I'd read reviews suggesting to order a cup size smaller, and that seems accurate. I'm actually tempted to try two cup sizes smaller.
Stretchy band, and the straps are too far apart for me. I have some empty space in the cups, mostly along the bottom and sides, and I have to choose between the wires stabbing me in the sternum or the gore riding too low. It fits nicely if I clip the straps together in the back (with a purchased band, no J-hook on this one), but I find that too uncomfortable for what would be an everyday bra. It's frustratingly close to a perfect fit. If I pull in as if the straps were attached further inward on the cups, everything falls into place.
It's a good t-shirt bra, and the fit problems wouldn't show under clothing. If it were cheaper, I'd keep it and try to alter it to be more comfortable. The search continues for something actually scaled down for a smaller frame.
This so accurately describes the issues I’ve been having with this bra, thank you! The straps seemed a bit wide and the band too stretchy, though so close to being perfect everywhere else. Guess it’ll be going back for me too.
This is probably the best fitting bra I've found so far. I love the fit of this. the 32 band fits my 33" underbust better than every 34" band I've tried. The half cup works great with my FoT shape and the cups and wires are not too tall for my short roots. I'm able to completely fit the cup with no wrinkling or gaping on the bottom or sides. It gives a very nice supported, uplifted look.
While technically this bra does not fit as the cups are too big and the upper lace too closed, I have successfully modified it to fit rather nicely. I added a pad in each cup, a dart in the center of the cup, and brought the lace down to make a more open cup. With the cream strips on black fabric, you can't even tell there is an extra dart. Lovely rounded shape with good cleavage - front and center. The wires are more narrow which helps. The fabric is a bit scratchy but hopefully that will improve with washing and wear.
The fabric never did improve. It has remained scratchy but tolerable though perhaps not for long.
I love how this bra looks! The fabric is beautiful and the quality is exactly what I expect! I wish I could get it in my head that this shape is great for even shapes but not for my nike swoop splayed breasts..
This new black Deco fits significantly smaller than my very old one, despite being the exact same model. Not sure if the old one has stretched out, or whether it's possible that the cups themselves stretch out, or if the newer ones run a bit smaller.
Love this bra although I do get a little gapping at the top of the right cup after wearing it awhile. It feels as if it fits perfectly after scooping the girls into the cups when I first put it on so I'm not sure what exactly the issue is. Will try ordering it in a 30DD to see if that works better. The band seems to fit well, is comfortable, stays in place all day and, as an added bonus, there are no unsightly bulges across my back when I'm wearing it under a fitted t-shirt. Yay!
One month later....Finally ordered the 30DD and it fits much better but still gaps a bit in the top of the cup, especially on the right.
One year later.... I've just purchased both the Freya Spotlight moulded plunge bra and the Freya Hattie bra, both in 30DD and they fit perfectly with no gapping at the top of the cup. They also give me better cleavage.
The reason why I got this bra was because I really liked how the Freya Fearne Padded Half Cup Bra (4093) fit me. Since this was somewhat similar, I decided to get it. Well... hmm... It DOES fit though, and the cut is very similar to the Fearne. However, I wouldn't call it "padded" as it would be more apt to describe it as "heavily lined". To be honest, I didn't quite like it as much as I wanted to. It's cute though. I got the "Ink" colourway, a dark blue with fuchsia lace ribbons/trimmings. Now, why didn't I like it? I suspect it's the material. ...It's too "slippery" for my taste and it's super stretchy. What I liked in the Fearne, I did not find it here. The bra just wasn't "firm" enough if that makes any sense. It fits on the loose/bigger end of the 34E spectrum.
What I liked: The pretty colours! For a "padded" bra, it's quite light so it would be good for summer.
What I didn't like: The material - it was too "slippery" for my liking, even the straps slide! The super stretchiness - the straps are stretchy too...
This bra is very well made, but the cups are really stiff. It feels like you are wearing armor. It is not proportioned for a petite at all. The straps were falling off my shoulders.
In all this was just a too big bra for me. I think I am more of a 30c.
The wires in this particular 30E are particularly short for their wire channels. My measurement for cup width went from tip to tip of the wire and I got 5". If I measure the ends of the wire channels, it's closer to 5.5". Similarly with I measured the wire length only from tip to tip of the wire and got 9.5". If I measure the whole wire channel, it is 10.5".
Not sure if all Gems have this short wire or if it is just mine.
I think my shape just doesn't agree with Freya unlined plunges. I don't have enough center or top fullness to fill this bra out, so the top bit of the cup and stretch lace won't lay right.
I own the Freya Deco swim in 30DD and it fits perfectly. However, the cups of this bra have more outer upper fullness. Even though the measurements on bratabase are almost the same for both bras, these are too large on me. I should have sized down.
ahhhhhhhhh, comfy. These cups run tall and full, so size down in cup, probably the same as other same cut freya unlined bras. The wires are narrow enough which is a huge relief, and the tops give me no trouble in either direction. Filling the bottom with some wrinkling on small side on top. [fot, tall roots]. The purple with green is BRIGHT, While some love this color I'd prefer the black with blue.
Definitely the best bra I've ever found to fit comfortably! I was professionally fit into this bra over a year ago and it's the best investment I ever made. Love that they included the J hooks to convert into a racer-back and the lightly lined cups so that it creates a very normal breast shape instead of the pointy cups on the unlined bras. Disappointed in the color choices though, as I'm not a fan of the crazy bright colors so the gray was the right choice for me, just wish it was a little bit lighter so that I could wear under whites. Only problem with construction is the scalloping on the straps, the J hook caught one loop and started to pull the whole thing. Had to readjust individually to correct.
Very nice bra. Great support and definitely keeps the girls in place. Freya is a funny brand with the unlined cups though... they are way to pointy so I have to sew in the tip of the cup to create a more natural curve. Love the color and the wider straps help to not dig into my shoulders so much.
I own this in neon yellow/green, and it's the most obnoxiously awesome color. The band is slightly large, but that works well for me. The cups have good depth, but the wires are too wide for me. This causes my breasts to look wide from the front, but not an unbearable amount. The top of the gore jabs me in the sternum, which is caused by too tall gore. If you're looking for a sheer unlined bra, this one is a cute one.
Thanks to LeProfessor for the "size up in the cup" tip and the dearth of information in Bratabase, one of the four bras that I recently purchased actually fit pretty well! The other three were:
i. Panache Andorra Full Cup Bra (5675) in 34E, which fit quite nicely albeit the pointy shape (easily fixed with nipple covers), but I had to return it as it had a small hole in the wing! Sad! ii. Fantasie Smoothing Moulded T-shirt Bra (4510) in 34E, which proved to be a disaster as the cups were WAY too big for me. ...In retrospect, I should have sized down to a 34D. Even then I would think the cups would have gaped. iii. B.tempt'd By Wacoal Ciao Bella Balconette (953144) in 34DDD, which I didn't quite like as it flattened my boobs and was a tad too tight. I forgot that I should have gotten a 36DDD instead but even so, the cups would have been way too shallow.
Back to the Fearne! What I love:
- The padded straps (although I know not everybody loves padded straps but I found them to be very comfortable!) - The rounded shape, thanks to the padded cups. Incidentally, the padding was slightly thicker than I expected but it was still nice. - The stretchy band, it's stretchy but it's not overly stretchy so those who are in between bands might be better off sizing down. I'm pretty much a 34" so I stuck with a 34 band and it's pretty good so far, after about 3-4 times of wear.
What I didn't quite like but can live with:
- The wires are quite firm so those with more sensitive skin/tissue might feel some discomfort here. Wires are still "bendable" though. - The half-cups are less half than I would have preferred although I think this might be due to my short(er) torso. My roots are tall-ish so it was still alright. They're less open on top though. - The stretchy band. I'm concerned that the band will stretch out in time, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
What to bear in mind:
- The cups are quite projected, which works for my shape: wide, shallow but projected. I do get "wrinkles" but it could also be due to the fabric, which is on the shinier side. - The cups are on the taller end of the half-cup spectrum, being about 6.5" high.
Overall, I quite like this bra and am quite happy with it! Read more 313 more words
This so accurately describes the issues I’ve been having with this bra, thank you! The straps seemed a bit wide and the band too stretchy, though so close to being perfect everywhere else. Guess it’ll be going back for me too.