This actually kind of fits. The 34 band is bigger than I expected, so I had to go down to the next hook because the underwire hurt my ribs sitting weird on the first hook, but that completely went away on the next hook, so I could have tried the 32 band. But it mostly fits! The cups are wider than I need and technically not quite deep enough, but I'm hesitant to order it in a bigger cup size despite the slight quad-boob (that is technically visible in shirts) because the cups are so flimsy that I'm concerned that if they were actually bigger, they wouldn't provide much shaping at all. As it is, my boobs already want to go straight out in this bra, with minimal shaping. But they do look way, way smaller in this thing than all the bras I've tried to far, just by virtue of not being squeezed into a too-small bra. The quadding got worse when I tightened the straps, which also caused some slight gaps at and around the straps and made the cups shallower, but I was comfortable just leaving the straps fairly loose.

This is the first balcony-style bra that I've tried that hasn't hurt my shoulders and neck, but that may be because the band is a little big. Still, I have a good feeling about this one and what it means for my options. The high underwire and wings were mostly pretty comfortable, despite being higher than I needed, but they did sometimes dig in, like if I had to lean over or down. So tolerable. The slightly lower center gore is comfortable, even though it doesn't sit flush at all (but this is the first bra that I was able to push it back to reach my chest, even though it didn't stay on its own when I let go, so that's a good sign--although doing this did cause major quadding, so I probably need the 34HH or the 32J). I'm not sure if I would go much lower, since I'd be concerned that my boobs would make a break for the middle and form insta-cleavage, but this is nice. (Maybe I'd try lower in a bra with more support in the cup.)

My breasts do absolutely feel lifted and reasonably supported. They're totally separated with no cleavage, so they become way less noticeable, which is nice. The underwires are a little hard, but I haven't worn an underwire bra since I was a teenager, so I'll probably have to just adjust to the feeling again. They also want to slip down a bit, but I think that will always happen for me with balcony bras, and it wasn't that bad. The biggest issue I had with this bra and the only real discomfort is the edge of the band. It's incredibly sharp and stiff and caused more or less instant chafing and redness under my breasts that will probably still be sore tomorrow. I wore it for maybe fifteen or twenty minutes, and there was serious and painful redness where the edge of the band had dug in and rubbed all over. Very, very painful. I bought some bra liners to see if that helps, because otherwise it's a perfectly serviceable bra for me, but it's bad enough to make it completely unwearable if I leave it as is. It even feels sharp just running my finger along the edge. The fabric is overall fairly rough and not soft, but the edge of the band, where it's held against the wire and therefore stiffer, is just a lot. The straps are much, much softer.

It definitely could be a better fit, but for a bra that I bought on a whim, out of frustration, I'm pleasantly surprised, and I think it'll work out okay in the interim while I explore my options a bit more. So that's a big relief. I can already tell that it may be unwearable during parts of the month when my breasts are bigger (they're pretty unremarkable and soft right now) and the shape mismatch issue becomes a bigger deal, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Update: a day later and it's already more comfortable. I think it's sitting slightly below my IMF, but it's much more wearable this way and the support feels fine. I do feel it in my shoulders a bit more, but not a huge amount, and I think the wide wires are less of an issue than I thought.

Natural Beige colorway

Updated on Jan 10, 2021 Flag this

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