I think my breasts have stopped growing for a while. I’ve been the same cup size for about two years now so it’s time to start stocking up on bras. Admittedly, I only have three bras in circulation right now, plus three sports bras. Sad . . . I know.
I’m one of those women who finds something that works and sticks with it. This is mostly due to the fact that getting to know a new brand is time consuming and can be quite expensive. The back and forth of ordering from overseas, waiting for the shipment, and returning what doesn’t work is annoying. Why go through all of that when I could just hop on eBay and order what I know will fit and have it here in less than a week? My go to brand has been Panache. I absolutely love the shape and support I get from their balconette bras that have lace cups and those with lace on the top half of the cup. I tend to have issues with bras that don’t have any “give” at the top of the cup. With all of the moving around and picking up toys, children and puppies, I have to be sure that I don’t bend over with two boobs and stand up with four.
I must admit that it wasn’t until I started reading and now writing blogs that I’ve begun to explore other brands. I’ve decided to take the plunge by purchasing a bra from Curvy Kate and one from Polish brand Ewa Michalak. Now I just have to choose a bra to start with from each line. I’ve narrowed it down to these.
I hope to make a decision and place an order this month. If you have experience with any of these bras or have others to recommend from these brands, I’d love to hear from you.
I’m not sure what your breasts are like, but if they’re softer/bottom heavy I’d recommend getting a padded EM bra (preferably an S bra). I’m just saying since I know you have a kid and for me I don’t get along with their sheer bras as well.
As for CK, I had good luck with the Portia. I’m thinking of getting another one, actually. This weekend Undercover Experiences has a sale of 20% (using Big20), international shipping is only 4GBP and they sell a lot of CK bras. I will say, I’d probably order one before the other. I found that my CK and EM bra size are the same so it might save you a bit on returns. 🙂
Thanks June. To be honest I’m not sure if I’m bottom heavy but they are soft. I’m going to take a look at the other bras you mentioned.
If you have better options I would not buy from Undercover Experience, if you are lucky and they actually have the bra, then you are ok, but it’s totally possible that they don’t have a bra in stock, while selling it and then you can be waiting for a very long time exchanging emails with pretty unpolite customer service. I’ve being there and I’m not alone!
I have the CK romance in black and red. I’m usually a GG in anything unlined and an H in anything lined, but I didn’t read the description right and thought the Romance was a lined bra so I bought the H. It fits perfectly, which means I needed to size up for it. Very sexy by the way, my husband loves it. I almost bought it in the color you’re looking at, but having no red bras I decided to try something new (well sorta, since only part is red). Anyway, I’m happy with my Romance purchase and I recommend it. I’m bottom heavy (if that helps) and pendulous, and the Romance works well for my shape.
Thank you for the info on Romance! I’m glad to hear that you (and your husband) like it so much. I’ll definitely take heed to your sizing advice.
I have a CK Princess and it’s fab. I have soft breasts like you’ve said you have and it shapes them really nicely. I have it in the teal colour and it’s really gorgeous, and the slightly raised dots are great fun to play with! It’s a lovely bra.I haven’t tried the Romance but I would like to!
I’m not sure you’ll get on with the CK’s. I have Portia (agree with June she’s the best of the bunch; I bought her in white then dyed her with food coloring), Princess, & Emily. There is zero stretch in the cup, & the tops are totally rigid. They do not adjust to your shape like the upper lace potion of Freya or Panache do. They start out looking pretty good, but gradual double-bubble begins in a matter of hours. BrasIHate had a great post on this specific CK issue recently.
If you’re a Panache fan you might really like Jasmine. It’s the best I’ve found from them so far, which means I can stand the crazy of the wires for about 4 hours – 3 hours longer than I could tolerate Harmony, which has wonderful soft fabric. I found that my CK cup size is one cup up from Panache. My boobs are moderately full on top, and softish.
Thank you for the advice. I’m going to try out one or two and see how they fit. What a shame about the stiffness. It sounds like we may have similar breasts. What are your favorite bras?
Hmm.. double check on how old the stiffness issue is. I know they’ve redesigned their bras and have made a lot of changes. Check out Curvy Wordy’s latest post on the Portia: http://www.curvywordy.com/2013/05/curvy-kate-portia-in-seafoampink.html
I sadly do not have experience with any of these brands! I just stopped by to say how annoying it is to think you’re going to be one size for awhile only to get bigger! Then bye bye to all your pretty old bras. Bleh.
I’ve been toying with the idea of trying these brands too! So this post and the comments have been really helpful, thanks Mia and everyone 🙂
Since I’m currently in the nursing/pregnancy stage of life (love babies/children and want a bunch! Haha) I’m leery to spend much on bras until it’s over since my sizing is all over the place…but I haven’t even found one nursing bra that I love yet! I have 3 half decent ones. Anyone here have experience with EW’s nursing bras?