I'm so grateful for all of your recent suggestions about which models of beige bras may fit. Though my latest online purchase hasn't arrived yet, let me tell you how it's going on the hunt to find a new "plain" bra.
Thanks to an anonymous tip, I have purchased the Bravissimo Alana:
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It's a bra I've read about many times, on many blogs, and somehow, it just missed my purchase radar.
Mainly
that's cuz Bravissimo has always seemed to me to be like an
unnecessary, expensive version of Figleaves. Of course, the one way in
which they meaningfully diverge is that Figleaves doesn't sell
Bravissimo-brand bras (of which the Alana is one) and Bravissimo doesn't
sell Figleaves-brand bras (aka Midnight Grace, Just Peachy). To clarify: I know that, if you live in England, you can visit bricks and mortar locations of either store and get good deals on all kinds of things. I'm speaking here as a colonial.
While the Alana is a fairly inexpensive bra (£26.00 regular price - and hilariously it just went on sale today for £20, though not in beige), the £7.95
shipping seems excessive. I mean, they're just going to pop an unlined
aka flat bra into an envelope which, undoubtedly, they send at a
high-volume discount. When one pays overage of @30 per cent of the
garment-price on shipping from a major online vendor, something is
wrong.
OK, rant over.
If the bra fits beautifully and does the (very necessary) trick, I will happily
buy 3 of them at once - thereby reducing the relative shipping price considerably.
What
I determined, in the course of my research, is that the bra is apt to fit
my shape well. I've also read, like
everywhere, is that it fits very small in both cup and back. (Women with full on top shapes often find that the
fixed-edge, upper cup trim cuts into breast tissue.) To be on the safe size, I ordered up a size in each.
I
can't tell you more at this point. Will it fit? Will it be unobtrusive
under clothing? Will it be comfortable? Will it give good shape under
slender fabrics? Will I have to return it?! (Oh, please no!)
I will keep you posted though.
Meanwhile, any
of y'all who've tried this bra - what do you think??
Posts
I love the Alana. The upper cup is tight, and cuts in a smidge, but I can easily get away with it. Personally I find it to run fairly true to size. I always take either a 28 or a 30, and in the Alana I definitely need the 28.
ReplyDeleteBravissimo is awesome. The shipping fee is a bit steep, but they will permit you to ship different styles and sizes back and forth at no additional cost effectively indefinitely.
I agree that it runs true to size in the back! But I do think the cup is small. I'm really pleased with Bravissimo. Will def try again...
DeleteSounds like a good possibility for you. I kind of wish you had ordered multiple sizes, in band and cup, to settle on which size, if any, suits you best. I foresee a long, agonizing back and forth process, as with some of your earlier online purchases. This makes for suspense and even excitement for readers like me, but I suspect it does nothing to make you feel better, especially considering your recent health problems. However, what's done is done. Maybe you could order multiple sizes of the color that went on sale? Unless the reviews say that color fits differently than the beige one?
ReplyDeleteI love your bra posts.
I know. Why don't I do this?? I'm so fixated on a specific size (and in not being dinged on Customs) that I neglect to be efficient. As you may have read, this experiment worked out alright. But I've got to change my tactics! Thanks for reading...
DeleteIf it makes you feel any better, they ship in a box, wrapped in tissue paper. It's good, cause I've had underwires poke through envelopes before...
ReplyDeleteReally pretty, flat box at that! Good info. Thanks!
DeleteI just saw a bra listing on bratabase.com that said the Fantasie Florence, an unpadded sheer bra, doesn't show through T-shirts. The listing is here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bratabase.com/listings/dlahq/
That particular bra is a 32F and thus not your size, but I thought you'd be interested. The pale, shell pink color would work as a nuce for you, I believe. And it looks like a truly gorgeous bra. If Fantasie's unpadded, unlined bras worked for me, I'd try the Florence in a red hot minute.
Oh thank you, though I don't think the size is quite a match. Really pretty bra though. I'll keep it in mind on the search.
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