I liked the original Annalise Padded Half Cup I reviewed in size 30DD, but it was grossly gigantic on me in both band size and cup size, so I decided to order it again in 30D. I was able to get my hands on the Camellia colorway, which is white-based with pink and green flowers. Based on my experience with the 30DD, I felt the cup shape was pretty suitable for me, but ran one size big. The band on the last bra was gigantic, and I am happy to report that sizing down fixed the issue (the band is still loose on me but ... it is true to size when compared to other Fantasie 30 bands as they all run large on me), so I would order one cup size down.

Unlike the other two padded half cup styles I tried, I like the shape of these cups. The cups have a 3HC bottom cup construction and one horizontal top panel, and give more projection than your standard padded half cup made from this light foam, so it creates a nice rounded shape. The upper cup is more closed off than the standard 3HC. Mae and Marianna were both made as standard 3HCs, though Marianna was too short and small, and Mae was too wide and large. The fullness of the cup is once again the center full side, but it isn't as prominent as on some other foam cup bras, so it didn't bother me a lot. The only slight fit issue is that when I am fully scooped, it gives the appearance of some overflow, but this is really because the upper cup is a bit too closed off for me and it's cutting into my tall roots. There is a slight bit of room in the upper cup so if my tissue were distributed evenly within the bra, this would not happen, so the cup volume isn't a problem.

I noticed that the wires on the 30DD were more of a short U shape, where the bottom of the wire is slightly flatter than normal. However, the wires on the 30D are pretty normal and look like the wires of my other Fantasie 30DD bras with a gentle curve. The wires on this bra are very flexible, so while it measures too narrow for me on the flat, it ends up fitting ok, however I would have preferred slightly taller sides and slightly longer wires as these days I prefer more side coverage from my properly-fitting bras.

Thus, the only fit callouts I have are band size, which will forever be a problem to me with Fantasie bras; slightly short feeling cup height/wire length at the outer cup, and slightly too closed shape on the upper cut that cuts in a little bit to tall roots.

In the Camellia colorway, this bra basically satisfies all my cravings for a pretty, frilly Japanese bra without having to deal with the ridiculous padding and V shape of a real Japanese bra. Unlike the Black colorway, which combined floral print and black lace, the Camellia is printed throughout the entire cup. The outer cups are made entirely from floral printed mesh, with the bottom cups and cradle having small scale embroidery detail, and the upper cup and center cradle with large scale satin embroidery. The upper cup embroidery is nicely textured with long satin stitches, and the edge of the upper cup gives the appearance of 3D lace so prominent in Japanese styles. As is common for Fantasie bras, there is a bit of printed fabric topped on to the front straps, and the rest of the straps are textured picot edge elastic that is slightly narrower than usual. The band is fairly plain and made from standard powermesh. Back is a standard low leotard back, and the only decorations are simple satin bows at the gore and strap attachments.

I paid pretty close to full price for this bra, but I might just keep it because I've wanted a frilly Japanese-style bra for a long time, and I think this is the closest I will get to achieving this aesthetic while keeping the cups lightly lined. This is not a bra for everyone, but could be a good option for those that find typical 3HC-style padded half cups too shallow. Just be sure to size down in the cups and potentially in the band if possible!
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Camellia colorway

Updated on May 24, 2020 Flag this