My particular bra is narrow and immediately projected, with an extremely stretchy and generous band that I've since had to tighten. This one is a good fit on me, but I hear the fit changes every dang season. So, I'm a little hesitant to order another one... but despite slightly too tall cups, I like having this one around! Full review on my blog.

Happy weekend lovelies! Today I’m reviewing another UK bra I’ve found an accept

https://thephotogsbrog.wordpress.com/2016/03/19/bra-review-claudette-dessous-...

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Mar 19, 2016 Flag this

lcl0706

6295 reputation

165 bras

• Show all comments (21)

• Beautiful!!

• Now that is a beige bra I would be happy to wear , beautiful . Yes perfect for summer .

• Boo only goes to a g in this brand .. c'est la vie.. still beautiful

• 2

  What we need is a compilation of which dessouses were from which year/season, and that seasons fit. So if you're looking for narrow, deep, wide, shallow, tight, stretchy etc you know which colorways will work for you.

• 4

  Robin from Claudette replied to my review on the blog. Here's what she said

  "Thanks for the review, glad the overall feedback was good.

  I would just like to offer a little insight in regards to the changes of fit. This should help you and any of your readers.
  The first season of Dessous- the launch collection Neon and black trims and the Sucre colors (pink trim on orange, black and leopard) were the first put into production. The band was a couple CM to large with the extreme stretch of the mesh.
  The following season which you reviewed, did have a CM removed from each side of the band, however it need for ther adjustments. We fit these bras in both Los Angeles and out of the U.K. Office but production was found still to be a bit to large in the band. I believe this was the first season we added 28 bands.
  In 2014 we changed factories, yet again, resulting in a small evolution in the production of Dessous. We improved out elastics and wires with this change. This season is the SS14 and would be the Hot Coral trimmed programs. Smaller band yet again, slight changes and minor adaptations as a result of the feedback over the seasons. The change in wires and second reduction in the band results in shift in neckline. Additional revisions needed.
  The production we delivered for SS15 reflect the final changes we made to Dessous. This is the program's trimmed in Raspberry or cream. We believe the band is appropriately sized, the wires not as narrow and the neckline more of a plunging V like the original that we loved.
  There have been no further changes on Dessous since SS14.
  On the early colors, general feedback is to size down a band and up a cup, however it can be subjective as you know.
  We created Encore so people could find the older colors they search for as available and we sell them
  At dramatically reduced prices, knowing people want them, however they may need to play around a bit with sizes etc...Encore is primarily a means for us to sell past seasons goods at great prices direct to the consumer, and by and large we have received a great response from our fans!!

  Sorry for the lengthy response, hope it helps direct your shopping choices and explains a bit more the reasons behind the changes by season."

  Helpful, but it still doesn't really tell me which ones are shallower. I assume the newer ones with wider wires.

• I'm pretty bummed they're using wider wires and making shallower cups. I guess that also explains why my 2013 black fishnet bra fit like a dream and the Goldie I bought last year in the same exact size was a total nightmare.

  I guess claudette just isn't for me anymore.

• 1

  I tried the S15 season Claudettes in 28F, 28FF, 30E and 30F and none of them worked. While I loved the colours, the fit was too shallow, especially at the gore, wires wide in 28FF and 30F. Then I went for a 30E from an earlier season (dark blue and lime), but that was also too shallow at the gore. Since then I found some great fitting thin mesh bras from @Lejaby and @Kris line I am kinda giving up on Claudette. :(

• 1

  I've never tried Kris Line and would have no idea what size to begin with. I just want a nude unlined bra! Without colored straps or embroidery or anything else that defeats the purpose of wearing a nude bra.

• Kris Line designs are pretty eclectic and I haven't actually seen any minimalist nudes from them. In their mesh bras I take a 65DD or 65E and I am a UK 30E FOB projected, centre full with tall roots if that helps. Sizewise for you a good starting point would be around 60FF / 65F in soft cups. Try to stay away from their older style semi-softs - torpedo alert!, while most of the padded are really heavily padded. The overall quality is really high, so you might want to give it a try.

• Erispe how do you find the lejabys? I've been eyeing a couple on eBay. I went ahead and bought one but the band and cup seemed large to me. The cup almost seemed like 1.5x too. I tried the Marilou deco Kris line. I sized up the band from reading blogs it was too big for me, I felt like it ran more like a Freya and less like a Cleo if that makes sense in the band. I think I could have gone with my typical brittish cup can been okay but I might have been able to go down one cup. Hard to say.

• I saw your beautiful Marilou revisa , would love to own one in 65E or 60F some day. I have a similar cut, the Cristin brassiere in 65E which fits as a UK 30E, but I also experimented first with a 60G, that turned out enormous in the cups. I beleve Kris Line follows the Brirtish sizng's letters with the use of EU numbers, but only 2cm cup depth difference instead of an inch, which is why there is a cup size discrepancy in the larger sizes, but not necessarily very noticeable in the smaller ones. I find their band sizes about the same as the UK brands, so no need to size up usually.
  Almost all of my Lejabys are from e-bay. It is a bit of a hit and miss as it would be with any brand, I guess. I was advised about my possible size by wendybien and ordered FR 80E, which has worked so far. What FR size do you have from Lejaby? I just received a 80F that might actually fit you. Will PM you with details.

• I have a 80E which I measured today and the band was up to 31". The wire seem soft. 31" was distorting the wires. The depth however is just over 10" and the width around 5.5". Which explains why it is too big for me. I should have measured it sooner lol

• Sorry I hijacked your Claudette post! I still think the American Tan might work for you for Claudette and I highly suggest avoiding Seafoam green.

• No you're fine! You got me curious & now I'm browsing eBay for Lejaby which I've never even heard of. Nothing in 30F/80F. A lot of 34/36/38 A/B/C. One strapless in a sister size of 32E which could work if the cups run a little big but I bet it's shallow as hell & the band would need altered. The bras are gorgeous though! From the measurements of your 80F, I could wear that size.

• Oh yes, lcl0706 - sorry for the hijack. :)

• 1

  You need the one I just bought unless it's too wide. Its basically the same too big for me as this Claudette..... And it's a flesh tone with no other colors!

• lcl0706 you might have more luck looking for lejaby 65F. here you can find some for example
  http://www.enamora.de/marken/maison-lejaby/?gclid=CJH-_9Sz0MsCFagy0wodBX8Inw

• 1

  Holy prices, batman! Nope that's out of my budget lol, eBay much cheaper. But I'll bookmark that site, the bras are gorgeous. How do they tend to run, in general? Sometimes I can fudge a little on wire width because very little is as narrow as I am, but they have to have projection at the wire or I'm SOL.

• I haven't tried one in a while, as the 65 bands have always been way to big for me.. so I don't think they will work for you either to be honest.. I might have a look at a shop nearby if they still sell them and try one and let you know about wire width and deepth. I need so narrow wires aswell.. even my comexim has too wide wires :(

• 1

  I found the Lejaby wires narrow to average width (13cm/5'-ish in my size) and bands on the tighter side of TTS, cups pretty deep. My go-to size is FR 80E in this brand, which roughly corresponds to 30E. Their sizing isn't rock solid though, can vary from style to style.

• 2

  Thanks ladies. BronteBeach I've pretty much accepted the fact that a lot of bands I'll find need altered. If I want to attempt anything outside of my go-to Comexims, then I'm usually stuck with a 30/65 band at best. Sometimes they run tight (I'm looking at you, Figleaves house brands) and are fine. Most times I just take the damn things in a bit. That's what my sewing machine is for.

add a comment

• Show all comments (8)

• 1

  oh dear. Yes, Claudette Dessous unfortunately was notorious for inconsistencies in manufacturing and their mesh was really stretchy. The cups typically ran large and deep, so if you wanted to keep it you might try a bra band extender and reassess the fit of the cups. They are so badly distorted by the overtight band that it's hard to know what would happen if it were normal length.
  

• Oh dear! I can see the quadding and how the band is tight. Will you try it again in a different size?

• wendybien I have an extender, and while the band fit, the cup fit changed and wasn't any better unfortunately. In the beginning when i tried it the cups fit OK, not good or bad but like OK. Trying it with an extender made the band wearable but the wires were still in the wrong place. :S

  Calluna I would consider trying this in a 30F or FF, yes. But I'm still very skeptical to this bra! Lol

• 1

  I remember I could not get it to work either because of the placement of the apex of the cup (too far out on the sides compared to my boobs) and because even at a size where the cup was clearly loose and too big, the edge still cut in and made an indent! It was just an odd bunch of fit problems. I can't remember any issues with the wires but I think a LOT of people, if size up to the point where they will get less (even if still some) cutting-in at the cup edge, will effectively be in a too-large cup and this means the wires tend to be more uncomfortable on the body as the boobs aren't "pushing back" against the bra. Regardless of size, you may also feel the ends of the wires more when a mushy, loose mesh material like this has insufficient tension overall, because the band is not as secure and the wires can move around more easily.

• 1

  I would give the 30 band a go, being a huge Claudette fan myself, I've tried about 4 different sizes in the Dessous and atleast one of all their other models beside 3 of them (dessous sucre, paloma, and the sophia i think). I found that Claudette mostly failed when it came to their size 28 bands. The grading just did not work out very well. My 28DD could easily fit a 24 or 26 band person and the cups seemed very odd compared to my 30D which fits really great. There is still some little wrinkles given the sort of mesh it is, but they don't show through my clothes so I wear it all the time. The band is also too large, too small on the 28 and too big on the 30, but it doesn't ride up on the tightest hooks. I will probably end up reinforcing the band so it stretches less with wear. The only 28 band I found worked with Claudette was their Fishnet plunge and probably the Paramour (if you can find one in a 28), they seem to be sized and graded much better than the dessous. I need to find a fishnet plunge in 28DD or 30D as the 28D is just too small for me anymore.
  Their fishnet plunge is the only one I have found TTS. The Paramour is definitely on the smaller end with a looser band as I wear the 30DD on the tightest hooks. The others I have are just too wide at the wires for me so I don't wear them (except the longline ones, but thats a whole nother conversation). If theres more you want to learn about Claudette models you are more than welcome to message me and gotta love Bratabase and Claudette in general seems to have quite a lot of information for this defunct brand.

• 1

  Looks like you may be a band off and a cup off in sizing. Maybe 30G ?

• 1

  I wish I was that full, but Im just not . lol

• wendybien That's a good point. This bra is just generally not a good fit for me, I seem to be too vertically full for this to be a good fit on top. I also have to agree that this feels way less sturdy than my Panache bras!
  LeProfessor Thanks for offering information! I appreciate it lots, though I'm not likely to pursue this bra any more than selling this one.
  mckend I appreciate the input (and reminding me that I wrote this review!), a 30G is deffo more likely to fit but I won't be trying it anytime soon. I've fallen in love with Panache and Freya, and I don't dare to test the Claudette waters now that I'm so comfortable with my current bras. Still, thanks for commenting and reminding me I wrote this! And that I need to write more reviews.

add a comment

• Show all comments (7)

• 2

  Ugh, this is why I haven't taken the plunge yet on the great deals on the Encore site. Worse yet, it seems different colorways and different years ALL fit entirely differently. And I don't have enough experience with either the brand nor this model to know which years/colorways fit one way or another. From what I've read (which is admittedly not much), the older ones. way down the bottom of the Encore site, have the most narrow wires and are better for those needing projection.

• ginganinja you're absolutely right. Just looking at the pictures, some are tall, some are short, some measurements show just how stretchy they are, while the ones I tried definitely weren't.

  I got my mom a dessous (she's a 34DD, a little empty and pendulous, so needs more immediate projection than most matrix brands offer) and she loves it! It makes me want to try them again, but I'm afraid of disappointment again...

• 1

  Dessous is not my friend either. Has very little projection near the gore, not an option for centre full projected shapes. If the wire width worked, there was not enough projection, when I went up in cup size, the cups ended up under my armpits... And I've seen and touched much better quality mesh. Not impressed so far.

• 1

  I decided the other day I wasn't going to buy anymore Dessous bras. As much as I love the way they look (on their models), they don't work with my shape. Fwiw, the only 2 Dessous thst I've come across that have any sort of projection have been the peacoat longline and the lipgloss snakeskin. That's it. I actually had to size down (get my actual size) in the snakeskin. I wanted to try the American tan in 30f, but I'm not going to place any orders. (I would if the shipping was free)

• 1

  I've tried 3 different colors and two difference sizes.... Unfortunately it seems at least season to season there has been some changes. I found the American tan to work great for me and I'm relatively projected but I had a seafoam green that was way too shallow. I wish on here the measurements were broken up by color or year. I have a paramour now and it's a little too shallow but I like. But after it settles down I get w little quading especially closer to the gore. I'm not willing to try them for full price at all but I'm willing to swap for them or get them from somewhere with free returns.

• P.s. Some of the bands are stretchy compared to a Cleo but not necessarily to a Freya

• 2

  I think it's mostly how they change their fit like every freaking season that's really maddening. I just got a sandstone & navy Dessous in 28G off BTB - the band easily stretches to 30 and the cups are very narrow and projected. Once I alter the band I'll really like the bra. But I know It's a total crapshoot with Dessous and that's why I won't be trying any more of them.

add a comment

• I'm sorry they didn't work out for you! Despite that it sounds like they fit you better than they fit me.

  You are so right about the sheer bras illuminating all the fit problems though! When I tried those on, it was laughable how far apart my roots and the wires were, along with everything else. I'm hoping to try some EM sheer bras soon, because I desperately want some that fit!

add a comment

add a comment

add a comment

add a comment

add a comment

add a comment

Not compatible with my tissue softness and my upper fullness, sadly, as I love this design.

Lastly, let's talk about the Sandstone/Navy. I purchased this in a 28G. The in-c

https://brogwithadog.wordpress.com/2015/05/23/claudette-review-sandstonenavy/

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Jun 24, 2015 Flag this

kerniss

1402 reputation

91 bras

add a comment