The Melrose bra has been around for years. It is what I call the "old bravissimo full cup shape". It is different to their newer full cup shape on bras like Darcy, Selina or Urban Rose. The old Bravissimo full cup shape, features cups that are very tall and very deep at the bottom, then they are very projected which can often end in a pointy shape. (Bravissimo Dotty Spot was the worst offender with it's pointy shape)

The top section of the cups is very closed and will not allow for any full on top tissue in the correct size. It will push down your boobs or ... cut in, if any boob escapes these tall cups. The top section of the bra takes over half of the cups in a size 34K and looks nothing like on the store pictures where the lower section looks bigger than the top section. It does not look very flattering on.

The positives:

The quality is really good. The fabric is sturdy and also soft-feeling. Nothing compared to that cheap slightly scratchy Alana fabric. The upper section is a lace fabric with zero stretch that is lined with another fabric with zero stretch. I could do without those scalloped edges at the band and under the arms, it can rub on skin while wearing making the bra uncomfortable. The band is firm and the shoulder straps are fully adjustable.

How it fit me/ the problems:

The cup of this 34K is really tall, even though I have tall boobs, it is too much. The wires are slightly too wide at the sides, they are very tall under the arms but gladly don't poke. The gore is very tall too, but lies flat and seperates the breasts. The cups are also slightly too big. That's why I don't get that extremely pointy shape or the cutting in. The bra does not look too big on the pictures, but I have adjusted the straps very short to get rid of wrinkling. I could even fit some extra paper tissues into these cups.

The band fits well. I think that if I tried this bra in a 34JJ, I could have the top section pushing my boobs flat. I don't know if there would be quadboob since I cannot imagine any tissue escaping these cups? I just imagine the bra being uncomfortable and giving a downward pointy - flattened on top shape. What I have to say: this bra has lots of room and lots of projection in the bottom of the cups! I don't get any wrinkling at all at the underwire.

The bra does feel supportive but I feel that size is not quite right. I don't think my boobs get the proper support in these cups, because the wires are too wide and the wrinkling on top. I think the bra would be very supportive in the right size but would not give a very much uplifted and round shape. I think the best shape to fit this bra would be: tall boobs but very full on bottom. Also wider shoulders would help too, because I found the straps too seperated and they cut into my arms.
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Updated on Mar 03, 2019 Flag this

I got this bra in a giveaway/exchange here on Bratabase. Previously I tried a size 34K which was too big. For more information about this bra in general, see my review of the 34K - Bravissimo » Melrose Bra (SB25). I took the chance to try this in 34JJ which I assume would be my Bravissimo size for all bras that have a band that runs very tts or small.

The 34JJ fits better than the 34K, so there is that. I find the band very stretchy and it almost feels like it rides up. It does not really but I'd prefer a tighter band. The cups ... are a typical old school full cup shape which gives natural and not very uplifted look. The wires are too wide for me, like always. There is some wrinkling on bottom towards the sides of the cups and where the cup is empty. The cups are very tall. I can fit all my breast tissue inside of the cups, but the top section of the cups is pushing my boobs down.

Today I wore the bra for a full day while doing some housework, I can say that I did not get any pain from it, so that is a good thing. It looked okay under clothing. I felt like I had to pull the band down a few times. It did not ride up much, probably not more than 1 cm. Also the bra got less supportive over the day, at the end of the day I was glad to take it off, it looked even more sad than in the morning when I took the pictures, almost downward pointy. I felt like my boobs pushed down the bra at the front.

I think I could try a 32K or 32JJ even but I don't think I will bother. I don't like the shape it gives me and I think as soon as the cups are not on the bigger side anymore that top section would push my boobs down even more and there would be overspill.
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Updated on Mar 27, 2019 Flag this

I have a slight orange in a glass effect, I find the wires to barely cut into my breast tissue and the cups to not have enough space, causing wrinkles. However, there is very little discomfort and it still fits pretty well.
I will not buy a size up because the cups are already too high, I’ll just keep this one.

Updated on Sep 19, 2020 Flag this

The Melrose bra was never one of my faves but I had a few over the years as I could get a hold of them pre-loved for very low prices. This bra was in a bra bundle with some other 32K Bravissimo bras. I thought it will be my least fave but it's actually very supportive.

my shape: full on top 3/5, center full, tall and average wide roots

The band feels a bit tight. I have to break it in with an extender. The cups are decent fit on bottom as I have barely any wrinkling. The top section however is not so great on my boobs. This bra ... has a large top section and a low apex. It's best suited to fob shapes. So naturally it doesn't do so well on my fot shape, It does flatten my upper boob and gives a slightly downward pointy shape.

I really dislike this kind of shape. It's a shape that full on top boobs get in full cup bras that are not built for this shape. I actually was so upset I did not want to wear it again and sell it right away. Then on another day where almost all of my other bras failed I put this one on again. What is positive about the bra is it's sturdiness and the good support it gives. I think I will keep this bra and wear it when I'm home around the house under a loose sweater or so. For that it will be okay as there are not too many other fit issues despite the sad shape it gives.
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Updated on Sep 11, 2020 Flag this

Didn't do a full "how it fits" review because the band is way too tight and I can only leave it fastened for a few seconds before needing to take it off

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Updated on Nov 01, 2021 Flag this

Bought from the internet for checking the size.
As usually it is smaller as the Panache bras. It push down my boobs.
The bra is similar to new Bravissimo Darcy modell, it is made from 4 sections.

Nude colorway

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Updated on Jan 22, 2017 Flag this

Me: Narrow roots, narrow shoulders, evenly round, lots of immediate projection, slightly FoB, slightly centre full, never met a gore I didn't like, left-heavey by more than a cup size, 31" underbust, but prefer tight band with extender. Panache, Freya size 30GG

More and more I am convinced that side support panels cut into immediate projection!

Band is looser than Freya, Panache, and Curvy Kate - no extender needed.

The wire is fairly soft and fairly U-shaped. The centre gore maintains its width for an inch and a half before it statres to curve out. The straps, of course, are too wide, but only just. I needed the cup size up I usually need in CK and Flirtelle, but it stall has an angled flatness to the top part of the cup that cuts at my centre fullness and accentuates the pointier shape.

Excellent quality materials (except the wires) and three hooks and scalloped fully adjustable straps. I just think I need to give up on the side support panels design!

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Updated on Oct 31, 2016 Flag this

This was the first bra I loved. Earlier this year, I bought my first set of bras that almost fit. Of these, the Melrose in Bloom was the most beautiful and most comfortable. It was never a perfect fit for me - the gore didn't tack, and the wires are too wide for me - but it's a wonderful bra.
If you have a projected shape and average-width breasts that are slightly close-set, this is a spectacular option. Like many Bravissimo-branded bras, it also minimizes asymmetry an unbelievable amount.

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Updated on Nov 20, 2015 Flag this

This bra was the second (fairly correctly fitting) bra I ever bought. At the time I was fitted into it I had been fitted as a 32GG in the Panache Tango II balconette in a store quite recently, and still had some tissue at the sides of my ribcage from wearing the incorrect size since high school. I'm mentioning this because the subsequent tissue migration I experienced over the six months after I bought this bra came to affect how it fit me.

I'll start off by mentioning that it runs pretty tight in the band and cup. I'm definitely lucky that I prefer ... a firmer band, as otherwise this would have been unwearable. The fact that I filled the cups of the 32HH when I'd been sized at 32GG/H is also a testament to how small this is in the cup. I've heard this is the case with a lot of Bravissimo's own brand bras that are cut like this one. If anyone is interested in buying this one I'd probably recommend you go up a band from your normal size and keep the cup letter the same (eg. if you're a 30G, size up to a 32G). It was also rather horrible to break in. I'd worn it a couple of times since buying and made the catastrophic mistake of wearing it on a 20+ hour flight back to Australia from the UK. I don't think I have ever been so acutely aware of the fact that I was wearing a bra before. The underwires and band felt extremely tight and painful against my ribcage. (Additionally, the wires set off the metal detector at the airport.) I also experienced a lot of digging into my sternum due to the height of the gore. If you want/need a low gore my advice would definitely be to look elsewhere! However, once it was broken in I found the bra much more comfortable.

As far as appearance goes, I had purchased the bra in order to have something close to my skin tone to wear under white work shirts. The beige colourway isn't unattractive - it'd be good for anyone who dislikes yellow-toned beige. I will point out that the top embroidered section looks a lot sheerer in Bravissimo's product photos (especially in the black and the purple fashion colour currently out) than it is in real life. This isn't something to wear under short-sleeved or tank tops either - it does look like a 'lot of bra' once on, and is visible at the underarms any time I wear something lower under there. It also has very thick (but fully adjustable and comfortable) straps. I would call the strap placement on the wider side, although it wasn't a problem for me. For a more utilitarian sort of bra, Bravissimo seems to have put some effort into making it a little more appealing - the detailing they've given it prevents it from looking too frumpy.

Shape and support - this bra loses points in my book as I suspect many, many people would experience shape incompatibilities with it. If you have any kind of top fullness, give this one a miss. The bra has a four-part cup construction, using a side sling. On my fairly bottom-full shape, I get a lifted, natural sort of look - like the shape my boobs are without a bra, only better - but anyone top-full would get the dreaded squished-on-top triangle shape. (I suspect this is the source of the many reviews on Bravissimo's website saying that the bra gives 'pointy sandbag boobs'.) The source of this is the top embroidered section, which is made out of a firm mesh that has no give. I think also that this would be unlikely to work on someone petite or short-waisted - the underwires and also the wings come up fairly high on the sides (I occasionally still feel discomfort from it and I am relatively tall with a longer torso). It is however a very, very supportive bra and great for wearing to work and occasionally uni - I like to wear bras that I can run for the bus in - and looks OK under a t-shirt. I don't tend to wear this with anything super form-fitting though as I prefer to keep my 'round-shape' bras for that.

Final note about the shape - it's pretty wide but looks less east-west from the front than the Tango does (I think this is the four-part cup at work). The wide wires were great for me when I still had tissue at the sides of my ribcage and anything narrow definitely felt too small, but not so much now. My breasts sit almost completely on the front of my ribcage now and there is significant empty space at the side of the cup. Finally, although I've had my issues with it since undergoing shape changes, I'll note that Bravissimo has certainly made a sturdy bra in the Melrose. I was subjecting this to heavy use when it was only one of two or three bras I owned and still wear it occasionally for work, and it still gives the same level of support as when I first purchased it.
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Updated on Oct 17, 2014 Flag this

Didn't write a review

Added on Aug 19, 2015