handwashing after each time it is worn). And, to be honest, the band is still too big; if it had 5 or 6 rows of hooks the band would be comfortable. I am not impressed with this, especially compared to my other bras which had heavier use and didn't need to be moved to the middle hooks until about 4.5 months after purchase. This bra is now for weekends around the house only.
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This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Feb 04, 2013 Flag this