I took a chance on this bra via Zulily after reading a heap into Samanta as a brand. I was a bit turned off by the €17.50 Eurozone(!) delivery when ordering direct, and Zulily managed to take three weeks just to ship to Australia (it's usually five business days) let alone processing... I digress - I have a Samanta in my hands, finally!

Firstly, this bra is beautifully well made. The lower half of the cup is a double-layered stretch fabric: the outside fabric is silky, and the inside fabric a thin-ish, soft stretchy mesh not unlike what is used in some higher-end bra bands. As a result the ... bra was surprisingly adaptable to my very projected shape despite appearing fairly shallow at first (I'll get back to this). There's a relatively small side support sling which is the silky fabric on both sides, and the same fabric is on the strap as well. The upper cup is a non-stretch mesh with some gorgeous embroidery (although there's nothing between the back of the embroidery and your skin, so those with sensory concerns may wish to be cautious), with a strip of elastic holding the top of the cup in place. The straps are decently thick, fully adjustable with a subtle ruching pattern on the top which also helps prevent slipping. The gore detail is very minimal, which to me adds to the appeal.

I wish the fit was as nice as the craftsmanship. Now, to their credit Samanta does explain the A211 cut as "ensuring maximum subtlety and comfort" and neither of these factors are incorrect. Having avoided their A922 (deepest) cut as it's self-described as a minimiser, I was surprised to put the Semi on to find my boobs effectively minimised. Nothing against minimising one's chest, but this isn't a look I like on myself. The coverage felt no different to a Panache balconette - however, it's obvious that this bra is also one cup size too small for me. I'd sized down after reading that Samanta ran large in cup and band, I found the 70 band TTS to a 32 (veering towards loose but not by much), I generally wear a 32G in unlined styles so if I were to order a Samanta again this would probably be my true size, however I feel this would push most of their cuts into the too-much-bra territory for me. I think if the top half of the cup was also stretch mesh/lace, this wouldn't be an issue, but the embroidery might feel otherwise.

It is certainly a comfortable bra, though! Lightweight wires mean I don't get a tacking gore, but this isn't too much of a surprise considering the only Polish bras that tack for me are unlined EMs (the cup sizing didn't help, of course), not to mention that it certainly helps with the comfort. The wires themselves are nice and narrow, with some give between the wire and strap. The straps are placed similarly wide to EM, which I find a bit too wide for my shoulder but manageable, and they are just stretchy enough to not dig in while still giving support. I do get some quadding once my breasts are settled but this is likely more to do with the sizing error than the actual design (i.e. I don't think I'd have this issue in my correct size), however I'd proceed with caution if you're especially FOT - I'm relatively FOT however I get much more quadding in 32G non-stretch Cleos than in this bra. The wing height is also on par with Comexim so this bra may be your friend if stabby wires are an ongoing battle. As for the projection - as mentioned it's surprisingly adaptable, it's certainly not EM 3HC levels of projection but I'd equate it roughly to a Panache Jasmine. My breasts aren't even remotely self-supporting and I can see them bullying this bra halfway down my chest for the first few wears, but perhaps in time the stretchiness will work in my favour.

Ultimately, I love the materials and it's a very comfortable bra, I don't like the full coverage aspect or the ultimate shape on me. This bra will certainly serve its purpose but is unlikely to become a staple rotation bra for me - but I'm inclined to try a different cut to see if my luck lies elsewhere.

** Edit to add: I have since altered this bra to remove the elastic strip at the top of the cups, on the mesh half. Unfortunately this didn't completely solve the issue of the quadding due to the embroidery, although it helped a little bit. However, an unexpected surprise was the change in appearance of the design - the elastic hides the gorgeous detailing on the edge of the cups, which is now visible in its full glory. So I would definitely still say that this bra is slightly too small for me, but now it feels much more special https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" />
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Updated on Nov 20, 2016 Flag this