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• Glad your bra surgery was successful!

• You did a really nice job! It looks great on

• Nice! I wonder if altering the cup would also be a possibility, to sorta make the stretch lace tighter so it's not flapping around. But then that would also require cup depth to be altered and I can't even begin to figure out how that is done.
  Maybe out btb seamstresses can pitch in with ideas.

• 3

  I think, if I do mess with the cups, I will either tack excess material to the bottom of the wire channel along the vertical seam, thus reducing cup height. Or tack the material to the wire channel along the horizontal seam and reduce apex and upper depth.
  I could also put in a dart, but that might require more skill than I have.

• You are very brave do this yourself! How is the wire for your frame?

• 2

  brasaremean they are too wide and a bit too tall. I'm not sure yet if they're painfully so, though.

  I do have narrower wires I can swap them out for, but I think that would make the depth problem worse.

• Impressive alteration! I wonder if I could do this with any of my ill-fitting, but pretty bra. You have given me so many ideas!

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  I always fear wire replacement would make the cups deeper too. I think it would require a complete cup reconstruction to actually make it fit, but also if you think about it, the breast that escapes (if you have soft tissue like me, it literally fills out the cup to the wire no matter how wide it is) to the wire would be contained in the new wire, so maybe it wouldn't happen. Does that even make sense?

• brasaremean It does to me since my breast tissue does the same thing. The path of least resistance for the breast tissue. This only works if the cup is compressive enough to squish the tissue sideways though, so may not help in the cup is too big to begin with. :-/

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  Wow! I see you can’t let go this bra! :D I’m looking forward to see you end results as looks promising !

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  I really can't martka00 !

  I'm wearing this today as a test run. Thinking about my solutions to the loose lace issue, I'm not going to be reducing it vertically. I'll probably lose wire projection if I do and it is so blissfully deep at the bottom, I don't think I want to give that up.

  I think reducing it horizontally is also not the solution. Ewa's sister sizes do not scale, so while in theory this should be a 65G now, it is not. I'd say it is more a 65FF but with extra tall cups. I'm not having any trouble filling the bra out where it needs projection, which is why I'm getting a nice shape out of it despite the lace being floppy, the lace is simply laying on the shallow part of my upper roots where there's nothing to fill it. If I want to fix it, I will have to dart it. I may not as it seems to only be an aesthetic issue and not a fit issue.

  brasaremean my tissue is moderately soft, but I have pretty narrow roots and even if I squish down, my breasts don't really go to the sides, so I can't fill out wider wires. If I wear a bra that's too small in the cup it just squashes me down and hurts since my breasts are firm enough through the center to push back against that pressure even if there's space that could be filled on the side. Does that make sense?
  My issue with wider wires is my rib cage is really boney and I find Ewa's wires really hard, if they sit on my rib cage they sometimes hurt a lot. These are not awful, about .5" wider than I like, but we'll see.

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  Did you try bending the wire to follow your body curve? Then just bend the ends slightly away so they don't poke your underarm tissue.

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  Yep, I do that with all my bras actually since who the heck has a flat torso?

  I bent the ends towards each other to make them slightly narrower also, but that only helps so much.

  They've been okay so far, but I've also not been really active yet today.

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  ikr I don't know why wires don't come pre-bent :/

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  I altered the wires and gore. I added more pics and updated the review.

• Wow! Those alterations made such a difference. It looks beautiful on you.

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• 1

  The stretch lace is amazing. I think EM really needs to rearrange her sizing on it to more closely match the S series because I thought we'd be sized out.

  The tallness of the cups is present on me as well, although I extremely appreciate it and need it in the inner cup, which is what finally made this my best fitting bra since I apparently need an unusual amount of height near the gore to not spill out. Looking at your pictures, it looks like you could size down even.

  I'm happy to see this bra working for others! I just ordered more and hope they're based off this one.

• Oh wow. Now I really want to try one myself!
  Good to hear about the tall cups and that it runs big - I thought I'd be sized out too. So one can probably go with their UK size?
  Is stretch lace as "stretchy" as on Jasmine or Envy or more sturdy (maybe like Boudoir Beau but stretchier?)

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  I found that I really liked the 75 band instead of the 70 I might would get in an S style. So yeah it seems like the band is a bit stiff. However the earlier BM bianka style I had is more stretchy so it might not hold for every BM bra.
  It's extremely stretchy lace, very similar to the Jasmine or Envy but probably even strechier.

• I will add that I am bout to sell my BM bianka so I can buy more BM in a different style but I had offered it to ereshiy first so it's at her discretion. But if you're interested and she's OK with it, just let me know.

• Oh the lace even stretchier than on the Jasmine or Envy :O Hm... then I fear it might not work for me, as it does not hold up my boobs and they tend to "fall out" of the cups easily in these bras (not completely fall out, but rearrange themselves during wear and overflow the centre of the cups - cannot explain better).
  Probably not the right bra for me then :(
  I'm just too curious about it...
  

• I'm pretty sure our boobs are basically the same just based on your success with the same bras I've had success in and based on the issue you described. The issue you described is the reason why I cannot wear the Jasmine or the Envy, and I've found the BM bianka has this problem to a much smaller extent. It doesn't really overflow, but it does require some rearranging throughout the day.

  However - this particular bra has a double layer of lining (like some kind of sheer strong material) BEHIND the lace I imagine, because EM saw this issue in some of her customers. This makes all the world of difference and I'm praying she has it in all her latest BM models because it pretty much completely eliminates the issue I had with the BM Bianka.

  The bra material under the cups and the band also seem less stretchy which helps a lot with support. I'm going go out on a limb here and say this bra would work very well for for you too, but if you decide to try a BM bra, try this particular model because the earlier ones don't seem to have that extra lining and I don't know yet whether or not the later models have kept the lining.

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  The problem you described by the way, seems to be due to a lot of center fullness and softness - at least in my case. So the bra never really fits right because you're forcing your boobs apart to fit well into the cups, but they want to come together and so eventually do, then that inner fullness spills right out unless the cup is tall enough in that area.

• xelestial I have incredibly problematic boob shape in that my roots are so much shorter than they are deep. My ideal cup depth seems to be somewhere around the 38-42cm/15-16", but my horizontal breast perimeter in a bra is closer to 30-32cm/12"-13! I'm pretty sure bras assume that the two features are fairly similar. It's been a real struggle figuring this fit problem out as I was sort of bouncing around the place trying different sizes for a bit to try and get my 'right' size, and it wasn't until I tried 3 SM cuts in ascending cup sizes that I finally managed to figure out that this was the problem.

  So, I either get bras which are about the right depth and the top of the bra has enough room to land a plane in, or if I get bras which are a better height, they're too shallow and I tend to spill out in the centre, as that volume has to go somewhere.

  In my enthusiasm, I've already attacked this with my sewing machine, and taking off the top triangle of fabric, plus shortening the band a bit has basically got rid of the looseness on top, so I'm won't worry about sizing down, although I initially thought of it as an option. (Besides, my breasts may just grow again anyway :P)

  It does seem totally crazy that there's such a big sizing disparity (at least in the very large cup sizes) between the different bra cuts. I wonder what sort of metric is used for the sizing? To be fair, I've measured and I'm about 28" under and 44.5" over, which would line up with this cup size in terms of projection, and I'm 28" under and 44" over in a 70K S, but the amount of volume is so much higher than an S cut. It's a little misleading.

  alisa I do think the inner stretch material on this model is more secure than the Jasmine, but there's no real way of telling if this is a consistent feature or just a one-off for this model.

  Basically, the whole lift and seperate thing is a bit stupid for large, close-set breasts I think. The very idea of modern bra design is contrary to what your breasts want to do, which is sit together. I don't have any particular answers for this one, but I certainly think about it a bit.

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  I don't understand how cleavage is considered a good thing when every bra wants to lift and separate? I get the lift but not the separation. I have a friend who is pretty much the opposite of my boob shape and she laments not having close together breasts because she wants cleavage. The whole thing is insane to me, that there just isn't a variety of shapes catered to different shapes by now.

  I think in terms of letting your boobs be together the Jasmine is the best I've seen besides Ewa. Too bad it doesn't work in any other ways.

  I've ordered a few other models of the newer BM bras on a risk so I'll be able to inform about whether or not the extra lining is here to stay.

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  There's a weird stylistic inconsistency between the designed function of modern bras and the often desired function of modern bras. The engineering and design behind a bra is to lift and somewhat seperate breasts, but modern fashions tend to depict bras as creating cleavage which touches or almost touches in the middle. People to varying degrees tend to aspire to look similar to models and other media figures, which explains the desire for the close-set uplifted bustline, but doesn't explain why on earth bras don't really provide this, plus actual support.

  To get that sort of almost smushed together look, I'd actually think that a corset could work wonders even on women whose breasts are a bit more wide-set. Even if it's not a full corset, a boned, shaped article of clothing could provide that sort of support and uplift. Of course, it wouldn't exactly be like the fashionable foam domes sold by most stores stuck in matrix sizing, but you could be comfortable, and get close-set breasts.

  Fashions change, and I'm definitely interested to see if we have some sort of swing in what is in vogue when it comes to breast shape and support. It would be really interesting to see some innovative styles come out.

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  I have a BM aqua, and it also has the stretch lace with the extra layer under it. Ereshiy - I have the same short root issue- how did removing the top panel work? Do u have pics? The BM was a bit better than some bras because it didn't have the gaping...I need the height near the gore due to close set but not as much elsewhere.
  Still rides down some...I think that's not just a projection/depth issue, though. My boobs have virtually no separation all the way down to my inframammary fold. So even in the BM or Jasmine. The gore is close to narrow enough on top but the gores are never still touching one another at the band,,,they are much more separate by then. Soy boobs try to force the bra down from the center. I need in a way a wider cup, but wider in the center- side width does me no good as I am super narrow roots.
  I believe the other contributing factor to bras riding down is that my inframammary fold is quite flat...so even if I try bras that are inches too wide for me at the top, the curve at the bottom makes it function as too narrow because the immediate initial curve us too steep. The BM is flatter than the jasmine at the bottom so that helps. But the nylon/ polyester fabric of this Ewa makes the whole bra feel a bit less supportive and stretchier.

• I meant to ask, what is exactly meant by a short root? I still don't quite understand. Wouldn't everyone with super narrow roots and large deep breasts thereby have a proportionately shorter root?

  The only gore that allows my boobs to be where they want is a gore that is very short so that it's not in between my breasts at all. It's odd to me, but I'm pretty sure a lot of needs are common to specific breast shapes.

• Also good to know about the BM aqua, since I just bought it along with the next newest BM style.

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  Short root means height wise (like narrow roots but vertical). Some people have a lot of breast tissue way up sometimes to the collar bones ( high roots, like wide roots but vertical. (Taken to the extreme, horizontal pancakes would be a wide root but a extremely short root , if that visual helps) So bras that are more of a Demi cut that would cover half a typical boob will come up functionally higher on me, covering nearly all of it. So too tall cups can be much more likely to gape up top, as the cups apex does not align with the bra apex.

• Also many bra calculators overestimate cup vibe for the short rooted. (You can imagine the above pancake boobs leaning measure would be the same as that of a full breasted person, but the actual volume is much less.

• I must be in that category then, because I've experienced all those issues, also if I'm lying on my back the breast tissue can go up to my collarbone despite being nowhere near there if I'm standing. My breasts are very high set though, judging by the fact that almost everything pokes me in the underarm or chafes there.

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  MommaK Here's the bra after I'm done altering it. http://imgur.com/a/gWg5O

  There's definitely a limitation to the amount which you can remove from the top because of the stretch lace, but even the tiny bit I've taken off has helped, especially because I reshaped the armhole so it's out of my armpit. This is more comfortable, and also means that it's possible to tighten up the straps a little more.

  I do the 6 hooks band shortening thing on all my bras now. It really helps to even up the tension across the band, lets me not need to wear a band which is quite as firm, and reduces the amount my bras try to slide down. It also brings the straps inwards, so they no longer make a break for it off my shoulders.

  xelestial I'm pretty much a poster girl for short roots. I think this album I've got will help you see how it affects fit. I've got the same bra in 3 different cup sizes http://imgur.com/a/rTGoq The smallest volume is almost perfect for my breast height and width, but it takes up to the biggest volume before my depth is properly contained. My breasts are nearly even, tending slightly to FoT, so it's not as though a more closed off cup will help (I think you'd remember that the Brilliant cut in the middle for me, even though it was really tall on the sides).

  Except for maybe a halfcup if they were made deep (and large) enough, I just have to deal with the fact that any RTW bras will be stupidly empty if they're the right depth so I don't spill out.

• Interesting alteration in the back! I think I might attempt that with a bra. It reminds me of a corset.

  Wow, I think I do get the short root bit now. Thank you for the visual representation. This led me to measure the vertical height of my root and I got about 5.5-6 inches (it's an awkward thing to measure because my breasts are so compressible, even moreso now with nursing) which is actually about the same width of my root, 6 inches. The actual depth of my largest breast is roughly 46 inches around though. It's odd because these numbers seem to haunt me. 46 is my overbust in some bras, it's also my hip size, and it's close to the hanging perimeter...everything is sort of proportional I guess, except that my boobs are ridiculously deep.

  The Kris Line bra was the first bra that actually was the right "amount" of bra for me, it just wasn't high enough in the actual cup (more depth would have also solved that too though). I note that bra is also the least amount of bra I have ever seen.

• Oh, can I ask how you shortened the lace exactly?

• 
  I think there is a great lack of bras that cater to deep and narrow boobs specially – at least in my size range as I consider myself sized out of any polish brand besides EM and at the upper end or sized out of Kris Line or Comexim. But I also think that in that size range deep and narrow is the most common shape – also when boobs grow the root does most of the time just stay the same / doesn't change too much. That was my experience at least. When I was a 30JJ – I considered myself having tall, deep and medium wide boobs – not particularly wide but also not very narrow. Panache Tango or Ariza were good fits. Wires were good in width and also not too tall to poke me. (this does not apply to all Panache – looking at you Harmony :D )
  But as my boobs grew cup size by cup size, I had more and more issues. Ariza 32K wires were almost poking – 34K almost unbearable, boobs growing more and now panache wires are usually 2 cm too wide at least. (I can deal with the height so far as I think the newer models like Floris or Rhapsody have lower wires now)
  Now at 32KK/34K my root is still the same as it was before but my boobs got bigger. That's why that is the most “common” shape in that size range.
  So why do not more companies cater to those needs? It's clear to me they probably don't test the bras in their biggest sizes. (I'd want to see who fitted into Panache Harmony Balconette in a 30KK! And if the fit was good enough to produce the bra! - likely they never tested it, but enough about that train wreck of a bra)
  separation is also a problem – so many bras do force the boobs in a east west shape. Many bras gores cannot tack because there is not enough space between close set boobs – and due to center fullness (and often shallowness of the bras in that are) gores are pushed away- I can only get the Panache gores to tack (their wires are so stiff that they force the boobs apart) all other Bravissimo gores float 1-2cms from the sternum. Gores in bigger cup sizes are often very tall. This is not a bad idea as it helps to contain and support the boobs – but with very close set boobs it is a problem – but the solution to have lower gores doesn't work either – (at least for me) as then there is also less farbic attached to the gore and the breast tissue just overflows the cups / in worst case boobs “fall out” of the cups. So there is still a lot to do in bra engineering in larger cup sizes. (in an ideal world there would be bras for all kind of shapes – wide set, narrow set, tall, wide, narrow root and so on... )

  I also think my boobs are a mix of being firm and soft at the same time. Does not make sense, I know. I don't know how to explain really – they feel very firm when I push them towards my chest or in a bra also I cannot push too much but also they are very soft on the outside. Oh I really cannot explain better. Also it's not that I would have anything to compare to.

  Anyway thanks for the info on the BM models. If I get one BM I'd get the Szarotka then. I also think 75K would be the size for me or I rather go for the 80JJ? (I feel better in 34 bands lately) I'd be curious what difference narrower wires would make on me. I have a few bras that “fit” currently – but I just ignore too wide wires and also they don't hurt me so I can wear them.

• Oh my last comment ended up being very long. Also I just started writing without much direction.
  Ereshiy
  Anyway I found your alternation pics very interesting! That back alternation I'd want to try out too.

• It's odd but it seems to pretty much exclusively apply to the small underbust/large bust. I haven't seen too many people in the average to large underbust/large bust in general, but when I have they seem to have less issues.

  I can get Bravissimo's Dotty Spot and Boudoir Beau to tack, but the rest of them float as well. The EM bras also tack but because they're completely out of the way. The lower gore works good for me only if there's a lot of height in the cup in the center, as in this bra. Otherwise, I will spill out (which is why I won't even try EM's plunge bras). So lower gores can work, but only if there's enough cup height near the center gore, but I have only found this in EM's S style and BM bras - but those bras do appear to be aimed at people with our shape issues, especially the BM.

  I always thought my boobs were soft but that's because I didn't really understand personally what soft was. Soft is basically extra skin so your boobs have a lot more room to compress. I don't feel like my boobs were ever firm though, so I imagine they were like yours before I began nursing.

  Apparently the Szarotka or the Aqua would be fine since they both have the double lining but this is the only one that both me and ereshiy have tested. I would say that I often wear 36 bands worn to the tightest setting due to being too lazy to alter my Bravissimo bras at first and 32 bands can feel restrictive lately, so I still think a 75K would be OK for you, but it's up to you of course. I also feel OK in my 80 band S bra but the S bra bands seem tighter to me.

  I still think my Bravissimo bras are the most comfortable despite the wide wires (since they're not on my back either, they aren't a problem) but the BM bras are very close in comfort. It may seem odd but I will definitely continue to buy from both brands because I feel Bravissimo easier to wear.

• Oh I didn't mean to imply that you didn't know what soft breasts were ._. I just meant to say that I had no clue because I am generally clueless about these things.

• To clarify, it's my guess that no one actually has soft breasts unless they had some reason to have gained and lost a lot of volume in their breasts, like a rapid change in cup size that weight gain/loss, pregnancy and nursing can bring.

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  xelestial

  Ah maybe I wasn't clear about it but was talking about the small underbust/large bust. I often forget to specify as it is clear to me that I talk about “my” size range / my own experiences. I don't feel confident enough to talks about sizes ranges I have no experience in, or I wouldn't say more about it than like general bra fitting things.

  Oh I did not think that you implied that I don't know what soft breasts are. Its kinda difficult to really “know”. There is no scale or measurement to figure out if they are really soft or not. Also I cannot compare to anything. So I think mine are just like a middle thing somehow. Also it is not that important that I really know it. I just know that I had major issues with EM PLs in the past and then I got the idea that I just have “soft breasts” since they fell out of plunge bras. But that was when I was relatively new to bra fitting. I think now that there is a lot more to it when boobs overflow cups / “fall out” than just softness itself.

  Anyway – Boudoir Beau weirdly tacks too! But Alana or Floral Haze just wouldn't. The magic of the Beau? :D I wear mine on tightest setting too. 36K is quite okay and the 34KK are good but I think they ran smaller than Panache. I also gained 2-3cms at the underbust lately. I don't complain. I'm glad to fit into 34K Panache Rhapsody without alternation. So I think I'd go for a 75K in BM, can always add an extender.
  Btw you inspired me to give Bravissimo a chance again! Thanks :DDD Having a few bras that fit boosted my confidence a lot. I'm a huge Bravissimo fangirl now :D

• They definitely consistently run at least one cup and back size smaller than Panache, from my experience. The full cup bras run even tighter in the back. Dotty Spot is the only weird balconette, the 34K fits me perfectly. I also recommend to retry that one. Mine broke on me and I've never rebought a bra in my life but I am going to rebuy the Dotty Spot.

  I should actually be thanking you! You suggested them to me a while back when I was completely depressed and out of options and I became a huge fangirl of them as well. I guess it's just good karma! :)

• I suggested Bravissimo to you? :O I totally forgot :D I ruled them out for a long time for myself (I dreaded the top edges giving me mad quadboob - but I just have to size up to avoid it actually) but I always had the impression that their bras are really good in our size range.

  Dotty Spot... there was one on ebay lately, a 36K but I didn't buy it since I feared it's pointiness. (30JJ I tried in the past gave me shark head boobs at their finest :S) I kinda don't like to have pointy boobs since I fear that would draw even more attention to my boobs than them just being hm... big :D
  I also spotted a 32L Fleur but avoided it after checking your review on it.

• I meant I always thought that Bravissimo bras really work in larger cup sizes. That their construction is stable and supportive even in the largest sizes.

• It's weird, but I think the Dotty Spot is so divisive because it works differently on different people. When I first tried it on, it was a little big on me, you can see the wrinkling in my 34K - Bravissimo » Dotty Spot Bra (AU08) and you can see the "pointedness" (I prefer to say more natural cuz it's nothing like those bullet bras) in the picture I have of me with clothes. But as time went on, I filled it out better (guess I got a little bigger, sigh), the wrinkling went away and it got a softer look under my clothes. I've been intending to upload newer pictures for awhile now actually.

  If you read reviews, some people love it and some people complain of wrinkling and pointnedness. Of course everyone has their own ideas and opinions but I think that super roundedness stands out more under clothing than the more natural look of Bravissimo bras. Unfortunately no one can really tell how a bra will look on them or even under clothing until they try it. But for right now, it's one of my favorite bras in terms of fit and comfort.

• Also I probably was a bit too harsh on the Fleur - since it was a cup size too big for me. But I just found it ugly and honestly even the cutest looking full cup Bravissimo bras have this weird matronly downward sloped shape so I avoid buying them now.

• This is a great review. Thoughtful, insightful, and even updated with further observations! I wish you were reviewing bras in my size range.

• I want to add that the straps are nice and thick and wide on my two newest EM bras, one of those being a BM bra.

• Ereshiy - thanks for the alteration pics! (Was out of the country for a bit so late getting back to the party). Did you just tuck down and stitch the top panel in front, or did you cut it? The back hook looks good too, but definitely above my sewing skills...pondering tweaking an old freya I have lying around as a trial run first. Also what do you do where strap meets top panel? I hate been nervous altering top panel will affect the mechanics of the bra too much as the strap attaches to the top panel...
  The album shows short roots quite well. I was like- are those my boobs? That stupid top horizontal crease we get when they are uplifted., that gaping where strap meets cup. I sometimes size down and tweak a bra (being slightly more FOB), but the bigger cup size fits better minus the gaping I get at the top.

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  MommaK I trimmed off the upper triangle after pinning the elastic and strap in place and testing the fit. The main thing I think about shortening the cup or moving the strap in is that you really need to test it before finalising any alterations, as there is a bit of a delicate balance between comfortable proportions and functional support. The first few alterations I did looked pretty bad, but the more that I've done this, the nicer the results become. Definitely start out with a bra which you don't really care about.

  If you need a pictorial reference of how to pull everything apart and put it back together, I'd suggest the strap moving tutorial by Dressing Curves. http://dressingcurves.blogspot.se/2012/03/alterations-moving-strap-position.html

  learningaboutbras Bras are definitely one of my hobbies (totally a real hobby which other people have, right?), and I also just like to put in information which I think I'd like to know if I was looking at a review.

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  Ereshly, bras are totally a real hobby!

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A mild venture into the world of bustiness

https://plainjanevanilla.wordpress.com/

Updated on Apr 26, 2015 Flag this

lemontea

142 reputation

16 bras

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This bra is too small in the band for me (not surprisingly since I usually wear a 70 band), but with an extender on I love this bra! I don't have tall enough roots that I really make use of the upper stretch lace, but I do function with enough upper fullness that it doesn't wrinkle either. Plus its such a pretty bra!

For a few little notes on the bra, it does have two layers (the outer fabric and a powermesh). It also has an overlapping gore

Updated on Jul 18, 2016 Flag this

kermitdafrog21

1968 reputation

98 bras

• 1

  I have this bra too ..it's a really pretty bra .

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