This bra was the best out of my recent CK bra trials, but there are still some issues here. First a few words about the bra itself. Oh how gorgeous this bra is! I love the blue color with the lemon print! I also think the fabric of the bottom cups feels quite sturdy and the lace top part of the cups is rather thin and lightweight but it does not feel cheap. Looks like a good quality bra.
The straps though are thin like always on CK bras which I personally dislike. The band seems to be tts or even a bit small for a 34 band. It ...does ride up a bit if I close it on the loosest setting, but I usually wear a 32 band. I would have liked to try the bra in a 32JJ but I couldn't find this size online. I don't know If CK does not make the size or if it was sold out already.The cups are actually not that bad, the wires were less wide than on other bras from this brand. But it could also be because I tried a J cup here instead of a 32JJ. I really feel the difference between CK cups that are much less tall than most other brands that I wear. I have to say, that besides the CK Victory which is a very tall bra, CK is probably not the brand for you if you have tall boobs. So the lace edge does cut in a bit, and I feel like I could need some more support for my upper breast tissue. I don't think a bigger cup size would solve this, I don't think that it is 1 cup size too small. It's more that I would need a bit more fabric in the upper cup. (Or maybe a bit more depth at the center like always!) But I find the bra to be quite deep for a CK bra.
Like I said, it is not that bad, but the bra has the same issue that every bra from this brand had so far: it just feels not supportive enough. I know this problem might be specific for only my size range. I find the straps too flimsy, there isn't much uplift from the cups and too might weight goes on these thin straps. I also feel that with wear over the day that my boobs would fall out of the cups. (I had this problem with another bra from this brand where the bra just collapsed and got less and less supportive over they day. I had to always adjust my boobs in this bra and got neck pain from it. It was 32K - Curvy Kate » Gia (CK2101) ) So I fear this would happen with this bra too. I would look past the issues with wide cups or a little cutting in, if the bra felt supportive enough because I love the print so much. But support is the one priority in a bra that I won't compromise on. Read more 405 more words
I found this babydoll for about 4.50£ on ebay, so I couldn't resist to give it a try since I always wanted to try a babydoll. The band on this runs very small in my opinion, I had to wear an extender to be able to close it. I couldn't do stretched band measurement as I feared to tear the skirt. But I did not find it very stretchy. The cups are as expected too small although it's not as bad as I expected it to be. (I usually wear a 32KK) I think I need about 2 cups bigger or maybe 3 for a really proper bra fit. ...Although I think that the bra is made for a bit less coverage and cleavage so I think one can get away with a slightly smaller cup for more cleavage boost effect. Also I think this bra cut is very good for full on top boobs. I don't get real quadboob (cup edge does not cut in) but I also cannot make the gore tack. The bra gives me great cleavage though. The cups are folding on bottom since they are too shallow for my boobs. The skirt is a nice length on me (mid-thigh, I'm 169cm / 5'6'') and falls nicely without flaring out too much.
Props to cupandahalf! On the strength of her fantastic review, I added Poppy on an impulse to my order, and I'm so glad I did! It comes very, very close to what I was seeking: a bra with the same shape as CK Ellace, but more supportive. Poppy is just about there, and is so beautiful, to boot!
The fabric is what gives Poppy the edge over Ellace, I believe. The bottom cups, with a truly stunning deep, rich red and black pattern, are a firm, smooth fabric that doesn't have too much give. The uppers are well-matched black floral non-stretch lace that, unlike Ellace's, ...is not prone to causing in-cup quadding.
As a short woman with a short waist and short breast root, I have had difficulty finding underwires that match my IMF. Most are an inch or more too high, contributing to the challenge of keeping bras from sliding down. So I highly appreciate the low height of many Curvy Kate wires! Poppy's wires are 4.5" tall, about 1/2" more than my ideal, but a great improvement over, say, the 5.25" height of my 34J Elomi Morgan wires. Not surprisingly then, Poppy does a much better, albeit not perfect, job of staying up in place.
If the bras I have tested are true to form, it seems that Curvy Kate's weakness is... well... weakness. The bras just aren't that strong. I find the wires on Poppy to be a little too light-weight. They're comfortable, but a bit over-flexible for my heavy breasts. Wearing over the course of a day, I do have to occasionally adjust the wires, cups, or band, but it stays nice and comfortable throughout. Poppy has a lovely shape under light-weight fabrics, but it seems heavy fabrics tend to push it down a bit, flattening out the perky little curve it produces when unfettered. This is also evident in the support department. Although it is definitely more supportive than Ellace, it is still bouncier than my Elomis or Panaches. But overall its charms well outweigh any deficits, and it will find a happy home in my daily rotation. Read more 248 more words
Yay so happy to help! Yes, it’s more bouncy but the look and comfort are great! If you feel comfortable swapping out the straps, that will give you even better support and stability as well.
Looks great on you!
Thanks! All of your reviews are helpful! What do you use to replace the straps?
Other straps from old bras. I like Elomi straps the best. I just take them off at the front of the cup and remove the stitching around the ring at the back, then do the same with the other bra and stitch it all back together again. .
This is the unpadded version of the CK tankinis, I think it's even the only style of their swimwear that they offer without padding... There is the top and then a "regular" mesh bra sewn into the top. The bra itself has a typical CK cut like their balconettes.The straps are full adjustable.
When I received this tankini back in march 2019 the cups were just slightly small for me. The cups are not very tall and a bit shallow at the center, that could be the reason. Now 3 months later it fits me quite well. I do have some slight gaping towards the straps, but nothing too ...noticable. All quadboob is gone and the band feels a bit loose but still okay. (I have not tested it for longer time because Summer only just started here) I think I could also wear a 32JJ in this style of tankini. The band is made of usual bra band "cheap" mesh so it is very stretchy. On the other side I don't like my swimwear to be too tight and constricting. I will update here once I tested it in water.
Some words about appearance: I think the shape could be a bit better. Especially from the sides, I think it doesn't look as uplifted as I would like. Although the tankini top fabric that lays over covers it somewhat. Also a good feature: the top of the bra and the fabric of the swimtop are not sewn together so you can move the fabric a bit upwards for more coverage and move down for more cleavage. I'm glad that this style is made up to K-cup it's a really good option if you don't like extra padding on your swim bras. Read more 182 more words
Yeah, this bra is just crap. I think my measurements underestimate the cup depth because I was doing the over-the-knee technique and seemingly ALL of the depth (if you even wanna call it that) is at the sides of the bra. My breasts are very center-full and certainly more close-set than wide, so it might work better for someone with wider breasts? The wires are pretty soft and flexible, and personally I think that + the extra fabric on the sides is responsible for the way the wires are wrapping nearly around to my back.
Oh, and the comfort cushion things? Nice idea, but pointless in execution. Possibly because the wires are so far back, the cushions just ended up sort of creasing and then flipping up and outwards away from my body. If they were sewed flat that might help!
Hoo boy. Well, it's still real depth--it's just totally in the wrong place for you! A bit like having a shoe with room for a 6th, 7th and 8th toe ;-) Depending on your breast shape and bust weight this particular bra might work in a size about 2 cup volumes down and 1 band size up--but only if it's not too short/closed and shallow for your center volume. Otherwise you'll overflow in the smaller cup even though you're only using about 70% of the volume in the 34J cup volume.
These wires are made of pudding! I thought Elomi Caitlyn wires were bad but this is worse. I wanted to ask you, do you stretch the band just very little when you do the stretched band measurement? Because I find that band really small for a 34 band? I think you could size up to a 36 band and a smaller cup and maybe get a better fit but I could be wrong…
wendybien You're absolutely right, it is real depth. In my head I was struggling imagine how anyone could have breast tissue all the way over there; but now I'm imagining someone with a much wider frame or broader shoulders and yeah, it could work for someone built like that. I don't think the bra would work for me in a smaller cup/larger band. You can see how it is threatening to cut in at the center already.
alisa I suppose I am conservative with stretched band measurements, especially on bras I know I am going to return. I didn't find the band to be particularly tight. I usually go for a 34 band in CK because they tend to stretch out quickly imo, I'm in between 34 and 36 to begin with, and I like a tighter band so I can loosen straps and avoid neck/shoulder pain.
triumphof if you are uncertain about band fit, you could just try this one with an extender (or two!) and then at least that would enable you to assess exactly what the deal is with the cup shape and depth. I agree that in these photos the cup edge is cutting in at the top but it also has that characteristic look of "cup too big pulled halfway round body by too-tight band" which typically will cause that edge to cut in anyway. The excess cup height and width is also causing the whole cup to slump down on you which falsifies the fit at the cup edge even more.
My bra also had a band like that. If you stretched it at all the wires bent back. I’m thinking of trying the bra in a 44G! 2 band sizes up from my last bra, 4 cup sizes down. O.O
triumphof Thanks for the clarifying about your band measurements. Yes it makes sense not to stretch the bands on bras you want to return too much. I also don't stretch them to the maximum, but I try to do as much as I can without having the band stretch out.
Love, love this bra! I am usually not a fan of unlined bras because they give me a weird shape but I took a chance with this one, and I am quite grateful I did.
I would consider this bra a minimizer, it gives a lovely round shape that is supported and lifted. I am 7 months pregnant and the wires do not slide down on my belly , which is awesome.
This is also the first unlined bra that I have found that does not make my boobs appear droopy or point down. Wonderful support and lift. Also in this size range the cups are narrow, at the perfect width for me currently. I just wish the other colors were on sale now.
**update***
The underwires are very stiff and I can only tolerate this bra in small doses because it is just too narrow for me now. This bra definitely runs narrow.
I've had CK Bardot recommended as possibly working for me, and I found it on sale on amazon, so I decided to give it a try.
For the record, I have projected, full-on-bottom breasts with narrow and very short roots.
From what I could gather, the band on this bra is supposed to run stretchy, so I decided to sister-size down from my usual UK size, to 34J instead of 36HH. The band is not remotely as loose as I expected, and so I needed an extender to even be able to try it on - it runs about halfway between a 34 and 36. So if you're ...in-between band sizes, it might work for you there!
The cups just fit me...really weirdly. They're clearly too large, and the measurements I took make it seem that it simply runs large in the cup. Despite this, the gore doesn't quite tack right, and I know for a fact that it's not a case of the band being too loose for it to tack. The wires are a bit wide, but not hugely so.
I do have a lot of wrinkling at the bottom of the cup, and no matter how much I scooped and swooped and tried to readjust the cups it would wrinkle at the bottom. As far as the top of the cup goes, it's most obvious near the gore that the cups aren't right; there's a lot of loose fabric there. Overall I feel the bra really accentuates my shortness and just makes me look really pointy, which is at least somewhat because the cups are the wrong size.
The bra reminds me of my 36HH - Panache » Jasmine (6951) a lot, but the top isn't stretch lace. The bra itself is a very sheer material and I like the red accents on it - it's simple and subtle. I'd like to try it again in another size (maybe 36H would work better?) but amazon appears to be out of stock on it. Oh well. Read more 231 more words
I normally wear a mix of 34H's and 34HH's in this brand, but some have been fitting a touch small so I went up a 34J. I tried on loosest hooks, band is TIGHT, which I know is somewhat a thing in strapless bras but it hurt putting it on. Feels tight enough that Im thinking of my breathing extra- like forcefully breathing instead of natural, and Im not sure this would be healthy for a long time or for any activity like dancing or walking a lot. Merely standing and sitting made me warm and I only had it on for a few minutess. The cups cut ...into center tissue quadboobing quite a bit- too much for anything formal. The gore is too wide for how center set I am, pushing out the top and pushing in the bottom painfully. The whole underside in front is like muffining out from under the band which isnt normal for me. Painful enough iwith the whole front band cutting into me to not wear. There's also not enough immediate projection or room in cups- Cups may run small, wires are on my sides and into tail of spence/armpit, the wire did annoy me with it's height (cups set too east/west for me). A larger band would not fix my tightness issue as the cups are also too far apart and a larger band would only exacerbate this.
Cups seemed to stay up fine without strap help, however I wasn't going to try jumping around to test further with the difficulty I felt breathing. This has a grippy plastic strip around the bottom and the top of the wings. Nicely, there are no bows or anything to make weird bumps. Read more 177 more words
This bra is pathetic. There is virtually no support given by the cups. It is just stretched out and floppy. The straps are way too wide and poorly stitched. The cups are too far apart and the wire rests on my breast tissue.
The only nice thing I can say about this bra is that it could be sexy if you like the shape of your boobs. Think if it as kinda an underbust corset (that’s very short) or a shelf for your boobs. And then you have a pretty, sheer cup to be enticing. Idk. That’s the best I’ve got
I don't really understand what is going on with this bra. This review will be all over the place but I try to describe it. It just fails on so many levels there is a lot going on.
First: the band fits really tight. Keep that in mind. I usually wear a 32 band and found this 34J to be tight on me! Then the cups... the gore does not like flat at all. The top of the cups is gaping away from my chest. (If I could push the gore flat, the gaping would go away, so I assume that the cup volume of this bra would be right ...for me if it fitted properly?) The padded bra underneath looks like it's a typical CK wide shallow shape. It's too shallow for my boobs at the centre therefore the gore gets pushed away.
Then the overlaying fabric. I really loved the unusual and a bit retro look of this Bikini. I like that it is for once not looking just like a regular Bra. But there is too much fabric. It wrinkles in weird places on the sides and in the front. Also If I push the underbust band down to make it look more like a top (I think it's intended for wear a bit lower hence the extra fabric?) then it rolls back up immediately. Not comfortable! Also the straps have a tendency to fall off quite easily, it happened twice when I was trying it on.
The construction of this suit does not work in my size and a 34HH or even 36HH would not save it! If the gore does not tack with a tight band and extra room in cups how would it tack with a looser band or smaller cups?
One word about the matching high waist bottoms: they are nice retro looking, good fit in size 14 for me apart from the waist band that runs very tight and cuts in. So size up in those too. I also think the style is not the best for my figure.
I have to add that I really hated to even wear this few minutes for trial. When I had to put it on again to take pics... I really did not want to. So no recommendation from me. Read more 274 more words
Swimsuits are so hard to fit! I wasted so much money trying to find a swimsuit that I liked. Too bad this one didn't work out for you... there IS a lot of material on that top... weird.
This swimsuit makes me feel bad about myself. It does not look flattering on my figure despite being good coverage. I don't understand but I think one would need to have a figure like a curvy lingerie model for this. Swimsuits are the worst to fit.
Oh my, no. The peek-a-boo gore on the Victory was unstable with the top refusing to tack at all. At one point some breast tissue actually squeezed out under the gore into the center. NOT the kind of peek-a-boo I had in mind. The cups are large and round, seem to maybe run small, but were too big in the top cup for me, nonetheless. The bottom cups are plenty deep, so that's a plus, but the fabric is not firm enough to beat gravity with my heavy boobs. The cups are a four-part construction with a side-support panel. The cups are plain mesh - two ply on the lower, single on the upper, and there is one little dangly charm decoration instead of a bow. The band was extra tight - I'm not sure I could have fastened a 38 band! I had to use a stretchy extender on the loosest settings to get it on. The straps are thin and seem really long for some reason.
Second try with this bra. See my review of the 32K - Curvy Kate » Victory Balcony (9001) for more information about the bra. The 32K was too big in cups and too tight in band. I sized up in band in this bra. Then I had to size down in cups. I sized down 2 cup sizes. It was not enough. I still have the gaping on top. I could get 34HH and look at how that will fit but honestly I don't care anymore. I don't think the bra will work for me in any size. It is also not a very high quality ...bra in my option. The shoulder straps are thin, stretchy and slip easily. The fabric is rather flimsy even in the lower cup and not very supportive.
The band fits well in this size. The band stretches to 85cm which is my comfy exhaled measurement. Apart from that I still have most of the same fit issues than I had in the 32K. Cups are too tall and roomy on top, I cannot fill them even though I have somewhat tall and full-on-top boobs. The straps are too seperated and the wires too wide on the side. The bra does not feel very supportive overall and I also have the same feeling of my boobs in the lower cup falling over the underwire. The gore does not tack fully at the V-part and gets pushed away. The underwire is not very supportive, the bra does not do much work with it's construction.
I only recommend this bra in this size range if you have a specific shape: lots of upper breast fullness combined with a very tall breast root and also somewhat wide boobs. I also think it would work if your boobs were somewhat shallow but I could be wrong. I only speak here about my size range 32-34 bands and J-K cups and I don't recommend it unless you have that specific boob shape. Read more 224 more words
It’s crazy to me that you could size down this much in this bra. I wonder what size I should have actually tried in it? A 44G?
That bra looks very sad, sorry it didn't fit. As a shallow on top person, these kinds of bras don't work for us either. The top edging will either cut in or flop around. Not sure what shape it was actually designed for.
cupandahalf Yes it is so weird. I cannot imagine who this bra will fit in their usual size? So either they size down a lot or just wear the bra for pics and we know the bra can look decent with the arms up posing.
Sovavosi I just tried to wrap my mind around what shape one would need to fit these cups. Also the 32K I had fitted more like a 30L and this 34J more like a 32K. I could size down even more in cups.
I wonder if the bra is just weird in the upper cup range, but fits true to size in the mid-range and smaller cup range?
IMO most bras seem to be a bit weird in the upper cup range... Could just be the scaling algorithm that they used on this one is really off.
Maybe the bra works well in the mid-range, a 32H was added here that fitted, but there is no review or pictures.
Maybe it does work in the other ranges, they keep making it, so something must be right with it for some ranges I guess :/ Sovavosi your right scaling does seem to be weird in the upper cup range...which is weird because, the more that I think about it... I don't think that range (not taking into account of back sizes) is that rare?
I'm sorry that it didn't work out alisa ..this is one odd bra.. I saw it on sale online in a 30K so I was wondering if I should try it..but now I'm not so sure..
*you're right... Sorry was typing on mobile and autocorrect is a pain
Frazzleberry I wouldn't recommend it, only if you can find it at good price with free shipping and return. I mean it would be interesting to see how it fits you. since you prefer a 28 band. I found the band came up small so the 30K would probably fit rather like a 28KK or even 28L since the cups are also on the bigger side.
Hmm, it could probably maybe work considering the 28Ks (only two though, ellace and daily dream) were too small.
I hardly ever do returns though, because it can be a major hassle, plus additional costs from where I'm from..so I'll have to think long and hard about it.
Frazzleberry It would be interesting, let me know if you decide to try it.
I'm 32G/34FF and this bra fits me very well in the 34FF, so I'd guess it is wonky scaling. Narrow roots, projected, centre full shape.
smoulderandbraids Thank you for your feedback. I'm glad to hear that the bra works for you :) It is like I thought, the scaling gets all over to place at the upper end of the cup sizes. You had to size up in the band too but don't even have to size down in cups. Did you find the cups tall compared to your other bras?
The CK Belle balcony bra is a underwired, unpadded bra with embroidery on the cups. I own this bra in UK size 34GG.
The bras fits me after I swoop & scope my breast tissues but I have a tendency to have a little quadboobs effect during my activities through the day. The embroided lace is a bit stiff for my liking & the embroideries leave some marks on my breasts. They are not painful, it just give a funny appearance at the end of the day.
I started off trying a 34HH, because it was available on Amazon with free returns. It seemed good, but the cups were small, so I went ahead and ordered a 34J from Brastop. Welp, it was a bit of a disaster!
Bras I Love and Hate wrote a post about how CK bras tend to lose their shape over the course of the day. The Charm is living up to that for me. When I first put it on, it looked quite good. But when I tightened the straps, suddenly the front of the cup took a nose dive - literally. It hooked straight down giving me what ...looked like a square boob. Yikes! I tried returning the strap to how it was, but no dice, nothing worked.
The next day I tried it on again, seeing if it would be ok if I started fresh. Nope. But I did make an interesting discovery that miiiight save this bra. The Charm wants my nipples to point down. I can lift the wires into the IMF, but then I have to adjust the nipples down, and the cup stays round. If I push them up, it goes square. Whatever, Charm. But the wire was also kind of digging me in the side, so it may be a tosser.
The reason I wanted it was it is fully sheer mesh, cool for summer with a plum colored embroidery embellishing the top edge of the cups. Nothing too fancy. Read more 138 more words
The wires are on the Florence are wonderfully narrow and short, making it very comfortable.
The blush colorway runs bigger in the cups than the black, so it's worth a try if the black color was just the tiniest bit too small on you. (The blush color is also quite see-through!)
(I don't want to talk too much about my shape and fit, as my fit issues with Florence are making me think I'm wrong about my shape. I don't want to lead anyone astray!)
This is a very good bra for breasts with lots of immediate projection, and it works for my slightly FOB, narrow-rooted breasts. The wires do not dig into my armpits, and it seems pretty true to size. However, the stretch lace is very, very soft and stretchy, to the point where it gives me in-cup quad-boob at the seam between the power mesh and the stretch lace. This is not a good bra for soft breasts.
This was one of my favorite bras before I lost weight. It's lined but not stiff, and extremely comfortable. The fabric is breathable at the wing and soft in the cups.
Beautiful bra! In line with other curvy kate bras I have tried however this bra is more projected in the upper cup (good for FOT) and the underwires are wider than my @curvykateflorence which is good for me but may be too wide for those that need narrow wires.
The top of the cup is a sheer material however it stops before any "exposure" so it was well constructed for this size range. Too many times I have seen cups that are not supposed to be sheer, then in larger sizes almost the whole cup is sheer. Not the case here.
The wings are a bit tall so woman who have problems with high wings will probably have problems with this bra too.
Oh, Curvy Kate. You make up to a K cup, but you don't really make bras FOR up to a K cup, do you?
I almost really like this bra, but it clearly suffers from construction issues in this (large) cup size. There is no extra lining or padding on the straps, as is common in GG+ cups. The straps love to flop over on my shoulders. The wires are a touch soft. Generally, this bra just feels flimsy when compared to the heft of my J cup boobs. At least it has three hooks?
The band feels comfortable on me.
There's not quite enough projection and the gore is a ...little low, but generally speaking this bra is incredibly comfortable. The low gore + not enough projection combo gives me a little bit of quad boob near the gore. Despite that, the band and the softer wires make this a great bra for hanging around the house. I wore it to work once, and I was aching by the end of the day because it just didn't give me enough support.
I bought this from Zulily so it was unreturnable. Since it's so comfortable I'll keep it instead of reselling it, but if I had purchased at full price from a regular retailer I definitely would have returned it.
I really want to try this bra! It’s so cute! I’m waiting for the price to drop some more.