The Curvy Kate "Ella": Another Success

After my luck with the “Angel”, I decided to buy it in a second color, and since Brastop was doing free shipping, I got some other things to try as well. I noticed the “Ella” was back in stock in Ivory/Coral in a 28J and decided to try it. I needed a new Ivory colored bra because my Panache “Confetti” wasn’t too happy with me after I wore it literally every day for the whole summer. I had bought a ton of matching underwear so I wanted another bra in the same color.

I really wasn’t wild about the floral design on the “Ella” from the online photos. I sort of thought it looked like something a kindergartener would draw. But I do crave novelty so I decided to jump on the crazy train and give it a shot.

When the “Ella” arrived, I was thrilled to see that it didn’t look at all like a child’s scribbling! I’ve included some of my own photos, but even these can’t really communicate how pretty it is, I think it’s just a bra that you have to see in person to know how attractive it is. 

It also gave me a really good shape. In the “Angel”, the ribbon did cut into my boobs a little bit, and I really would do better in a 28JJ, but the “Ella” fit perfectly in the J-cup as there is nothing stiff going across the top of the cup at all. It also gives a nice rounded shape, more so than the “Angel” and almost as good as the Panache “Confetti” (nothing is really QUITE as good as the “Confetti” at giving a round shape). As you can see from this side view, the “Ella” is the tiniest bit pointy but it looks rounder than this under tight stretchy clothes, which is really all I wear anyway. 

Panache "Confetti"

Curvy Kate "Ella"

The “Ella” is definitely the best of the Curvy Kate bras I tried. It’s not as sexy as the “Angel” but more of a heavy lifter. The “Ella” is discontinued, so I may buy the other two colors while Brastop still has them in my size. I have to admit those colors (pictured below) look pretty crazy to me from the online photos, but my experience with the Ivory "Ella" has me convinced that maybe I just need to see them in person.

Also, I’m fairly convinced that the new Flirtelle “Dahlia”, pictured below, which comes in black, white and nude, is the same style as the “Ella” because they have exactly the same floral pattern and embroidery. So I’ll probably give the “Dahlia” a try soon too.

A Bit of Happy: The Curvy Kate "Angel"

I was going to do all my sad Curvy Kate stories first and then work up to the good ones, but I’m beginning to depress myself. Plus I want to talk about something I like for once. Despite all the complaining I’ve done on this blog, I really do love great bras, and when I find one I like, it gives me a happy buzz that I can't hold in for long.

That’s how I feel about the Curvy Kate “Angel”. I was quite surprised at how much I loved this! I had always overlooked it online, partly because I was convinced the pattern wouldn’t flatter my size and partly because you really can’t tell how beautiful it is from online photos.

I ordered it in the Black/Ivory in two different sizes, a 28J and a 28K. (They were sold out of 28JJ.) To be honest, there wasn’t a huge difference in how the two sizes fit me—I really could wear either size, although I think a 28JJ would have been truly ideal. Because of the shape of my boobs, a lot of times I can size up a few sizes and the extra fabric will just end up going around my side, so I nearly never get wrinkles in the fabric or a cup that is too big. I ultimately decided to keep the 28J because the shape it gave was just a tiny bit better than the 28K.

Angel 28K 

Angel 28J: More Lift

As you can see, neither bra is giving extreme lift or a very round shape. With the straps properly tightened, it is better under clothes, but it's still not a show-stopper:

Despite this, I really, really love this bra for how it looks. I was able to improve the shape and make it slightly more rounded by taking in the center gore, and I've found myself wearing it basically non-stop for these first few days after getting it. It’s been a LONG time since I’ve owned a bra that genuinely excited me. Since I’ve been wearing it so much, I can report that the shape doesn't change throughout the day, and once I bent them into a human shape, the underwires barely cut into my ribs. One concern to keep in mind is that the “Angel” seems to me to have slightly wider-set straps than my normal Panache bras, so they do cut into my arms a bit. It’s not really an issue for me, but if you normally have problems with straps cutting in, this bra might not be your favorite.

The criss-cross ribbon detail where the band begins is great. Since it's not elastic at all, I feel that it will be a big help in preventing the band from stretching out. I bet the Angel will last twice as long as most of the bras I've had.

I quickly ordered a second Angel in the Black/Raspberry on Brastop, which has a lot of good bargains on older Angels (and the shipping is often startlingly fast if you're in the UK). I ordered it in a 28J, as the 28JJ was sold out and I figured I would fit it fine if I altered the center gore. The black/raspberry Angel is so beautiful. It’s the prettiest shade of dark, rich pink and the lace is a really wonderful quality. I like this one so much that the black and ivory one has been sitting in my drawer, abandoned.

I am happy to have found a Curvy Kate bra that not only fits, but really SUITS me. It’s also refreshing to have a bra that doesn’t have any flowers on it. Don’t get me wrong, I love flowers and floral designs, but it’s great to add some variety. I would definitely recommend trying the Angel because it is so pretty in person. However, because of the all-over embroidery, it does run a bit smaller than other Curvy Kate bras and is much less forgiving. So if your boobs are full on top, I would say go up a cup size from the size you wear in other Curvy Kate bras (for me, this means two sizes up from the size I wear in lower-cut Panache balconettes). In fact, I would suggest possibly trying a cup size up even if your boobs are fuller on the bottom.

I think the design of the Angel makes it look endlessly interesting in various colorways. I like this one, coming up in the Spring/Summer 2012 collection:

I also think these colors from the Autumn/Winter 2011 collection are eye-catching and attractive.

Who knew the “Angel” would be my favorite unpadded Curvy Kate so far? 

The Curvy Kate "Portia"

I really wanted this one to fit because it reminds me of a black-and-pink Betsey Johnson bra I used to wear back before my boobs got so out of hand. However, the “Portia” was my least favorite of the Curvy Kate bras I tried. It was a big disappointment because it’s a really beautiful design, subtle but still cute and flirty.

I ordered it in a 30J because I figured I would need a 28JJ cup to avoid quadraboob with the ribbon along the top, and 28JJ wasn’t in stock on Amazan. As with the “Emily”, though, I think I overreacted a bit. I probably could have worn a 28J in this style (I’m usually between a HH-J in Panache).

Once again, I had to shorten the straps quite a lot to get the right lift. However, even after I’d done this, I didn’t like the shape the “Portia” gave. The upper section was made of a slightly stretchy material, so it felt pretty flimsy and didn’t contribute anything to the hard work the bottom sections were doing to support me. That meant it gave a very pointy shape.

It was also a visually huge bra. In the pictures below I’ve shown what it looked like on me, and what I wished it looked like.

Apologies for horrible photoshopping. 

Looking at the photo, I think it actually doesn’t look so bad from the front, but here’s how pointy it looked from the side.

Super Meh!

If the “Portia” works for you, I’m jealous, because it’s so adorable. If you haven’t tried Curvy Kate, though, I wouldn’t recommend starting with this bra. Interestingly, Cheryl at the blog Invest in Your Chest has also written that this is one of her least favorite Curvy Kate bras. That suggests that the “Portia” has problems in a wider range of sizes. Here’s her review.

Check out my updated review of the Portia (in the RIGHT size this time!) here. 

The Curvy Kate "Emily"

As I mentioned in my last post, I ordered 1-3 cup sizes bigger than my normal Panache size in all the Curvy Kate styles I'm trying in an effort to eliminate the problems I'd had with shape and cutting in/quadraboob. The Emily looked to me like the one with the softest seam on top, and therefore the one that was most likely to fit me. I ordered it in a 28JJ and 28K (I usually wear 28HH in Panache).

I was pleasantly surprised by the appearance of the bra, as this lilac color had looked pretty dull to me online. It’s actually a combination of purplish blue and bluish blue, and the details are really attractive.

I have to say though, that it’s sort of “a lot of bra.” The cup came up higher than on the other styles in equivalent sizes. It was also made the same way as the Freya bras I lambasted in my earlier post—the sheer upper section was the part that got bigger and bigger, which I find very unflattering. A lot of this is due to the fact that the 28JJ and 28K were both too big--a 28J would be the right size for me in this style and would eliminate a lot of the issues I had.

First, the 28JJ. Sorry for the terrible photoshopping, but something about the cut of this bra was giving me a bit of nip-slip on one side only.

And here is the 28K. As you can see, it is so big on me that it is really not giving any lift.

I don’t like bras that come up this high, but the fit was better than my pessimistic expectations (in both the JJ and the K). Everything sat where it should and there was definitely no quadraboob so it was a start. The seam along the top of this bra is actually very stretchy, meaning the Emily is the most forgiving of the Curvy Kate bras I tried.

My main discovery, though, was that in order to get rid of the “sad”, down-pointing shape I’d gotten in Curvy Kate previously, I had to shorten the straps A LOT. This was most necessary in the Emily because I tried it in bigger sizes. Here it is with the straps shortened to a comfortable length:

Terrible! To get a better shape, I had to shorten the straps ALL the way, just as the model needed to the photo below.

It looks better on her than on me, by the way.

When I did this I could barely fit my arm through the hole, but it gave a pretty good shape under clothes. The shape wasn’t the best of the bras I tried, but it also wasn’t the worst.

If your boobs are full on top like mine, I would recommend you get this in what you consider your “regular” Curvy Kate size, or go up one cup size if you’re in between sizes and mostly wear Panache/Freya. The Emily fits me best in a 28J, as you can see here in my updated review.

A Plethora of Curvy Kate Bras

Some of my selections.

I’ve always fantasized about ordering a huge heap of bras in every color and size just to try them all on and see what fits. It strikes me as more practical than the agonizing and soul-crushing process of choosing a single bra, ordering it, hating it, and sending it back. But I’ve never been able to do a massive order before. The fact is that you need to have a decent chunk of money in your bank acount t be able to do a big order, especially with shipping to the US. For a lot of last year, my bank balance hovered around $20--ah, the life of a student.

However, last week I realized that with my summer savings, and my Amazon Prime free trial, and the fact that I'm living in the UK right now, I was in good shape to figure out Curvy Kate bras once and for all.

For obvious reasons, I’ve been pretty obsessed with Curvy Kate ever since I discovered their existence. I love the fact that all their bras come in a wide range of sizes. I love the fact that they engage with, and clearly appreciate, their customers. I love the fact that they make bras in fun colors and beautiful designs. I love the fact that you can get their products at super-reasonable prices with great availability on brastop.com, lovebras.com, and amazon.co.uk.

However, after an initial success with the Tease Me bra last winter (the one I just gushed about in my last review) I had a lot of really negative experiences that put me on edge. The Thrill Me bra that I got in the same size didn't work as well for me, and I only kept it (and struggled with it) because it’s so pretty. Over the summer, I agonized over and finally ordered the Princess only to find that it made my boobs point straight to the ground. I persisted and tried again with the Criss Cross and the Flirtelle Petal (Flirtelle bras are constructed the same as Curvy Kate). No dice—both these bras gave my boobs a downcast, “sad” shape, identical to the Princess. The hardest part was that all the bras were really beautiful—clearly comfortable, clearly good quality and even prettier than they looked in photos. It really pained me to have to send them back (especially with the shipping—I think I got something like $4 back on the Princess after paying shipping both ways) and I began to think that Curvy Kate just wasn’t for me. This hypothesis was solidified by my failure with the Elegance just a few weeks ago. I struggled to come to terms with the fact that one of the only lingerie companies I took seriously didn’t make bras that suite my body.

So when my large order of Curvy Kate arrived on Friday, I wasn’t exactly optimistic. I’m glad I didn’t have my hopes up TOO high because there were definitely some disappointments in that package. But the order really cheered me up overall due to a few surprising successes! I’m going to review each model separately over the course of this week—I hope the reviews can be instructive for those who, like me, have longed to enter the happy land of Curvy Kate.

My major lesson from this big order is that the sizes I had previously tried in Curvy Kate were too small, and that's why I got a downward-pointing shape. In an effort to prepare for this, I ordered 1-3 cup sizes bigger than my normal Panache size in all the Curvy Kate bras I tried, and this made me realize what I was doing wrong before. If you get that "sad" shape in Curvy Kate, try sizing up one or two cup sizes. If possible, try both. For a lot of people, Curvy Kate runs a bit smaller in the cups than Freya or Panache, but it's not as obvious--sometimes the only clue that your Curvy Kate is too small is a bad shape. 

Check out my reviews of the Emily, Portia, Angel, Ella, and Princess. 

The Curvy Kate "Tease Me"

The “Tease Me” is the only Curvy Kate bra that I’ve had luck with so far (although I’m not close to giving up yet, as you’ll soon find out in a later post). The thing I like best about it is that it’s really comfortable. The straps are medium-width, the underwires are really friendly (I think they might be plastic instead of metal? If so, everyone should use plastic). The bra is padded but not molded, so it can actually fold up and fit in a drawer. It looks really nice in a lot of different sizes, it doesn’t cause me pain, it’s just… a normal bra. Its design doesn’t make a huge deal about being “plus size.” It’s a real bra for real people.

You can clearly see that it doesn't cover a lot of my chest--the opposite of "a lot of bra"--but doesn't give too much cleavage either, so I find it appropriate to wear in any situation.

It has a great back band. Most bands, I’ve found, have a much tighter bit of elastic running along the base, which makes it cut into my skin and leave an indentation that can be seen under clothes. Not too sexy. The band on the “Tease Me” is all one kind of elastic so it doesn’t show at all. Not quite as great as the laser-cut back bands on otherwise crappy Victoria’s Secret bras, but getting there. Many people find that they prefer to go down a back size in this bra, but I can't (28 is of course the smallest one they make). However, I didn't personally find that the back was too loose, and I don't get back pain from wearing it.

It also uses the vertical seam construction, shown below, which gives such a nice shape. I wish all bras were made like this.

The shape is a little bit low, but very round, which I think is nice. Again, since it's not too in-your-face, it's appropriate for any occasion.

Check out this new color from their upcoming season, though. Although I myself find it pretty adorable, I have to laugh when I imagine the look of horror on my boyfriend’s face if he were to see me wearing this. It’s like the “My Little Pony” of bras!

But I might buy it anyway

The Panache "Melody"

Sometime in the course of this summer, I lost my black Freya Deco. I will never understand how I managed to LOSE a bra that holds its own shape and takes up as much space as a violin case. (The pink Deco I have doesn’t even fit in any of the drawers in my new flat!) After losing the black one, I spent awhile feeling wronged and frustrated that I had misplaced one of my favorite bras and one that I actually spent real money on (about $80; I usually try to get things for under $30). But eventually I realized that I needed to get a new black bra.

I took the opportunity to head to Bravissimo as soon as I arrived in Edinburgh. I’ve lived in the US my whole life, forced to depend on eBay and specialty stores that charge $80-$150 per bra (an experience that I’m sure to rant about in a later post). Heading to the UK for a year abroad, I was so excited to be able to go into an actual store that would have actual bras in my actual size. Unfortunately, my trip to Bravissimo fell far below my expectations. I was in a hurry that day and didn’t actually get fitted, so I’ll wait to write about my trip there until I can take the time to go again. But I do want to write about the bra I bought that day, which happened to be the only one they had which fitted me properly.

I was interested in the Melody because it's supposedly based on the Panache Harmony, a bra I’ve depended on heavily in the past. I feel the Harmony was a bit prettier (it had roses instead of this leafy design), and the shape isn't the same. The “Melody” seems to be cut differently than the “Harmony”—the upper leafy section was higher-cut and very firm, and it pressed a straight surface down my boobs, which caused a bit of a double-boob at the top. I proceeded to fix this with an alteration I do on almost all my bras, which turns the cups a bit and gives them more room at the top. There’s a wonderful description of this alteration here.

The alteration happened to give this bra one of the tightest bands I’ve ever experienced, which is GOOD considering most bra bands stretch out in about ten minutes. It also made it look like a Freya bra! By that I mean the cups went up towards the straps in a V shape, just generally covering more skin than the bras I normally wear. This meant there are little leafy bits poking out from a lot of my shirts, due to my stubborn refusal to dress modestly.

It also poked into the sides of my ribs like a bitch until I bent the wires into a more person-y shape in a fit of (tipsy) rage. Really, I wish Panache wouldn’t make the wires QUITE so wide in their small back sizes. I’m all for wide underwires but the ones on the Melody are literally almost going onto my back, which seems a bit excessive. Also, although the alteration got rid of most of the quadraboob, there is still some going on, and not in the way where your bra inches slowly down your body and you pull it up every hour, but in the way where your bra is angry and wants to make your boobs sad and presses them down towards the ground. (This is a pretty frequent problem for me as my boobs are very full on top.)

That can't be what it's supposed to look like....

Here's another image of the side view.

As you can see, it's definitely not giving much lift. This causes a peculiar phenomenon, though... under clothes, the shape is fairly good, and it makes my boobs look about five sizes smaller than they really are. It is literally the most minimizing bra I've ever worn, without any unhealthy squashing going on. Depending on what you're looking for, this might be a good thing once in awhile (or all the time) and that's the main function I'd recommend this bra for.

It’s still an okay bra but won’t take the Harmony’s place in my heart even though the Harmony and I have broken up and grown apart. I’m not saying the Melody is a terrible bra, and it has found a steady place in my bra rotation despite the odds. I just sort of wish it was… better for me.