Tutti Rouge is a brand that’s been on my radar ever since they burst onto the full busted lingerie scene – in fact, an image of their Betty bra featured in our first ever post and I reviewed it at Rebel Angel before this blog began. But sadly I haven’t had a great experience with their bras before recently – the Betty was a complete shape incompatibility for me (in both a 28FF and 28H) being much too shallow for my shape, and the Olivia (in a 28G) which I won through a competition a couple of years ago was very much the same (incidentally, I took photos and uploaded them to the blog but never got round to the review – see one here and note how the cups are pushing downwards on my body due to my shape being too projected for it). Both bras were also notably pretty tight in the band.
I recently received the Tutti Rouge Nichole to review from the lovely people at Brastop (a company I was always quick to recommend for beautiful bras at excellent value even before we worked with them). They also stock a range of other Tutti Rouge bras too.
Sometimes when we get things to review for the blog, we pick out a specific style we’d like to try; other times, we leave it up to the company to choose for us – like with our recent Curvy Kate reviews. This was one of the “surprise” piece reviews (I think they’re fun, and I am terrible at making decisions, so it’s nice to have someone else choose for me sometimes based on what they’ve seen on the blog). All I provided was my sizing info (around a 28GG/30G) and left it up to them. I was definitely pleasantly surprised by the gorgeous Nichole in a 30G – as I said, Tutti Rouge have been on my radar for a long time and I’ve lusted over many of their bras, this being one of them. You may have seen a sneaky peek of this bra on my Instagram (where my Restyle corset was the focus!), but onto the review proper:
Appearance & Shape
The one thing that you have to say about Tutti Rouge is how amazing their attention to detail is – note the pretty contrasting black “chain” lace around the underwires, the leopard print satin bow with embroidered heart, heart shaped sliders on the straps and custom printed fastening at the back with “Tutti Rouge”. As someone who’s just starting to really appreciate the detail that goes into bra making (as I have started doing so myself), I have to admit this is BEAUTIFUL!
The bra is a 3 part soft cup balconette bra with non stretch mesh cups. The bottom 2 sections of the cup are double layered for strength. I find the shape to be quite well rounded, particularly for a soft cup bra (I feel like I say this a lot recently – do I just review a lot of rounded shape bras?!), quite similar to the Cleo Marcie I believe (although I have only tried this briefly in a slightly wrong size). The fun “youngness” of this bra also reminds me of Cleo too. I feel like it gives me a pretty projected shape too, pushed front and forward rather than out to the side which is generally a look I prefer, but may not be for everyone.
I know I already mentioned the colours and the contrast between them, but seriously: look at it! Black and turquoise – gorgeous! Technically I think this might be the Powder Blue option, but it comes across more turquoise/aqua green to me. I’ve listed the other colour ways available at the bottom of the post.
Sizing, Fit & Comfort
I received the Tutti Rouge Nichole in a 30G – at first I was glad to see this remembering that previous Tutti Rouge bras I’ve tried in 28 bands have been on the tight side, so much so that on days where my costochondritis is bad I’ve been unable to wear them, and the 28H Betty I owned turned out to stretch only to 24 inches! (Note, this was when Tutti Rouge had only just started up). The Nichole however seems to be very much true to size as a 30 band, possibly even running a little on the large side. I have a resting 27 to 27.5 inch underbust, and I found the band to be too big – I would have been better in a 28GG in this bra. I’d recommend to stick to your usual underbust size for the Nichole. Fortunately, I can comfortably wear it on the tightest hooks (3 rows of 2 columns in this size) – it’s not ideal as it will have a shorter life for me, but it does mean it’s more comfortable on days where I have a sort ribcage.
Cupwise, this is a very good fit I would say. I find the cups to be much deeper than Tutti Rouge’s other styles that I’ve tried meaning that they have the right amount of projection for my shape, which is unusual for my shape and size in most UK brands actually!
I was a little concerned at first that the cups might be on the large side, but I believe it was because I didn’t have the straps tightened as much as I should have done. Usually I don’t have to tighten straps very much, but in this bra I have the sliders sitting right on top of my shoulders – I think this must mean that the straps are longer than most bras I wear, but fortunately they’re fully adjustable so the length should work for those that need long and short straps.
Before trying on the bra, I was also concerned that the tops of the cups may dig in since I have a full on top shape and the top panel of the cup is not stretchy, nor is the lace along the top. Strangely though, it accommodates my full on top shape perfectly – it must be fairly open along the top edge. I noticed from reading reviews that other bloggers including Two Cakes on a Plate (30GG) and Becky’s Boudoir (30GG), both of whom have a full on top shape too, have found that with this bra – excellent news for full on top shapes! I feel like I should draw parallels to the Cleo Marcie again here which is good for this shape and size range too.
One slight issue I do have with this bra is the gore – it is a very firm tack to my chest. At first I didn’t notice it, but after a day’s wear, I find that I’m pulling it away from my chest a bit to make it more comfortable. It’s not awful and painful (like the Panache Melody was for me), but it’s still worth noting.
I also received the briefs in a size small to complete the set. These are made from the same colour mesh as the bra with the black lace detailing too – the front panel is double layered and non stretch; the side and back panels are stretch powermesh. It’s worth noting the pretty bow and chain detail on the back of the briefs too (that sadly you can’t properly see in my pictures, sorry!). I have a niggle about the briefs though which I only discovered after a day’s wear – the lace along the inner legs isn’t stretchy and when you spend all day sat down in an office, it begins to dig (as my coworkers were only too pleased to hear about, I’m sure!).
The Tutti Rouge Nichole is available in several other colour way options including Minty Green, Hot Papaya, Purple Haze, Creme, Noir Sugar and Sugar Pink if the Powder Blue doesn’t appeal to you. The sizes available are 28 – 38 DD – HH, usually at £29.50 full price, but many of the older season colours are available at sale prices too. The briefs are usually £15.50 and go up to an XL. You can find this bra at Brastop or Tutti Rouge or in various colours/sizes at Jarrold, Simply Be, Very.co.uk, Fashion World, Littlewoods and Lumingerie.
In addition to the reviews mentioned above, these bloggers have also reviewed the Tutti Rouge Nichole:
Sophisticated Pair (32HH)
My Fashion Insider (28FF)
The Full Figured Chest (34HH)
Sweet Nothings NYC (32H)
