The Fearne Padded Half Cup is my fourth Freya padded bra, and unfortunately this one had one fatal flaw. This is a shame, since I really liked the appearance of the bra, and actually found the cups to be a pretty good fit! I own the Unlined Fearne Balcony in the Black colorway and picked up this one in Ivory, which is actually mostly soft bubblegum pink print with ivory. It's much cuter in person than I expected.

Usually, this type of Padded Half Cup has a reputation for being wide and shallow. I actually found this one to be narrow and projected. The main problem is that the wires here are incredibly rigid and almost entirely vertical at the outer cup, so instead of flexing a bit wider when worn, it does not budge. As a result, the wires sit on my side tissue and feel painful. The stiffness of the wire also makes the gore a little uncomfortable, but as there is no extra room in the wire channel, I can't shift it around either. I think that if this bra had normal wires of average flexibility and a more gentle curved shape, it would have fit quite well. The cups are a 4 piece construction with a 3HC bottom cup and a horizontal upper cup, which is neither particularly closed or open, and fits me pretty well. They feel like they have some decent projection and give a naturally rounded shape. Due to the narrow wires, I had a feeling that the cups were a touch small, but it's really hard to tell if that is really the case or if it is due to the wires restricting the cup width. I had no trouble filling this out, whereas the Freya unlined bras in 28E can be a little roomy in the cups for me.

The bra is made from the same silky printed fabric that Freya typically uses on their printed bras, and the upper cup is mesh with diamond embroidery and a scalloped lace upper edge. The cups are lined with soft foam batting as are Freya and Fantasie's other padded bras. The foam on this bra seems a bit firmer than what I've seen on some other similar bras, as the cups hold their shape a little better on their own. However, it is still soft enough that drag lines and wrinkles can form, unlike in thicker foam cups. The print extends to the cradle and band, which is made from firm printed powermesh. The straps are decorated with printed fabric, and the straps here are fairly ornate, with crosses, squares, and a scalloped edge. I really like that this bra is simply trimmed with polka dot textured white bows and doesn't have any weird charms or trims. Too bad the wires here are so painful! This might be a good option for those who need really narrow wires, or someone who prefers very firm wires.

Ivory colorway

Updated on May 29, 2020 Flag this

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