This review is for the Hyacinth/Mink colour of this bra, and doesn't really apply to the Mink/Nude colour, as their bands are different.

This bra is actually a fairly good fit on me, but I just couldn't get on with it. No matter how I adjusted it, with or without extender hooks, I was always aware of it. I just couldn't get it to feel comfortable.

I'm not the first person to notice that TLBC's sizing seems to be all over the place. I really don't know why they can't get more consistency across their sizes. Let's start with band size. In the past month ... I've ordered 6 TLBC bras, all in a 28 band, and the bands have differed in size by 4.5cm unstretched, and 9cm (3.5 inches!!) stretched. This makes it virtually impossible to know what size to choose on mail order. These bands should all be the same length, surely??

Model.................Band..Stretched Band
Nicole (Hyacinth)..53..........69
Nicole (Nude)........51..........74
Ethel.......................53..........72
Ethel.......................51..........72
Yvonne..................55..........75.5
Lucia......................50.5.......66.4

Note the 5cm difference between the 28-band Nicole in Hyacinth colour vs. the same bra in Nude colour!

The first problem I had with this bra is the band being too tight. My ribcage measures 66cm with a super-tight tape. I usually feel comfortable in bands that are around 75cm, so at 69cm, this is 2" too small. The 28C Nude Nicole's 74cm stretched band was pretty comfortable. So, choose your band size based on which colour you want for this bra!!


I can't quite pin down the reason for the other problem I had with this bra. It just made me feel like I was constantly rolling my shoulders forwards, no matter how I adjusted the straps and/or the band. I think MAYBE the straps are set a little too wide for me, I'm not sure. They were constantly falling off my shoulders when I added extender hooks so that the band felt more comfortable.

TLBC's fit tips for this bra say that it has "slightly roomier cups". Presumably this means slightly larger volume? I really don't understand WHY they would do this - seems like just another reason to confuse the customer!

With the removable padding in, these cups fit me pretty well, not really any gaping or overspill. The wires at the side come up really high, which is something that I always seem to need, to stop my wide-set boobs from escaping at the sides. My boobs are fairly shallow, and I found that the cup projection was good on this bra too.
With the padding removed, the cups are definitely too big, and gape at the top, whilst still fitting ok at the bottom and underarms.

mellowjello88 , who also has wide-set shallow boobs, had a very different experience with this bra (although note that she reviewed the Nude-coloured version, which has a much stretchier band than my Hyacinth version). Read her review here: http://www.bratabase.com/browse/the-little-bra-company/nicole/28C/#review-15407.

By contrast:

The very lovely-looking Yvonne 28A (pics here: http://www.bratabase.com/bra/dl63k/) had wires that were much too low-cut at the sides for me. I think I would be a 28B-C in Yvonne if not for the wire-length issue

The Lucia (non-convertible straps) 28B (pics here: http://www.bratabase.com/bra/dl6e3/) had cups that were set too close together for me, and a band that was too tight. I think I would be a 30B in Lucia if not for the cups being too close together.

The Ethel in 28B is a great fit, and the only one of the six that I'm going to keep. I'll be reviewing this one soon.


Overall, this bra, to me, has the feel of being designed for a larger woman. It doesn't feel like it was designed for a petite frame, which seems at odds with TLBC's ethos.
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Updated on Mar 09, 2014 Flag this