I’d been planning to save this review until after I gave birth as I wanted to give a review of a bra I’ve actually used for nursing – but I’ve worn this SO much during pregnancy and honestly can’t recommend another bra more for this time, that the review had to come now. I might just update you all with another post once I’ve actually had the chance to try it for nursing too!
[GIFTED] The Sugar Candy Crush Seamless Nursing Bra was gifted for review in a size medium by Cake Maternity. It is available to buy for £43.90 on their website in sizes XS to XXL.
There are two things to note before we dive in:
- I’ve reviewed the non-nursing version of the Sugar Candy Fuller Bust bra in an XS pre-pregnancy here. The bras are very similar save for the nursing clips at the strap.
- I received this bra when I was around 20 weeks pregnant and started wearing it immediately. These photos are taken across two separate occasions – the set where I’m smaller are at 35 weeks pregnant; the bigger bump set are from today, at 39 weeks pregnant (yes, only a week until due date, eek!). In the sizing section below, I’ll talk about how it’s worked all the way through this time range.
Shape & Appearance
The Sugar Candy bras, in general, have a sporty, crop top like appearance. Rather than being traditionally bra shaped with defined cup sections, seams and wires, it has a simple bralette-like aesthetic that’s smooth and natural.
The cups are seam free on the exterior, only joined at the centre of the neckline where the gore would be in a normal bra, but the interior of the cup is expertly constructed to provide a high level of support.
Like most nursing bras, it has clips at the top of the cups so it can be dropped down, and a sling of folded fabric down the side of the cup to retain the frame of the bra while nursing. Below this is another layer of folded stretch fabric that runs horizontally along the bottom of the bra, parallel to the band. This provides an extra level of support which is very necessary in a fuller busted crop top style – the overall effect of these two interior pieces scoops breast tissue upwards and holds it nicely in place in the cups without the need for wires that could dig into expanding tissue.
The cups are described as “moulded”, however this isn’t in the sense of the word you would expect with moulded foam – as you can see from the image of the bra laying flat, the strong stretch fabric of the cups has been moulded so that it provides a good level of depth and projection.
The “gore” section of the bra as well as bridge below the cups but above the band has been moulded into a ribbed fabric that’s stronger and sturdier than the cups to provide more shape without using non-stretch fabrics or seams. The band itself is also ribbed, but is made out of a different jersey that’s overlocked in place. Overall, it’s a very sturdy bra without looking it, using clever construction for a high level of support while still remaining natural in shape. It pushes the breast tissue forwards so that the wide dipped neckline actually has a good level of cleavage.
In addition to the clever construction, the Sugar Candy nursing bra also has wonderful details that elevate it to a more interesting style. I adore a good grey marl fabric as I think it always has that cozy and comforting impression, but this one is lifted with a bold red foldover elastic along the neckline and underarms which adds to that sporty vibe. The hooks and eyes (of which there are a lot – 6 rows of 3 sets of hooks!) and the rings and sliders are all in a matching bold red.
It also has the added bonus of velvet strap elastic which gives it a slightly more luxe feel. These straps are fully adjustable and can be worn both normally or racerback style thanks to the J hook.
Size, fit & comfort
This is where things get interesting! As I said, I previously wore the Sugar Candy bra in a size XS – something very unusual for my fuller busted size! As I knew my size would expand with pregnancy and nursing, I chose to size up twice in this bra and picked the medium – according to their size chart, this is designed to fit around a 32H to 34F-GG. The bra has the ability to fit such a size range due to the stretch and flexibility in the cups, as well as the number of hooks on the band.
When I received the bra, I was wearing a 30H – at this time, I fastened the band on the tightest hooks and found the cups nicely spacious. I’ve worn it through expanding up to a 32GG/H around 20-28 weeks, then 34H from around 28 weeks onwards. The time I found most difficult in terms of getting well-fitting bras was about 30-35 weeks – here I technically measured around a 32H, but I wore 34Hs because my rib cage had expanded so that 32s were feeling a bit tight, and H cups because I want to be prepared for expansion afterwards. My bump started to drop around 36 weeks, and I’m now comfortably wearing 32 bands again at 39 weeks as someone’s little feet have moved out my ribcage a bit!
Throughout this whole time, the Sugar Candy nursing bra has fit me wonderfully. Where I had a small bit of room for expansion when it first arrived, I’ve now grown into it. I’m currently wearing it (almost daily!) on the loosest hooks for comfort, but I could feasibly wear it a little tighter. The cups are now a perfect, smooth fit with a good level of uplift and support. I think I could potentially get another cup size or two out of this bra, so hopefully it will continue to fit me through nursing too. That’s an impressive feat, covering 30H all the way up to 34H, and potentially more!
Honestly, I’m a huge fan of the Sugar Candy range of bras – they fit wonderfully across a range of sizes (up to a 42G), they’re wonderfully comfortable, and they can stretch to fit when you’re changing cup size. I’m hoping to try the Lux version in future too, which has lace detailing across the top of the cup, and I’ve just spotted Cake Maternity’s Lotus Hands Free Pumping Bra too which sounds amazing!
Hey, I’m currently a 32H at 9w3d and I was just wondering if you would reccomend getting a large?
Hi Courtney, I’d say a large is probably a good bet for you as it’s likely your rib cage will expand at least one size (or 3, if you’re like me!) and your cup size will get a good couple of sizes larger at least too. The large should probably fit you just about alright at this stage too with the hooks on the tightest setting too 🙂