Dreams and Underthings Bralette in 30FF

Yes, another bralette! And this one is my best fit yet. The woman who runs Dreams and Underthings, Laura, also makes bralettes! I've been eagerly awaiting the opening of her Etsy store which is where I bought this from. She has regular and midline bands as well as a lace option. I chose the midline band which sadly doesn't work as well for me as I had hoped (not through any fault of the bralette). You can choose the colours of your bralette, accents and straps/elastics. Before I ordered I got in contact with Laura to ask her three questions: how does the band run, how do the cups run, and can I please get shortened straps. Laura was prompt and courteous in her replies: band runs pretty true to size, if you're between cup sizes definitely size up and yes, she can shorten straps!

So with Laura's advice in mind, I ordered a 30FF. Dreams and Underthings' bralettes are made using UK sizes and some of you may notice that this is a cup size larger then other UK bras I've reviewed. Those were a little too small which was what had prompted my asking how the cups run. I had a lot of fun deciding on what colours I wanted. I ended up with grey for my main colour, navy for the straps/elastics/trims and red as an accent. The fabric is extremely soft and comfortable. I put it on and made a trip out and I forgot I was wearing it. I love the shape and how surprisingly supportive it is.

It is a two-seam triangle cup. It is relatively high coverage but I don't mind. I think this style works best with higher cups: it's more supportive. It gives a relatively east-weast appearance but I don't mind that at all. In fact, that's kind of what I want out of a bralette. A relaxed and not super projected, boobs in your face look. Look at all that lift this bralette manages to give though! The gore doesn't tack which I expected but when I pushed it in the shape didn't change much and I had no quad, making me glad I chose the 30FF. Despite the gore not tacking, my breasts remain very well separated which is perfect for the summer. No more gross boob sweat from them touching all afternoon! The cups are lined in this super soft red fabric which was a lovely surprise and is also rather firm which I suspect is what makes this bralette so sturdy and supportive. This also provides more nipple coverage if that is something that concerns you.

Oh yeah, look at that shape! So round and so lifted. I was so excited to put this bralette on and notice that my boobs stayed in the cups like they're supposed to. I was afraid that they would travel down into the band trying to find room for my projection but this bralette is very well designed in regards to that. The cups are rather wide at 7 inches which is about 1.75 inches wider then I need but it doesn't really bother me too much since the wings are so low and non-irritating. It also doesn't seem to impact shape or support but I wonder if Laura would narrow the cups on my next one-I plan on trying the regular band length next.

Laura went the extra mile and designed her bralettes with my favourite kind of back-the leotard back. I think that this style back just looks so much nicer and more polished and really reflects well on the designer. It's a thoughtful touch that shows she's thinking about the bralette as a whole.

Pushing the gore in shows that I made the right choice in sizing. These colours are the most true to life.

Straps are attached in the front and the back with rings. They are thin but not too stretchy so they aren't too uncomfortable. They are relatively narrow set and out of the way of armpits.

I am incredibly impressed with this bralette from Dreams and Underthings. Laura has worked hard to develop her pattern and grade it-she offers sizes 28C-H, 30B-GG, 32A-G, 34A-FF, 36A-F, 38A-E, 40A-DD. The quality is very good. I love that it's a bralette that's been designed with fuller busts in mind without looking like it's been designed for fuller busts. It is delicate but supportive and well-designed: the cups are lined to add more support as is the gore, the band is relatively wide and the cups are cut with lots of projection. All of these elements are what make it great for medium/larger busts who are otherwise either sized out of s/m/l bralettes or need something with more support or coverage. I would love to see Laura source some pretty funky/quirky prints (like food or animals) as well as the option to purchase some basic/easy additions/substitutions/changes like strap width and cup width in the future but I agree with her decision to focus on fit first and creating an impressive size range. This bralette is an affordable, comfy addition to my wardrobe and I can't wait to try my next one.

Freya Just Flew In Padded Longline 30F

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I was having camera issues. So I have a backlog of bras to review-I think ten at my last count: both newish bras and bras from last year before I started the blog. So for review today is something I received in a swap for a Freya Piper Longline in a 28FF. The band was too tight on that oh so cute Piper so I swapped it for the Just Flew In in 30F. Neither of these bras have quite worked for me sadly. The Piper stretched to 29.5 or thereabouts which is fine for a regular bra but too constrictive for a longline. Freya is known to run stretchy, which is true to my experience, and this 30F did feel a little loose in the band. However, given the support of a longline band this won't prove to be an issue.

So this bra might be the cutest damn bra I've ever had in my hands. I love all my bras (well, of course. I wouldn't buy them otherwise!) but I need more with actual birds or animals on them. This bra has some kind of abstract plant with 3 different hummingbirds on them! It's a pastel bird wonderland. It is a 3 part foam cup. Nothing I'd really call padding: the foam is rather thin and flexible. There's lace on the 2 cup seams, along the top, and along the seam below the cups. I like the little infinity bows on the shoulder straps. Like my last longline this was not meant to be for several reasons, the main one being the straps. They are extremely wide, which is not too big an issue for me, but they are very slippy. Just adjusting my breasts into the cups loosens the straps an inch or so which is not ideal for me since I often need to adjust my straps very short. Other then the straps the quality seems to be up to the usual Freya standard. Now that my camera's back up I have plenty of photos for you. I just love all the little details in my bras so I get carried away.

So look at the amazing cleavage I get! Very rounded, cakes on a plate look. The straps aren't as tight as I prefer but I'll get into that in detail in a bit. The long line bit has a tendency to scrunch or flip up which is more irritating then uncomfortable. The two seams on the bottom line up between the cups. I kinda wish they had lined up with the first seam so that the lace was a continual line. 

The wires are decently narrow. The gore is of a medium height and on the wider side. To the bottom of the cups, it measures around 3 inches. To the bottom of the band, 4. Like all my other padded cups it gives a soft tack. I used to grumble about this but I wore a bra that had a hard tacking gore the other day and it was so uncomfortable. The straps are delightfully narrow set so they are free of my armpits. The band is long and feels stable despite being kinda stretchy. The cups seem to be rather shallow at the bottom so I get a bit of a wrinkle on my difficult right breast. It's a very round, in your face look.

So here is the biggest issue I have with this little number. I get some bubbling if I tighten the straps as tight as I want them. Despite having a very textured appearance, these are some seriously unstable straps. Just puling them up onto my shoulder loosens them. Which brings me to my second major problem. These cups are so low-cut they're almost scandalous. I scoop and swoop and then have to poke my nipples back in. I'm afraid that with the slippy straps I'll go to move them or whatever, they'll slip, and out will pop my nipple. Not something I want to deal with! As a whole, the stretchy-ish band and low-cut cups coupled with the stretchy straps means that this is not a particularly secure feeling bra. There's a lot of jiggle going on.

The birdy fabric continues all the way around to the back. The front half is lined with some kind of powermesh to make it stronger which makes it more opaque. It's more see-through in the back since it doesn't have that lining. There are 6 hooks and only two rows of eyes which shortens its lifespan. I hate these straps. They're thick and they're ugly and I hate how non-leotard backs look, especially with such industrial straps. 

I love how pretty this bra is and how comfortable it is. However, I am on the fence as to whether I want to keep it or sell it. I like how it looks on me, but the straps are going to cause me issues as are the low-cut cups. I know I probably am not going to feel my best in a bra if I'm constantly worried about if I'm going to jiggle out or not. I might take it on a field test and see how I feel about it after but I know there's no point in keeping a bra just for looks. There is a balcony plunge version but I do believe this is an older model that is sold out so I probably won't be able to get my hands on one. So far I have yet to find my perfect fit in Freya. The padded 28FF/30F's I've tried have all had the bubbling in the cups but I haven't tried a 30G yet. I seem to be in between 30FF and 30G in a lot of brands but in general the 30FF works best for me because of the shorter and lower wires: I'm just always stuck with a little quad. However, this bra is definitely a size small and I would do better in a 30G. That way the cups wouldn't be so low coverage and I'd probably feel far more secure. The quad does show under shirts.

Freya Piper Longline 28FF

Taking a departure from Polish goodies, today I'll be taking about this lovely padded longline option from Freya that I got in a trade for a Comexim that sadly did not fit. It is a 2 seamed half-cup so the shape is very uplifting and round. My normal Freya size is a 30F so this is a sister size down. I thought it would work since Freya bands tend to run big (and this one does) but it sadly did not work out in my favour this time. This is a rather pretty bra. The flowers are small and kind of abstract and really pop against the blue. The bows have little polka dots on them and there is a lace trim at the top and the bottom.

As mentioned, this bra gives a really great shape due to being a half-cup. It's basically two basketballs stuck to my chest. The wires are relatively narrow which is nice however the gore runs wide. The band runs a size large, stretching to 29.5 inches. However, I was unaware of how constricting a longline would be so even though this is my normal ideal stretched length in a longline it is too constricting. I would stick to a 30F next time if it ran larger like Freya normally does or maybe even a 32E if the style ran true to size. The pattern continues all the way around to the back which is nice to see. There are 3 rows of 6 hooks and eyes and they are pretty tricky to do up the first time. Someone on Bratabase told me the trick of doing it up at your waist and shimmying it up and it's so much easier that way. The straps are not connect in a leotard/u way in the back and I think it looks awkward. I much prefer the looks of a u-back. They are also wide-set, wide, and long.

All looks good from the front. The cups are kinda tall on me and it's more of a wider look then a boobs pushed straight to the front. You can see that the straps rest right on the edge of my shoulder blades and if you look closely you can see that I do not fill the cup at the bottom. I like the length of the longline and I do wish it had fit me.

Wires are pretty narrow but not narrow enough for me. However, most bras aren't so that is a "me" problem and not the bra's problem. 

Beautiful shape. You can see wrinkles in the band which I think means it's too tight for me. It wasn't at first, but when I tried to do anything in it it was sooo constricting. 

How disappointing is this back view? Those straps are so ugly, wide, and plain. No u/leotard back makes it look so industrial and not very delicate at all.

Besides the tight band, the cups were a smidge too small and I quadded. I don't think the next size up would have fit without gapping.

The wires were too wide by maybe half an inch. I also did not fill out the bottom of the cups and there was some wrinkling. This was something I could live with if the band wasn't trying to kill me.

Sadly, this was not the bra for me. I love almost everything, but the fit and that ugly back were killing it for me. If you're thinking about buying a longline, I'd size up one band size at least for your best fit. Freya has some pretty solid options on the market and anything Comexim makes can be turned into a longline (I believe-don't quote me on that). I have heard the Comexim's longlines' wires tend to float at the bottom and not tack but this was not an issue I experienced with this bra. If I get a chance, I'd totally try another Freya longline halfcup in either a 30F or a 32E. I have listed this bra in the hopes of passing it on to someone who can wear and appreciate it.