Rhea by Masquerade

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I've heard nothing but great things about Rhea by Masquerade. It's supposed to be amazing for shallow breasts and for full on top breasts. I've had my eye on various Masquerade bras for a while, but this was one I especially wanted to try out. I picked up a used one on Ebay for pretty cheap, and it's in great condition. The picture above is the color option that I have; it seems to be a Bravissimo-only option. The bra itself is a three part vertical seamed cup. I find that bras like this generally work for me, and they give excellent shape. This bra has a satin outer lining, and intricate lace across the top of the cups and the band. It also has zigzag seaming on the cups and straps, which I think is a nice extra detail.  

 Oh snap cleavage.

Pros:

• Good quality; nice materials 
• Pretty details!
• Surprisingly close to a neutral underneath clothing - I wore it under a creme and grey top and it didn't show
• Cleavage, yay! 
• Good for shallow/full on top breasts
• Wonderful globe like shape

Cons:

• Half adjustable straps - they fall off easily. 
• The lace is a little stiff -it kind of gapes
• Gore is too wide and pokes into my breast tissue
• Wires are not quite wide enough on the sides for me- they cut in a little bit

Lauren Half Cup by Freya

I thought I would try this out because it looked like a more elegant version of the typical half cup from Freya. It has a light texture-based pinstripe on the cups, and lace details on the straps and along the seams. The straps are made from black satin, rather than the textured elastic that normal freya half cups have for straps. However, unlike the older freya half cups, it has a microfiber like cloth trim above the main part of the cups, and it is a bit fuller coverage than a normal Freya half cup. It also has a large black bow in the center, and matching bows on the straps. 

Apologies for terrible photos, the iphone knows I hate it and it doesn't want to cooperate. 

Pros: 

• It's a half cup in black that doesn't poke much underneath tops
• Pinstripe pattern 
• Nice materials
• Comfortable 
• Supportive 

Cons:

• Fuller coverage than normal Freya half cup - gapes sometimes 
• Less great shape than some half cups I've tried 
• The straps are too large for the rings connecting the straps to the band - might wear out early because of that 

Ashlee Half Cup by Freya

This is definitely my favorite t-shirt bra at the moment. I purchased it on a whim from Ebay since it was a good deal, even though it's the sister size up from what I generally wear in Freya. Unfortunately, it doesn't actually come in my actual size for Freya, so 32F is as good as it's going to get (In case you're wondering, Freya runs about 2 inches larger than whatever the band size says it is. It's annoying, but at least it's consistent.)

It does press into breast tissue in the gore, but it isn't painful 

Pros:

• Half cup t shirt bra!! 
• Low cut 
• Pattern is cute, although not particularly pronounced 
• Lace isn't an issue under shirts 
• Good support 

Cons:

• Push up pads in the bottom - less room in the cups 
• Wide straps 
• Gapes a tiny bit in one cup and I quadboob in the other. 

Juna By Cleo Review

I have been in love with this bra as an idea since I first saw it on Asos about a year ago. It has pretty much everything I like in a bra: simplicity, elegance, femininity... reasonable price. Plus it comes in solid colors, unlike the Freya half cups. I like solid color bras because they are easier to match with underwear. I feel weird if my undies are too chaotically mismatched. 

So first off, the pictures are absolutely terrible because I'm using an iPhone instead of my beloved and dead Samsung Galaxy S4.

I absolutely hated this bra the first time I wore it. It gaped on the side of my smaller breast, regardless of how I adjusted it. The gaping could be seen through my shirt, even. The gore, in its natural state, is far too high for me. My breasts are very close set in the middle, and most half cup gores end up being too high for me. I had the unlucky mistake of wearing it for the first time on a day when I *had* to be at work for 13 hours. I ended up almost crying on the phone to the boyfriend that this bra was biting me. 

Since that night, I've made a few alterations that have made it comfortable. I bent the wires so it's a little bit more shallow. It got rid of the gaping issue, at least if I have good posture. I also pushed the wires away from the gore - it stops them from poking me in the chest. 

Pros: 

• Cute design
• Good shape for shallow breasts 
• Nice shape under clothing 
• Doesn't really show underneath clothing

Cons: 

• Not fully adjustable - the straps are just barely the right size. 
• High gore
• SUPER itchy tag 
• Wide straps 

Tips on how to get hard to find sized bras for cheap

Although I have a steady job and income, I still like to cut costs anywhere I can. I was raised to be a saver. I have NEVER paid full price for a bra. I pretty much never pay full price for anything. Except one pair of running shoes.
Once.

Keep in mind, these tips well work less well if your size is harder to find. I'm lucky enough to have lots of options. Also, I am US based, so my thought process is geared towards US residents :)

Ideas for getting great deals if you have no idea what your size is and what works for you:
/r/braswap

• Check Amazon. They have free returns via UPS, and it's either 30 or 60 days from when it shipped. They have a pretty wide selection, but make sure that whatever you're purchasing is eligible for free returns. There ARE non-Amazon vendors on there and they don't tend to offer free returns :) 

• Asos offers free shipping and free returns. It can be a bit hard to figure out your size if you are based in the US, but BrasIhateAndLove wrote a post explaining how the sizing works. The smallest band they offer is 30, as a note. 

• Nordstrom's offers free shipping and returns, and they have a few yearly sales. They have a pretty large selection online, but their in person options can be pretty meager above UK E/F cup. The smallest band they offer is a 30. When I've been to a store, there's usually Freya but no other UK large cup brands. I saw Panache once, but they had nothing in my size range. Nordstrom Rack tends to have a few large cup/small bands bras too (although their prices are better in person). 

• Figleaves is another good resource. They offer shipping to the US for $5 and it's about $3 to return. They have a huge selection compared to the other sites I listed, and generally their prices are really good. They tend to have revolving 20-30% sales, and seasonal sales. 

If you know what you want: 

• Ebay has some pretty remarkable deals. Just search for your size, or the brand you want, and set the location to worldwide, and you will find some very cheap bras. People often sell their used bras on ebay too, just make sure to look at the pictures before buying :) Ebay adds their insurance to all transactions. I'm not entirely sure what that entails, but I haven't had any issues with Ebay since the early 2000s when I was buying used video games. Nifty tip: you can have Ebay email you when it finds items that match a search you did by saving the search. I have searches set up for specific bra brands + price ranges + sizes :D

• Bratabase lets the users list their bras for sale/swap/give away. They will pay for your shipping if you are selling or swapping. Pretty good deal, in my opinion. 

• r/BraSwap Pretty much the same idea as Bratabase, just less organized and no help on paying for shipping. You can definitely find gems here, but you have to just like with Bratabase you definitely have to feel trusting of people. 

General online shopping notes:

• I always sign up for newsletters, and send them to a secondary email. It's an easy way to find out about sales/deals :) 
• If you're using a credit card to make purchases, check if your card gives extra points for whichever retailer you are using. You might be surprised by how many retailers offer referral points. 
• Sister sizing can be your friend. My preferred size is 32F in brands that run true to size, but I still generally search for 30FF when looking at sizing, since sometimes there can be surprise deals. 

Good luck, and happy bra hunting :) 

Marina Half Cup by Freya

I am not in love with the print on this particular half cup. Something about the print looks vaguely animal like to me. Kind of like a bird covered in paint rubbed itself all over the bra, and then they attached lace to it. Other people like it, but I find it to be unattractive. HOWEVER, it was a good deal, and I am super cheap. So I bought it. I tend to be on the fence about most Freya prints, but they have been a lot more interesting the last few seasons. 

Looks fine from the front, the gore tacks and no quad boobing. 

I think the shape looks good from the front and the side. It's rounded and uplifted, and it fits my shape well.

This is kind of your average freya half cup, in that it works well for my shape but it's ugly. Freya by far is the best fitting brand for my shape that I have run across. Even though I hate how the print looks, the comfort and the fit outweighs the look. Once I moved the center gore wires, it fits perfectly. It's one of the bras I wear the most. 

Pros:

• Fully adjustable straps 
• Good shape from the side and the front
• Comfortable
• Good for shallow/wide breasts 

Cons:

• Thick straps
• The print
• High center gore 

Sweet Blush by Evollove

I purchased this from Asos, mostly because they have a good return policy and I hadn't tried this brand before. And it looks super cute. I am a sucker for pretty pictures.

The color is what I would describe as raspberry. It's a deep red/purple. with relatively low saturation. The pictures don't do it justice, mostly because the iPhone I'm using seems to take really bright pictures. Hurray. 

You can tell here that my breasts are pretty separated. I don't like how they are pointed off to the sides. The seems on the outside of the cups give the optical illusion of my breasts pointing in opposite directions. Not so good. 

Looks alright here but the shape is less round than I prefer.

Here you can see that my breasts actually look a bit saggy. It seems like the apex of the bra is too low for my breasts, and the top of the cup cuts into my breasts a bit because it isn't open enough. The bottom of the cup felt filled, at least on the side of my larger breast.

I think this would be a good bra for someone less full on top.


Pros:

• Thin straps - I like thin straps because they tend to fit my frame better and I don't need much support from the straps anyway. 
• Soft memory foam style cups with microfiber on the outside. This is nicest feeling cup I've seen on a D-G brand. 
• Pretty color and delicate details. 
• Runs true to size 
• Low wings 

Cons:

• Not the best shape from the side. 
• Looks kind of east west from the front. 
• Straps are NOT fully adjustable 
• Rubs in the armpit area

Laura Padded Bra - Parfait by Affinitas

Hurray for being seduced by pretty pictures. I had heard that Parfait by Affinitas is good for shallow breasts, but I wonder if they just meant the half cups. I love how this looks on the model, but it's positively terrible on me. So according to all those bust calculators, and like.. math, I should fit a 32FF. So that's what I ordered this in, since I heard this brand runs small. Turns out it probably didn't matter, since this cut is terrible for my shape.

Seems like it's an OK fit here, but it's still not great.

You can see here that it's empty at the bottom and that it gapes at the top. 

Looks even less filled at the bottom, and you can see here how high the wings run. At that height, it runs too high to actually be comfortable. It also has side boning, which some people are very partial to. 

So I have classic computer guy posture. I'm a software developer by trade, and I hunch my shoulders pretty terribly. I tend to spend the last few hours of my work day like this. The minute I do, all illusion of this bra fitting disappears. I don't know why I thought this fit, but it really doesn't. I'm a fool sometimes. 

In short:
Pros:

• Nice color- I personally am very partial to navy because I think it is less harsh than black and looks nice on my skintone. 
• Firm band that seems to run true to size in 32F
• Side boning- good for support and keeping things where they should be

Cons:

• High gore - gave me blisters almost 
• Very high wings 
• Rough edges on pretty much everything.The boning drew blood since I ended up wearing it for 13 hours on the first day I wore it. 
• Stiff cups 
• The foam feels rather.. cheap. 

Overall, I don't like it. It doesn't fit. If I could have returned it before I wore it, I would have. But I couldn't, yay Zulilly. I guess it's my fault for being unsure what size to order. 

Rive Gauche Half Cup T-Shirt Bra By Chantelle

I actually own this in two colors, cappuccino and sunshine, both in 32DDD(32F Euro). The cappuccino color is a nice neutral, latte like color but with a bit more grey. I like it SO much more than the normal nude color because of the low saturation. Something about that weird light tan nude color a lot of bras are made in just rubs me the wrong way. The sunshine color, as seen below, is yellow but with a bit more gold than the picture seems to imply. I absolutely adore this bra. 

Too bad it doesn't really fit anymore. 

It gives nice shape from the front, not east-west at all. It's sort of minimized, raised, and evened out. It looks wonderful underneath shirts, very natural. The lace is also invisible underneath t-shirts, as are all the other details. If you look at the photo below, you can see that it has two separate straps, both of which with tiny cute stitching. 

From the side, you can see that it gives me a little bit of pushup, like a less dramatic version of the stock photos. I suppose if I could shorten the straps any further I could get more, but they are shortened as much as they can be. 

From the side, it gives a very nice shape. It's rounded and uplifted. 

From the front, it looks like it fits. The gore tacks, and although there is slight quadboob on one side, it's not bad enough to be noticed by anyone but me. The main reason why I feel this doesn't fit anymore is that it is painful on the side of my bigger breast now. 

In short: 

Pros:

• So cute! And not tacky or childish feeling! 
• Well made and very comfortable when it fits 
• Good shape 
• Invisible underneath clothing 
• Great for shallow 
• Available for cheapo on ebay 
• Thin straps and only two hooks

Cons: 

• Straps are NOT fully adjustable. 
• Only goes up to DDD/F
• Straps are rather wide set

Marcie By Cleo Review

Now doesn't that look lovely on her? Such a nice bright blue, and such pretty details. I even like the contrasting pink bow. I've heard a lot about this bra on reddit/bra blogs. It's supposed to be good for shallow and full on top breasts, both of which I think I qualify as. 

 So I when I saw it on amazon for $26 in 32F, I ordered it. I think it's a little bit too small on my larger breast, and it more or less fits on the smaller one. I don't think you can really tell from the picture, but I'm stretching the top out of shape completely because there isn't enough space. I don't think it would be noticeable underneath a shirt, but it's still off putting enough that I ended up returning it. In addition, the gore is poking into breast tissue because it goes up too high. I find that to be my biggest issue with fit at this point; I find that most bras give me blisters at the gore because of rubbing :(

Side view of the bulging. To me it seemed absolutely awful, but maybe it wasn't as bad as it seemed.  I didn't end up liking this bra enough to order it in a larger size. I suspect that if I ordered it in a larger size, it wouldn't be able to give me the rounded shape that I want.

Freya Patsy in Peacock

I purchased this in 30F, and I absolutely adore the way it looks. I've been teased by coworkers for having too many polka dot things. I have just about every item of clothing or accessory I can in polka dots, except a bra..until now.

Well, a few weeks ago. I got this from Asos when it went on sale, and my only regret is not sizing up at least a cup. Well my only main regret. I love how it looks from the front; it's very flattering, and it matches where my breasts naturally lie. Unfortunately, my breasts seem to press down the gore and make it lie lower on my chest because the gore is too wide. I tried pushing the wires out of the way to alleviate that, but I took these pictures before I had made that change. Worst come worst, I will just alter the gore by sewing it closer together. I got really bad blisters from the center gore when I wore it without moving the wires. I haven't tried it out since, though.

I really like how it looks from the side; my breasts look rounded and full. I think it looks very natural, and not at all pointy. One thing I really hate about most bras is that they seem to be overly pointy. I'm not sure why bra companies seem to like to make them so pointy. The shape I get from this bra is pretty much ideal, in my opinion.

I really like how my boobs look in this. I even seem to have cleavage, at least from the side. Unfortunately, this bra is not without its flaws. The straps are super wide, so if your shoulders are narrow set, which I think mine might be, it could be too wide for you. It's too wide for me,but I'm able to tolerate it. Barely. It bothers me quite a bit if I wear it the whole day. It's not as bothersome as the high gore though. On the bright side, it does have fully adjustable straps, which is a lovely feature that seems to be a bit rare. 

Overall, I love this bra, but it just doesn't fit as well as it could. I measure right now as a 32FF, so the size difference is probably why a large part of why I find this bra to be uncomfortable. I'm tempted to buy it again in a larger cup size (and possibly a larger band size). 

This is a mission statement

I have breasts that are slightly hard to fit. They're high on my chest. They're firm. They won't fill things up the way it bras seem to expect boobies to. I have tried on dozens upon dozens of bras in the last few months, ever searching for a good fit. Sometimes I think I find it. I'm usually wrong. Sometimes I'm able to return the offending bra before it's too late.

Other times, my foolishness and my desire for bra to work outweighs logic, and I am left with an ill fitting bra that I paid cash money for. Real cash money. :( I am a cheapass so this is the worst. The absolute worst.

So I'd like to share my boobie knowledge with the world. Let others gain from my failure! And my success, I guess. I GUESS.

It seems like there is an emphasis on 30 and below bands, and G+ when it comes to bloggers. I'm not really in either category, so I figure I still have some valuable things to contribute. I generally wear a 32 band and F or FF cup. That puts me in the interesting spot of having almost nothing available to try on in person in my size (at least in styles that suit my shape) but lots of options available for sale on the internet. The thing is though, it seems like there isn't much data on a lot of those options, anecdotal or otherwise. So I am going to attempt to contribute more data to the internet. Yay.

Typical bra fit issues:
-Straps that are too long
-Cups that go up too high
-Wings that are too high
-High gores

My current measurements are 38/28/38, but they seem to fluctuate a lot :'(