This bra is an ultimate skip if you're small and shallow. I love the Mercedes bra from TLBC. That has level 3 padding and this is a 4-5 according to the website. The amount of padding is insane! I can't imagine someone my size wanting that much padding. I'm not fooling anyone with this bra. The cups are bigger than the Mercedes and I get insane gaping. I'm not sure sizing down would help. The bra is very pretty, but even if I didnt have gaping, the insane padding is still a turn off
I suppose there's a clientele for any amount of padding but this specific bra packs a wacky amount across a very tiny surface, basically creating an ultra narrow and projected cup shape which isn't super common for women who are naturally in this size range... I can see why it does not look like what you'd expect, and also it doesn't seem compatible with your natural shape (which has to fit behind it) hence the gaping.
This is the best fitting bra I own so far. It gapes slightly on my smaller boob, but is perfect otherwise. The band is snug but comfortable for me (25-26" underbust) on the looser hook. Unlike the Lucia bra, this one is made for wider set breasts. I would definitely recommend this for shallow, wider set breasts. The TLBC website says that this bra runs looser in the band and slightly bigger in the cups than their other bras. In my opinion sizing down from your regular TLBC bra size is not necessary. The band stretches to 28 inches and I think getting an A would cause quadboob. One thing I will mention is that the straps are a bit short. I had to adjust them to their longest, but I am also pretty tall, so this might not be a problem for petites.
I really wanted to love this bra because it's TLBC's flagship and so darn pretty, but it doesn't work for my shallow, wide breasts at all. Despite the cups being very shallow, I get gaping on the top because the cups are very close together. The band fits comfortably on my 26" underbust on the loosest hook so it is good for people who need a smaller band size. I would recommend this bra to people with closer-set breasts.
This is the first sub-30 band bra I've ever tried, so my opinion of the fit is going to be a little skewed. It's a lovely basic bra, well made and sturdy feeling. I'm glad that some of the padding is removable, because there's quite a lot, if you want that! The cups are too small for me, and even as someone with rather shallow breasts, I get the "quad boob" effect. I was surprised at how well it seemed to stay up as a strapless bra, even with my fit issues. I also like the option of the dark nude color.
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.
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. Read more 532 more words
Wow, that's very strange that different colours of the same model can have different sizing. I'm beginning to think their bras may be cheaply made which causes the inconsistency.
I'd agree that some of their bras are simply scaled down from regular sized bras and are not truly "petite" sized. I guess, after all, it is a business and they can do whatever they want as long as the product sells.
I have heard that this bra runs small in both cup and band, and I have to agree. With the padding removed my larger breast quadboobs (a first for me!) and the band is a bit too tight. I can see why it is listed as "good for shallow breasts." I would try it in 30B, though that still might not work for me since the wires are not as wide as I would expect for a "shallow-friendly" bra. Still, it's a lovely, well-made strapless bra.
I suppose there's a clientele for any amount of padding but this specific bra packs a wacky amount across a very tiny surface, basically creating an ultra narrow and projected cup shape which isn't super common for women who are naturally in this size range... I can see why it does not look like what you'd expect, and also it doesn't seem compatible with your natural shape (which has to fit behind it) hence the gaping.