Madagascar is supposedly based on the Bardot, but more open on top and less depth at the underwire IMO. Best for short roots needing decent projection. Band is true to size. Material isn't super soft but isn't scratchy either. Thankfully the animal print is understated as it's not really "my thing" but I snagged it on Zulily for cheap and it's a really good cup shape for me. Full review on the blog!
I love the colors on this bra, wish I had ordered one when Zulily had them. I like that the zebra print is kind of abstract looking and looks more like tye dye than animal print.
Beautiful!!
amandafire thats what I thought about the print too! I never would have tried this bra if it weren't for being so cheap on zulily that one day.
I am very close set with outer fullness, tall shallow roots, and need immediate depth. This bra's gore was too wide. I altered it by moving the wire more into the armpit area so the tips of the wire channels at the gore were empty. Then I cut down the center of the gore and overlapped the empty part of the channels. Narrowing the gore caused the cups to be too narrow so I pulled on the wires to make them 0.5 in wider. Now this bra is wearable but still doesn't fit because the cups are all wrong. This bra is designed more for FOT breast with ...shorter roots, so on me I have some emptiness near the top and the top of the cups collide with my tall roots. The bottom if the cups do not have enough space which are causing wrinkles along the vertical seam. Usually when the cups of bras don't fit me it cause the bra to shift and sit uncomfortable on my ribs, but since the band is so tight nothing moves. It is comfortable unless I am slouching and being lazy. The fabric on the bottom of the bra is very stiff unlike see though fabric of most unlined bras. I wish I could find a whole bra made of this fabric with cups that fit rather then just the bottom because it would be perfect under T-shirts. Read more 130 more words
I'm impressed by your alterations, violetknight ! Hope you find a well fitting bra soon!
Yay for the power of alterations! I have found narrowing the gore makes bras too narrow for me, too. I had hoped my tissue would just move into the center, which it does. But, it also still needs the space I eliminated on the sides. SIGH. Great laminated fabric on Gia. Hope you find a great fit soon!
This bra is stunning to look at and touch - the fabric is a lovely soft satin and the bow detailing is very pretty. However, it's not just one for the bedroom! It's also comfy and supportive enough for everyday wear.
The band is ever so slightly too large for me and I would recommend that you size down in the band if possible (sadly it was not possible for me as they do not make a 26). The cups fit my smaller breast very well and my larger one with a small amount of overspill, but this is masked well by the frills and is not significant ...enough for me to want to size up in the cups. In terms of shape, I find this bra flattens me out a bit, but does give a nice amount of uplift. The frills flatten out under clothing so they are not too noticeable unless you're wearing a very tight t-shirt.
I initially found the centre wires dug in a little and the straps slightly too wide for my narrow shoulders, but both these issues seem to have disappeared with a couple of washes. I now find this bra very comfortable for the whole day and I will definitely be purchasing another colour. Read more 102 more words
I am head-over-heels in love with the look of this bra. It is absolutely gorgeous. I love all of the careful details, the little spirals on the straps and at the back closure, and the lovely embroidery. Magically, the butted seams are invisible under clothes... and somehow, I don't understand how, the embroidery doesn't show through either. I've never loved the looks or design of a bra as much as this one. I've tried a lot of pretty bras on, but I seldom buy and keep them because I dismiss them as impractical. But this one is both!
That being said... the 28FF ...is a smidge too small for me. The central gore tacks to my chest, but I get a bit of quadra-boob on the edge of the lace. I decided to keep it anyways, but I wish I had held out for a 28G or a 30FF.
Pros: - Appearance - A hands down winner, I've never seen a bra I found prettier. As a bonus, it doesn't cover as much chest real estate as the Emily. - Shape - I like the shape of the Romance best of all the CK softcups I've tried. It's uplifted and natural from the side. It's "boob-shaped", not perfectly round like a Freya Deco, but not pointy. - Quality - The band is neat. It feels quite firm, and yet I can stretch it quite a lot. It offers a nice resistance. - Comfort - The band is tighter and firmer than what I'm used to, but still pretty comfy. The straps are fully adjustable.
Cons: - Since the coverage isn't quite as full as in the CK Emily or my Fantasie Esme, I feel a bit of bounce at the top.
Edit... After wearing this bra again briefly, I decided I couldn't deal with the fact that the cups were too small. I really shouldn't have been so excited and clip the tags. I'm on the hunt for a 28G or 30FF, and I'll be listing this one.
Edit again... Found a 30FF and the fit is perfect! Review to come. Read more 255 more words
My shape: short narrow roots, center full but splayed, even FOT/FOB. My current best fit is the Cleo Lily in 28FF. I have a 30F CK Bardot whose cups fit well (the straps are too wide) and many 28FF Marcies, whose cups are a little gappy, and whose straps and wires are a little wide, but I love just the same.
My initial impression of this bra was that despite its measurements, it's fairly shallow. The shape it gave was rounded, minimized and a little East-West (which is new for me!). Prior to altering it, the cups seemed small and cut into my center ...fullness. I narrowed the bottom of the gore to open up the top of the cups, and now it fits with zero room to spare, and with significant wrinkling at the bottom center of the cup. I have the straps extended as far as they'll go, but think that might be more due to the cups being a little small than the straps being short.
That said, it now looks great. The cup height and strap placement seem perfect, which may be partially due to it being a little small in the cups.
The wing is angled low under the arm, but widens at the back to accommodate the 3 hook clasp. I've uploaded a picture of it over a 28FF Cleo Lily for comparison. The materials are soft but fairly rigid, with the weight of the non-stretch lace being especially nice. The band is standard power mesh.
Overall, I'm still trying to figure this one out, and may update in the future!
Thanks for your review! It seems to become more immediately projected throughout the range. Interesting how scaling can change these fit characteristics. I'm thrilled your alteration helped :-)
Thanks Love4Pollinators ! I really appreciate your reviews (and wish I could share my boobs ability to overlap wires!) and had noted the ..um... bimodal nature of the reviews for this bra and its presumed clones. Since it was cheap on Brastop I decided to give it a try. The scaling in this size is pretty close to perfect on the straps and band, now if CK can just Bardot-ize the cups about 75%.....
I continue to be a big fat sucker for purple and CK's designs. I find this bra more similar to Bardot/Madagascar than any of the older CK styles listed under the "same cut" links on the page. It's definitely far more open on top than Bardot is though. Almost (technically) too small for me, but workable.
Are you going to keep it? It is so beautiful and looks great on you. I have been in love for this bra for a while, but given my past with CK unlined bras, I have been afraid to try it...all have been failures. I agree...older CK styles I have tried have been too wide and shallow. Recently, I have had luck though with CK's padded bras Daily Boost and Arizona. They seem quite a bit narrower and more projected. I might try this in my ususal CK size of 30H given how great it looks on you (if I can find it...maybe on sale)!
Thanks! Yeah I'm gonna keep it. I think a 28G woulda solved the problems with my left side, but also likely been too wide and too big on my right. And it's not like lefty is making an escape all day. I've just gotten extremely picky!
I usually don't go for unpadded bras, but this one I really like. The band is firm and supportive, fitting well on the first row of hooks. The cups are a perfect fit, encasing all the breast tissue comfortably. The straps are fully adjustable and the criss-cross pattern and ribbon detailing are very pretty, but still sexy due to the black base colour.
This bra does not give me a cleavage, but creates a smooth, rounded shape under clothing. It is very comfortable to wear all day long and is appropriate for any occasion. It is even good as a bedroom set as it a matching suspender belt is ...part of the range.
I have two minor gripes with the bra. The first is that the ribbon is too long on one of the cups, so it bunches up slightly. I've seen this in some of the Curvy Kate model videos too, so I think it's a common error. It doesn't really detract from the look of the bra though. The second gripe is that after I have been wearing the bra for a while I have noticed that my breasts shift slightly so a lump appears between the edge of the cup and where the fabric changes to double-lined. This is only really noticeable under very tight tops, which I don't tend to wear so considering the comfort and good looks of the bra it doesn't put me off wearing it. Read more 131 more words
Quick little Bravissimo order because it was on sale for $19, and matching quick little review because it’s 2am. Wow, is this band tight. The tightness comes not as much from the actual length of the band as the fact that it barely stretches three and a half inches before the wires begin to distort, and the band length is only originally like 21.9in (can’t remember exactly), so this is for sure effectively a 26 band and might even be able to suit a 24. Though I’m a 26 band, I wouldn’t have been able to breathe with this bra fastened without the extender I put on it ...to try it on.
Other than the ultra tiny band, this is too small in the cup. This bra actually does a great job of illustrating something I didn’t realize for awhile, which is that a too-small cup can make it SEEM like the gore is too wide for your breasts, when in fact the gore just has no room because there’s too much boob there. This makes a lot of sense to me now because I’m so not close-set as to be almost splayed, but I totally didn’t understand this concept at the beginning of my bra journey when most of the bras I was trying on were small in the cup and I just chalked the gore pressing on my tissue up to it being too wide.
I got the green/white color (Pear something...?) and it’s adorable! I really love the tiny button on the top of the gore and the fact that it itself has polka dots too. The straps measure to just over 0.6 inches in width, but they look wider to me and I think they probably provide a little more support than if they were slimmer. But maybe take that assertion with a grain of salt because I have an actual skin irritation on my shoulder which is partly the fault of my Ewa Michalak M Perłowy, so I have a temporary vendetta against thin straps. This bra may not be the sexiest, but it’s very cutesy and I think it’s really fun. I’ll check if 28G is in stock and then get an exchange as soon as I take pics tomorrow (...today?). Read more 269 more words
Also, a too tight band can make the cups fit/feel smaller as the cups sort of become a bit of the band and less space for the actual boobs.
Calluna very true! From everyone's photos it also looks like this particular bra, below the G-cup cutoff, has a cup design that curves back in towards the body at an unusually closed angle, almost like some of the old Cleos notorious for this short-boob-friendly shape. At G and above the design seems to have been graded a little more generously in this regard but they still use a very very flat (or perhaps simply rigid) upper cup section so anyone whose boob shape cannot conform to that upper cup edge and shape will get really major quadding. biflexual you're light-years ahead of most people for figuring out the issue of insufficient cup depth (or space allowed by the cup edge) masquerading as a too-wide gore. So many people spend YEARS without realizing this and thus waste a ton of money and effort due to mistakenly thinking they need overlapped gores or ultra-low-gore bras (super plunge styles with an itsy bitsy gore inherently lack the stability that will ensure a comfier fit if a person is heavy-busted, very projected or very center-full).
I was actually quite surprised with this bra. I bought this off Ebay used and when I opened it up i thought there was no way my boobs were fitting in this. It looked small for a 28FF. It is a bit tight, esp for being used, but its actually a pretty nice fit. After trying my CK Gia in a 28G, i wasn't really sure if this would work or not. The Princess gives a much nicer shape under clothes, not too pointy but nothing too round, very natural. My Gia is pointy boobs all the way and the top lacy part of the cup wrinkles. It ...doesn't seem to do that with the Princess. But it does show thru on light shirts, the little dots and the bows are visible. But i feel like my Gia sort of pushes everything front and center so there is zero side boob. The Princess has a little bit more east west projection and not as much lift as the Gia, for me. But it still feels very supportive. One of my fav things about CK is that they use 3, instead of just 2, hooks and eyes on the back of the band for larger cups. I wish ALL brands did this, or at least made it an option, because for me, it seems to make such a difference in the overall support.
The gore isn't too high for me which is unusual with my close-set boobs. But it did start to dig in my sternum pretty quickly and left a nasty red indentation when i took the bra off only after about 30 minutes. I still marked this as a fit in the system since this was my only real complaint. The straps are so pretty but the decorative flower design doesn't allow them to be fully adjustable. But it's not really a problem unless you were to tighten them to the max, which doesn't seem too practical anyway. Lol. When i first put the bra on the straps were tightened all the way. But I don't know why I thought that would work honestly (too lazy to adjust them i guess, haha) and it gave me massive quad boob. So i loosened them completely and the bra fit perfectly after that https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" />
Overall, this is a pretty bra. I'm not as crazy about the shape it gives without clothing as I am with it under a shirt, if that makes any sense. It's actually the complete opposite of my Gia. With the Gia, I LOVE the look and shape it gives...until i put on a shirt. Weird. I think the Princess looks better in my pics on me than it does in person. It's not a bra I would spend big bucks on, but it seems like it could be a great "summer" bra, nice and light. Read more 377 more words
I own this bra in Ivory and love it, in part because it fits me very well. Unfortunately the fit is not the same in this colourway (Wine/Navy). The cups are considerably smaller and cut in at the top and sides. Otherwise, it is very pretty to look at, the straps sit well and are fully adjustable and the wires do not poke. If I could size down in the band I would, but I find this with all the Showgirl collection and the bras are still wearable for me, they will just not last me as long once they stretch.
Thanks to other reviews on here I was ...aware of the sizing discrepancy between the colours and ordered this one in a 28FF and a 28G. See my other reviews concerning other colours/sizes! Between the two sizes I ordered in this colour I noticed some quality issues. For starters, one of the two was missing the central bow, suggesting they are either not attached strongly or there was a manufacturing error. There are also lots of loose threads where the cup joins the band and one of the ribbons running across the cups is too long and bunches up. Read more 91 more words
Me: Short, narrow roots, splayed, very projected at wire, average apex projection, even FOT/FOB, extremely center full. Wide on top, omega on bottom? Cleo Lily/Marcie fit me best.
This was the second of my beige Curvy Kates. When I first tried it on, it was so close to working! The cups seemed to fit but the wires were really uncomfortable. Though it looked okay under clothes, I had uncomfortable quadding at the center, even after letting the straps out all the way (I'm only 5'4", and not low set!). I was ready to return it.
Then I put it on an extender. ... href="https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_smile.gif" rel="nofollow">https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" />
The Curvy Kate Daily Dream runs tighter than most Cleos in the band, so consider sizing up. The cups have good projection at the wire. The cups are fairly short and closed on top which should work well for short rooted and FOB people. Tall rooted people might be able to make it work by letting out the straps. It probably won't work for the very FOT. The wings are low, which I like.
The stiffness of padding and thickness of the upper ridge is between that of Comexim and Cleo Mimi. Though a rounded profile, the bra is a little more East-West than Cleo, or, to put it another way, less torpedo-like. I'm okay with this.
It's prettier than in the pictures. I'll try to remedy that when I have time and daylight.
I dont really know why i bought this bra as i knew it wouldnt fit!!! I dont usually find curvy kate fits and i often have problems with plunge bras. From the pictures i should have known this would be too high at the top for me and there would be excess fabric and puckering. And yet i foolishly ordered it (i guess because i am always searching for a black, simple but attractive non padded bra, and this looked so pretty).
Anyway, of course it didnt fit! It is strange, because i added this bra and my cleo kali at the same time i noticed that their ...measurements are nearly exactly the same and yet the fit completely different.
Firstly the band seems perfect. Nice and firm but not too tight. (As mentioned in my cleo review the back measurements of the two were very similar and yet this feels good and the other too tight). The wires are perfect for me.
But the cup has lots of wrinkling and excess fabric at the top of the cups, where the straps and cup meet. This happens a lot for me (especially nearly all freya bras).
Sometimes there is quadboob, sometimes not....hmmm i think it is if i smooth myself into it there isnt any quadboob, but then my very close together boobs fall into the centre and the material seems to crease, so there is all this extra fabric folded over, but if it stayed in its proper place there wouldnt be quadboob. (Hope this makes sense. And hopefully it is clearer what i mean in the pictures).
This bra is basically a perfect example of how most bras in my size dont seem to be the right shape or style for my boobs. When in frustración i decide to just buy a 34dd from primark or h&m they seem to be much more the shape i need, although obviosly the backs are big.
As i forgot to return this bra in time i decided to try and alter it. And i am pleasantly surprised with how it turned out! https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" /> i think i have managed to turn it into the bra that i wish it was, by folding some of the excess fabric from the top into the wire under my arm. And this seems to be fixing the folding of the material near the front too, so that now it sits flat.
I am pleased as this will allow me to keep this beautiful bra. Also, this gives me a bra with a different kind of shape- Ie the bras i normally find to fit are usually padded or cleo bras, both of which seem to have a very round shape. Where as this bra seems to have a more projected shape. I think it is still roundish, but maybe more of a naturalish curve than really round. (To me the shape seems similar to most freya bras). Read more 387 more words
This bra's measurements have been altered
I have tacken in some material from the cup to make it site lower and fit me better. I made the alterations after i took the measurements. But have included photos with and Without my alterations.
I'm so glad you were able to transform it into something that fits for you.!! :-) :-) Just FYI, the new Atomic plunge fits quite differently than the older plunge design: Atomic has a slightly shorter cup and a more narrow wire. It "may" be even more projected now....
And, thank you for your photos! I had not given this a second because photos made it look lack luster, but your photos make this bra look very lovely :-) :-) I will add it to my wish list :-)
Thanks for the comments. Shorter cup sounds good but more projected bad! I will have to see if it fits better or worse...
I love the looks of this, but i think the shape is wrong. Too small in the cups and shallow for me https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_sad.gif" alt=":(" />
The Starlet is so shallow at the bottom of the cups that it creases badly there on me and just about everyone else I've seen. Not really sure who it's supposed to fit.
I really hope there's someone it'll fit, because it looks so nice :)
I know! Mine is in the petrol colorway and I kept it because it's wearable and I love the matching high-waisted briefs.
Way to wide for me and perhaps a cup small but going up a cup wouldn't really help as my issues with it are related to my shape. Not great for my center fullness and projected, soft, pendulous breasts. Band is better than the previous Tease Me bras but still very stretchy. I'm selling a lot of my bras that are shape mismatches but I'm keeping this for when I get smaller/ because I love how it makes my breasts look. Great cleavage. Great cups on a plate look. Also, from my photos I know it looks like the straps are really tight, but I have permanent indentations from years of trying to get some sort of support from poor fitting bras.
I measure 26FF, bought this in 28FF cause I heard the cups run small. Sadly, I would've been better off with a 28G, and/or it's too shallow for me. The cups are REALLY shallow. I love how this bra looks, and if the cups were a little bigger/deeper it'd be perfect.
Perhaps it would have worked better for me if I didn't size a cup larger, but this bra is wrong for my shape anyway. Read on a couple of reviews to size up in the cup, but honestly if you are very full-on-bottom like me, I don't think it would work! Read on some bra blogs that there is a big size discrepancy between 28F and 28FF. The cup was too open on top for my shape, which caused a lot of gaping. I did fill the bottom okay though. Wires were also too wide. Strap seperation too wide for me and rubbed against my armpits. This bra gave me a really weird, flattened out shape.
I also don't like the materials that this bra is made out of, they feel quite cheap. Simply not the most comfortable fabric.
This is a great bra and currently my best fitting bra. It is comfortable but still incredibly gorgeous - the photos of it online really don't do it justice in my opinion! The colours and embroidery detail are really lovely without compromising the fit and comfort of the bra. In terms of size, I wear a 28FF in the Freya Deco which might work as a good comparison for a lot of people if you are trying to work out what size to get, though the Deco does gape on me a little (however I think this is more to do with my full on bottom breasts/small ribcage/narrow ...shoulders than the actual cups being too small). The band of the Angel bra is quite stretchy, but as it is wide and has three sets of hooks I find that it stays in place well even on my small bony ribcage. The shape created by the bra is quite good. I have to be careful about what clothes I wear it under as the bows on the straps (though very cute!) do show under strappy tops and the patterns can show under fitted tops, though it's not too bad. All in all, I highly recommend this bra. It is comfortable, well made, beautiful and supportive. Oh and for sizing reference, I measure 26 inches around my ribcage and 35 inches around my bust, and my breasts are quite wide set and full on bottom. Read more 136 more words
This bra is beautiful https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" />. This is the first bra I have that actually, for the most part, fits me. It's not perfect, but I don't know if anything will ever be given my very difficult shape. The band on this may be slightly too big for me, but I can't go down past a 28. It actually fits when I sit down, and does not move around much. I might have even been able to go up one cup size, but I like the appearance it gives. This bra actually manages to make my empty and sagging breasts look somewhat round, so I love it. The only problem I have with this is it doesn't exactly look great under tight clothes because it gives a square shape and looks lumpy under clothing.
I know this doesn't technically fit me, but I deliberately ordered a size small because I have issue when I actually do fit, the cup fits weird, whereas when it's a size small, the shape is much better. In that respect, I'm taking the whole "bedroom bra" thing to heart. But honestly, it actually fits better than any of the larger sizes, because the gaping at the top is weird. I don't get any quad-boob, just a small amount of escaped "arm pit fat."
Now that I've explained my decision, on to the good stuff! The shape I get in this is so nice and ...round. Because the bra is too small, the frills on the top of the cup actually lay flat on my breast tissue, but it doesn't cut it.
The blue is a bit of a tacky color, but it's fun and the bra itself is well made, though sometimes it creaks. The band is really loose for a 28, but that's to be expected in Showgirl ranges, so I'm not exactly surprised. I think this would fit someone who measures about a 31" around the underbust best.
The materials are really comfortable, and I don't get any weird uncomfortable digging. The hooks in the back are better than what I usually expect with Curvy Kate and Flirtelle (I feel like this is their downfall). Because I'm smack dab in between a 28 band and a 30 band, usually, the hooks on 28 bands get uncomfortable and I have too, much sooner than I'd like, go on to the second set of hooks so that the hooks don't dig into my back too much and I have fabric between the hooks and my skin.
I made a mistake when ordering this and I thought I was ordering a G cup instead of an FF, as it is now it's a good 2 cups too small maybe a bit more. However it's stupidly comfy, no center gore to worry about digging in and I kind of like the look it gives my breasts under a shirt. I think I have found the style of bra that I like, now I just need to order it in a larger size but this one will do for now.
The lace work on this does show through a tight shirt but it's really quite lovely and detailed, it reminds me of a delicate Victorian lace. The cups are also extremely soft.
Straps look nice and wide