Cleo Lucy, Almost Success
I mentioned a while ago that I had purchased both the white and black version of the Cleo Lucy. I tried on the black in a 28G at a boutique for a short period of time. and I could tell that it was the slightest bit too big in the cups, but nothing too serious. The band felt decent in a 28 on me, so I figured I would order a couple and see how they worked for me.
Cleo Lucy in white
The results were… almost right! Lately I’m being very picky about what bras I keep what what I send back, so the Lucys did not stay. The problems were pretty much the same between both the black and white versions, but the white was over all bigger/looser. My fit issues were:
- Cups a touch too big, there was a bit of bagging. I settled into them after about an hour or so and the bagging became even worse. The white bra was baggier than the black. I could not have sized down as I tried on the 28FF as well and there was a considerable amount of cutting in.
- Band felt like a normal 28, I definitely would’ve preferred a 26 in this bra. The white bra was too loose from the get-to, but the black was do-able if I really loved the bra and there were no issues with the cups. I would not recommend it for someone in the sub 28 band demographic.
- The center gore seemed to… fold over onto itself? I’ve never seen this before, but I think that basically the gore is too wide for me and the material between the wires is flimsy, so my breasts just pushed the wires together and they folded over each other. I must have not noticed this when I tried it on briefly at the boutique. The lighting was a bit dim, so maybe that contributed to my lack of awareness (or I was being a space case, BUT ANYWAY).
The bras were both nice and I liked the material they were made of (soft and flexible), so it would have been nice if they worked out, but I’m not really peeved about it. What I AM kind of peeved about is the lack of unlined balcony/balconette bras that actually work for me (given that I prefer unlined). Basically Miss Mandalay’s Paige is my saviour. Any others I have (Paris, Andorra) do give me some issues (tight upper section in the case on Paris, stretchy band with Andorra). I plan to have the band on my Andorras altered though, so that should help things some. EM is also releasing a lovely unlined balcony style sometime in the near future, something I’m really looking forward to (like, A LOT). However, an issue I have with wearing very few different styles is that I have wires pressing on approximately the same places all the time. This can become painful from time to time and I do feel I need to mix up my styles more to give some spots on my body a break. The wires on all the EM styles I’ve tried feel pretty much the same, as do the wires with Paris/Paige, so I’ll be looking for other styles for a while. Namely, Mimi Holliday and more Cleos. I think there is success to be had with them in particular styles. I’m also considering re-ordering the Freyas that I know would work decently for me that I have either out grown or worn out (like Lacey, and if a black Pollyanna ever pops up in my size on ebay I AM THERE). I know they wouldn’t be 100% perfect, but they would work nicely and give my ribcage a break.
But really. Should it be this tricky? I can’t help but think that if Freya or Panache release just one or two styles in a 26 it would not hurt their profits. I do realize that my body type is not the most common, but it’s not uncommon. One style. Just one to test it out. Maybe I’m hopelessly ignorant, but I think the countless fit requests on Bratabase from women in large bands and the emails I get asking specifically about bras available in small band sizes would disagree.
EDIT: I’d like to add that if you fit into the Lucy size range, and you typically fit the cups of other Cleo bras without issue then you should be fine with Lucy. Just watch out if you have close set breasts as the gore is quite wide!
Windie
I can imagine that for someone your size (only needing a 26) and from what I’ve seen in photos that you don’t really have a lot of padding around your ribcage. I wonder if maybe having some looser bras ala 28’s just to wear once or twice a week might help ease the pain? Unless you feel that you just would be lacking enough support and it’s not worth it. Also, do you wear an underwired bra while at home? I don’t know how many hours in the day that you wear a bra, but if you can give your body a break from bras when you don’t absolutely have to have one on, that might help, too. Just a guess!
I know that although it hurts my back after a while to not have a bra on because my boobs are so big and heavy, I do need to give my body a break and I usually don’t wear my bra from like 8pm – 8/9am the next day 🙂
My Andorras are currently filling the role of looser bras, which is why I’m just a little bit hesitant to alter them. At the moment if I want to wear them out of the house I put them on the middle or tightest hook, but at home I’ll wear it on the loosest or middle (just depending on my size on any given day). At home I’ll either wear no bra, my Fortnight wireless bra, Andorra, or if I’ve just come home from class or work or something generally my bra will stay on until the evening when I start getting ready for bed. I could give my body more of a break if I just take it off earlier in the day I suppose 🙂
I’ll still definitely be seeking out some other styles though!
Have you tried bending wires slightly to make pressure more even? This really can help in cases when there are just some spots where it all goes.
I actually just started doing that! I’m bending them to suit the curve of my body more and it is helping. Thanks 🙂
Glad it helped!
Thanks for the Lucy info! I wonder if they were purchased from the same place? I tried the white Lucy and found an irregularity in the cups so I sent it back and didn’t do the Black either. But I own and love her in several seasonal colors. I’m glad to know it wasn’t just the one I had. And on that, I agree with you about sizing. I’m typically in 30’s/28’s and do Lucy in 28 since it’s a bit stretchy after just a few wears.
They were both purchased from the same place. I always find white bras to be a tricky fit since they’re almost always a bit bigger than their black or coloured counterparts. This fact has made my quest for a pretty white bra virtually impossible 😛
Being a fan of color I admit to owning only one solid white bra which is a bit small in the cup so it hasn’t been worn in ages (over a year)! My other white bras have patterns printed on… I’m guessing white materials are more subject to shrinkage whenever they are dyed. Good things to think about, thank you for that reminder!
I had the same experience with cleo lucy in 28G regarding the gore. I actually think it would have been a nice fit if I took in the gore, but it just seemed like too much effort. I sold it instead… The cups fit great, but one underwire basically sat slanted and the other sat normal. Definitely too wide for me!