Getting Real About My Bra Collection

You might remember from my recent post "How Many Bras Do You Need To Own, Anyway?" that I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by my bra collection. This is the first time I've ever owned TOO MANY bras and it really didn't feel as awesome as I was expecting. The thing is, bras actually aren't an article of clothing whose primary function is to add novelty to your life. They are ultimately a support/shaping garment and consequently, you are going to find yourself reaching for the same few bras morning after morning no matter whether you own two bras total, or fifty.

And yes, owning too many bras is WAY better than owning too few. Last summer I only owned TWO bras that fit me, so during the really hot weeks where I had to wash them every day, and it was too humid for them to dry properly overnight, it really sucked. I was so confused and unsure about my size at that time, and I was SO poor, that the situation went on for months. I didn't start buying bras until I got to the UK in September, and once I had started, I just never stopped. I've now come to realize that owning too many bras may be better than owning too few, but it's a lot worse than owning the right amount of bras and seeing the rest of that money in the bank.

Looking back on my older post "If Your Boobs Are Bigger Than Your Budget" I can see where I was going wrong. Buying bras had become this ultimate scavenger hunt for me. When I found a good deal, I was so excited and didn't want to miss out on it. I would troll eBay and Amazon looking for deals. Often I would tell myself I was buying something "just to try it" but once I had it in my hands it was a lot harder to return it.

The other problem I've noticed is that I get caught up in the hype of new, exciting products. For instance, I feel this compulsion to try Curvy Kate's Smoothie bra when it comes out in September, even though I don't really wear padded bras.

Given the opportunity, I will always choose a non-padded bra over a padded bra, so why should I buy the Smoothie at all? To review it for my blog, sure, but to OWN? I don't need to own that bra. But what do you want to bet that it is going to be very difficult to let go of it if it's a good fit, even if I know I'll never wear it?

I'm trying to get real and sell a lot of my bras that I never wear. Most of the ones I'm selling have been worn only two or three times. I don't know why I have such an aversion to padded bras, but they just seem so stiff and bulky. They don't fit in drawers, they don't breathe, and they always show so much cleavage. The bras I really wear are my Cleo Lucys, my Panache Sienna, my blue Cleo Brooke, and occasionally my nude Panache Harmony. I sometimes wear my white Thea plunge with low-cut clothes, and I know I would wear my red Freya Antoinette frequently if the straps were thinner, so I'm going to switch the thick straps for the straps from my red Curvy Kate Princess, which I've given up on. Finally, I have an older Curvy Kate Tease Me (this orange one) that I wear to bed because it's nice and soft and has a high center gore to keep my boobs separated while I sleep.

But that's ALL. Everything else is just taking up space and represents all the money I've wasted. It's pretty lame. I need to clear them out.

I'm not saying I will stop buying new bras. I love buying bras and they will always have a place in my budget. I'm saying I should be smarter about knowing what I will wear frequently. Just because a bra fits amazingly (like this Masquerade Delphi) doesn't mean I'll wear it more than twice. Just because I WANT to like something (like this Cleo Bonnie) doesn't mean that I will like it.

Here are the bras that are on my horizon...

The Cleo Lucy is coming out in this interesting Navy/Pink combination this fall.

I like it and will probably pick it up once it goes on sale--maybe for full price, if my coral Lucy has kicked the bucket by then.

I wrote earlier about this yellow Cleo Lucy.

I haven't bought it yet, but it's starting to show up on eBay at lower prices, so I'm thinking about it. I'm not sure if I would really wear a yellow bra, and I don't have any yellow underwear, so I'm going to try to figure that out before I spend the money.

The Panache Sienna, probably the closest I'll ever get to the Perfect Bra, is coming out in the fall in this "Lagoon" color.

Honestly I'm not crazy about this color. It sort of looks... murky. Like... a swamp bra. I wish it was brighter, or that the lace was a lighter color instead of black. But if I find this bra at a low price (like $20) later, I will buy it anyway, even though I don't like the color. (THAT, my friends, is how you know a bra is right for you! If you will wear it more than prettier bras, no matter how ugly you think it is!)

The Cleo Marcie, coming out August (I think) is really cute and looks like something that would fit me well. I would be willing to pay full price for this.

If it does fit me well, I'd wear it a lot. But if it isn't a perfect fit, I WILL return it!

The Cleo Meg, also coming out in August, is really, really cute.

I just don't have the best feeling about how the shape will work for me. I might try it if I find it on sale. I love the color scheme but I know now that's not reason enough to own something. May as well just own a picture of it in that case...

How Many Bras Do You Need To Own, Anyway?

From time to time, I come across blog posts that list the types of bras everyone needs to own. Of course, these posts are often put together by sites that actually sell bras. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I’ve noticed that the lists usually focus on different bra shapes, suggesting that everyone own a balconette, a strapless bra, a moulded T-shirt bra, a convertible/halter bra, and a racerback bra.

I personally feel this is sort of excessive. In the G+ crowd (and even the D+ crowd), I doubt many people own a racerback bra or a halter bra, much less both. The fact is these bras don’t really exist for the high cup sizes and probably aren’t priorities for most of us.

I know lots of people own a strapless bra, but I’m sort of cynical about them. They never seem to be constructed well and usually don’t even go above G cups. The strapless bra I own is actually a sort of basque. It stays up, but it also makes my boobs about four sizes bigger because it is heavily padded and has a downward-pointing construction. So if I’m trying to wear it with a strapless dress, I usually can’t even zip the dress up once I have the strapless basque on. Plus, the really nice strapless dresses I’ve found all have boning and can be worn without a bra even with my H/HH/J cup boobs. So I’m going to go ahead and say that no one should feel that they ‘need’ to own a strapless bra unless they find one they actually like.

When I think about the right number of bras to own, I’ve always though in terms of color instead of shape. To start with, there are the basics: black, white, and nude everyday bras (padded, molded, or unpadded as per personal preference).

White bras certainly are not a ‘must’ for everyone because they usually show under white or sheer tops (hence the need for a nude bra) and therefore aren’t necessary unless you like them (I love them). Black bras are good to wear under black tops because lighter or nude bras can show in photos with flash, like this:

I like a little color in my life, so I’ve always liked to also own two colored everyday bras. The colors I’ve generally gravitated towards are light blue (or sometimes teal) and pink. This adds up to five bras, one for every weekday.

Recently, I’ve also come to feel that red is a great mental boost and a good basic, so I also consider red a bra color that I personally ‘need’ to own. 

In terms of practicality, it’s also useful to own a sports bra and a plunge bra. For some people, this category of practicality might also include a strapless and/or convertible bra.

Here we have 8 bras, which I would consider the basic amount of bras I need to structure my wardrobe around. But of course, it’s also nice to own a few “fun” bras—sexy bras, patterned bras, and other colors. And it’s very easy to suddenly find yourself with multiples of the basic colors if you take advantage of good deals when you find them. I definitely bought way too many bras when I was in the UK—I couldn’t resist all the cheap eBay deals, plus I wanted to stock up before my return to the US. And suddenly I find myself with this bra-splosion:

My collection at this point is massive and overwhelming. And actually, I find this kind of depressing. With so many options, most of my bras never even get worn, even if I like them. I always feel like I have no idea what to choose in the morning. And the bras pictured above are just the ones that I actually wear. I also have a sizeable stack of bras I no longer wear that don’t fit right or are getting too worn out:

Coming home to the US and seeing my old bras—the ones I owned when I first started my collection—makes me feel nostalgic. At that point, I really did own just one black, nude, white, pink, teal, and red bra. And those bras are well-worn but still in really good shape. I loved them and took care of them. In future, if my heap of floral and fashion bras ever thins out, I’m going to try to focus on just the basics when I replenish my collection. I don’t like to have a huge excess of clothing, and bras are no exception. If you’re just starting a bra collection, it’s worth taking some time to think about what you would consider a good ‘basic’ collection before you end up with a massive overflowing drawer, like me!

I also feel like it’s important to consider what matching undies you have. Some people buy the matching panties that go with the bra, but I personally prefer to buy cheaper cotton underwear (Victoria’s Secret Pink makes my favorite styles and they last a lot longer than all the other brands I've tried). Ideally, I would own five pairs of underwear to match each bra. But in real life, that’s not the case at all. I only have five pairs of red underwear to match my three red bras, only one pair of nude underwear to go with my nude bra, and many of the floral bras I have don’t match any of my underwear at all. This is another factor to consider as you build your collection.

How many bras do you own? What bras do you think are essential to form a basic collection?

What Does Curvy Kate Have to Offer? (Brand Overview)

After a great response to my posts describing different styles of bras offered by Panache/Cleo and Freya, I’m now moving on to the third titan of full-bust brands: Curvy Kate!

Are you as excited as them?!?

If you’ve been reading my blog since the early days (in which case I’m blushing!), you may have seen my initial reviews after I did a massive order of most of the Curvy Kate styles. Since I was just starting out, those reviews were a little less thorough than the kind I like to do now. I’ve since updated most of them, and I also hope that this overview will fill in any gaps that remain.

Luckily for me, Curvy Kate is quite a new brand! So unlike the dim and misty past of Panache and Freya, the whole history of Curvy Kate is within my grasp and I should be able to cover all the styles they’ve done. I will also talk about Brastop’s Flirtelle range because those bras are made by the same people and cut to the same shapes so they essentially function as part of the same brand, just available more cheaply.

One really outstanding feature of Curvy Kate is that they find all their models through contests entered by, and voted on, by their actual customers. So it is MUCH easier to see what Curvy Kate bras will look like on a variety of sizes, including the bigger sizes, in contrast to many other brands that only use models on the smaller end of the size range. Curvy Kate's UK Star In A Bra winner for this year was just revealed today--the beautiful Sophie Morgan! 

Sophie Morgan, Star In A Bra winner 2012!

Finding Your Size

The most important thing to understand about Curvy Kate is how the sizing works. Although some people find they can wear the same size in Curvy Kate that they would wear in other brands, plenty of others find they need to go up one or two cup sizes from what they would wear in other brands—this is especially likely if your boobs are tall/high or full on top. Personally, although I can usually get away with a 30H in Panache/Cleo/Freya, I can NEVER wear that in Curvy Kate. I will always need at least a 30HH, sometimes a 30J.

A common complaint with Curvy Kate’s unpadded balconettes is a somewhat triangular/square shape, that looks like this:

Too-small Curvy Kate shape.

This shape means your Curvy Kate is TOO SMALL! Don’t despair and give up, thinking this is just the shape Curvy Kate gives—it’s not! You’ll get a much nicer look in the right size. Try going up one or two sizes, and shorten the straps to take out any slack in the cup. For a lot of people, this is enough to make Curvy Kate bras successful for them. For some people, it might be that you cannot shorten the straps enough to get the right lift in the big-enough cup size, and this unfortunately means that you will either have to alter the straps, or simply move on to a different brand (or just stick to Curvy Kate's padded styles).

Also, all of Curvy Kate’s unpadded balconette bras are cut with the same shape, so you can wear the same size in all of them—SORT OF. The different fabric and laces used do make a noticeable difference between the fit of some of the styles, and I’ve tried to specify that here. Knowing your size in one Curvy Kate balconette is an excellent starting point, but you still might need to tweak the size a bit when you try other styles.

The sizing of the padded bras is different, and I will talk about that when I describe the individual styles.

Portia

The Portia is one of the styles that’s been with Curvy Kate since the beginning. Way back when, it used to come in colors…

…but for the past few seasons they’ve just had it in continuity colors of black/pink and white/pink, plus an exclusive magenta color for Simply Be.

                                                   

The Portia is a good basic and seems to run pretty much in the middle of Curvy Kate sizes. The ribbon across the top is not tight in the newer runs; in fact, it is looser than the fabric surrounding it.

Criss Cross

This is an older style that Curvy Kate don’t make anymore. From my experience trying it once, it seems to run about average in sizing.  However, I do know there are some differences between the colors; the purplish-pink one seems to run a little smaller, for instance, though not enough to need a different cup size unless you are already between sizes.

Since this bra is discontinued, it’s one of the few that you can get at cheap prices in black and white.

Angel

The Angel runs a little tighter than other Curvy Kate styles. It has the same all-over diagonal stitching as the Portia, but on the Angel the lace at the top edge (though not the actual ribbon) is tighter, which gives the cup a smaller fit overall. I personally find that I would ideally wear one cup size up in the Angel (30J) compared to the size I wear in the Portia/Emily/Ella (30HH).

The back on the Angel runs tighter as well, as the criss-crossed ribbon adds some stability to it.

Princess

The Princess is the hardest fit of all the Curvy Kate unpadded bras. Like the Angel, it also runs a bit tighter than other Curvy Kate styles, but it is also the only one that does not have fully adjustable straps; the floral lace covers the front half of the strap. Remember when I said that you will need to go up in the cup size and shorten the straps more to get the right lift and shape in Curvy Kate? That’s much less possible in the Princess because the straps just do not adjust enough. It's too bad that it's a trickier fit, because it's so cute!

Check here for the barrage of alterations I performed to make my Princess somewhat serviceable. The fact is that it’s just not as easy to fit into as other Curvy Kates.

Emily/Ella/Romance

The Emily is, in my opinion, probably the best Curvy Kate bra. The top section is more stretchy and so it is an easier fit than the other styles that have stiff lace or ribbon there. 

So if you find the Angel or Princess squash you no matter how high you go in cup size, the Emily is a better bet. With my full-on-top boobs, I definitely find I get the best shape in the Emily.

The Romance that came out recently is very similar to the Emily, with that same little bit of give in it. I’m really excited by the Romance and I think it is a really promising style. 

If you’ve seen the behind-the-scenes photos of Curvy Kate’s Star In A Bra competition, you may have noticed how truly amazing the Romance looks in a K-cup! (Not all of Curvy Kate’s bras look as beautiful in the highest sizes.)

The Ella is discontinued but also shares the feature of being more stretchy in the top section, though not quite as much as the Emily. 

If you can’t find the Ella on Brastop, the Flirtelle Dahlia style is the exact same bra as the Curvy Kate Ella, but in continuity colors.

Lottie

This is another newer style, one whose popularity has surprised me a bit. I personally don’t think it is as flattering as the other styles; the huge sheer section doesn’t look nearly as nice in the highest cup sizes as it does in the smaller cup sizes.

The people I know who have tried the Lottie (I haven’t, since I don’t really like how it looks) have mixed reactions. Some love it, some find it gives an east-west look.

The fabric on the bottom sections of the Lottie is thick and firm, similar to the fabric on the bottom sections of the Flirtelle Sublime.

Tease Me/Thrill Me/Fleurty

These bras are constructed to give a really round shape. The size ranges are not as inclusive as the unpadded bras, but it’s still a great deal better than the miniscule size ranges other brands offer in padded bras. These bras are not marketed for everyday use (they're meant to be 'bedroom' bras), but lots of people (including myself) use them as T-shirt bras. I'm still hoping for a day when all the bra companies realize that the Thrill Me and Tease Me are exactly what many of us want for everyday use--colorful, cute, padded bras that give a round shape and don't cost and arm and a leg. 

Check out my posts here and here for my reviews of Showgirl bras.

Although those with full-on-top boobs are more likely to need to size up in the balconettes I talked about earlier, those with boobs that are fuller on the bottom are more likely to need to size up in these Showgirl half-cup styles because there is so much lift from the bottom. In general, the older colors of Thrill Me and Tease Me ran bigger than the more recent colors. This article "Thrill Me, Tease Me, Explain Me" on the Bratabase blog is useful for explaining these size differences.

The Fleurty is a new style, and so far the verdict I’ve heard is that it fits similarly to the Thrill Me and Tease Me, but maybe just a hair smaller—so if you’re close to busting out of your Thrill Me/Tease Me, you may want to get the next size up in Fleurty if it’s available.

The upcoming Entice style also is based on this same seam pattern.

Elegance/Tempt Me/Wild

The Elegance padded plunge bra was added to Curvy Kate’s continuity lines a few seasons back and I reviewed it here. Despite my failure to get a good fit in it, I remain fascinated by the Elegance. There is something about it that makes me want to buy it over and over. I think in a lot of ways, the Elegance represents the way in which Curvy Kate is truly superior to other brands at pushing the market and giving women who wear higher cup sizes the things that we really need and want. I guess I was surprised that the Elegance wasn't very hyped up and I haven't seen as many reviews of it as I would have expected, though there are a couple out there--Invest In Your Chest mentions it here, and A Sophisticated Pair did a detailed review.

The Showgirl Tempt Me and the upcoming Wild bra also have a similar shape.

Tempt Me

Tempt Me

Wild

The sizing for these plunge bras is challenging and weird. It seems like just about everyone, with any shape, needs to go up at least one cup size, maybe two or even three to fit in the Elegance or Tempt Me.

These plunges are also very wide-set and therefore better suited to people whose boobs have a bit more space between them. I personally found the Elegance dragged my boobs apart because it was just too wide-set for me. If I try again, I’ll try in a 30J (the biggest available size) and try to take in the center gore.

Daily Boost

This is a new style and unfortunately I haven’t tried it yet. It is different from the other padded bras in that the shape is based exactly on the shape of the unpadded bras so the seams follow a balconette shape.

I sort of fear this bra, personally—I worry that the padding would exacerbate the problems I’ve experienced in the tighter styles like Angel and Princess. If I do try it, I may size up in the cup to a 30J. You can see other bloggers’ reviews at Invest In Your Chest and Brood's Big Bras Blog.

Smoothie

This style won’t be available until July, but I wanted to mention it here because it is a totally new style. It’s not seamed like Curvy Kate’s other padded bras, but molded like the Freya Deco. 

I really like the animal print and I have a suspicion that this bra will sell fast if it is any good. I’ll definitely be getting one—I plan to try it in both 30HH and 30J and I will do a full review at that time.