My shape: mid-height front-facing teardrop profile (ski jump with no "jump") with tall shallow roots, low apex, lots of immediate projection underneath but moderate overall projection, wide roots with lots of side fullness and shallow tails that wrap all the way to the shoulder blade, extremely close-set center tissue (possibly a trace of natural symmastia), and very firm self-supporting tissue that when pushed out of shape will push right back.
This is a lovely bra I received as a swap from another user all the way from Bulgaria! And when I say "lovely", I meant it. It is so delicate and pretty, almost perfectly transparent, and so incredibly light. ...The lace embroidery is a satin stitch done in shades of ivory and silvery grey, with the barest hint of pink on a few of the flower petals.
When I first tried it on, I was completely surprised by how well it fits, especially considering that I had never heard anything about the brand or model and it was a total shot in the dark. It is a half-cup style, though, which probably explains it: two panels with a single vertical seam + that nice side sling are really all the shaping I needed. The top edge doesn't cut in at all! I think that makes it good for even-shapes and moderately full upper roots, no matter their height (however, I don't think this is a FOT-friendly shape). The tags seem to have been removed, unfortunately, so I don't know anything about the brand's manufacture or sizing.
It is about a cup size too small, but only in the wires - the cup depth and other dimensions seem to suit me fairly well. In fact, this might be one of those fabled mythical bras that have enough immediate projection! The outer curve of the wires doesn't quite follow all the fullness of the breast tissue, but I haven't worn it for more than an hour yet to see if that will bother me (usually not a problem, since most cups rest on the tails of my roots, but unsure in this case).
The wings are quite short, which I think would be a concern for a lot of ladies, but because of my unique side root shape (like the long tail of the Nike swoosh) and my self-supporting tissue, I can get away with lots of different wing heights and various wire widths in combination with the wings. Although I certainly prefer them higher, these don't bother me. The band is quite narrow around the back as well, but I think this will make some of my lower-cut summer tops easier to wear, and again, not that much of a problem for me. It is sufficiently tight on the loosest hook for now, in spite of being pre-owned.
The gore is a bit tall, and too wide and thus a little poke-y for my taste, but there are very few in the world that aren't on me (still looking for my unicorn; a half-cup with enough immediate projection and a super-plunge gore!). I can't quite tell if my tissue meets on my sternum, or if there is simply less than 1 fingers' width of space, but either way, I've never met a gore that wasn't too wide. I'm not sure how much taking the gore in would affect the shape of the rest of the bra, but it might help.
My chief complaint is the straps, how thin they are, how far apart they are, and by association, the super wide width of the top cup edges. It is bad enough that there is some buckling in the cup fabric whenever I relax my posture at all. Unfortunately, that means that this brand, or at least this model, scales poorly down into this size range. However much it pains me to say, since I love basically everything else about this bra, for posterity I must: I do not own nor have ever tried a bra, even a Freya, that has straps set farther apart. They are removable, but the bra isn't really designed to be worn strapless, and I am not certain if they would adjust long enough for me to convert them to racerback (although that would certainly help keep them on my shoulders!).
I'm still going to wear this anyway, but it might need some help keeping the straps on my shoulders. On the other hand, I can't wait to try this in the summertime! Maybe I finally have my sheer summer bra! Read more 639 more words
I have a 29 inch underbust with almost no squish, and find in EM bras I can be either a 65 of 70 band (if EM bras fit me at all. I'm not willing to special order a 65H to find out if there is any reality in which my boob shape is compatible with them). In comexim, I can fit a 65, but seem to prefer a 70. The same is true for Gorsenia, 65 fits, 70 is more comfortable. Kris Line - 65 or 70 depending on the model.
I decided to go with a 70I for this attempt, since ...altering down the band is not the end of the world. I often have to narrow gores, so I thought 70 would be safer than 65 in case that ended up being the case here.
This bra is nearly identical to Kris Line's Brilliant in terms of shape and construction, so I'm thinking a knockoff, but you know what? The Valeia is prettier, and it feels better against my skin. (The last three pics are comparisons of Kris Line Brilliant in 65GG and Valea Brilliant in 70I. You can see the Kris Line's 65 band is a bit longer, but the Valea's has more give. What this says, well, I can't be sure. I've bought Kris Line's brilliant twice, both times in a 65 band, and the two bands were two completely different lengths, so I can't really do an adequate size comparison there. But, I think given how stretchy the Valea is, a lot of ladies would probably prefer to size down a band.
Cup shape and sizing is pretty much identical. Both have a 6 inch wire width, but the wires are very sturdy in both cases, so even though I'm constantly on the hunt for 5 inch wires, these actually feel narrower than most 5.5 inch wires I've worn and at least during try on, the width didn't bother me. How it'll fare for all day wear, I'm not sure ye, but the wires don't warp or wiggle like a lot of the UK bras I've tried. I don't know if they'd be bendable.
The Valea is a warmer, creamier beige, closer to my skin tone. The Kris Line is 'coffee', it has a hint of a cool rose shade to the beige. The Valea is more of a honey beige so looks much more neutral on my warm skin tone. Okay, I'm still casper colored, but my undertones lean toward the pink/yellow end of the spectrum, so on me, the Kris Line just looks brown, but the valea looks more like a traditional nude. Someone with a cool skin tone would probably find the opposite to be true.
I like the Valea's material better: it's softer, almost silky to the touch, with a subtle sheen. The Kris Line Brilliant is just, you know, meh. On the other hand, Kris Line's Brilliant goes up to, I believe, an N cup (or something like that), where Valea's Brilliant stops at I. If you're in the size range though, the price difference between the two is significant enough to opt for the Valea (which lands at around $35 USD, where Kris Line, even on Zulily and Brastop, is often more costly.)
In terms of construction though - identical. I have the same issue with the valea as I do with kris line - the elastic seam up top is too tight. I'll have to remove it to open it up for my full all over breasts. It's a minor alteration, so no big deal, but because of that I'm not sure if I wouldn't be better off to size down a cup. I'm not sure if opening up the top of the cup will cause gaping or not, so having only tried it on for a minute or two to write this up, I'm debating on whether to alter it or sell it and buy a 65I instead. I think if I buy a Valea bra again I would definitely want the smaller band, but I'm still mentally analyzing how the alterations I'll need to do will affect fit. Shape is basically the same, too. I'd call it a "natural" shape. On me it's not completely round but the pointy quality is soft and attractive. Read more 610 more words
This is an absolutely brilliant review. I'd never even heard of this brand. Thanks!
No sweat, learningaboutbras - I'm on the quest for the perfect bra, and making a lot of strange purchases in the process. :D So far, no shining stars. Will see how this fares once I alter the band down and open up the cup. Part of me wants it to be amazing as is, but a bigger part hopes it then comes up a little big, so I can size down to a 65I. lol.
I know this review was a while ago, but if you don't mind I have a couple of questions. I'm thinking of ordering off of eBay but there is so little info on this brand. Did you size up with this brand? I normally have to go up one with unlined Kris Line bras and two with the semi- soft Kris Lines. Also, have you tried any semi-soft bras in this brand? How is the immediate projection in this brand?
The shape and sizing is almost identical to Kris Line in this. In fact, I would call it a Kris Line rip-off, it was so close(though I did actually prefer the fabric and hue of the valea over the comparable kris line). I have not tried any of the semi-soft as I have since sized out of the range, but given how nearly identical to KL this bra is, I think it would be reasonable to expect a similar fit to Kris Line across the board. The one difference I found is that compared to kris line, the band was stretchier, so if you normally need to size up a band from your UK size in Kris Line, that will not likely be necessary here.
But, please understand that I'm basing my comments entirely on one bra that I have not worn in quite a long time.
Thanks so much for the insight. I think I'm going to just try it out. Hopefully I can just resell it if it doesn't work out
Good luck. I've been hoarding mine in case I can shrink back into it. At the moment, that really doesn't seem likely, but it was so comfortable, and a neutral, that I'm just not willing to let it go just yet.
The colorway on this bra is called rose, but it is a pretty bright pink. The cup lace is absolutely beautiful with no stretch and the cup fabric is soft and smooth. It is a sheer tulle inside the lace in the lower portion of the cup. Probably too much to call it lining. The lace was a little scratchy but a washing seems to have resolved much of that. There is 10% elastane in the wings which are stretchy. The band and straps are stretchy too, but not a whole lot more than is normal. The look is absolutely gorgeous and the quality seems to be very ...good. This bra comes as close to fitting as I usually get, which means that everything is just about perfect except that my FOB boobs can't quite fill the tops of the cups. The matching panties except for the lace inset in front are also 10% elastane. They are incredibly smooth but even with that much elastane they are by no means shapewear, they are just stretchy and super comfortable. I am really getting into sets. First, they give me super powers. ; D Second, they make me happy. Third, with @Valea as in many brands there are different style matching panties which mean that you can mix and match according to how you feel or what they are going under. Last, buying two pairs of panties solves the wash problem. Just wash all three pieces after wearing the second pair. I found this bra on Zulily but it seemed a little pricey so I started searching and found their home website. If you are interested, go to Baroness.com (which is in Bulgaria!) and search Valea. About 150 sets will come up. About 50 are out of stock which leaves about 100 to look at. The site is in English except you will have to know that a string is a thong, a figi is briefs, and a big figi is high waist briefs. The bras seem to run about 20-25 US and the panties about 10-15 US. The set took about 3 weeks to get here and they gave me a US tracking number (looks funny and ends with BG, but works) for when it arrived in the US. I was so happy with this evita Soft set that I ordered the Mira Soft set which I hope will be here in another week. Read more 303 more words
This bra can be a good decoration but it gives neither lift nor support for heavy bust. It's too delicate and sheer. The design is very nice and the fabric is soft ( may be too soft for the bra of this size). The cups are unlined with a side sling and a thin band of elastic at the top (both have no effect on how the cups fit). The band is comfortable snug, but usually I prefer 28 band. The straps are removable and very thin ( the thinnest ones I've ever seen for this size)
This is a really pretty bra that is made in the EU. There aren't very many reviews on this brand, so I was a little hesitant to order. Overall, I like it enough that I will try the brand again and order one size smaller.
This is a very pretty bra! It somehow reminds me of the Gorsenia bras I tried once (Miriam, Selma, Audrey). Looks great on you.