I’m aware of how ridiculously all over the place my reviews are right now – 22 weeks pregnant one post, getting married and not pregnant in another, then 32 weeks in the next – sorry! That’s what first trimester does to you, apparently! And now I’m back with another pre-pregnancy review, although…technically I am pregnant in these photos – I just didn’t know it yet! I actually took these photos along with another set (to come soon!) and felt pretty unhappy with them – they just weren’t right. This happens quite a bit – apparently I have very exacting standards for my photos and they very rarely reach them – but I try to post them anyway since I know we’re not all perfect and I think it’s right to show those photos still. As it turns out, I think I didn’t like these photos at the time because I was already starting to feel a little bit yuck, even at just 5 weeks pregnant, putting me into a negative mindset to start with. In reality, they’re not that bad!
Anyway – these photos were taken at the end of June last year. At the time I had a pretty packed schedule planned of blog posts, ideas and reviews for the summer months, but pregnancy but a big stopper in all of that – first trimester absolutely knocked me for six and all those reviews were put on the backburner. Nevertheless, I still wanted to share them as many of these sets are still available, and even better, are on sale now!
One series/big post I had planned was all about the different bralettes I’d tried recently for a DD+ bust and how well they all worked in comparison to one another. I might try and still get this done if I can manage it as I’ve amassed a bit of a collection now. I’ve even found one from Neon Moon that’s worked for my larger pregnancy size! Anyway – story for another day!
The Gossard Superboost Lace Deep V Bralette (currently £25.99) was provided for review.
Shape & Appearance
The first thing to say about the Gossard Superboost lace bralette is that it’s a bit of a misnomer – I wouldn’t say this is truly a bralette. Maybe it might be useful to write a post on the different types of bras and bralette styles one day? I would say that a bra type garment with an underwire doesn’t technically count as a bralette. Instead I’d say that this one, with its underwire, is a longline unpadded front fastening plunge bra. The confusion lies in the fact that several of these elements – from the lack of padding and structure in the cup, to the longline and the front fastening to allow a racerback style in the back – are common elements in bralettes. While you can’t really call it a true bralette, I think it’s an excellent compromise between a bra and a bralette for larger sizes.
Despite the underwires, this does look very much like bralette in terms of its casual shape and appearance. Instead of cups that are sectioned into different parts and seamed, it simply has a dart up the centre of the simple triangle cup piece. I find this shape, particularly alongside the deep plunge, very tricky to find in larger sizes, so it’s nice to see one that goes up to a G cup, even if it isn’t specifically designed for a larger size range. This cup doesn’t provide a huge amount of support or uplift, if any at all – it’s a very natural and relaxed shape for me.
The colour of this set is described as “apricot”, however I’d say veers more on the side of dusky pink than this – to me, apricot has a hint of pale orange to it. It’s feminine and romantic, beautifully complimenting the pretty scalloped lace, which extends from the cups onto the centre of the longline band and is also used in the racerback. I like to think of this bralette as ballet inspired – I think it would look wonderful as outerwear with a tulle skirt, although probably a little too sheer for regular wear!
The other unusual aspect about this bra that gives it the bralette-like appearance is the band. Not only is it longline (which many people assume equals bralette in itself), but it also fastens in the front. It’s strangely difficult to find this in DD+ lingerie and makes a lovely change and an excellent solution for a problem I have. Personally I have trouble finding bras to wear under open or low back garments – I love wearing this style but often find I need something for support or coverage at the front, so I turn to bralettes that don’t have an obvious bra-type hook and eye fastening in the back – instead, they often have a block of mesh, a racerback or an interesting strappy fastening. The problem is that many of these lack the support I’m looking for due to a lack of underwires or a lack of DD+ sizing. This bralette has been a very good solution to this – I’ve been happy to show off the lace racerback and mesh band under a low back top multiple times in this and feel “normal”.
Size, fit & comfort
As Gossard’s sizing for the Superboost Lace Deep V Bralette begins at a 32 band, I chose to try this in a 32FF, a sister size to my usual Gossard size of 30G. The size range encompasses 32-38 B-G.
Personally, while I love Gossard’s designs for being more fashion forward than a lot of brands that offer bras in a larger size range, I don’t believe that they’re all that well designed for bra sizes above a DD. They’re not bad – in fact, I really enjoy wearing a lot of them! – but they’re not graded in the way that a DD+ specific brand would do so. I’m not complaining as I’m happy that there’s a brand with fun and cute designs that offers DD-G as part of their standard range, but it’s worth bearing in mind. It’s something you can see in the width of the wires – which you can see are definitely on the wide side for me here – and the depth of the cups, which is often shallow. Luckily, with this being a more relaxed cup, it doesn’t necessarily need that additional cup depth as there is some stretch to the cup.
The relaxed bralette style of the cups means it’s also easier to fit in terms of cup size than most bras. I actually managed to wear this through early pregnancy, even when I was heading up towards a 32H, thanks to this and it remained comfortable throughout. The deep plunge may not be compatible with some types of breast shape, such as if you’re very full in the centre or have soft tissue which may cause you to spill into the middle, but it works very well if you’re looking for a bra to wear under low necklines – this can be very tricky in DD+ lingerie!
The downside to the front fastening is that it’s not adjustable like a normal set of hook and eye fastenings would be – there’s only one row of hooks. This isn’t a major issue, but considering that I’d already had to size up to a 32 band (from my usual 30 in Gossard), it would be nice to have a smaller band or the option to tighten it. Nevertheless, I don’t experience it riding up in the back throughout the day.
Interestingly, the straps are actually adjustable in this bra, even if that’s only a small section of them between the lace top of the racerback and the cup – the apex reaches my shoulder, so it’s only a short distance, but there is some adjustment to be made!
I’m also wearing the matching lace short (currently £12.50) in a size medium – this size range runs from XS to XXXL. These fit my usual size 12 hips very well and are comfortable. The matching lace and mesh to the bra is very complimentary, although I would like the option for a brief as well as a short.
You look absolutely gorgeous!
The bra set really emphasis your curves (all very much in the right places)