Masquerade Anise

I’d read good things about Breakout Bras, and I love their fit advice on most bras, so I thought I’d give them a try. The Masquerade Anise is deeply discounted, and I was curious as to the coral color. Masquerade bras tend to give me a good shape while feeling pretty glam. The sizing advice was to go up a band size and keep the cup, so I ordered a 34G.

Construction:

Anise is a padded half-cup bra with two hooks. The band is on the thin side like most of Masquerade’s offerings. I think I’d prefer a thicker band, but it’s not a huge concern. Each cup has one seam which will push the breasts to the front.
Here’s something I haven’t seen before: the gore is not filled in. There’s no fabric between the cups until the band! Engineering-wise, does this present a problem? Would fabric there stabilize the bra better?

Looks:

The coral color was more pink than I expected. I love orange and dislike pink, so I wasn’t thrilled. The pink added to the floral embroidery felt overly soft and feminine to me. The lace ends in eyelash lace, which seems a bit delicate for washing. However, I do like the look of the ‘hollow’ gore.

Fit:

I took Breakout Bras’ advice and they were correct about the band- a 34 on the loosest hook was still decently tight. Band runs large here. I actually didn’t need to size up in the cup, though, as I couldn’t fill the tops of it. I wasn’t sure whether sizing down would be useful, so I asked Customer Service, who said the following:

“You should get more volume in the 34FF if you just aren’t filling up the tops of the G cup, but you may end up looking super plump on top instead of just supported and full. (It will look great with open neckline tops, but you may not want to wear it with fuller coverage shirts with a higher neckline.) This style is just a really tricky one to fit, and it’s definitely designed for a more open clothing. If you really like it, it’s worth the try for the 34FF. Remember to pull anything on the side forward and into the cups well so that you fill up the cups more.”

I appreciate her honesty. Since I wasn’t too enamored of the eyelash lace, floral pattern, and pinkness, I’m sending it back.

Conclusion:

Anise is a better bra for those who are fuller on top (I’m not). Size up in the band, definitely, and perhaps size up in the cup. The look is very girly, but I do like the construction otherwise.