What sorcery is this? A Deco that fits?!

I wrote off Freya's Deco plunge bra nearly 2 years ago when it was a total fail for me. My very soft tissue spilled out of the center right away if I moved or bent over. With short roots and high set breasts, the wires poked and the top edge of the cups rested in my armpits (cups were too tall). It also felt like I was wearing a straight jacket. The cups felt thick and the wires were torture. The Deco became my archetype of a bra that just would never work for me.

I even tried a few Deco bras ... at Nordstrom with two different fitters. They both had a tendency to tighten the straps far too much for comfort and I think that also distorted my view of a good fit.

I read reviews since then that suggested that new models of the Deco with the trim along the edge of the cup had an improved fit. I ignored those reviews because Deco would never work for my pudding boobs.

Fast forward 2 years and I just re-measured myself a couple of weeks ago. I've lost a bit of weight and gone down from 30G/GG to 28G. For some unknown reason, I ordered a Freya Deco Vibe that was on sale with free returns. I think it was the cheapest bra I could find in size 28G and figured even if it didn't work, I could test the volume of it.

Then the unthinkable happened. It fit! Seriously, this bra fits me like a glove. My tissue is contained above the gore by the binding along the top of the cup. The wires might be a tad wide, but they're not too tall. I actually don't mind a *slightly* wide cup and prefer it to a very narrow, projected one. The cup height is about 7", which works for me (surprisingly), but the strap edge comes up a little higher. That would be the only thing I would change because I get "strap gap" when I slouch. The gaping is really not that severe, though, and I just have to adjust the straps with a bit of precision and I get a beautiful silhouette. What I've also learned is that I don't need as high a gore as I thought. I have a short torso, anyway. I just need a bra that doesn't allow my inner fullness to spill out so easily.

I'm super excited by how smooth and uplifted my profile is with this bra. I once remarked that I wish Freya Decos would fit me, because I would just buy a bunch of them and never need another bra. I'm pretty close to doing that. Time will tell if the bra continues to fit beautifully with wear. Then my wallet will become sad.

Some negatives:

When testing it, I find that if I bend over completely to pick something up off the floor, I might have to readjust or my boobs wrinkle a little towards the center. I don't own a bra yet that doesn't do this, so it's not a deal breaker.

Now for the annoying part. The selling point for the Vibe is the racer-back conversion J-hook attachment. This could be a useful addition to my wardrobe, especially for the warmer weather. Unfortunately, I have to tighten the straps on this bra so much that the adjusters are on the front, which means that for normal wear, the J-hook is also at the front. It irritates my skin and you can see the hook part through some shirts. I also tend to wear a backpack when traveling and think that the J-hook would cause major problems with snagging. I will probably have to snip it off with wire cutters, which breaks my heart.



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Violet colorway

Updated on Feb 16, 2016 Flag this

letstalkaboutbras

1949 reputation

146 bras

Too tall for me, could not fill out the top. Otherwise comfortable.

Black colorway

Updated on Feb 01, 2021 Flag this

My teen has regular Decos in 28GG and 28H, and while Deco is soft, smooth seamless and subtle, making it a favorite in rotation... she truly despises the gore.

Understandable. So we've been on the hunt for a plunge version with racerback option which came up a size small, but seemed as though it might be somewhat forgiving, being more open in the center and better suited to a very small frame. One finally turned up. In a favorite color combination, new and unused! It works! It's filling all the needs, and checking all the boxes! For a super hard to fit combo of upper full, ... close set and short bustline! Hallelujah. Back to regular life forgetting about boobs, right?

However. This is where it all goes off the rails

You see. There were... Problems.

For even with a perfect fit you can never 'have it all'. Or, as kid affectionately calls this, 'The Bra Made From Chainsaw Blades' .

Week 1. Total obsession. Glee. Some occasional hunching, and asking me for gift tape. I think nothing of this whatsoever, who hasn't felt the joy of not being stabbed in the sternum?
Week 2. Admitting defeat is the first step to redemption, but this might be a premature tactic for some. Deco plunge shows up on my sewing machine, I'm asked later whether the 'itchy strip of interfacing' sewn inside, where the band and wing join, can be removed. "It's kind of pokey". I gently say that I can pick that off but it might take some time to find a replacement strip of material to serve the same purpose- Deco Plunge might not be available for awhile. Bra leaves the machine zone, and vanishes back into the Void.
Week 3. Kid is going braless. This has never happened, and would never happen, but I say nothing and go about my business. Huh, we're running low on bandaids. I just restocked with what seemed like a lifetime supply? Also we've run out of mini pads, during a non menses time of the month. Adding items to shopping list.
Week 4. The Reveal. I'm approached with a morbid and uncharacteristic admission that I Might Be Needed To Examine Something. Expecting another tarantula hiding under the bed or maybe a stray cat in a closet, mental assessment of carriers and exterminators come to mind. No, just pulling up a hoodie to show 5 or 6" of what looks like a bloody raw series of tiny knife wounds, running from just behind my kid's armpits toward her spine.

We fetch the medical kit and sanitize this bizarre pair of deep welts while I apologize profusely for how painful the whole process is, and realize on very close inspection that this is not really chaffing, it's many series of tiny stabs. Kiddo explains that she can't wear anything because it hurts so much, and honestly I can't really imagine any kind of heat rash or boobsweat situation that compares. It finally hits me. "Hey, so what ended up happening with that aqua deco you had?"
Silence, leaving, and returning with the offending item. On close inspection, it's not the sheer vertical strip that itched... it turns out that the bands sewn horizontally along the side are some kind of cheapo antiroll elastic that becomes razorlike when pulled slightly, and has rows of stiff reinforcing rubber pointing at the sharp edge.

I've never seen a half inch lingerie elastic so rough or stiff, but I guess there's a first time for everything. Someone clearly thought, 'Oh well the color matches and it has pretty loops so it should be fine'.

It was not fine. Luckily Jennifer Fairbanks sent me some of her ultra soft bramaking elastic which saved this Deco from the trash, my girl is on the mend but still scarred, and we've all learned valuable lessons about being extremely nitpicky about textiles.
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Updated on Sep 17, 2023 Flag this

This bra is going back, but if it goes on sale again, I may try it in a cup size down.

I own a @Deco Spotlight in 28G that fit after bending the wires, so I chose this bra in the same size. The cups are much taller on the 28G Vibe, resulting in them being too big for me. The frame also seems a little bigger, but that should be cured by going a cup size down.

As far as I can tell, my only fit issue is that I'm full in the center.

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Blush colorway

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Electric Blue colorway

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