I received this bra completely by accident when Amazon somehow shipped me a bra that was the correct color and size (28E nude) but totally different brand and style (I ordered the Cleo Maddie). Thanks Amazon! Since I have this thing in my possession, I might as well list the details here on BTB for future reference.
When I tried on this bra, I immediately felt that the cups were too small for me, but the measurements look pretty appropriate for my size. I think this is another case of the Freya shape mismatch, where most of the non-plunge balcony bras don't work for my shape ... (basically anything except the Fancies). Looking at the shape more closely, the problem is that the distribution of volume in this bra is totally wrong for me.
The wires are wide and shallow, and while the measurement looks normal compared to my bras, the cup is much shorter than normal, so it's not tall enough to contain all my tissue. I get almost 1" of empty space at the outer portion of the cup that is empty, and since the wires are quite short vertically, it doesn't contain my tissue on the sides. The inside of the cup isn't cut for any center fullness (I would actually consider myself pretty even but slightly outer full), so it causes spillage in the center. The fullest point of the cup is too low for me, so the vertical proportion is off.
And thanks to the empty outer cup, any strap tension causes the excess fabric to pull up and form a deep wrinkle from the strap connection point to the bottom of the cup. The cups are constructed without any give, which makes all the problems worse, and the seams are extremely rigid, restricting tissue at all the wrong places.
The outer cup is made from a non-stretch shadow stripe lined with soft foam and thin tricot. Note that the foam here feels more like the batting used in quilts than the rigid foam you find in other cut and sew padded bras like Comexim's). It is a 4 piece cup construction, with a 3HC construction at the bottom of the cup and a standard horizontal piece going across. Scalloped lace trim is seamed into the bottom 3 pieces but they stop at the upper cup. The same trim is used at the bottom of the band and on the straps. In order to improve the fit, I would need narrower cups with more inner projection, more cup height, and deeper and longer wires that come up further along the outer cup.
Aesthetically, this bra is totally fine. It does remind me a bit of Cleo Lexi and Maddie if they weren't molded cups. In practice, the seam trims add to the lumpiness of this bra and really weren't an ideal choice. Many other reviewers commented that the seams show visibly under clothing. There is a small random square charm at the gore (Freya always gets me with these random charms), but I like the wide straps with scalloped trim, bow detail at the strap attachment, and leotard back.
There is a reason I don't bother trying Freya fashion styles anymore, since they never work for me. Sadly, this random arrival was another Freya fail.
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Updated on Mar 15, 2020 Flag this
90s reference made me smile. :)
I have always loved the look of the Freya half cups, but have also always found them too shallow. And Freya bands are known for being larger than average, in general, which means I can't wear them any more either. I feel your pain. Sorry it's not returnable!