I bought this bra in two colours: black and a beige-pink. I measured the black one for Bratabase, but I only took pictures of myself in the beige-pink one.
The bra has straps that can be removed and modified into a tonne of different configurations. I haven't tried them yet, but it's clear from looking at it that there are a lot of options. You can take them off completely, or remove them from the front or the back to make them match pretty much any neckline.
It also comes with an additional strap you can use to attach to the closures on ...the back and wrap around your waist to make the back lower. Doing this you do lose some support. I tried wearing the bra initially without the strap, but I found the band was so tight that it stretched the wires so much they came out the back of my armpits. Once I added the extra strap that problem went away and the bra was actually very comfortable.
The cups are made of two pieces: a top piece and the bottom piece which is shaped with a dart. So because it's not moulded it has some good projection, but it is not seamless. It also doesn't have a lot of push-up. I have fairly close-set breasts and it didn't give me cleavage, but maybe if you adjust the straps tighter than I had them it would. The cups are deep and they have a high apex. I found them slightly wide for me, but only by a small amount, and I don't have any outer fullness so I don't fill out the outer edge of the cups, which can make it kind of difficult to tell if the cup is too wide, or it's just my lack of outer fullness making it seem like it.
Overall I think this bra is excellent for it's intended purpose: as a special occasion/going out bra for having some shape and a small amount of support. Not an every day bra. Read more 244 more words
The navy/orange Ella has swifty become on of my favourite bras. It's a very nice shape to wear especially under V-shaped necklines, and since I wear lot of blue, I get the nice feeling of wearing matching colors even beneath my clothes.
The band is tight enough and the straps are fully adjustable. The bra gives good support, although the uplift could be better.
Even though I would go for a 28J in other Curvy Kate bras, the open-on-top design of the Ella allows me to size down a cup size to 28HH. I even fit a 28H, although I get a bit of quad-boob at the end ...of the day.
The shape of the cup from the side, though, is far from ideal, even though it smoothes itself out a bit when under stretchy clothing. The shape is best described on Bras I Hate's blog (http://brasihate.blogspot.com/2012/05/what-does-curvy-kateflirtelle-have-to.html) and apparently, this particular weird shape means that the cup size is too small. When I tried on the 28J, though, the edge of the bra cut into my underarms horribly, so I think that under these circumstances, I prefer a 28HH...
--- EDIT ---
I've had the Ella for about two years now and have worn it so often that the wings are slowly starting to come apart. Otherwise, though, the bra is as good as new, so kudos to CK for some excellent quality designing here.
I wore the bra a lot, because it fit me well, was comfortable and was low-cut (good for V-necks). The shape, however... My boobs have grown a bit larger over the last two years and I am now more of a 28J (= 28JJ in CK), so maybe that was part of the problem, but the shape this bra gave me started getting a bit weird. Sort of splayed, east-to-west-ish, and pointy from the side. I still reached for it several times a week, but I haven't ordered a CK bra ever since... and I don't plan to do so either. I guess I'm just more of a Panache/Freya gal in the end.
But this first Ella will be sorely missed. Read more 245 more words
I've read so many great reviews of this bra that I had really high hopes for it. Unfortunately, I ended up being really disappointed. I was excited to finally have a strapless bra and this did actually stay up surprisingly well. That's pretty much the only good thing I can say about it though. I'm usually between a 28GG and a 28H depending on the shape and brand, but the cups on this bra were so shallow that I had to go up to a 28HH and I was still spilling out over the top. The construction of this bra was just strange to me, it didn't seem ...like the makers had any idea of how to make a bra with a large cup size and a small band size. When I first saw it, I thought the cups looked huge and there was no way it would fit. The cups were just really wide though and stretched all the way to my back. There wasn't enough support on the bottom of the cups, so they just kind of folded inward and dug into my ribs. It was pretty painful, so I didn't wear it for more than a few minutes. There's no way I could go all day in this thing. To top it off, the vertical stitching on the cup was really noticeable under a shirt. Read more 121 more words
This is by far the best fitting Curvy Kate bra that I have found so far. While I love the Tease Me, the bands have given me trouble. The 28 fits more like a 26 and the 30 fits more like a 32. The gap in sizing in the Thrill me bra isn't nearly as bad. This 28 band fits more like a 30 and I have to wear it on the tightest hook row. The cleavage is a perfect, not too much. Many complaints have been about ability to wear under clothes. I have yet to find a bra in ...my size (28HH) that does not show under tank tops. Living in Texas this means I either have to alter my tank tops, which never come out fitting right anywhere else, or deal with my bra straps showing. I prefer the latter. At least these are a pretty color and have cute bows. So what if I look like "that mom" of my kid. Tell the bra industry to start making bras for larger cup sizes on thin people to be worn under clothes. Tell the fashion industry to start making clothes that fit in the bust readily and affordably available to the general public. Enough for my rant. I wear alot of loose boyfriend style or small men's off shoulder type shirts. The ribbon is not very noticeable with these. A long necklace gives amazing "seatbelt cleavage" so it doesn't look like I'm wearing a sportsbra or "uniboob" effect. It also allows for a thin frame with large breasts to be able to wear non-form fitting clothing without looking 15 pounds heavier. Long heavy pendant necklaces rock. Other than small men's tshirts, my "uniform" is black tank tops or cheap black v or scoopneck fitted tshirts from Ross junior's department. I own 20 of each. The ribbon is noticeable, the scoop or v-neck shows collar bones but doesn't go crazy with cleavage, and this bra, unlike the illfitting VS dream angels push ups I used to wear before learning there is more to life than DDD. For those who are thin with large bust, things like collar bones on fitted clothing and "seatbelt cleavage" from necklaces on looser clothing can equate 15 lbs. Seriously. On the tight fitting clothes it so nice to finally have a bra that doesn't give me bra bulge, armpit fat, back fat, etc, from miscplace breast tissue. For years I have HATED the back fat effect under fitted clothing because my bra band was too big and my cup size too small. This bra does a tremendous job with helping that. Its still a little loose in the band but its better than I've experienced yet. Read more 375 more words
Oooh lordy this bra is bad! I knew I'd be taking a risk and that the Gia was one with a lot of problems, but I figured since it only cost $14, I was fine with the risk since I liked the color. Plus one of my fave bloggers, the lovely Bras & Body Image tried it in the gorgeous deep purple colorway and liked it (granted, the red didn't work for her).
But no. It's bad. Fits like your average CK with super W I D E wires. They are almost on my back. It's bad. It's going back to amazon tomorrow.
I wanted to enter this ...in case anyone else was entertaining thoughts of the Gia. It is far too shallow for me as well. I'm not super projected, but between the horrendously wide wires and the very shallow cup, it was definitely a disaster on my boobs. Oh well. Lesson learned!
As for quality, I wouldn't say the Gia is bad, I would say though that it's not exactly up to CK's usual standards.
It's so bad that I put it back into the package and into the Amazon box immediately. I don't want to take photos of it and don't feel like measuring it, it just has to go back ASAP. Read more 106 more words
Pros: this bra is beautifully designed, and surprisingly soft and comfortable to wear. The powermesh band conforms snugly to the body without digging in, and the cups are lined in soft material. It gives uplift and a supported, rounded shape.
Unfortunately, the bra is too wide-set for me, though I can still wear it. The straps are too wide for my shoulders by about two inches - they are literally almost as wide as my shoulders themselves, and I don't have small or narrow shoulders. This creates some empty space at the upper, outer edges of the cup. They also dig in to my underarm.
The sides of the cup, just before the wires, also have some empty space, even though the bra cuts into my breast tissue in the center and creates some of the dreaded quadraboob. The wires are for wider, shallower breasts.
In short, the bra is attractive, wearable and mostly comfortable, but not a good match for my body type.
The first bra I got from Curvy Kate. I bent the wires a little and actually, it was quite wearable on some days when my breasts are smaller. Owned in blush and black - the second one slightly smaller.
2018: desperately small after boob growth, so I gave them both to a friend.
I'm so disappointed. I really wanted to love this bra. I got the beige color way, which is just perfect for my skin tone and the print is super cute. But I ended up with a really bad case of upside down 7 and just can't make it work. I also got quadboob on my larger side, but not enough to size up.
I got this bra when it was on a great sale, and don't regret it! I just wish I could find it in a smaller size at the same price because it is a bit too big in the cups for me. I got the size I was recommended, but it wasn't quite accurate. Still, it looks nice and is relatively comfortable. I definitely recommend it if you're looking for a comfy everyday bra!
My shape: slightly shallow teardrop/FOB with super wide/tall roots and very close-set tissue in the middle.
This review is for the purple/ivory colorway.
I have loved this bra from afar since it first came out because it is utterly the cutest bra I've ever seen, but I believed that half-cup and balconettes just wouldn't work for me. Since finding my new 32F - Fauve ยป Bronte Padded Longline Bra (0331) to be one of the best fitting bras I've ever worn, when I found some on clearance I decided to give it a shot. As per sizing recommendations, I went down a band size from my usual ...30 and was going to try up 1 or 2 cups (from a usual FF), but those sizes were sold out so I went with the next best thing to give myself a starting point.
The advice about the band was absolutely correct. The 28 fits great! It is very comfy and stretches just right and I have no complaints. If you want one (and can still find it), definitely order down a band.
The center gore is too tall for me, but so is almost every non-plunge bra on earth (and even then some). It definitely makes itself felt, though, and that is just within a minute of trying it on.
These cups are HUGE on me. I knew it was likely to be too big because it was a HH and not a GG or H as per the size recommendation, but I am positively swimming in them: They don't just "wrinkle, can't quite fill it", they stand away from my breast and the top edge gapes like crazy - it's actually better without the straps on, because my arm is not then in the way and squishing the cup - and the wires are too wide and sit beyond my super-wide breast root under my arm by at least half an inch. I have read that this is a bra made with shallower/moderately projected cups, so since I am shallow perhaps I don't need to size up at all? I hope that will fix the straps problem, too. I would love to try a 28G or perhaps even a 28FF to see if it would work better, but I'll have to find them first, I guess.
In person, it is still one of the prettiest and most squee-worthy bras I've ever seen. The double-ribbon bows and the scalloped lace and the woven satin ribbon details are luscious and I want to stare at it all day long. I will totally put up with the discomfort of the center gore in order to simply have it on, just as soon as I can get the rest of the fit right. Anyone got a 28GG they want to share? Read more 356 more words
Ive been wearing this bra for months and its best ck bra That I ever had seriously I mean I got wide root, spread breast tissue, very firm, little bit of fot and plus extremely short torso - I always need fully adjust bra when its half adjust strap bra I need to sew The strap to fit on me again. - I have lovely various uk bras but so far for me CK is best but ive never had like CK MODELS' shape. I know they are real woman not professional models but looking their photos then looking at my boobs it wasn't that sexy sadly That ...was what I felt. However ive got model picture bra just exactly pop out looking good without photoshop!!!! Plus without any quarter boobs!!!!!!! For me pirtia and tease me bra gives me best shape but not as much as this!!! But I do agree with others that this bra has stretch band and yes it is. I am just 70cm little bit less Than 28in. But I think its more like 30 ish. Also I do work out I have flat belly. There isnt much fat on my belly. But sometimes when I bend my back to pick up something or etc., its flipped then I had to make it right again I think maybe Ck has to put some silicone not to be flipped or change this thin band to more thicker and less stretch band X) there is side bond using in corset under the armpit side but there is not right through the under the front-cup side. So maybe thats why its flipped That well. says They got bigger cup well I think they got bigger cup compareed with ex bra construction. It seems bit bigger and deeper just little bit. Oh speaking of cup its bit pointy slightly pointy very slightly. Its reminds of ewa balcony construction. Still round but compare with tease me, tease me is more like super round and exact hemisphere but This is more like bit pointy and still round plus bit upward like entice bra. But def not small like ex ck bra used to need to size up 1 or 2. Its my first and one and only 2014 s/s collection bra that I got and I ve waiting for months till comes out to the world. Howevet if they changed their bra cup construction like this I darely assume RITZY BRA's cup design won't same as tease me. Anyway it was worth to wait definitely. The design of this bra is very delicate and sophisticate And very subtile. -omg ive never put These nice words on bra description- the lime colour on Top of the cup is not fully lime. Its mingled. Super pale baby pinl and apple green-ish lime. I guess there is only 30~35% of lime colour on top. And seemingly The colour of cup is super pale pick like the pale baby pink thread I said. However inside of cup has same colour of band. Lovely pink. The combination of this all is simply gorgeous. Btw I put good in comfort becuz of band I think band needed to be changed till f/w black come oh wait. Its already there!! So sorry all The massive mass writing. I just wrote it when the words just pop out. Thank you for read this all!!!! Read more 461 more words
size down because straps are too wide for petite ladies? i feel like this was designed with bigger backed women in mind, but it might work for different body types? Almost nothing agrees with my boobs anyway.
Thank you for such an in-depth review!! I was thinking of ordering this bra.