Avocado Kyoto Bra Reviewed

Avocado is a Polish lingerie brand that I’ve been wanting to try for quite some time. Their designs are sophisticated and mature without looking frumpy, featuring a good range of detailed embroidered styles to simpler everyday styles (that are no less beautiful, I should add). I decided to buy a sale item and split shipping with a friend to give them a shot, and if it was successful, place a larger order later. The bra I chose was the Kyoto, an unlined balcony bra in chocolate brown with green and blue floral embroidery. This is hands down one of the most beautiful bras I have ever bought, and at less than $30 on sale, for a great price.

The fit of the cups was spot on for me in a 28H. Avocado skips double letters in their size chart. I generally wear 28FF bras, so for me that meant going up to a 28H to get an equivalent fit. If you’re unsure about how to find your correct size, you can always contact Avocado and ask them questions directly. I had no issues communicating with them despite the language barrier. I sent my emails in english and received clear replies. I am so torn about Avocado. On one hand, the cups of the Kyoto are a perfect match for my shape in terms of the cut, but the wires and band were somewhat problematic. The wires are very narrow and thin, I’d say quite a bit more narrow than Ewa Michalak. I have never had an issue with wires being too narrow for me until now, but unfortunately the Kyoto stabbed me in my breast tissue a bit after a couple hours of wear. In the photographs you can see just a small bit of tissue being poked, so little that I didn’t even notice an issue when I first put the bra on. Unfortunately, some fit problems only show themselves over time, and the wires weren’t sturdy enough to keep all of my tissue in the cups, thus: wire stabbing.

It’s very weird for me to talk about this bra as having fit problems when looking at these photos, because it looks pretty darn perfect! But all I can tell you is how the bra felt and how the fit changed over the course of the day, so hopefully y’all can trust me on this one. My second issue with this bra was the stretchiness of the band. The Kyoto stretched to over 29 inches, which is larger than feels stable on me. In the photograph of the band below, I’m wearing it on the second hook, which felt fine when I first put it on, but by the end of the day I was on the tightest hooks. If the wires had been a better match for me, I would have altered this bra for sure. I was also wearing this bra a bit low in these photos, and when I wore it higher the band became much too loose, since it was sitting around the smallest part of my ribcage right under my bust.

The materials this bra is made of feel fantastic. The mesh is soft, and the embroidery never itchy. The Kyoto really feels like “the one that got away,” as it just wasn’t a comfortable enough fit for me to keep, but it was so close that I keep feeling like “damnit, I want it!” The lift and shape it gives is fantastic, and I would love to have that with a more comfortable fit. I also have to wonder if the fit of the Kyoto is indicative of all their bras, or if I would have better luck with another? My results with this bra haven’t made me want to give up on Avocado just yet, but I’m not sure which style I should try next, or if some of their other balcony bras might fit differently than this one.

If you’ve found that even Ewa Michalak’s wires are too wide for you, then I definitely recommend trying Avocado. The only stumbling block I encountered while ordering from them is that they only accept bank transfers from international customers. Hopefully they are looking to improve this in the future, as it can be quite a pain for some depending on your bank. I don’t think the looseness of their bands is enough to merit sizing down, but given that I’m lingering between a 26 and 28, this band wasn’t quite firm enough for my taste.

Will I ever find a bra this beautiful again? One that gives this kind of shape and feels wonderful? Well, probably yes, but I’m in mourning so give me a second.

-Windie