It's my first unlined bra that kind of fits. The shape it makes is less pointy than in the Freya Zeta and the fabric is much softer. I'm not a fan of the embroidery but the lightweight mesh and comfortable one-layer band seems to be a good choice for hot summer days.
My boobs are nicely supported even though the top of the cups starts to wrinkle after a while. Maybe it's because I have short roots and not much upper fullness. The straps sometimes slide of my shoulders and the gore could be narrower.
So...I picked up this bra in an effort to get free shipping with my purchase. I originally wanted the Neve Plunge but that one was double the price. I hopped on over here and found a 30:4 should fit measurement wise. Bought it was. I have heard SO much hype, ALL THE HYPE, about Cleo bras from women in my size range. Perhaps my expectations were skewed because of this because I feel very "meh" about the Cleo Jude bra. It's a 30 band. So, it's too big for me. It is comfy on the second and third hook, so it's ...definitely more taught then most 30 band bras I have tried. The wires started warping once I stretched the band all the way to 29". Which is great for a day when I need to be very active or if there ever is a day when I just can't tolerate a tight band. I don't really PMS become bloated so those things don't matter a whole lot to me. The straps are SHORT. Like so short. I'm pretty short (Five feet even) and I wanted more length. They're about 14.25 inches long fully let out. They're not soft, but not rough either. They're decently wide, stretchy and quite supple feeling. Certainly more than tolerable (unlike other bras: Limited Edition by M&S!). They did seem to stretch out as time went on and I stopped feeling them at all. The Gore. I can't feel it at all. I actually don't remember if it tacked or not. I'm thinking it was a soft-tack. I believe plunge gores are best for me because my sternum starts above where the band of the bra site. The gore is also deceiving in it's width, it does not look like there is a whole lot of separation between the cups; but there's well over an inch. Great for wide set breasts. Not great for making cleavage. Speaking of cleavage, I quad out tremendously after putting on the bra. The very bottom of the cup also collapsed under my breasts due to the cup being too shallow. At which point I tugged on the top of the cup while simultaneously pushing the under wire up to my IMF. As my ten hour shift progressed the cups seemed to stretch out and allow my tissue to settle inside if the cup. These are the softest under wires I have come across. I hardly noticed them. They're too wide for me and I kept feeling the need to adjust/pull my tissue "back into the cup"/to the front of my chest even though my breast was fully enclosed in the cup. The molded cup was surprisingly thin, soft and supple. While the cups being molded, definitely give a rounded shape I'm not in love with the shape the bra gives me. I like a nice lifted, gathered, rounded shape that enhances my breast as opposed to just a round, wide shape. I mark this bra as a win for me. It's great for giving my body a rest from rigid under wire's, Gore's and tight bands. A comfort bra for very active times. I think a 28DD would be better for me over all. A tighter band, probably more cleavage (a 28D for super cleavage maybe?) and narrower wires. I could probably get a 28E to get a similar result to the look of this 30D with a tighter band. Read more 466 more words
Darn. Like you, this bra would push out of mt IMF, too.
Fortunately Love4Pollinators the under wires and fabric are so comfortable I hardly notice during wear, or perhaps it's just because the band is loose.
That's good news :-) A loose band helps so much sometimes. It is the reason many of my bras are 36 bands when I measure 28.
I'm hoping that the non-moulded cup Cleo's will give me that very lifted, rounded shape I hear so much about. I fear most Cleo bras will be too wide and shallow for me. I only have 'average'/some projection...but I'm very center / inner full so I think this makes it difficult for me to wear very shallow bras. It also seems my sweet spot for wire width is 4.5". Much smaller and it sits on tissue, much larger and it doesn't gather and push my breast forward.
This bra is the best strapless bra out there for me. It's one of my favorite Cleo styles (the other one being the Marcie). It has a very tight band, broad wires, and open top edges.
Me: Average projection. Fuller on bottom. Slightly wider left breast (I suspect this breast is also 1-2 ml taller than my other breast). Usually wear 28DD or 30D.
It's a cute bra but definitely not for me. It's comfortable and helps emphasize my waist. However, there's some serious side quad boob going on. The cups seem to mostly encompass my breasts; after I scoop and swoop, there is slight quad boob at the top of the cups but barely noticeable. Slight wrinkling in the cups, too. My wider breast seems to fill out the cup nicely but not so much for my other breast. I do think this bra might be for someone who isn't as broad-shouldered as I am. I think my broad shoulder contributed to the side quad boob.
I’ve seen others who are full on top or have taller roots have the same issue with this cut. I’ve heard that shorter rooted folks love it though!
Interesting! I think I skipped the root height because I didn't totally understand it. I'll have to go back and read it.
I am thinking that what you are calling side quad boob in this picture is muscle bulk winging off the scapula. Give it a pinch and a flex and check it out. Regardless, if you do not like how the bra's higher wing height demarcates your tissue than it is not for you. Nice colour, though!
I knew side quad boob wasn't the right term but I wasn't sure what to call it! It's probably muscle! Thanks! Now I know the correct term. And yeah, I can't really keep this bra because of it.
This is a great bra! I should have ordered a 30DD, but I'll use the 30D when I want a "push-up" bra! This is quite uplifting and flattering. It gives me a rounded, soft, "perky" shape that looks great under tight t-shirts. The uplift effect works beautifully under low-cut shirts. I find this to be very similar to my Cleo Lucy, however, I can't make an accurate comparison between the two bras because my Lucy is a 30DD. While the 30DD does fit better, technically, there are times when with push-up style I get with the 30D Marcie is just what I need to look and feel good without padding or bulky contour cups. One strange thing in my Marcie is that the underwires try to twist on top of each other at my sternum, and they poke me painfully when they do this. Hopefully the bra just needs to be broken in. Overall, Cleo's unlined bras are exactly what I've been searching for my whole life for unlined bras. Truly remarkable.
I love this bra. Took a bit of a risk ordering it from an eBay seller who doesn't take stuff back, but needn't have worried - it's a perfect fit and feels just right in every way. I didn't even get typical "George-wrinkles" with the Marcie (wrinkles in the thinner material in the upper part of the cups that a lot of people with wide root shallow boobs get in Cleo Georges and similar styles). I had read that the band runs very tight but I didn't find this to be true compared to other unpadded Cleos - so far I've only tried it on, though, so I can't say if the band would feel uncomfortable if I wore the bra for a longer time. (All this refers to the original, red Marcie.)
I was very excited about Marcie when I first found out about this style, and I managed to snag one for a great price in a lovely lime green to try. While I usually don't go for colors, this particular style reminds me of an Agent Provacateur style from many years ago that I was seriously lusting after but couldn't justify (Brittnie from Sp/Su '14).
I really like the appearance of this bra, from the styling to the materials. I'm pretty meh on the polka dots, but I think the embroidery at the top is pretty, and the overall style and cut appeals to me too. ...The fabric is soft mesh and feels pretty much the same as Lucy. However, there's something about the fit that is just off for me.
I purchased this online from an Amazon seller that I have purchased from before, and it seemed to come in mint condition. So, my assumption is that my issues with the bra are due to the cut and not due to the particular bra I received. While Marcie 30D fits just fine in terms of overall measurements, I am disappointed that it just looks kind of odd on me. Something is not quite right here.
First, the wires on me feel very splayed, causing the cups to feel stretched horizontally. I like a wide wire, but these were shaped like a wok rather than a bowl. Since I could (and should) easily go down to a 28 band here, it is not from distortion caused by overstretching the band. I managed to correct for this slightly by bending in the wires a bit (and measurements are taken before bending), but they are still not shaped as I'd like. Also, the wires cross spontaneously at the gore sometimes, though the gore spacing measures exactly the same as other bras that I have, and none of them do this.
Second, this bra raised an issue I never thought I would encounter in a bra: my nipples appear to be in the wrong place! They appear to be pointing too low in the cup, but I am sure it's not my body doing this on its own. I put on a couple of other bras and compared, and sure enough, only Marcie manages to make them appear substantially lower. My theory is that the wide wire of this bra is acting like a shelf, forcing the tissue at the bottom of the cup to fold over itself rather than to lift from the bottom. Imagine putting your breasts on your flattened palms and lifting up-- that's the effect Marcie has on me. Since this bra is sheer and a light color, I can't help but notice this every time I put it on.
I am disappointed that while Marcie fits me, it doesn't flatter me, since it's a popular style and not too hard to find. She's fine worn under clothing, since none of the fit problems are visible, so I'll be keeping her in my collection, but I'm not enthralled enough to seek out a 28DD for a better fit. Read more 423 more words
What a shame! The lime green is a great colour. I personally love the polka dots. Could the nipple placement issue (and shape) be because it’s a fot style with a fair amount of projection? Have you considered doing a fit check for it?
FINALLY a bra that actually fits me and doesn't give me a quad boob! I really love this bra, particularly because it brings my girls together and creates some cleavage as I have wide set boobs that never meet! It stays in place the whole day and doesn't move about! However, I still have the feeling of 'Oh, I'm wearing a bra!'. This is because the band is very very short and I'm only able to wear it on the last hook (I know its supposed to be like that but it's pretty uncomfortable). Due to the tight band, my back fat sticks out when I wear this bra sadly so I don't actually reach for it very often. The top of the bra shows through my t-shirts which is a boo because the whole world can see my bra no matter how much breast tissue I stuff into the cups to reduce the outline of the bra... Otherwise, it's great a GREAT bra and I recommend this to ladies with larger girls like me!
A bra band should only be as tight as needed (to prevent it from riding up or otherwise moving about), NOT as tight as possible. Also, unlike bra bands, ribcages do not come in fixed 5cm/2" increments. Not only that, but also the amount of "squish", as well as, for example, how much your ribcage expands with breathing, and how projected/heavy your breasts are (relatively) determine how tight you can COMFORTABLY wear your bras. Finally, if a bra has even slightly flexible wires, wearing it one set of hooks looser or tighter can make a lot of difference in terms of cup shape. Anyway, whatever your bra band feels like, it should not be uncomfortably tight. If it does, try an extender. It may be just a matter of breaking in, in which case you can move to the last set of hooks later on, or maybe this band really just is a tiny bit too tight for comfort :)
I will echo the band should be snug but not too uncomfortably tight. Imagine trying to wear that for 8-10 hours? It will be bothersome in no time. Go up in the band and the cups will fit better too. They distort on too tight bands.
I'm glad you like the Cleo Neve! It's a great bra.
MilkAndHoney It may be a matter of breaking in - I only got the bra a couple of months ago so I'll probably have to wear it more! Thanks so much for the helpful advice! :)
roxannelovesbras Thats really true - it's my first time buying Cleo by Panache bras so I went with my normal sizing... I'll probably get an extender or go up a band size for this particular brand! Thanks so much for the advice! ^_^
It's a great T-shirt bra for wide root shallow boobs, even though the pattern shows through thinner shirts. It just about fit me, so I didn't keep it, because apparently my breast tissue keeps migrating all the time and I've already got enough bras with cups that are too small lying around here. I'll probably try it on again once my boobs have settled into a more definite size again.
The Panache Cleo Jo is a really fun and cute bra for that more youthful look. Slightly wider straps (1/2") and they are comfortable. The seams are unobtrusive and there is a light foam lining, and it also has a plunge shape, so it is a good choice for under low-cut t-shirts (darker ones, otherwise the print will show through).
The foam lining is very soft and thin, almost as if it isn't there -- I think it's the softest foam I've ever felt and I'm thrilled with that. The combination of the plunge shape and thin fabric means this bra doesn't offer much in ...the way of support though, so take that into consideration if you're larger busted.
Also, the band is quite light and stretchy, so no cheating on the band size... you must measure accurately and buy the band size that is closest to your actual ribcage measurement. For example, my ribcage measures 27.5" around. I bought a 30 band in this because it was the smallest offered at the place from which I was ordering, but I'm already wearing it on the center hook so a 28 would have been better.
The printed overlay fabric on the cups feels delicate, so this is definitely a hand-wash-only item.
Overall a cute, fun bra and well worth the price (and the hunt). Purchased Spring 2010 from Bare Necessities. Read more 125 more words
Minnie is the first unlined printed fabric bra I've tried from Cleo, and I was surprised by how nicely it fit. While the print isn't my favorite, and the upper lace panel is a bit too deep for me, the actual fabric cups fit like they were made for me. This style definitely makes me want to explore more fabric bras from this line!
The band is a fantastic, secure band made from powerful stretch fabric, and sports an ultra-wide bottom elastic. This is a full band style, so the wide bottom elastic really helps the bra feel secure around your torso. The straps are ...equally supportive wide elastic with a slight texture, which helps the straps not slip once adjusted. This is probably the most well-engineered Cleo bra I've come across to date.
The cups are made from smooth, lightweight printed silky fabric lined with tricot, while the interior of the cups are lined with power mesh. This combo offers an extremely supportive yet lightweight feel that I love. The wires here are the same size and shape as Marcie (although the cup depth is a little shallower than Marcie), so they are perfect for me. The top panel is lace-topped mesh with no elastic binding. While this in theory would make the top fit like Marcie or Lucy, in reality the lace is very wide and stiff and has absolutely no give. The lace will not stretch to accommodate tall roots, a lot of fullness on top, or in my case, stretch horizontally to lay flush against the skin, causing an area of excess fabric. On Marcie, the upper cup is embroidered mesh, and thus has enough horizontal stretch on me to sit flat on the body.
However, the cups here are on the shallow side, so the bra almost borders on too small for me, and sizing down would not be an option. Having tried sizing up to 30DD in Lucy to resolve a similar issue with the upper lace panel not sitting right, I found this was actually exaggerated in a larger cup size, thus I don't think I will try 30DD in this style. So, I would say that this bra fits me perfectly except the slight shape mismatch and inflexible construction causing the upper panel to not sit flat. If the fullest part of your breast sits higher and is closer to the seam where the panels join, then I think this would work better for you (however still not suitable for tall roots or very FOT).
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28E update:
The bra is now definitely too small and also the wrong shape for me. I get the orange in a glass effect with the closed top cutting into my roots, and the cup width is too narrow. However, the shape is for more projection than I have. I considered trying this in a 28E but I’ve learned to stay away from closed top cups given my tall roots.
Note that this style superficially resembles Kayla, another unlined printed bra made from the same silky fabric. Kayla is a sister cut of Hettie, and both band and cups run half a size larger than most other Cleo styles. Kayla's cups are single layer, so they are softer and more lightweight, and the upper cup is made from much wider stretch lace rather than the rigid lace found here in Minnie. Kayla is suitable for projected FOT shapes and can accommodate tall roots, while Minnie is for even shapes with short roots and is slightly more projected than Marcie, so it may be suitable for conical shapes. The rigid upper cup limits upper fullness, while Marcie isa. bit more flexible. Read more 517 more words
This bra is a conundrum. It looks like Minnie, it measures like Minnie, but it doesn't fit me like Minnie. I can't figure this out! Given my raves for the Minnie fit, which pretty much fit like a glove everywhere except the overly rigid lace upper cup, I expected that Ellis would fit the same, but there's something odd about this bra. While the cups do fit me perfectly, they are really uncomfortable. I feel like the rigid bottom cups, which are lined with powermesh, are pushing me up and in, and for some reason the wires also want to cross at the ...gore and dig into my sternum. Basically, it feels like wearing an uncomfortable push up bra, but this is just a normal unlined balconnette. I need to play around with the wires and hope that a minor adjustment will help improve the comfort factor, because this bra is so darn pretty.
It's so darn pretty that I ordered it blindly from a UK seller on eBay, so I can't return it. I simply crossed my fingers and hoped that it would fit, knowing that it is identical to Minnie. The one saving grace is that the upper cup, being embroidered tulle, actually fits me pretty well despite being on the tall side. It isn't too tall, like Bonnie, but is more like the George upper lace cup than the Minnie. I find that the embroidery on the upper cup is really interesting and unique as it uses three tones of thread to create dimensional open roses. The body fabric print is pretty as well, and there's just a simple two toned grosgrain bow at the gore. Nice wide straps and a full band with contrast dark pink picot edging make this bra girly AND functional. Love the styling, it's totally a Disney Princess or Barbie bra for adults. Sometimes you just want something princessy, you know?
Now, if I could only figure out the issue with the gore, tame these unruly wires, and get rid of this musty smell (seriously, how did this eBay seller store this bra?) . . .
Does anyone else have this issue with uncomfortable underwires at the gore in this bra? I rarely have gore issues because I am neither wide set nor close set, and everything usually tacks. Usually a gore issue on me is a surefire sign of a too tight band and/or unsupportive sides, but I don't think that's the case in this bra.
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Update: Now that I measure 28E, the cups of this bra fit much better on me. I remember having some problems with the lace upper cup not being the right shape, but since the cups are now a size small, I can fill it out better. Unfortunately the 30 band is not ideal on me, and the gore is still quite uncomfortable unless settled in the right place. Read more 390 more words
This bra is too small for me, but without the straps it provides a nice lift and doesn't cut in or give much quadding. I am soo glad that I've found something that works for me under strapless tops and dresses! Of course this is a dark color so I won't be able to use it for everything. I'm okay with that though, because I think it's actually a really sexy, sleek design and color! This bra definitely runs small in the band and I think most people might want to cup size down to get a nice cake-on-a-plate look. While it might be technically too small, it will give some crazy vavoom! I would pass on this bra if you are FoB, very firm, or very projected.
If you want a nude version of it, Cleo's Koko Icon Strapless bra is identical. It's actually the replacement, uses the same mold.
Good to know, thanks!
I am so glad you are now aboard the Neve/Koko Strapless train! It's possible you might like the 30DD better though.
I tried on the 30DD and 30E recently, and they were verryyyy wide. Since they are $70 on amazon, I decided the 30D was worth a shot when it showed up on /r/braswap.
This one is really too wide which flattens me out a little, but it's closer to what I need. Without the straps I can make it look good. If this basic shape came with more overall projection, I would be interested in that cut in a larger size. For now though, this bra is about as good as I expect in a not actually fitting strapless.
I got this from another bratabase user and it fits so well compared to my other bras! The band is slightly too loose on the loosest hook which I attribute to previous wear. Cup on my smaller slide has minor wrinkling but appears fine under fabric. I may try to take it in along the seam between the bottom fabric and the lace to make it a smidge shallower. On me this fits much better than the b.tempted Ciao Bella Balconette in 30DD (too much space in the belly of the cup, caused wrinkling in the lace overlay) or the b.tempted b.sultry balconette in 30D (closes too quickly at the top and exaggerates my underarm tissue) or 30DD (too much space in the belly of the cup and still closes too quickly for my underarm fat). Very excited and hoping to find more bras with a similar fit in the future!
The 'belly' of the cup is probably what we call the apex? Is that the raspberry color? Thats the one I had - it was a particularly stretchy one
Yes, the apex! I was searching for the right word and it wouldn't come to me . Oh, it is the raspberry color! Good to know that I shouldn't size down if I revisit this in another color, thanks!
Gorgeous color on you!
Beautiful! Such a lovely color. Glad it fits so well! Totally jealous, lol, wish I could find in my size (28D/30C)!!!!
So, this bra definitely runs big in the cups. I was warned about this, so I ordered it in 30D instead of 30DD. I usually wear 26F in Polish and 28E in UK brands, but Skye begins at 28F for whatever reason. So I have Skye in 30D, and aside from the band obviously being too big, it's a great fit, and it's really soft and comfortable. In comparison with my 28E Marcie and Kali, Skye's cups are taller on the sides and shorter at the gore. It's not quite a plunge, but it's different from the other Cleo balconettes. The matching knickers in XS are pretty true to size.
This is my favorite bra! It is my best fitting bra for my slightly shallow breasts with short roots. It gives a nice round shape and is very comfortable. The gore is just narrow enough for me, most of my bras are a bit to wide for my close set breast altough that's not uncomfortable for me it is nice to have a few bras with narrower gores. It is not completely smooth under clothes, you can see the seams under tight or thin shirts. I own this bra in black and ivory.
Just got this a few hours ago in the mail. I initially ordered it because someone mentioned it being decent for wider breasts (and it was on sale, so I could afford to make a mistake.) I'm pleasantly surprised. The wires are a little too low under the armpits for my taste (I like them a bit higher) but my breast tissue doesn't escape so it works. The cups don't cut in on top and the gore lies more or less flat.
My only gripe with this is how poorly it masks my asymmetry, but that's more because it's padded (as opposed to merely lined.) As it is, I have to wear a cutlet with it, but I still like this bra a lot (and maybe now I can go try out a strapless of the same kind! I'm still trying to find a good strapless.)
The Koko Icon strapless is basically a strapless Neve. In fact, Neve comes in a strapless too but it's been replaced by the Koko so you may not be able to find it anymore.
I've read that the Koko Icon is a tiny bit narrower (which would be problematic) so I'm going to try to keep an eye out for the Neve, but thank you for the information! Either way, they'll likely be better than the strapless bra that gave me blisters XD
In my experience as I tried both versions of the strapless, they were identical. Identically terrible on me lol, but identical.
Well, thanks for the info! I'll be stalking eBay for them, since they seem to be out of stock everywhere selling them cheaply. I'm really curious to see everyone saying the band runs a size small. My tight underbust is 29'', so theoretically if it did I shouldn't be able to wear this comfortably, but I found it on the tight side of comfortable.
My tight UB is 27" & I couldn't comfortably fasten the 28 band Koko I tried & the 30-band Neve was more than tight enough.
Maybe I just got one with a stretchier band...? I'm checking my measurements for this bra and it stretches out to just about 30.5 inches, which may be why it works for me (my difference between tight underbust and comfortable is basically an inch and a half, so...)
Maybe so! Probably wouldn't hurt to try a couple sizes.
This bra is often touted as being great for shallow breasts, which I thought I had. Apparently I do not, because the top edges of this bra stuck out and the large gap shows under my shirt. Normally this would be due to the bra being too small, however: the cup depth on this Maddie measures 6.3 inches. On the bra I've been wearing all day today (my old 30D - Cleo » Jo (5696) ) the cup depth is almost 7 inches -- at least a half inch difference. My actual breast perimeter, braless, is close to 8". Therefore, ...I believe that my boobs are forcing the cups to stick outward because they can't fit into the stiff cup material. I may try the 30DD in this, or I may just try the Cleo Juna (6461) , which I've been curious about for a while.
I have the 30D - Cleo » Maddie Moulded T-shirt Bra (7091) aqua leopard print (from 2013) in size 30D and it fits beautifully, so unlike other reviewers I do NOT find these two versions of Maddie to be identical. My old Maddie is slightly deeper in the cup -- almost 1/2".
Aside from the fit issues, this is a decent bra. The cups are fairly thick foam -- feels like 1/4 to 3/8". Much thicker than I'm used to from Cleo. The color is your standard nude, nothing to write home about but I'm on the hunt for a plain t-shirt bra.
*** UPDATE *** I have ordered the Cleo Juna in 30DD and the Cleo Neve in 32D and will post the results as soon as I receive them. Though I almost always wear 30D, I chose these sizes based on Bratabase reports and previous experience with different Cleo shapes.
This bra's cup shape is exactly the same as that of the Neve. It also runs true to size in the cups. Unlike the Neve, it does not have a tight band. The band runs really loose, both stretched and unstretched. The cups are also 1/4" further apart than that of the Neve. Go for for this bra if you have shallow, broad rooted, tall rooted breasts that are not too far apart nor too close together. Avoid if you are super tall and/or have a long torso.
Glad you found a decent fit, MaroonMarmot . Such a pity the Lucy was discontinued. It was a useful bra in many respects.