Last week I told you how impressed I was by the Evelyn & Bobbie Defy bra in the short time that I got to wear it at Curve. This week I’m going to tell you how impressed I am after wearing it three times. This bra was gifted to me by the company. All opinions are my own, and clicking links in this post will not result in commissions to Hourglassy. However, answering our reader survey WILL provide you with a chance to win your own Defy set!

I have never worn a wireless bra to an event where I was expected to look presentable (under a baggy sweatshirt to Costco is another story!), but last Thursday night I put this bra on for the first time and wore it to two events in Manhattan. No, it’s not cakes-on-a-plate lifted, and yes, there’s a modicum of bounce that you can see in the video below, but I didn’t feel at all self-conscious wearing it in public. When I walked home from the subway at the end of the evening, I realized that I’d stopped thinking about it at all!

If you check out the Evelyn & Bobbie website, you’ll see they don’t offer any beige or brown bras. Instead, their Amethyst colorway is a neutral for most skin tones, and it stayed completely hidden under my ivory tee.

One thing that may not stay hidden is the wide straps. You can just see them peeking out from my boat neck.
The Defy armholes run pretty high, which together with the full back contributes to a feeling of weightless support. I fully expected the bra armholes to peek through my top’s armholes, but they didn’t. It helps that this tee shirt is a size medium petite. There might be some show under deeper armholes.
Here I’m trying to show that there is NO BACK FLAB. Somehow the very firm band is integrated into the full back in such a way that everything stays smooth–there’s no bulging around a narrow band.

As you’ve probably already gathered, I’m a big fan of the fitted tee-shirt-like back. But it’s not just a homogeneous panel of fabric. Here’s an inside view–the triangle at the base and the edging that extends to the straps is extra firm. At Curve, the founder explained that this “X” design helps distribute weight and relieve pressure from the shoulders.

Here’s what the front looks like after three wears (the boobs were a lot smaller when I first took it out of the package!). It looks like a separate narrow band at the bottom of the bra, but fortunately it isn’t. Otherwise the breasts might droop over it. Instead, the same extra-firm material extends all the way up and into the integrated side slings of the cups.

I LOVE the integrated side slings–I credit them with centering my large chest and avoiding the dreaded east-west spread that’s usually inevitable with a comfort bra.

This is the cup inside out. Can you see the diagonal border between the firmer side sling and the center of the cup?
Here I’m trying to show you the two layers of softer fabric that make up the center of the cups.

Incredibly, I get no extra bouncing when I walk down stairs in this bra. Basically, I feel like I’m wearing a regular bra. And that’s what I especially like about it. The two other times I’ve worn it have been at home under lounge clothes, but wearing the Defy bra makes me feel less sloppy and more pulled together–without any hard edges.

There is one more trade-off of going wireless that I should note: no boob separation. And specific to this bra, you can’t adjust the straps. However, the wide straps are so comfortable that I can’t be bothered to care.

Finally, what about fit? I was tempted to try a size Small at Curve, thinking it would give me more lift and support and safeguard against stretching out. The founder encouraged me to stick with a Medium, and I’m glad I trusted her judgment. Since my boobs aren’t separated by underwires and a center gore, they can pillow slightly at the neckline. In a smaller size, it would have been much more pronounced. As for stretching out, my bra still feels firm around my rib cage, and I’ve been told that if it does stretch, it will return to its original form after washing.

The Defy bra just launched last month, and one of the first boutiques to carry it is Forever Yours Lingerie in British Columbia. I LOVE that they show size conversions on Instagram using real women’s sizes in brands that full-busted women know and trust: Ewa Michalak 30H = Defy small; Freya 28FF = Defy XS; Elomi 34GG = Defy large; and Empreinte 36F = Defy large.

Remember to take our survey for a chance to win your own Defy bra!