I ordered this Perfects Louisa from Kohl's. Other reviews said the band runs very small, so I sister-sized and ordered a band size up and a cup size down. At the same time, I also ordered Perfects' Millie, Michelle, and Mila. All three of those have shallow cups, but the Louisa is more projected. But they ALL run small in the band. The molded cups are a thin foam, so no padding per se to add volume; just enough coverage for modesty. The cups give a nice rounded shape. The overlace is smooth so it won't show under thin clothes, (except maybe just a little, ...at the top edge, where it has an additional layer of lace that puts a nice finish on the cups). It also has a dart in the bottom of the cup and even in a super thin, tight shirt I could still barely see the dart. The underwire is pretty firm, but not uncomfortable, and keeps its' shape when the band is stretched. The gore is Almost Perfect for my close-set breasts. The channels are 'ever so slightly' overlapped, and the gore sits nicely on my sternum. It is only a smidgen too tall, but not enough to be uncomfortable. They call the Louisa a balconette, but the gore sits lower than a typical balconette. It gives nice forward facing cleavage without looking fake or feel like you are being squooshed into the middle. The band is supportive, made with two layers of stretch mesh and elastic on the edges. The back strap is anchored to the bottom band. The wings are not too tall, but neither are they too short. So far, they are quite comfortable. The only thing I've noticed is the back straps tend to squeek inside the ring that they attach with to the band. But I'm assuming that will loosen up with wear & washing. Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!
Edit: After wearing this for a month or so now, two issues have come up that were not immediately apparent. First, the side 'boning' (which is plastic) is now too flexible and curls inward on both its' top and bottom edge. This creates a bulge under the arms that wasn't there when the bra was new. Secondly, I am now finding the underwire cuts in under the arms VERY painfully by the end of the day. Again, it wasn't like that when it was new. (But I have put on a couple of pounds, so maybe that's all it is.) So, I'm wondering if by stretching the underwire a little more open if it will be enough to once again be comfortable. The wire is very stiff, so we shall see... The band has stretched 'some', but not enough to warrant going back to my optimal 32DDD/E.
Second edit: after a weight loss of only 5 pounds the side boning is no longer an issue. Also, at some point I noticed the front straps had become creased just above the cups, near the Tail of Spence. Since the strap is attached very simply onto the cup with no hidden seams or trim toppings, I moved each strap inward by 1/4", which lessens the total spacing of the straps by 1/2". Not that I had problems with them sliding off, but now it is more comfortable. And as a bonus, it even gapes less! Read more 465 more words
A molded contour plunge that the band runs very small (so I ordered up). The cups are shallow and the underwire sat on my ribs rather than in my IMF, as well as the cups quadded. Nice support through the band though. Boning under the arm helps.
This is such a beautiful bra and very comfortable. But I had 2 issues with it: lack of center fullness caused quadding, and the outside top edge of the cup is too open, causing gaping. Might be fine for someone with less center fullness and FoT.
The band definitely runs small, but the cups are fairly consistent as long as you sister-size. The cups are lightly lined with a thin foam (< 1/8" thick). The outer lace on the bottom of the cup has a dart for shaping, and is a gorgeous ivory! The top of the cups have little flocked dots. The outer cups have a vertical section ...of the same fabric used for the band. The band has even tension between the fabric and the elastic edges. Both the elastic on the band and the shoulder straps have flocking on the inside, making it very comfortable. There is boning in the wings which give excellent side support. Straps are fully adjustable.
It's tempting to keep this one, but it's not very forgiving on my smaller side and so it gapes more than I like. Also, I was disappointed with the way it was shipped (ordered from Kohl's), in an oversized plastic bag with nothing to maintain shape. Consequently, it had gotten crushed and arrived with a major crease in one of the cups that did not disappear when wearing. That one had a distinct pointy shape to it, even though the other was a nice round shape. Read more 138 more words
I ordered this gorgeous bra from Kohl's. First off, let me say the band runs a full size small on this brand, so order up. I sister-sized down in the cup and it is just about right. It's a padded plunge and has the option to cross the back straps into a racer back. The cups are light beige and the black stretch lace is thin enough to be virtually invisible under thin clothes. The cups are fairly shallow, but give the appearance of projection because of the 1" thick tapered padding. There is a decent amount of center projection and the cups give a beautiful ...rounded shape. The front straps are attached to the cups by the lace overlay, which extends above the cups by 3.5", and are set fairly close to a vertical line above the apex. I can't imagine these straps falling off narrow shoulders, even without converting it to racer back. The cup design keeps everything front and center, but I didn't get the feeling I would fall out.
There are two issues that prevent this from being a 'perfect' fit (haha, pun intended): #1: the cups are very open, and caused gaping under the lace portion above the cups. Yet, that lace overlay maintains a smooth even tension, does not pucker, and disguises the openness so that it is barely visible, even without a top on. In that sense, it is very forgiving. Honestly, this would be an amazing bra for someone FoT or high set! #2: there is a narrow band of elastic along the top edge of the cups that caused quadding ONLY after I did the Swoop&Scoop. But then things settled into place after a few minutes and the quadding disappeared. This bra is one of those rare breeds that fits me better without the Swoop&Scoop.
Bottom line: an elegant, sexy bra, perfect for low necklines, and that Special Occasion dress. Read more 220 more words
Thanks for your updates!