Last summer I was heavily pregnant and spent a lot of my time in a strapless maxi dress with only a simple bandeau underneath. This was fine when my comfort level was way more important than the amount of support I was getting, but this year I decided to invest in something a bit more structured. I've had my eye on the Curvy Kate Luxe bra as a potential candidate for a while now, so when Figleaves offered 20% off their solution bras I decided to give it a go.
The Luxe is a pretty extreme contour bra; thanks to its full cups alongside some pretty dense padding, your natural shape is not going to have much of an impact on it. Inside are side slings for added support alongside rubbery piping to make sure it stays in place without straps. And it does a pretty good job of staying up for that matter! I've managed a couple of days of wearing this, while leading the very active lifestyle of chasing after a now crawling 10 month old, with only minimal adjustments throughout the day.
Aesthetically, I really love the almost androgynous look of the bra with its pin stripe details and centre bow and buttons. I appreciate the avoidance of the overt femininity that comes with that ever present skinny bow on almost every DD+ bra. Instead, this one seems almost like a tiny bow-tie, rendering the Luxe with an almost tuxedo like look, while still succeeding in being pretty.
As for the fit, I was initially quite apprehensive when the bra arrived. The cups are a very different shape to what I am used to and I don't think I've every worn a contour bra before. Having very full-on-bottom breasts I really didn't think that I would succeed in filling the tops of the cups. However, they are surprisingly shallow which results in a lot of my tissue being pulled in and up. This means that I would perhaps be cautious about trying this bra if you're very full on top because it may result in the bra cutting in to you.
The '30' band felt pretty true to size and went comfortably around my 28" underbust. My only complaint is that I really hate that rubber piping and always find it digs in and causes uncomfortable friction against my skin as the day wears on. But in my experience this is just something that you have to put up with for a decent strapless bra when you have a big bust. Also, I've spent the past year and a half in nursing bras which have super flexible underwire or none at all. This means that I'm just not used to the level of rigidity that this bra presents and for this reason I'm probably going to have to keep it down to a half day of wear at a time.
Also, I know this isn't the purpose of this bra, but if any other Mamas are wondering if they could breastfeed while wearing a strapless bra then my answer is yes to this one! It was surprisingly easy to pull down the cup, considering the padded lining, and nurse my baby with it on.
The Luxe is definitely filling a gap in the market in that there aren't many GG+ strapless bras and I am very grateful for that because I will now be able to wear my strapless summer dresses. I'm not the biggest fan of the shape it creates under my clothes but again, I think that's just because I've become so used to wearing soft cup bras. All in all I'm really happy with my purchase and hope to get a lot of wear out it in the upcoming months.
If anyone has any suggestions of other strapless bras then I'd love to hear because I'm probably going to be needing one in a 30FF after I've weaned. But who knows, I may just end up re-purchasing the Luxe because it certainly does the job. Once again, thanks for reading!
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