I admire a pretty frilly appliqued rose-drenched bra as much as the next girl, but given my druthers, I'm pretty no-nonsense when it comes to underwear. I just want something comfortable and supportive. I have a number of skin sensitivities, in particular to polyester, which means I'm uncomfortable in most bras by the end of the day. A basic, everyday bra in a breathable, natural fiber, like cotton or linen, has been my dream since I started my bra quest. When I discovered my true size, it looked like finding a natural fiber bra that actually fit was a pipe dream. But it looks like Melissa has me ... covered! I still have to pinpoint my EU/Melissa size, but I really like the design and construction of these simple, comfy bras.
Melissa were a dream to work with--great email customer service in English and suuuuper fast shipping. I received the bras within a week! The prices are also quite reasonable, with most bras running for between 60 and 100 zlotys (about $20-$35 USD). Shipping to the U.S. from Poland is always steep (about 50 zlotys, or $15, almost as much as one of the bras!) but even when you factor in shipping, it's quite inexpensive. They also do custom orders, although I have not partaken of that. I did return some parts of this order to exchange for another size, so I'll try to remember to update about that experience when it is complete.
Anyway, this bra. It's too big. I overestimated the size on this whole order--I'm usually a 30F UK in unpadded cups such as Freya Rio, and I probably should have gone with 65G or 70F. The band is nice and firm, maybe a little too much so (but that's a good starting place for cotton, which tends to stretch), but the cup is too large for me in basically every dimension: a little too wide, a little too deep, gore a little too tall. (Tall gore is good for me generally, because I have soft breasts that tend to spill toward the middle, but I could use it being about 10% shorter so it's not pressing against my sternum.) I'm optimistic that sizing down a cup would fix all my issues. But this particular model was on sale & discontinued, so I'm keeping it anyway! It's very comfortable, and having a slightly too large bra can be useful for Certain Days of the Month.
Material: 67% cotton, 30% linen, 3% polyester
T-shirt friendly: Yes, more or less. It's a smooth fabric cup with a small amount of lace along the upper part of the cup. Potential headlights because it's unlined.
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Updated on Aug 14, 2014 Flag this
Leedlebra - could you give me some guidance on sizing (I've been staring at their chart for an hour and it's still... not clear.) I wear a 34DD but my under bust measurement is 37 and my over bust is 44. Should I get a 95 or 85, or split the difference and go with a 90? I've gathered that based on the difference between my over and under bust I'd be a C, just not clear on the band size. Thanks!