This bra had a high percentage of likelihood on my recommendation list. Took me a while, but I was finally able to find one (new) through eBay.
My very first impression was 'if this bra is typical for this brand, I don't understand the rave this company has received'. Overall, I guess the quality is good, but there is plenty of room for improvement. This particular one has major issue which completely changes how it fits, and happens to be a construction problem: the trim at the top of the cup is significantly shorter than the length of the top edge of the cup, ... causing it to be extremely closed and leave pucker-like 'bubbles' between the layers of the cups just below the trim. The puckering is actually worse on my larger side. I mean, I have short roots, but this is ridiculous! The bottom of the cups also don't have much fullness, so this seems to be a very rare breed. It might work for even, self-supporting breasts, or "might" be OK for moderately FoT, but that trim would likely be problematic (at least with this particular bra.)
However, with a little TLC using my steamer & pressing ham, I was mostly able to stretch the trim to match the cups and smooth out the bubbles in the cups. So I really don't know if this was a defect in stitching, a leftover that didn't fit anyone else, or if it was designed to be that closed in. I'm hoping this doesn't turn into a high maintenance bra that needs steaming after every wash! At least it didn't gape any.
The band is true to size, but I certainly would have preferred three hooks instead of two. After wearing for a few hours the hooks were chafing my back red, and washing it has not softened it up. There are two tags, one below each underarm which prevent the band from stretching properly and they don't sit flat...so those are coming out! The straps are soft but only partially adjustable; thankfully it is not an issue now; might become one once the straps get broken in. The front straps are borderline too far apart and are on the verge of cutting into my arms, so I may move them over.
The cups are made with old fashioned tricot foam padding, which in my experience is very hot in the summer. Nowadays, memory foam or spacer fabric would be a better choice. The 10" depth is very good for me and the wires, at 5.5", is the ideal width for me. Despite the awkwardly stitched trim on the cups there is plenty of room for my center fullness. Totally did not expect that. I also did not expect it would give a somewhat minimized look and the girls look rather smooshed into my chest, as well as the distance between apexes is 1" too narrow for me.
It IS pretty to look at and the velvet accent on the ribbon bows adds a nice touch.
A rare breed indeed!
Bottom line, I'm not sure I'll be keeping it.
Update: I decided to disassemble the cups to fix the puckering in the cups. (If I do decide not to keep it, nobody would be happy with it the way it was.)
So first I took off the stretch lace trim on the edge and then separated the top embroidered layer from the inner tricot lining. The top layer was between 1/4"-1/3" longer than the lining along the entire length of each cup edge. No wonder it puckered so badly! Honestly, this is simply poor workmanship, and someone was clearly not paying attention to what they were doing!
Now that the repairs have been made, the bra actually fits better than I expected. I decided to add a piece of black scalloped lace to the top of the cups, just above the cup edge, and then I layered the original white trim just a little bit lower, along the cup edge. The cups are still quite closed, but the layers of trims at the edge do not show, except a tight knit tee.
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- This bra's measurements have been altered
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Completely remade the cups/removed puckers.
Updated on May 20, 2018 Flag this
Very lovely!!