This doesn't feel like the usual Panache/Masquerade-shallow-wide, it'sway too deep for me. Cups too far apart.

I like the firm band and feel of the materials. Seems sturdy and lovely.

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Updated on Sep 24, 2018 Flag this

It's a beautiful bra, purple colour and lace embroidery. The lace is visible under tight and clingy shirts, and the shape isn't very uplifted, so I generally wear it with something looser. The width of the underwires feels good when I put the bra on, but during the day it gets a bit uncomfortable.

Updated on Nov 17, 2016 Flag this

This is my first foray into soft, unpadded, unstructured bras. Based on my other good experiences with Masquerade, I thought the Orla would fit me; as it turns out, the cups fit well enough but the band is on the snug side. That's an easy problem to fix, because if I don't want to deal with the tightness of the band, I can just wear an extender. On my larger (left) side, the cup fits well, but on my smaller side the top is just a little wrinkly. I'd like to see whether tucking a cookie in will fix this, but the ones I ... have are black and show through the thin fabric of the cup.

Update, July 2016: Now armed with silicone bra cookies, I can tell you, they help. In fact, both sides benefit from a half-size cookie in the bottom of the cup. In light of how much better this bra looks with the cups actually fully filled (rather than almost filled, with a hopeful expression) I think I'd do better with a size down. Unfortunately, Masquerade doesn't do C cups, and this 30 band is already too tight to be comfortable.

(As an aside, why are Masquerade sizes so inconsistent? I have an Antoinette Bandeau in 30DD, which fits in both dimensions, an Alice 28D, which fits in the cup but is too small in the band, and this Orla 30D which is too big in the cup but too small in the band. Bratabase is a huge help here: thanks to all of you who have measured your bras!)
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Plum. colorway

Updated on Jul 10, 2016 Flag this

This bra is gorgeous but does not have enough projection for me.

Updated on Nov 27, 2015 Flag this

Band runs tight/firm - as a true 30 with little squish, I need an extender for comfort.

Cups are a little shallow at the base, but don't fight with my even-fullness shape; better than Freya's half-cup offerings, which end up digging in to my ribs beneath my IMF because they're too shallow.

Good for inner fullness as there's plenty of immediate projection at the gore.

Plum colorway

Updated on Jun 01, 2015 Flag this

I knew the band ran tight in Orla, so this time, I went for a 32 back. The plum colourway seems not as firm as the white/ivory/vanilla, which I had a little trouble closing in a 30 band. This fits looser, and I'm most comfortable on the middle hooks.

The cups are somewhat wider than I want, but not uncomfortably so. The bottom cups are shallow, leaving just a little bit of empty space as I need more projection. The gore is mostly tacking (floats sometimes due to my centre fullness) and I do not quad out of the cups. The shoulder straps are very wide-set, which might be ... a problem for ladies who have narrower shoulders than I do. The lace and embroideries are very pokey through tops and shows through most everything - so don't wear this with anything even a little bit clingy.

The Plum colourway is BEAUTIFUL - rich and deep and neither too blueish nor too pink. I am not, however, a huge fan of the beige lining on the inside of the cups - it works on my pale skin, but would look strange on someone darker.
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Plum colorway

Updated on Mar 26, 2015 Flag this

i ordered this quite a while ago (last october, im a procrastinator) as my first step in the Orla adventure. id been wanting one forever, paid more than i usually would for a bra i cant return, and sadly ended up defeated. it is a mess on me fit wise, and none of the other sizes ive tried have worked either. i think Orla and i will never have a happy romance https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_sad.gif" alt=":(" /> keep in mind that this bra was so far off in size that im not sure how to properly gauge the fit!

the biggest problem on this ... is the band- it is TIGHT. i mean, ridiculously tight. the 34 band *just* goes to 31.5. if you pulled super hard or were okay with being strangled you might get it to go another inch, but i have a feeling even people who are used to 32 bands would find it too snug. i need a full extender to try it on, and i still feel uncomfortable. the 36 band orla i got later only goes to 32 inches, so i dont even know where to begin with recommendations. size up at least 2 times i guess, and make sure you can return or exchange!

because of the way the band fit, im not sure how to gauge cups. the extender skewed them a fair amount, because of how it places the straps. the straps are super far apart in any size ive tried, so i assume this one would be the same
even in a correct fit. they are half adjustable, with the front half a little less stretchy and made of thicker material.

i had some overspill on my larger side, and the smaller side seemed okay. the lace overlay on the cups scallops at the top edge and meets with a slightly stretchy strip of material, which probably would help hide minor size differences. the cups felt possibly a little too narrow, and the gore dug, but both may have been because the darn thing was so tight.

looks wise, the Orla gorgeous. lovely pale cream, not stark white, and the tiny pearl teardrop on the gore is a nice change from the bows. the pattern of the lace is really unique, sort of baroque looking. and its an un padded half cup- something i desperately want to find a good fit in! unfortunately Orla will be looking for a new home, and i will continue my bra hunt.
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Updated on Mar 13, 2015 Flag this

i keep trying with Orla, and i keep failing. i thought if i tested enough sizes, one would work, but i think i am officially giving up. even if i found the right cup + band size combo, i think the construction of Orla wont work for me.

This bra is an all around terrible fit. the band needed an extender just to be tried on, and im comfortably wearing either stretchy 32s or tight 34s most days, so it looks like i would have to size up 2 bands to even fit into it.

The cups gape quite a lot, at least a whole cup size. my ... best guess is that i would need something like a 38G/FF? the cup itself is also too wide. the gore is hellishly high, as are the wings, which has been the same across all the sizes ive tried.

My main fitting beef is that the straps are wider set than any bra i have ever tried on. my arms feel like they are begin torn off! even with my arms straight at my sides and not forward, they dig horrendously and it is excruciatingly painful.

i had such high hope for Orla- i want an unpadded half cup! but shes going back https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_sad.gif" alt=":(" />
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Plum colorway

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Updated on Mar 04, 2015 Flag this

This bra is faaaaaancy. My favorite parts of it are: the little teardrop-pearl charm in the center of the gore, the pattern of the lace, the very forgiving stretchy spandex strip along the top of the cup, and the very round shape the cups give. There is some major engineering happening with this bra, bordering on miraculous uplift. I literally have no complaints about the looks of this bra.
The main cons of this bra are comfort-based. First, I'm using the entire length of the straps but I feel like I could use just a little more - I've ever actually had a problem with ... straps being too short but these ones could use just another inch or so. (Perhaps it's because I'm in the 32E and my normal size would probably be 32F? The stretch along the top of the cup helps me be able to fudge the sizing.) Another thing with the length of the straps is that the ring that connects the front half of the strap to the adjustable back portion rests DIRECTLY on my collarbone, which gets a little irritating. Someone who wears their straps differently will obviously not have this issue, I just thought it was a little strange.
The band is also rather snug and unforgiving - I'm generally between sizes so it's less of an issue, but a true 32 might find it too small. The other issue with this bra is the center gore. I've NEVER had an issue with gores before in the past, since my boobs are fairly wide set and I don't have a protruding sternum or anything. Yet after a day wearing this bra, I find that the top of the gore has irritated my skin a bit. It probably has to do with the insane lifting and smooshing that this bra does, combined with the fact that the gore is pretty tall in general. Alas, with great power comes great responsibility.
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Updated on Feb 27, 2015 Flag this

I so wanted a vertically seamed balconette, and this bra is a stunning aesthetic example of one. It features lovely, scroll-patterned lace in an understated neutral shade and a darling tear drop pearl bauble detail at the gore.

I have the vanilla color, it's a lovely ivory-cream-oatmeal shade, and since I'm quite pale it works as a nude under light clothing. Although the lace does show a bit under thin tops, it doesn't bother me.

It runs so tight in the band and small/shallow in the cup that I'd definitely advise going up a band and cup size. I wear it with an extender, which solves the tourniquet band, but there's spillage at the top of the cup and I find myself frequently adjusting during the day. Despite this, the shape it gives me is lovely and round. If it had fit me better, I could see it being a favorite bra.

Well made, beautiful bra. I wish it had fit better, or came in larger cup sizes.

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Updated on Dec 12, 2014 Flag this