Bra Review: Gorteks Marilyn, EU 65G

Good afternoon!  I have a review I’m excited to share today.  For those keeping track, I’ve been desperately searching for a beige unlined bra to function as a nude for me during warm summer months.  I’ve searched all the UK brands and both Comexim and Ewa Michalak and not found anything that fits and is functional.  So I decided to branch out and try a brand I could find very little information on.  I found no measurements or reviews for this particular bra so it was a total shot in the dark!  I took a chance… you know… for bra science 😉

Gorteks is a Polish bra that uses EU sizing, so this 65G translates to a UK 30F.  After waiting 2 agonizing weeks for the international shipment to arrive, I finally got to try it on!

Not bad!!  I was sure it would be wide and shallow, as all bras are until proven otherwise.  I measured this at 5.25″ wide and 9.5″ deep. In person, I find this bra quite pretty, and the straps are super soft & comfortable.  It also has a sparkly charm at the gore, which is perfect.  Without it, the bra would be 100% utilitarian, as there’s no extra bows or frilly trim or anything.  The seams are fairly flat and the cup fabric is flat.  Online it looked like lace, but in person it actually looks like a patterned mesh.  Whatever it is, I’m just happy it doesn’t stick up from the cup and show through thin shirts.

Something you may notice right away is the very tall gore.  The wire channels actually touch at the top, so it is narrow, but it is 3.5″ tall.  My breasts touch at the top, and you can tell how the sides of the gore are pressing into breast tissue.  Thankfully the wires are fairly soft and flexible. I think that’s what is saving the tall gore from stabbing my sternum.  The bra is marketed as a balconette, but the cups are very full coverage.  In this case, that is fine with me as I don’t want cleavage or anything in this kind of bra.  The whole point of it is to literally disappear!

You can see from the side view the wires follow my root pretty closely and there is good projection in the bottom of the cup.  The shape is almost too closed on top for even my short roots.  My right breast is slightly smaller and perfectly happy.  I think if the gore was a bit shorter, the top of the cup wouldn’t press in on lefty. As it is, it only barely cuts inso I’m not too worried about it.

The band is a true 30. I have it clasped on the middle hooks on me, but could easily be closed on the tightest.  Depending on how fast it stretches out, it may need altered before too long.  The strap placement is comparable to Ewa – fairly wide and likely bothersome for those with narrow shoulders.  It has longer wires than Comexim but shorter wings than Panache.  The cups are not in my armpits, but your mileage may vary.

From this angle, you can see how my right breast fits just fine, and you can also see where the wires are about 1cm below my IMF.  I have worn this bra all day and didn’t find the projection severely lacking, but I did find myself pulling it back up a couple of times.  Sadly, bras that have enough projection at the underwire for my pendulous shape are few and far between, and I wasn’t expecting a miracle with this one.

The entire cup is slightly stretchy, and I find that it provides less uplift and a more natural shape than, say… Cleo and their ultra-round basketball boobs.  But it’s not pointy, and that’s a big deal to me.  I cannot stand a pointy shape.  Overall, I would recommend this bra for very specific shapes. It’s definitely best for someone who can tolerate a tall gore & wider set straps, and who has short roots or is definitely FOB.  I can’t envision these cups getting along with upper fullness.  For me, it will serve a purpose, but I can’t promise I’m 100% done looking!! 😉

I found my Gorteks Marilyn on eBay from The Other Eden lingerie shop.  It’s also available in white and black.  What do you think?  Do you have any experience with Gorteks?

Thanks for stopping by!  I have a lot of new goodies to review so look for another update by the end of the week 🙂

Bra Review: Freya Deco Strapless, 32E

The quest for a usable strapless continues.  Back today with a review of a bra I’ve previously owned in a different size, sold, and now purchased again!  Strapless bras are, by design due to simple gravity, a shape mismatch for my narrow and projected breasts.  Without straps, cups have to be wide, shallow, tall, and likely stiff and bands have to be tight to hold the bra up and keep breasts contained and close to the chest wall.  That said, I’ve always been on the hunt for the “least evil” of the strapless world, because it really is a summer wardrobe staple for me.  I’m not going to let genetics define what I can and cannot wear, and you can pry my spaghetti strap tanks and strapless shirts and dresses from my cold, dead hands.

I sold my EM Mclezny because I couldn’t stand how stiff and shallow it was.  I expect a level of stiffness, but it was basically unfinished plywood and very uncomfortable.  I debated about returning to the Deco for a while, and when I saw one in a sister size pop up at a reasonable price on eBay, I finally gave in.

Let me backtrack and talk about my first Deco to help my readers better understand why I bought the size I did the second go around.  My first Deco strapless was a 28F.  Deco runs big in the cups, and that’s not a bad size for me.  Volume wise, it was okay.  The band was pure torture.  Unlike other Freya bras, the Deco strapless runs very tight in the band, and its wings are very tall and have plastic side boning. I have rib flares. I couldn’t wear it for longer than an hour at a time without being in serious pain from the boning stabbing me in the ribs.

My ideal size in Deco strapless is a 30E.  However, Deco retails for $66-69 full price.  I can’t justify spending that much on a bra that is a guaranteed poor fit, so I settled for an eBay 32E.  It is too large for me all over, in both band and cup, but because it is too big in the cups, it actually helps it work.  With more room in the cup than I need, my narrow and pendulous breasts can kind of just “swim” in there instead of fighting the bottom of the cup for room and I find it stays closer to my IMF for a longer period of time.  Let’s take a look.

From the front, it doesn’t look too bad!  The bottom of the gore is floating, but the top of the gore tacks.  The cups are tall and in my armpits, but at least they are very soft.  The whole bra is very soft and comfortable.  I really do love the material all Decos are made from.  And it’s beige and seamless, which is a big perk considering most of my summer tops are very light, both in color and weight.

From the side, we see the problems.  The wires are far too wide for my root, measuring at 5.75,” and the band is crawling up my back.  Surprisingly, the underwires are fairly close to my IMF, which I assume is only possible because the cups are too big.  If I’d get my hand out of the way (no idea what I was doing here lol!) you’d better be able to see all the gapping and empty space at the tops of the cups, which are just too dang tall for my short roots.  It’s especially bad if I cross my arms or lean forward.

From an angle, we can see evidence of minor wrinkling in the bottom of the cups, but at least I’m not folding them in half.  You can also see the shadows the gapping creates (and how high my waist is on my torso).  What I don’t see and much appreciate is the side boning digging into my flared ribs like the nightmare 28F did.  Due to the cup height, I have to really pay attention to my tanks and make sure the tops of the cups are not sticking out of my shirt, but for the most part my tanks are cut higher than this bra.  I am very low set on my chest and have never met a bra that obviously sticks out of any of my shirts, so this will not be the case for anyone whose bust is high set and tends to have trouble with gores and cups showing under low cut shirts.  I’m afraid these cups would be on display all the time.

And…. the band.  Oh dear.  It’s hooked on the tightest hooks here, with room to spare.

To sum up:  It’s comfortable.  It’s beige.  It’s too tall, but it disappears under my clothes.  I can’t decide if I care enough to alter the band.  I have to pull the bra back into position several times a day.  It’s not the worst strapless bra I’ve ever tried. It does its job.

For shallow breasts, the world is your oyster.  Buy the strapless bras.  Buy them all.  For us projected ladies, we have to settle.  It’s a simple fact of life.  My mission is to find the best of the bad ones, and share my experiences.  And sadly (?), this really is the best strapless bra I’ve ever tried.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Bra Review: Ewa Michalak CH Biszkopty, 55GG (altered)

Today I’m changing brands!  I’ve discovered a new half cup style, and I really like it.  Ewa Michalak (EH-vah mee-HAHL-ack, in case you were wondering how to say it) is the other major player in the Polish bra scene.  I had never tried any EM bras due to the fact that in my size range, their cups tend to measure wider than I need.  But I got my hands on a couple of CH cut bras, and am pleasantly surprised.  The CH cut is Ewa’s narrowest, most projected padded half cup style.  It is discontinued so the bras I manage to acquire and will review on this blog are all secondhand.

The Biszkopty (don’t ask me how to pronounce that word) is a simple beige bra, with two vertical seams and a little bit of frilly trim along the edges of the cups.  Mine is a size 65FF (UK 30FF) that has an altered band from a previous owner.  Following the rule of sister sizes, the shortened band makes my bra actually measure like a 55GG (UK 26GG). Let’s take a look at her:

Simple, yet pretty.  The straps are fully adjustable.  The beige color works well on my skin.  True to the nature of the CH half cup style, the cups are quite low coverage and very open on top.  Note: I do need to wear an extender with this bra because the band is too tight to comfortably close around my 27.5″ ribcage.

You can see from the side view how narrow and immediately projected the cups are.  You can also see how wide set the straps are, even more so than my Sonia.  I have very broad shoulders, but I can see this being a problem for those who do not.  However, the Biszkopty’s straps are convertible in the back, so the option is there to wear it as a cross back bra.  I have very low set boobs, so in my case, the straps are not long enough to cross in the back.

The Biszkopty fabric is very soft and flexible.  This flexibility provides less lift than other bras I have tried, but the shape is still projected and rounded.  I’m going to review another Ewa CH bra next that is a cup size smaller than this bra, but actually provides more lift due to the stiffer fabric.

What isn’t showing very well in my pictures is the small gaps at the top of the cup I get, especially on my smaller side.  This is due to the cup being very open at the top and, despite how it may appear, probably slightly too big for me.  It’s not so big it’s unworkable though.  While I still consider Comexim my go-to brand, for now I’m really liking the shape (and cleavage 😉 I get from the Ewa CH style and excited to try a couple more.

A friend and fellow blogger, PetiteCollegiate, is also a big fan of the CH cut, and you can find more reviews of it on her blog!

Bra Review: Lulu Tout Madeleine, 30FF

I’m so backed up on reviews dear friends, and I promise eventually I will get caught up.  I have a stack waiting for me!  Today’s gem is Madeleine.

Lulu Tout is a Figleaves brand, and the Madeleine is a molded tee shirt bra available in nude and black. The material is very soft and comfortable, and the bra is beautifully detailed. There’s a stretch lace overlay along the bottom and sides of the cup that extends part way up the straps, and beautiful sheer striped bows at the gore and at the top of the lace overlay on the strap. The strap slider adjusters and ring are a rose gold toned metal, and the lace overlay covers the full band and extends onto the wings. There’s a small ruffle detail all the way around the bottom of the band. This bra is detailed in a way I’ve only previously seen from Tutti Rouge and Curvy Kate, and it takes the “nude tee shirt” bra to a different level. This is not a boring bra. It’s sexy in it’s own subtle way, and that’s hard to accomplish for a wardrobe staple like a nude bra. And Figleaves manages to accomplish all of this in a way that still allows the bra to be invisible under tee shirts!

On to the specifics.

The band – this is a quite firm band. My 30 band measures 23″ and 28″ stretched, which is fantastic for me, but if you are a true 30 you might want to size up, or have an extender handy. It is stretchy in a way that suggests it will break in some with wear, but not overly stretchy. After a couple of months of ownership, I still clasp it on the loosest hooks and it feels very secure. I wish it had 3 rows of hooks, but I wish that about almost every bra.

The cups are moderate width, and the wires are soft but not as flexible as Freya wires. I’d say they’re in between Freya’s wires and Panache’s wires-of-steel. The gore is quite high on me, but I don’t find it uncomfortable.  This bra is pretty full coverage as a result, though.

This bra is moderately projected, which is very projected in comparison to 99.99% of all UK molded tee shirt bras. If you’re extremely projected or very full on top, this bra will likely not work for you. I am very projected, and you can see in a couple of pictures where I start to fold over the bottom of the foam cups a little.  I will say this is much less of a problem in this bra than any other UK molded bra I can think of, including the Freya Deco, Parfait Casey, and Parfait Jeanie.

In a nutshell, I’d say Madeleine is an affordable, little known option that I’d really recommend trying for most everyone who has had no luck with the common, shallow molded bras available on the market today.