Oh, this bra. Definitely mixed opinions on this. I haven't decided whether I will keep it or not. It's not great, but the selection for J+ sports bras is quite limited, so it may be the best I can do.
Firstly, this bra runs small in the band! Like don't just get the bigger of two sizes you might wear, actually size up a band size from your larger possible size. On the other hand, the band seems to have already stretched a little just from trying it on 3 or 4 times. The first time I could barely close it on the first set of hooks, now I ... can comfortable move it to the 2nd.
Also the cup sizing is a little weird. According to Figleaves, the K cup is equivalent to US-M, when ordinarily a UK K cup would be equivalent to US-O, just to give you an idea. I don't know how the letters on their size chart work, exactly, so I'm not sure what will be the case for other cup sizes.
So, the good:
I really like how it looks in this color. I love the heather gray with black and pink detailing. It looks sporty, and like something that could be seen at the gym and not look too much like underwear.
Overall, it's pretty comfortable. The band is nice and wide and supportive, and mostly stays where it belongs (it seems to want to roll a little sometimes). I actually like how high up the front comes, I want that kind of coverage in a sports bra, to keep my boobs out of my neck. The lack of underwire means the sides are comfortable as I move my arms around, nothing rubbing or poking my arms.
There are four rows of 3-hooks. I like having the additional flexibility of an extra row of hooks.
The in-between:
They have at least tried to make this bra separate your boobs a bit, with the way the entirely-soft front is constructed. Unfortunately, it doesn't work. Now, it's possible that if I could get a bigger cup size this separation would work better, but as it is, in a size that at least seems to fit reasonably well (as far as my whole boobs fit in the cups), my boobs are completely pushed together in the middle and not separated at all.
Bounce control is okay. Boobs-out-of-neck is okay. Both of these things would be significantly better, I think, if the straps were shorter, so that my boobs were held more tightly against my body, and the top of the bra came up a little higher.
The bad:
The straps don't adjust short enough. There's really only a small section of strap that is adjustable, and it doesn't go short enough. I need the front to be pulled up more to get the best fit, otherwise, my boobs sag down below the band in front.
The strap attachment in back is the oval kind with two parts, and it turns (not surprisingly), which makes it dig in.
(If I keep this sports bra, I am going to open up the strap attachment, and replace these with rings, and re-attach the straps shorter.)
That stupid velcro panel in back! The bra has a velcro piece that is supposed to close over the hooks in back, presumably to make it look less underwear-like and more appropriate to wear without a shirt over it. That's a nice idea, I guess, but it is really poorly thought out. First of all, the velcro panel really only closes properly when the bra is hooked on the tightest hook. On the first hook it doesn't close at all, and on the second it sorta closes, but doesn't stay very well. It is stiff and the end curls outward, so it doesn't look very good, and would probably get caught on shirts and stuff. This velcro piece also makes closing the bra more difficult (at least for back-closing).
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Updated on Dec 14, 2012 Flag this