Figleaves has me served

I ordered a lovely Masquerade Rhea bra, but the band was too tight at a 32.  Panache is known to run a bit tight, and I thought, I generally like a tight band, it will stretch.  I was unprepared- although this bra gave a smashing shape, the band was indeed too tight.  I could close it, put two fingers in it, but I couldn’t take a deep breath without it causing pain.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, meant I needed to exchange it.

I’m a strong advocate for a tight band, but phew!  Breaking a bra in is necessary (as I’m doing with the Deco), but I need to breathe in the meantime, and probably not make the hooks as crooked as they got after a several hour trial period (with tags still on).  So I called Figleaves Customer Service, because the sister size (34FF) was ‘low on stock.’  Well, I was greeted by a nice English lady (why we Americans think these accents are delightful, I’m not sure) who told me it was not an all-purpose bra.  I agree, it isn’t a t-shirt bra, but being able to take a deep breath without worry of popping something would be useful.  She said she’d ship the sister size immediately at the sale price I got, charging my card now, and when they received my return they would credit me the amount.  I am lucky that I can do this.

I’ve had good luck with Figleaves customer service before.  May they so continue!  They even have an American shipping address!  Now I just need to buy something to return the Rhea in that’s not a shoebox…or shall it be one?  I’m reluctant to send it in an unpadded envelope.

Freya Taylor (Deco)

As Georgina mentioned, the Freya Taylor has stiffer cups than the Freya Deco, but with the same cut.  The Deco apparently runs generously, but I ordered my ‘standard’ size in the Taylor (32G), and I’m glad I did, as some of the ‘fashion’ colors of the Deco have been too small when I wore a 32FF.

I should mention that the stiffness of the cups leaves me needing to break in the bra- it’s going through this phase where the fabric creases at the bottom of the cup because although I have soft and bottom-heavy breast tissue, the weight doesn’t quite push it out enough.  I’m hopeful, though, that after some washing the problem will be lessened.

Like many others, I’m a die-hard Deco fan- the cut lifts everything up and supports it like gangbusters.  A 32 band starts tight, but I know the fabric is wont to stretch out.  As for the design, it’s very classy- the bronze on black and the stripes feel all sophisticated!