I really like this bra. I generally wear a 30JJ, but the fitter brought a 30K as it seems to run small. It gives good uplift and separation, though it is slightly pointy, but it looks very youthful under clothes. It is cut lower than some of my other balconette bras. It fits well on me, aside from very slight overspill at the top and very slight wrinkling at the bottom, apparently due to fullness on top. However this is barely noticeable, and it is very comfortable, I've had no problems with the band or wires, and it looks good. The only real problem I have had is that the eyes have started, for lack of a better word, "wiggling" - they haven't stayed in place very well. I doubt this is a general fault, though I may have to go back to Bravissimo about it.
Tried 30 JJ but the elastic on the top of the cups cut into my center fullness almost comically. The cups were far too closed on top on the JJ, though there is some very slight give in the elastic that lines the top of the cups.
For the 30K, Filled cups relatively well, but lots of wrinkling @ underarms & bottom combined with underwire immediately diving down my chest tells me there’s not enough projection for me @ the wire. Ow!
Cups are far too tall for me at the sides. Cut in and rubbed my underarms ...- hard to explain - see pics. That was the most uncomfortable aspect by far.
Band was a bit firm - only stretching to a 29” for me. Fine for my rib cage, but obviously not if. You are a true 30”+.
Overall, like most Bravissimo bras I’ve tried this season, too tall & shallow for my shape.
Someone less FOT & less Center full may fare better. Wires wider than most I’ve tried - too wide even for my wide roots.
Right now pictures are not visible - if you want to make them so, go into your bras -> select this bra -> manage pictures -> select "Make pictures visible next to my bra information" :)
Apparently the new Penny and Allie bras have new wires that are narrower in cups above JJ - the info is from alidieux she has tried this bra and got the info directly from Bravissimo.
I'm sorry this was a bad fit for you. Also it looks nothing like Bravissimo pics in colour. Did you notice shoulder pain or issues with the strap design? Some reviewers stated that they would get neck pain and cannot stand this kind of strap.
alisa Good info re: Allie & Penny - thank you! Also thank you alidieux . We are all guinea pigs together in this thing ne-c'est pas? Glad not to be in it alone!
alisa You're right about the color - nowhere near the lavender/purple I was hoping for. Much more like purplish gray. Not really my jam. No shoulder pain or issues, and I'm usually very sensitive to such things (well, I'm a highly sensitive person all around, so, take it with a grain of salt, perhaps) . However - the bra was uncomfortable enough on the sides and with the diving wire I didn't keep it on more than a few minutes to take pics.
at least it's a cute bra hehe. I like bras in the big cups that doesn't have such a weirdly huge top-part. (like freya). this one and lacey are at least not that. shame on the fit though :/ Looks odd.
and yeh the Allie definitely had a little more narrow wires than their other bras, as they told me. I'll get Penny in this week, maybe tomorrow or so, will update.
On the website it looked like lavender purple denim blue color mix... but actually looks like slate blue grey ... nothing wrong with that color but it's just so much darker than you would expect from the pic.
alidieux - true story! It is a beautiful bra to look at! Wish is wasn't so patently miserable to wear for my frame! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the Penny! May I ask your shape(s)? Are you FOT as well?
I've posted Penny (And Evie). I am even shape, functionally FoB I think. Incredibly short roots. Basically I'm the complete opposite of alisa :D which makes it fun to try bras, what doesn't work for her might work better for me, and vice versa :)
alidieux Genius! Instead of finding your boob twin, find your boob opposite! That's an ingenious way of determining if a style will work for you - I love it! I'll be sure to check out those reviews :)
The Alana bra has worked for me at one specific size in my journey. It's a good basic bra that comes up to L-cup and there is no extra linings in larger sizes, you get what you see on the picture. So since it worked for me in the past, I try to make it work again. Obviously it's not gonna happen.
I tried this bra in 32J which was too small in cups. This 30K is still too small in cups! (I wear 30JJ / 32J in other Bravissimo bras!) So it's safe to say Alana does run really small. I recommend sizing up by 1 cup ...size at least. Also the bra is just not made for full on top boobs, there is not much room in the opper part and it tends to cut in. In the past I got the best fit when I sized up 2 cup sizes in Alana compared to my Panache size. The band runs true to size but is more stretchy than usual Bravissimo bands (most I had run really firm). I could close this 30 band easily but it feels just a little tight.
Now I could try it in 30KK or 32K, but I won't. I give up. On my front picture I tried to show just how wide-set the straps are on this 30K. It's not going to be better in a larger cup size. I already feel like the straps want to slip off anytime when I wear this bra. So while the larger size would offer more room in the top of the cup it would probably be too wide in construction for my frame. Read more 171 more words
I tried this bra in a 34JJ and 34K and I had so much gaping at the top I could basically fit another half a boob in there so I just assumed this bra was meant for very FoT . Funny how for you it was complete opposite :D What a weird bra.
That's weird indeed! It was usually known to be not as roomy on top as other bras. Bravissimo even recommends on their site to size up in Alana. The bra totally behaves weird... I tried it on again and it suddenly did not cut in and fits?! it was in the same 24h I took these pics, so it's impossible my boobs just shrank 1/4 cup or what??? Now on the fence if I keep it.
Okay, so I haven't used the bra as yet.. I'm just typing up a quick thing. I'm down and out with a nasty cold but figured I'd just put this here.
So this is review is for the black and aqua colourway model for the Bravissimo inspire sports bra. The main colour of the bra is black and has an aqua border along the top of the bra and the border of the straps.
It is a four part construction with a side sling connecting to the straps, a horizontal seam, and a vertical seam on the lower section of the cup.
The straps are not fully adjustable, which I assume ...is, in part, due to the padding on the first half of the straps. The straps ranges from 1.25" wide to 1.75". The latter being the section going over the shoulder.
The cup depth was measured and recorded at both maximum and minimum. The maximum cup depth was measured by stretching the cup over the knee. This was recorded at 14 inches, and this is what I had entered in the measurement table. The minimum cup depth was measured by hovering the cup between the knees and hanging the tape measure. This was recorded at 13 inches.
The band is quite firm for a 30 and would recommend ordering a band size up. For comparison I usually wear a 30 band on the tightest or second tightest hook, for this loosest was quite fine for me. And as the measurements show it is a 22 inch band that stretches to 27.3 inches.
I haven't done any heavy exercise with it as yet but I did a few jumps for testing purposes. While it doesn't reduce the bounce completely, it does reduce it significantly, and your breasts do feel secure when in it. While I do believe this could be a good bra for moderate to-heavy impact excercise, for me, it's cutting in at the top of the larger and smaller side.. But more noticeable on the larger. As well as empty space on the bottom and the sides. And I think these are what will contribute to it being not as effective as it could.
Also of note, the gore is similar to that of the Freya active sport and the Panache wired sport, in that, where the wires of the gore end, the gore continues..so there's a bit of some floating gore (if that makes any sense)
That being said, it fits better than my other sports bras, and it does it's job, so I'm sure I can get some mileage out of it 😉
Oh, one thing I'm not a big fan of, is the pointy shape.. But I'll live I suppose.
EDIT: Pictures should be up. I will note again, that it does cut into my breast tissue considerably, but I suppose, I can sort of hide it depending on the blouse I'm wearing (if only to get the mileage out of it). So the search for a proper sports bra continues. Read more 389 more words
For real, if someone makes a sports bra with a gore that will tack on me I will probably make them a shrine and worship them on the daily.
All hail to the bra goddess! ;-)
brasaremean Do you really want them to though? Imagine them stabbing you in the chest when you bend over during yoga...
But you know how they say "no pain, no gain" haha
Eh for yoga to be quite honest I find compression bras a lot more comfier.
Pics are now up. veggiechic I know you were interested in this one. So hopefully the pictures can be a better guide. (I swear there wasn't that much cutting in before, but maybe it was the new bra shine getting to me, lol)
I will say, that I'm probably going to stop ordering the Bravissimo brand, because they don't ever seem to fit me. *sigh*
That’s a lot of quadding! Sorry 🙁
Frazzleberry I think you should start buying 60Ls with me......That looks painful!
Sovavosi thanks..It's funny, because I'm not too certain there's much of a diff between their 30JJ and 30K. at least visually.
I remember the time when I went into their store and tried on their 30JJs and then fit their 30Ks there wasn't much of a difference, aside from the wires maybe being wider. Still I held out hope, because the rep I spoke to online mentioned the cup fit bigger on their sports bra. So I thought I'd give it a go. I'll still use it though...I really need to get cracking on doing some exercises.
MamaPagan , ..It's just the bravissimo brand. that fits this way.. I hope. If not, I'll join you in the 60L group ;)
Funnily enough, or maybe because my breasts aren't tender at this time of the month (or maybe because I only tried it on for pics), it actually isn't painful right now. So yaay on that front.
Give it a few hours of wear though and I am thinking it will be painful with that quadding. Hopefully you will get some wear out of it regardless!
MamaPagan I'm hoping I get some mileage out of it also. The good thing is that I'll probably be wearing it for 2hrs max because that's how long my jogging/work out sessions may go up to. So I'm hoping that's enough time before before things start to get really painful. 😶
Fingers crossed it works. :-)
ooof that looks small on you, hoping it won't be too uncomfortable. Feel free to update your review after you exercise in it :)
veggiechic I'll definitely be updating the review after my exercise sessions ;)
For this bra I advise to go up 2 cup sizes from your usual Cleo/Panache size and go for your usual band size. It’s a good basic bra. What I love about it, is the stability & support it gives me. I feel secure and there is no jiggling at all. (Boobs feel like concrete) It could be quite tricky to find you size in this bra, because the top section of the cups runs quite tight. (which makes it often difficult to work on full-on-top boobs) The solution to this is sizing up 2 cup sizes in my case. It has a fairly narrow center gore ...for a bra in the K-Cup range. The shoulder straps are wide and fully adjustable.
What I like about it: -Stable construction -Good coverage (fabric comes higher than average Cleo Balconette) -Makes you feel supported and secure (boobs of steel) -Wires do not come too high under the arms - wide & fully adjustable shoulder straps - tight broad band / 3 hooks – back fat minimizing - center gore is quite narrow - something I need
What I dislike about it: - top edge of the cups does run quite tight and might cut in if you are full-on-top - is a bit uncomfy at first, needs some time to break in - there is not much depth in the cups on bottom, cups are quite shallow towards the underwire - it might give a pointy look (my solutions to this, size up and tighten the straps)
Comfort: 4 (-1 because the wires getting uncomfy when wearing it during the day) Appearnace: 5 (I really like the basic /simple but elegant look of it. It comes in pretty fashion colours & basic colours.) Quality: 5 (so far I can’t complain…)
Overall if you can find the size that works for you in this bra, it’s a good everyday bra. 4.75 hearts https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" />
My shape: full on top, tall average to narrow roots, lots of center fullness I just put this bra on because another bra was annoying me. Spoiler alert: after I finished to write this review I will change into another bra. So first off, this bra is discontinued and I found it on ebay. It's cut is old Bravissimo pointy cut famously represented on Dotty Spot. It gives a super pointy shape, the top section is kinda flat and really tight so it gives the dreaded Elf-Shoe shape (especially on fot boobs). Pics 1-4 were taken 1 month ago when I was 1/2 cup size smaller and 2 cm smaller ...in ribcage. The bra band is very tight even for the size. I cannot even wear a normal extender anymore, I need one of those stretchy ones to close the bra. It only stretch to 29 inch and my comfy ribcage currently is between 31 and 32!
Pic 5 shows current quadboob situation. Since the cups are quite tall it's not giant quadboob, but when I *try* to scoop all breast tissue in these cups, there is so much pressure from the top section and it cuts in on remaining breast tissue. If the cups were more open on top, the cup size could even fit me, but with this construction it's painful to wear at my current size. It feels like wearing a bullet bra and the shape kinda reminds of it. I cannot make it work for me. Read more 140 more words
This Olivia bra has been in the Bravissimo sale section for ages already and it always called my name. So here it is. What made me hesitate was the neon orange color on the promo pics which I disliked. In person the bra is more of a muted leaning towards tomato red orange. A really nice fall color. The Olivia is the same cut as 32J - Bravissimo » Alana Bra (AU01). The bras are known to be better for fob and even shape and not so good on fot. With my Alana I had the problem that the cups are not tall enough and don't ...have enough space on top.I guessed sizing up to K-cup would solve this. Too bad I also had to size down in band for that. It was an experiment. But it failed.
The K - cups are good for me in height and offer needed room in the middle / upper cup section. But the wires are much too wide, the straps are too seperated and they cut into my arms. I could close the band but it felt too tight. When I wore an extender, I got some slight wrinkling at the top of the cups. I also think that the tight band distorted the wires and made them even wider as they already were too wide on me. The bra felt supportive but I think it was only because the band was just very tight. I really liked the look and shape. I wore the bra 1 hour for trial at home, and when I sat down I felt the straps dig even more into my shoulders and that the cup fabric under my arms came up too high. Read more 181 more words
What is that weird wrinkle at the top middle of the cup— left side then right side? Weird for FOT, I would think....
I think there are 2 reasons, first I also tried the bra with an extender when I got some slight gaping in the cups, the other is that the gaping is on the side where I hold my phone to take the pic. I often notice that sometimes I get slight gaping / cutting in with a bra when I change my position, if I slouch, strand straight or sit down.
I usually take a front pic where my phone stands on a drawer since holding the phone is not ideal to take the pics, I will upload if I have one like that.
The Nina bra is said to be very good for a full on top shape like mine, so I really wanted to give this bra another try. Too bad the bra is discontinued so only a few sizes are left. The bra has no full band at the underwire, the cut is like a regular balconette and the top section is made of stretchy lace. This 30K does fit true to size in band, I even find it runs on the smaller side. I could close it but it felt really tight on me. (I'm between 30 and 32 in band, I would not recommend this bra if your ...are closer to a 32 like me.) The wires however were very wide on me and ended almost on my back. The bra felt supportive but it was just because the band was so tight. It also distorted the wires. I also find that wires on bandless bras distort more easily. A full band would give more stability there. The cups are very roomy on top and the lace part is quite stretchy but does not feel flimsy. I found that I even had some extra room on top and slight wrinkling. I could have sized down in cup and even better to the sister size of 32J. Sadly that size was all sold out. Read more 114 more words
Okay, so I got the Bravissimo Nina in the Olive colourway. I really like the colour of this one. Nina is has a four part construction, with two lower sections, a stretchy upper section, and a side support section. The entire bra is lined (the upper section is lined with a stretchy material), which aids in the support it gives. Out of all my bras so far, I'd have to give the Nina, top points for support. It's definitely one that keeps me in, especially whenever my breasts are feeling tender.
As for measurements, unstretched the band measures 25.3 inches, and stretched it measures, 29 inches flat. If you're ...a true 30 back or need a smidge over 30 inches, I recommend you size up. For reference I'm somewhere between a 27/28 back and I find I can hook this up comfortably on the middle hook. Cup depth wise, I took both the minimum and maximum cup depth. The minimum cup depth was measured by hovering the cup between the knees and hanging the tape measure. This was recorded at 14.5 inches. The maximum cup depth was measured by stretching the cup over the knee. This was recorded at 15.3 inches.
The upper section has an elastic bordering it, what this means though, is that the lace that isn't lined pushes outwards, rather than lying flat on the skin. So depending on what type of shirt you were, there may be some show through.
The gore doesn't lie flat (this has always been a problem of mine and I, honestly, barely pay attention to it). It lies about maybe 2cm away from my sternum.
As for the fit, of this bra...it is very tricky to say, I can't say whether it's too big or small, so I'll just list the fit issues. Now obviously I'm spilling out at my larger breast, (you can see it, in the front pic) and if I tack the gore to my sternum, I'm spilling out of the smaller one also. Honestly though, if i adjust it, the spillage doesn't show, show through clothes..so maybe it's not an issue? It also may or may not be due to the elastic bordering the edge. The wires are too wide for me, but they're not uncomfortable and they don't poke. So I don't mind that. There's always a bit of some empty space/wrinkling at the bottom of the cups...more so on the larger side..which I've always found odd. Sometimes the smaller side can fill it fine...but the larger :/
Aside from that, it's okay. I should probably note that I tried a 30K because so far my experiences with the 30JJs have been that I've have some serious cases of quadboob Read more 343 more words
I would say it's a bit too small in the cup, but if it's comfortable & supportive, plus doesn't show under clothes then it isn't an issue. Glad it works for you!
Yep, I'm glad this one works despite the issues.. It's nice to have a bra that's not a blatantly, horrible fit..lol..my standards are so low right now
I have been there myself, so I can totally understand that. 😄😬😖
I'm glad you can make it work despite the fit issues. When I was at the size of 34L my gore sometimes would not tack either but the bra was still supportive so I didn't care.
Btw I found the Nina had rather wide wires compared to Lulu or Lacey, but only the Lulu has a stretchy top, the Lacey is lined with a non stretchy fabric from JJ-cup.
Oooh thanks for that info alisa . I'll add Lulu to the list of bras to try, the narrower wires + stretchy upper section looks like it should work for me
Lacey is also a very tall bra, Darcy is a full cup but no stretchy upper section. It's so difficult to figure out which bras have a fully stretchy upper section. Usually Bravissimo says "additional lining above HH cups" but they never specify if it's stretchy or not. It makes a difference duhhh. I only found out when I had the bras here. The only bra that was correctly described was the Sadie which has no lining up to K-cup. (I don't recommend that bra, very shallow on bottom, hard to fit shape)
One would think that they'd post that information, considering that's something that can heavily affect fit. Sometimes I just don't know what to think about these companies.
First I want to say that the band does run very small, so size up 1 band size! The 30 band is definately too small on me in this bra. (I usually wear a 30JJ in Panache Jasmine) I'd need a 32 band.
The too tight band causes the wires to disort. (wearing with extender the wires are not that bad) but there is also empty fabric on bottom. I can't fill the bottom of the cups because there is not enough room because the top section of the cup does push my boobs down and cause quadraboob.
Also because the ...whole upper section of the cups does not allow much volume I had some weird "vertical - in - cup - quadraboob" along the vertical seam of the side support panel. That seam did cut in weirdly.
If you want to get an idea how this bra looks when the band is not too tight and the cups 1 size bigger, check out my pictures of the 32K Fleur! On those pictures you can see that the top section of the cup still flattens my boobs but looks wearable because I got up one band & one cup size. So if your breast are full - on - top avoid this bra. If your breasts are more full - on - bottom, but round and slightly full-on-top too and if you need cup depth on bottom and enough space on top (I'm trying to describe my breast shape ) size up in this bra!
Overall: Epic Fail for my shape! Also wrong size! Apart from that: it is not a bad bra (see my review on similar constructed Fleur in 32K) it is supportive and I think if your shape is compatible with it, it has potential. The fabric feels comfy. Shoulder straps are fully adjustable & wide. The color is a deep raspberry. I don't like the blue ribbons, but that's really a question of taste.
I'm about a 30KK and tried this as I remembered it being big in the cups, but I found this to be too small for me. The cups are very deep, but very closed on top, resulting in an extremely pointy, projected shape but with a lot of overspill. Despite having too much upper fullness for this bra, I also have slight wrinkling along the apex, which is a bit. I would think this bra may be more successful on those who are more bottom heavy. I found it to be quite east-west, and I didn’t seem to be able to get a very uplifted shape however much ...I tightened the straps. I found the wires to be quite wide (Brav wires tend to stretch easily), and the gore fairly standard for Bravissimo (narrow but tall). I found the gore to dig in a bit, I think due to the height and my close-set breasts. The band seemed like a true to size 30, and the bra sports the usual 3 hooks and fully adjustable straps. As with most bras, I found the straps to be slightly too wide set for my frame, but they seemed fairly standard for Bravissimo. The sides were a reasonable height too, though I would have preferred lower. Read more 105 more words
Alana in black 30K: See my review for the Alana in nude.
The black one does run a tiny bit smaller than the nude on. But I don't recommend sizing up in this color. I just have to loose the shoulder straps a bit more on this than on the nude one.
This bra was too large in the cups, and too tight in the band. Althougj I measure at this cup size, my breasts are full at the bottom and do not fill the top. There is slight wrinkling of the lacey top but I can live with it for now. The most uncomfortable part is the wings digging into my arm pit, which again is probably due to the cup size being too large for me. The style is probably a better choice for shallow breasts.
I have worn it a few days here and there, and the band hasn't stretched out much. I'll probably need an extender if I decide to keep it.
This bra is loooovely, but it was always going to be a longshot for me. My usual size is about a 30KK at the moment, and as expected, it's too small in the cup. I also found it to run surprisingly tight in the band for a 30, stretching to about 28 inches, so this bra probably fits more like a 28KK. I'm exchanging it for a 32K in the hopes that it will fit like a standard 30KK, but I would hesitate to recommend sizing up based on just my experience, as other people have found it to be fairly true to size.
I found it to be ...nice and low under the arms, and I had no issues with the strap placement or wire width. If only it was a bit bigger in the cup! It seems like a good bra for anyone actually in the size range, and I can't fault it aesthetically - the retro-esque cherries are perfect. As with most Brav balconettes, it does seem to have an additional layer of lining in the upper section, but it isn't too noticeable in this semi-sheer white. Much better than the weird contrasting linings they sometimes go for. Hopefully the 32K is a better fit! Read more 99 more words
Right now pictures are not visible - if you want to make them so, go into your bras -> select this bra -> manage pictures -> select "Make pictures visible next to my bra information" :)