I have a confession to make – I’ve been really bad at wearing “real” bras lately! I talked last year about the rise of bralettes and the decline of push ups and cleavage, and I think that has definitely made an impact on my wardrobe.
As a 28GG, it’s certainly tricky to find non-wired, unstructured bralettes that won’t move around and feel uncomfortable. Moreover, it’s difficult to find ones that will offer support. I’ve come to accept that I’m definitely not going to get the same support in a non-wired bra that I get in an underwire. But thinking about it, I don’t often need that support. The days where I’m sat in an office (everyday!) and the times when I’m lounging around at home.
The stores have noticeably increased their stock of on-trend bralette styles recently. Instagram has been awash with people sharing their pretty, embroidered triangle bralettes. And I’ve been taken in. Fortunately I’ve managed to find a few styles that work well enough for me, if not perfectly.
This Victoria’s Secret lace racerback bralette is one of them. I occasionally buy knickers in Victoria’s Secret on their offers because I find the styles very comfortable – although not particularly hard-wearing, I’ve found. Our nearest Victoria’s Secret isn’t very local, so I don’t get the chance to visit often. This means that when I do get to visit, I’ll make sure to take a look around at what they’ve got to offer. While many of their bras don’t fit me, I can still look! I find they’re a good gauge of what lingerie trends are going to be popular and what a large, young customer base is reaching for.
On my last trip, I spotted a large range of these racerback lace bras in various colours. I’m a big fan of sage green, so while I wasn’t sure it would fit me, I still reached for this version of it and made the purchase. They’re now out of stock so I’m not entirely sure how much it and the matching briefs cost, but based on prices currently on site, I’d estimate it was around £25 for the bra and £10 for the briefs.
I chose the bralette in a size medium and the briefs in a medium, which is the size I usually pick at Victoria’s Secret. I now have to admit that a medium is the size I usually wear in Victoria’s Secrets bras that aren’t bra sized…because I have several… The medium usually gives me enough coverage and isn’t too big around the bust that it just hangs on me. Like I said, it’s hardly going to give me support, but I can get away with it.
The construction of the bra is pretty good. It has a wider elastic around the bottom of the band and a more narrow elastic directly under the bust, a straight line of it where the curved underwire channeling normally would be. Having the two pieces of elastic means that it gives me a better fit and a little more staying power.
The cup sections are each made of a single piece of stretch lace that extends up to the top of the shoulder and is lined with a soft stretch satin-like lining fabric. They are each shaped with a single vertical dart. Due to all the fabrics being stretch, it means the bralette will fit a more broad range of sizes, including my own. The edges of the cups have the same narrow elastic running along either side, and fortunately this elastic isn’t sewn too tightly. I find this to be the case in a lot of bralettes – the cup might cover me up, but the elastic causes it to dig in and look completely weird and bumpy. That’s not the case here, yay!
The back of the bra is a raceback made from a single piece of lace cut into a triangle then attached to the band at the narrow point of the triangle. The stitching here where two pieces of elastic overlap and are left raw at the edges is a little messy, but it’s not the end of the world.
This bralette isn’t something I could wear for a vigorous day out walking or doing activities, but it’s perfect for lounging around and for wearing under clothes where you want to show off a bit of lace. I did, however, wear this bra on a yoga retreat. To do yoga. With yoga being a form of exercise, I normally reach for a sports bra – otherwise I occasionally get suffocated. I did bring along this bralette though and a couple of Victoria’s Secrets sports bras (which I hesitate to call as such – they’re just crop tops essentially!). I found that with the relaxing nature of the retreat, I didn’t want to wear a wired, normal bra at all, so I ended up wearing this to a couple of the less intensive yoga sessions. Like I said, not highly supportive, but not a major problem.
I’ve bought a few more bralette styles recently and am wearing them quite frequently, which is why I’ve been a little down on the reviews here – I’ve felt like I shouldn’t really, as a “Big Cup”, be wearing them! I know that sounds ridiculous, but that’s the way it’s been. Nevertheless, I’ll try to show you some more of the bralettes I’ve purchased and am wearing a lot over the next few weeks.
Oh and a note on the briefs! I love that these match well with the bra and look good together. While they’re not massively uncomfortable, I don’t find them really comfortable either. I find the centre front seam to be a little annoying. Aside from that, they’re a good fit and have a lovely delicate lace look.
This set is out of stock but you can shop similar styles here:
love this – great ideas too. do you have any more bralettes to show?
thank you
katie