I acquired this Envy quite cheap, secondhand from the buy/sell/swap subreddit. It's definitely been worn a few times (judging by the wear on the tag-- the lace itself seems to be in mostly solid condition). Also, it's possibly been put in the dryer, or in the washer, as the underwire seems to be slightly warped (though this could also be from age). The lace/band around the underwire won't seem to lay flat, but it doesn't affect the fit. I wanted to try the Envy, as it seemed that it might be deep enough in the cup, if loose in the stretch lace top. When I got it, I ... was right-- very comfortable, wasn't sliding out of my IMF nearly as badly, and the top lace was gaping like wild.
I decided to do a little experiment, given how inexpensive the bra was to begin with. I figured, if I ruined it, oh well-- now I know what definitely won't work. What I did was cut along the side of the stretch lace against the side panel of the bra, on each side. I also cut about .5" along the bottom (making an L shape and freeing the edge of the lace from the side panel of the bra). Then, I pulled the stretch lace tighter, about .5" or so at the widest point, and sewed it back on in an angle, so that the excess lace on the side made a triangle shape-- the widest point being at the top of the cup, the tip of the triangle at the bottom corner.
Doing this small and easy alteration proved to make all the difference-- there was now no gaping along the top edge at all. Of course, doing this does have one drawback-- as I only narrowed the top of the cup but not the bottom part of the cup, there will be a slight "nipple" in the fabric by the corner of the lace/side panel due to the extra fabric on the bottom accommodating for the shorter length of lace on top. However, it is barely noticeable, and definitely cannot be seen under shirts. If it were possible to do the alteration on the other side of the cup, the sides where the lace attaches near the gore, I think the alteration would come out a little nicer-- but there is just no extra room to sew. I'll also admit that I did this project as a complete novice seamstress; I can barely sew a button. The black textured lace on the outside of the bra saved my ugly stitches-- they are completely hidden in the fabric/color.
I also noted that I had a nicer, more rounded shape after tightening the lace-- which makes sense. The gaping, loose lace was not providing any extra support, while now it is. Overall, I don't think I would attempt this with a brand new, expensive bra. This is probably best saved for cheaper ones that you don't mind ruining, but I am pleased to say that this is officially my best fitting bra. Having wide/short roots with a lot of projection has proved to be a challenge for me... sometimes, you have to be creative!
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black colorway
- This bra's measurements have been altered
- I cut the stretch lace on top near the side panels, pulled it about .5" tighter, then restitched it in place. This prevents the stretch lace from gaping like crazy.
Updated on Apr 06, 2017 Flag this
Yay for successful alterations....and cheap bras ;-) ;-)