Braologie Lacie Posture Contour Bra Reviewed

When Braologie contacted me to try one of their posture-improving bras, I was intrigued by the idea of bras that are designed completely differently than anything else currently on the market. Braologie has been causing something of  stir in the online lingerie community, especially on Bratabase, with their advice on band sizing contrary to the +0 method. The discussions have been positive, as it is important to note that the +0 method to band sizing will not work for everyone (I know that I personally prefer adding an inch or two) I received the bra a while ago and have been sitting on this review since, trying to gather all of my thoughts. I feel very positive about a couple of aspects of the bra, but quite negative about others. It was definitely a “mixed bag” sort of experience.

What I received from Braologie:

• Lacie Posture-Contour bra in Beige
• Posture-Contour Mini Vest in Beige
• Extender
• Removable pad inserts

Lacie’s cups are made from a three-part design, lightly padded with pockets for the removable pads, and the inside of the cups are exceptionally soft. The straps are fully adjustable, basically just your standard elastic straps. My personal favourite part of the bra, the band, is nice and thick (four hook-and-eye closures!) and the wings have boning in them to keep the bra securely in place. To determine your size, Braologie asks for a series of measurements and photographs. Based on these, they sew the bra just for you. Sounds perfect, right? Well, I found that despite the heavy customization, there were still some fit issues.

So as you can see from the first two pictures, the cups are definitely too small for me. The intended look for the Posture-Contour bra is centered on the chest with cleavage, but this is definitely a bit much. Braologie bras are intended to have a “floating gore,” meaning that the center gore does not tack to your sternum. I found this to be a bit weird, but I went with it and tried wearing the bra for a day to see how the floating gore and I got along. It was comfortable for easy-going activities (sitting at my computer, getting something from the kitchen, etc), but when I laid down on my couch or bent over to look through my pantry, my boobs shifted quite a bit, and I didn’t really feel secure in the bra. I’m not sure that a floating gore is “wrong,” but the security that comes with a tacked gore, meant to keep the boobs separated and in place, is something that I require of my bras.

The straps are very long, VERY long. I had to adjust them as tight as possible to get a decent fit. The Lacie comes up very high under the arms, intended to help the process of re-migrating breast tissue in the armpit area back into your breast area (something that can happen to women who have worn poorly fitted bras for many years). The bra definitely does contain all of that under-arm tissue, but being that I am quite petite (5’2), Lacie got pretty painful as the day went on.

Now, I know that I’ve been saying some negative things about this bra, but let me just change my tone for a second to say that this band feels amazing on me. Braologie’s standpoint is that a band doesn’t need to be as tight when the band is thicker/more supportively designed. This band stretches to about 28.5 inches, which feels fantastic on my 26 inch ribcage. Their view on band sizing worked for me, though I know others have mentioned that they find their bands loose. Different band sizing techniques are necessary for different women, so it makes sense that this technique would not work for everyone. Frankly, if I could have this band with Cleo Marcie’s cups, I would be in bra heaven!

Posture-Contour Mini Vest

I won’t be reviewing the vest in as much detail as the bra, because unfortunately, I could not stand wearing it for too long. I don’t think it’s a bad product, but I cannot handle feeling as restricted as I did in this vest. The vest does exactly what it sets out to do: improve your posture by pulling back the shoulders, and theoretically with extended wear, it could have lasting effects on your posture. I immediately stood up straighter when I wore the vest, my posture was certainly visibly improved. However, wearing the mini vest and a bra is a whole lot of fabric to wear in one area, a lot of TIGHT fabric. Not something I would recommend in warm weather. From a comfort perspective, I felt kind of like what I imagine a tightly wrapped sausage would feel like, and if that can be construed as positive, I do not mean it that way, it was certainly negative.

The vest is made of layers of a thin mesh material. I think the back of the vest is made up of three layers, and the front is made of two, at least that’s how it appears to be. It’s hard to talk about the mini vest because I’m not 100% sure how it’s intended to fit, but I found that the front of the vest cut into the cups of whatever bra I wore, creating an unflattering effect. The effect is lessened with padded bras, but unpadded bras were quite uncomfortable when paired with the mini vest, as the feeling of cutting in was more pronounced. I’m not sure if this is a result of the vest being too small, or if it’s an issue with the product, so it would be great to hear from Braologie on this one.

While I am not comfortable with the level of restriction that I felt in both the vest and bra, I should mention that some people do like being very confined by their clothing. I have a friend who absolutely adores girdles because she feels so contained in them. My dislike for the products could be a personal difference in how I like my undergarments to fit. If you enjoy feeling contained and “strapped in” by your underwear, you may like these products!

My current plan for my Braologie goodies is to pass them on to anyone who would like to try them, for only the cost of shipping. If any of you are interested in trying them, just send an email to windiegardie@gmail.com. First come first serve! Everything will be included except for the extender, which may have met with an unfortunate fate…

 

EDIT: The bra and vest have been claimed!

-Windie