Bras Briefly Explained

Purple Reigns

I recently purchased two new sets which incidentally happened to be…purple! Hence the tedious link!
The first set was the stunning Emily in lavender by Curvy Kate.

I tried this bra in blue for the Star In A Bra photoshoot and I was so impressed by the shape and style that I have been toying with the idea of getting this purple version ever since. As proven by this wonderful post by the Brastop blog the Emily bra gives fantastic support at every size. It is sheer enough to be sexy and covered enough to wear under most tops. It has fully adjustable straps and three hooks and eyes meaning it gives optimum comfort and support. I found the band to be a little stretchy and think a 34HH would have been as good a fit on me, so if you are between back sizes you could go down one. The colour is just divine and looks great against most skin tones. The size 18 thong was a good fit around my hips but a tad baggy elsewhere, a 16 would have been ok but probably cut into my muffin top a bit too much and so it depends on how you like your pants to fit as to whether you want to go for your lower or upper size.

The second set I got was the new Rhea by Masquerade in mulberry and slate. As I have the other two Rhea sets I knew that this bra was a fab fit and style for me – and I was not disappointed!

As with all Panache bras the band comes up quite snug and so this 36H was perfect for me. It gave me that fantastic rounded shape that is perfect for sweetheart necklines and high scoop necks. The straps are half adjustable but fairly short and did not even need to be moved. It has two hook and eyes which is ok but I do prefer the firmness of three. The colour is perfect for winter and although it has a little lace detail it tends to not show underneath anything unless it is very thin. I always feel very secure in this bra and often wear the pale pink one all day at work. The matching briefs are a size 18 and are a perfect fit – which is standard Masquerade sizing for me. I hope they keep bringing out new and gorgeous Rhea sets as they make me feel indescribably sexy, give my boobs a shape to die for and last for a very long time.

Parting With My Padding

I really love moulded and padded bras and they are pretty much all I wear, but I do realise that they are not for everyone and not available in everyone’s sizes. So with the aid of some slightly unflattering professional shots and a few home posed ones I will showcase my small foray into the non padded world…

This is the Curvy Kate Emily bra in aqua and ivory, which you can find at Brastop. I have been tempted to buy this bra so many times as I was very impressed by the shape and lift that the 36H bra gave me, but I know that I wear padded bras so little and that it would most likely go unworn and so I have had to stop myself! It is so delicate and pretty and comes in several gorgeous colourways, one of my favourite being the flame coloured bra, as modelled by the delicious Sophia Jenner. I found the bra to be true to my upper size, 36H, despite the fact that in Showgirl I am a 34J. The size 18 briefs were also spot on and all in all it is a flirty girly sexy set.

I also tried the Angel bra:

This was also a 36H and although I was not as impressed as I was with the Emily I found it to be a very comfy bra and one that gave a fantastic rounded shape.

Some non padded styles I have tried seem to struggle to contain my boobs and give me an ‘east and west’ puppy dog-eared shape, but I am very impressed by the way that Curvy Kate not only cater exclusively for D+ women, but also do it well and do a lot of research and trials. I was lucky enough to trial a 34J Tease Me and a Tempt Me at the photoshoot. The Tease Me was amazing and I do hope that Curvy Kate release bras in that size very soon, but the Tempt Me couldn’t quite contain my boobs and I could see that a lot had gone into making such large cupped bras and that Curvy Kate would not release anything that jeopardized giving women that gorgeous lifted look.

I did find that the size 18 Angel briefs were spot on, but unfortunately I wore a size 16 in the black set and as you can see my love handles came into their own!
Here is the behind the scenes video from the photoshoot – complete with Sophia and I having a bit of boobie poking fun!

One non padded bra that I will admit to wearing is my Freya Jolie bra.

Again, I am so impressed with the shape and uplift that this bra gives! The day that I bought this I must have tried on about 8 non padded Freya bras and I became increasingly disheartened until I popped this bubblegum pink creation on…and wow! The lift, separation, shape and, of course colour just blew me away! I bought it in a 34HH which I find to be my ‘Freya size’ and teamed it with a size 16 thong. Magical.
My final non padded offering is my 34HH/16 Bestform Rebecca bra.

When I first saw this bra all I could think of was ‘sports bra’! I seemed so dull and matronly. But then I put in on…and not only was the shape perfect, but the little details like the mesh and cute little buttons just gave it that feminine unique twist and I couldn’t believe that it was the same bra! The whole set is a perfect fit and so I would compare the sizing to Freya bras where the band seems to be a tad more generous.

I will try to review more non padded bras but I am wary of wearing them for a multitude of reasons, mainly the fact that a large and heavy chest often doesn’t fare well shape and support wise. However, these four bras have been spot on in every way and as they can all be found at bargainous prices at brastop I would recommend giving them a go if you haven’t already!