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.

Bra Review: Lulu Tout Fleur Rose 30FF

Sunday Funday!  Or that’s what they say, at least.  Today I am preparing for my nursing classes to start tomorrow, and trying to soak up some peace before life becomes crazy-go-nuts.  So pay attention all you super narrow and projected ladies!  This may be a bra for you.

IT’S PURPLE!!! I finally have a purple bra!!!! My favorite color. Lulu Tout is a Figleaves house brand, and judging from the lack of reviews or attention I see it get – it seems to be a brand that is overlooked.  I would tell anyone who is narrow rooted, projected, and wants grown-up options other than Cleo’s neon colors to check them out.

First off – keep in mind Lulu Tout bands run tight!! Order up a band size, and they start at 30 bands.  This 30 band barely stretches to 28″ – so this is a viable option for even sub-28 ribcages, as the middle and inner hooks are even tighter.  A fit note worth mentioning – these cups are rounded and do close off at the top.  If you have tall roots, this may be an issue if you’re not very full-on-bottom.  I have fairly even fullness, but I have quite short roots too, so this bra’s shape works nicely for me.

I love the aesthetics here. The sheer cups, the cutout gore detail, the rose lace overlay. The lace overlay is not attached to the sheer inner layer for whatever reason, and has a tendency to stick out. Since I took these pictures, I have tacked it down with a couple strategically placed stitches. The material is soft and not scratchy on my finicky skin.

The straps are NOT fully adjustable, and it seems like the adjustable part is shorter on these straps than other semi-adjustable straps I’ve met. This is fine for me, since my boobs are low set (pretty much attached to my belly button) and I almost always lengthen straps about as far as they can go, but if you have high set boobies and always find straps to be too long – skip this one or be prepared to alter the straps.

The wires are fabulously narrow – I measured 4.9″ – and the cups are deep. They are a 3 part cup with a vertical seam up the middle and a diagonal seam at the top. The gore is low, but the closed cups contain all my inner fullness that normally spills out of low plunges. The lift is wonderful and the shape is nice and round, once you get over or fix the stick-out lace. I plan on wearing this more during the cooler months when I layer clothes, because even with the lace tacked down, the pattern tends to show through thin garmets.  However, I’m so happy I found this one on clearance and gave it a shot.

This beauty is available on figleaves.com in a blue/nude colorway and also in black.  Normal price is about $40 USD.  At the time I purchased, the purple was a clearanced color for only $20, and was still available in a wide range of sizes.