Oh Masquerade, I am so bummed that I discovered this line well after it was discontinued. I liked my first Angie so much that I decided to grab another colorway of it, and was able to pick up Plum as well. I am very pleased that both bras measure extremely consistently and they fit identically.

I've tried a couple of other 3HC cuts since I originally tried this bra (Comexim Basic 3HC, Freya 3HC, Fantasie 3HC, Masquerade Medina 3HC), and surprisingly this is one of the only 3HC cuts that fits me well. For some reason almost all 3HCs are too shallow for me, so while ... they fit, they give me a really flat side profile. Overall, the cups fit me quite well. However, due to the shape of the cup, I would say that it looks a little different than 3HC cups from other brands. The fullness of the cup is a little skewed toward the center gore, which I also found to be true in the Athena. The horizontal center of the cup is not particularly projected and gives a slightly flatter look than you would get in a molded T-shirt bra. Vertically, the cup is also not very projected either. For a foam cup bra, this gives a much more "natural" look than other similar bras, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The band on this bra measures the same as my Alice in 30D, which runs larger than my Rhea in 30DD. Even though the band is far from snug on me, I found it wearable and comfortable. I'd have to alter it down to get a true snug fit, but since this bra is so comfortable, I may just leave the bra as-is and wear it as a very beautiful and fancy "comfy bra." Though this measures the same as the Alice band, this style has taller wings and a leotard back, so it feels firmer and more stable, but would not be as easy to alter. One note about this is that the decorative straps of this bra extend quite far into the back, and the amount of adjustable strap is quite limited on this particular style. I have been wearing my straps longer than I used to these days, but I still had to shorten the straps the entire way.

Regarding the styling, this bra is much prettier in person than I had expected online. I have both the Raspberry and Plum colorways, which are both solid, but I think the most beautiful one is the black overlay with red. I'd love to hunt this down at some point in a 28E if possible! The cups are seamed foam cups with open floral lace overlay, and the seams are decorated on the outside with satin strips, but I didn't find them to be too lumpy under clothing. There is lightweight lace at the upper cup edge, which extends to the front of the straps. The decorative straps are made from the same satin as the seam detailing, underwire channel, and band. The cradle is also decorated with lace, hardware is gold, and the center gore is actually different between the two colorways I own-- the Raspberry has a cute little pleated bow, while the Plum has a plain bow with square amethyst charm. A thoughtful design touch that I appreciate given that Masquerade bras are luxurious without being over the top with trims.
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Plum colorway

Updated on May 24, 2020 Flag this

Oh Masquerade, I am so bummed that I discovered this line well after it was discontinued. I've been picking up scraps and pieces from eBay, so I've mostly been relegated to my sister size of 30DD rather than my normal 28E. Usually sister sizing for me can be a risky prospect since I have a 26.5" ribcage, but while Masquerade 30 bands are a little big, they don't run nearly as big as other brands. Luckily, most of the cup shapes in this line have worked out for me as long as I do the proper research to identify the best size to order since ... they are a bit inconsistent.

Angie is another bra that has worked out quite well for me. Originally I was concerned about this style because the pictures made it look quite unappealing in the solid color, and the measurement info for 30DD suggested that the cups run a whole size too shallow. However, Angie eventually won me over, so I decided to order it. This 3HC cup does run a bit shallow, but not nearly as shallow as the measurement data lead me to believe. I found that the cup depth on my actual bra is much closer to the measurement of the 28E (expected measurement, since there are no measurements available), so I suspect that the listed info for 30DD is simply due to measurement error.

Overall, the cups fit me quite well. However, due to the shape of the cup, I would say that it looks a little different than 3HC cups from other brands. The fullness of the cup is a little skewed toward the center gore, which I also found to be true in the Athena. The horizontal center of the cup is not particularly projected and gives a slightly flatter look than you would get in a molded T-shirt bra. Vertically, the cup is also not very projected either. For a foam cup bra, this gives a much more "natural" look than other similar bras, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The band on this bra measures the same as my Alice in 30D, which runs larger than my Rhea in 30DD. Even though the band is far from snug on me, I found it wearable and comfortable. I'd have to alter it down to get a true snug fit, but since this bra is so comfortable, I may just leave the bra as-is and wear it as a very beautiful and fancy "comfy bra." Though this measures the same as the Alice band, this style has taller wings and a leotard back, so it feels firmer and more stable, but would not be as easy to alter. One note about this is that the decorative straps of this bra extend quite far into the back, and the amount of adjustable strap is quite limited on this particular style. I have been wearing my straps longer than I used to these days, but I still had to shorten the straps the entire way.

Regarding the styling, this bra is much prettier in person than I had expected online. I have the Raspberry colorway, but I think the most beautiful one is the black overlay with red. I'd love to hunt this down at some point in a 28E if possible! The cups are seamed foam cups with open floral lace overlay, and the seams are decorated on the outside with satin strips, but I didn't find them to be too lumpy under clothing. There is lightweight lace at the upper cup edge, which extends to the front of the straps. The decorative straps are made from the same satin as the seam detailing, underwire channel, and band. The cradle is also decorated with lace, hardware is gold, and the center gore is decorated with an adorable pleated bow that I haven't seen anywhere else.

Once again, Masquerade has delivered another lovely bra. I ended up purchasing another one in Plum and am pleased that both bras measure extremely consistently and fit the same!
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Raspberry colorway

Updated on May 24, 2020 Flag this

Note to self: the outer edge of this bra is 4 inches, which is shorter than many other bras in this size range.

This bra almost ticks a lot of boxes for me: it's less painful in the armpit than a lot of other bras, there's only a little gap at the top of my smaller boob, the gore tacks most of the way & is only crawling onto my larger boob. If the wires were narrower and the whole thing shorter on the sides (wires and fabric both), I'd actually like it.

pink colorway

Updated on Aug 10, 2019 Flag this

Didn't write a review

This bra is not owned any more

Added on Jan 25, 2018

Didn't write a review

Red/Black colorway

Added on Jul 31, 2021