Bra Review: Lulu Tout Coco

The Lulu Tout lingerie set arrived, and was returned, with nary a blip. It did not cause even a hint of misery, though it was a pain in the ass to get to the post office in this weather and I'm out 20 bucks in shipping. It was a risk. I knew the risk. It didn't pan out.

But this purchase does make me more sure than ever that I'm not ordering Figleaves house brands in the future. Each time I've done this, I've been met with the same suboptimal (if attractive) product: one that doesn't provide anywhere near the required support for heavy, large or dense breasts.

It's not surprising. The way they keep the costs down is by using flimsy materials. Flimsy materials are just fine in bras sized for a cup volume smaller than @ 32E (34DD, 36D, 30F etc.) - or when the breasts in question are young (naturally self-supporting) or not terribly dense.

By the time you've had a kid (or two), hit your mid-late thirties or gone through menopause, chances are your breasts are too heavy for this bra's infrastructure, especially above a certain size. (Note: This brand caters to the >DD cup range aka that which is larger than the standard bra matrix size range. Arguably, its core responsibility is to provide good support.)

Look, my breasts - while heavy - are not particularly saggy. Those Cooper's ligaments are holding their own. But heavy breasts (even if they're not at your navel) need good wires - and strong materials - or one's tits are apt to bounce. Not good.

I'm more convinced than ever that a) I will wear Empreinte forever more and b) the likelihood that I will be able to make a bra that provides the support I desire - what with materials and notions that are available out there - is potentially a pipe dream. Never mind fit. That's a binary issue that will be meaningless once I crack the code. Material sourcing, not so much.

But what about the Coco bra deets? (Note: I didn't even take the undies out of the packet. I had no interest in them once I knew the bra was a dud.)

• The colour is indeed lovely.
• The baseline shape is also nice (specifically of the mesh underlayer).
• The lace overlayer is not well attached to the underlayer and it has been poorly chosen (having no stretch and being of an awkward length). Net result is that it pops away from the underlayer and leaves a very notable ridge. It actually looks wrong. I read another review on Bratabase that corroborates this but I didn't understand the extent of the issue till I tried the bra on for myself.
• It's not the most expensive-looking bra - but then it's not expensive.
• It's flimsy. Mere walking initiated unacceptable bounce.
• It's not optimal for very projected breasts. I mean, it's not a cut bra for shallow breasts, but if you have a lot of centre or immediate projection, it likely won't work well. (Note: I don't think sizing up would help - it's more of a shape compatibility thing. The gore did tack on me, but not in a firm, secure way.)
• Despite its suboptimal unsupportiveness, the band is extremely firm. I don't recommend that you buy this bra, but if you do, go up in the band.
• It's inexplicably dowdy.

I could see this working on breasts of a very specific shape (a bit wide set, full on bottom) in the smaller end of the size range but there are so many better options, IMO. Why bother with this?

So, there you have it. Public service accomplished. Now go out and buy something by Empreinte.