You met Ali Cudby here when she wrote about first bra fittings during Mother’s Week in May. Today she posts about Amoena’s new Mia line and the Katarina bra that she sampled from it.

Not familiar with Amoena? Neither was I until I visited a little lingerie store in Maine this summer where the owner told me that Amoena is known for its post-breast surgery bras. The bras she showed me were super pretty with little pockets in them to hold prostheses. With the Amoena Mia line, Amoena is making its bras available to all women. This line does not have the internal pockets, but it comes in both pretty and functional styles, including some soft cups that go up to a 34I.

Most folks don’t see bras as being innovative. Functional? Yes. Pretty? Sometimes. But innovative? Well, not so much. And yet, the humble brassiere is constantly evolving in its hidden quest to be supportive of all women.

One recent innovation that is particularly cool, in more ways than one, is the new line of bras from Amoena, called Mia. What makes this line so unique is that they have a patented fabric, called Comfort+, which actually balances body temperature by transferring heat to and from your body, depending upon its needs. So when you’re hot, the fabric will cool you, and vice versa.

The Amoena Mia line incorporates this fabric into its bras where women need it most – the front panel, underband, cup sling, and side panels – with the amount of cool fabric varying among the bras in the line. The fabric is supposed to make a bra more comfortable by reducing perspiration. Since the Mia line is designed for full-cupped women, (band sizes from 32 to 46 with some styles running to J-cup) there’s more cup for a lady to carry and, by extension, more opportunity to sweat…or, as some might say, “glow.”

I was fortunate enough to sample one of the Amoena Mia bras in order to test the technology for myself – the Katarina bra, in nude.

Just from opening the box, my first observation is that the promotional photos don’t do justice to the bra. One of the great things about this bra is that it provides the smooth look of a t-shirt bra, but has some nice lace detailing to keep it looking both feminine and fashionable. The lace extends around the entire band as well. On the cups, the lace is along the outer edge, near the underwire, in a way that adds both eye candy and functionality – it supports the side of the breast, to reduce the east-west factor that can sometimes exist in smooth styles for fuller females.

The inner lining – the one that contains the cool fabric – also works as a sling to create a visual line that exposes the narrowest part of the ribcage. That gives Katarina a slimming effect. The cool fabric itself is fascinating – you can really feel that it’s cool to the touch! At first, the feeling is similar to putting on a shirt first thing on a crisp, fall morning, it feels cold against your skin. The difference is that a shirt quickly warms to your body temperature, and this stays cool.

While wearing the bra, I was more aware of the cooling properties than the heating ones. I don’t know if that’s due to the weather on the particular day I wore it. For myself, I will share that I don’t generally have an issue with the temperature of my breasts – many women do. If you are one of those women, the Amoena Mia line may be your dream bra. For anyone prone to irritation in the heat of summer, I can imagine this bra would be absolutely amazing on a hot day!

One thing I do know, this bra is incredibly comfortable. The underwires are lined on the inside with soft padding, shoulder straps get slightly wider at the apex of the shoulder, and even the area around the hook and eye closures are padded. All of these factors add up to a seriously comfy bra.

In terms of fit, the band runs fairly stretchy, and the cups are shallower than some other full-cup brands, so you might want to consider going down a band size and up a cup size. The bra held its shape extremely well through the first washing (in the machine on the delicate cycle, in a lingerie bag) – a time when some lesser-quality bras stretch noticeably.

All in all, the Katarina bra in the Amoena Mia line is a big winner, and I’m looking forward to trying another one. The lacy Alexandra in cherry/chocolate is gorgeous, sexy and, for some reason, makes me crave a snack.

Ali Cudby is the author of the book Busted! The Fab Foundationsâ„¢ Guide to Bras That Fit, Flatter and Feel Fantastic (Fall 2011), and owner of Fab Foundationsâ„¢, an intimate apparel consulting company. Ali can be found on Twitter @alicudby, and you can be a fan of the Ali Cudby, author page on Facebook. Download a free chapter of Busted!