Well, the time has come. Or rather, the time came, and then went, and I was like… “Huh?” As Douglas Adams (an author I am very fond of) said, “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” Not that I technically had a deadline, but I think I owed it to Wellfitting and to you, my gentle readers, to get this information out as quickly as possible, and I’m afraid I fell down on the job a bit. There’s been Some Stuff going on. Some health problems, a li’l depression and anxiety stuff, no work and then suddenly too much work (well, not all “work” per se, in that a fair amount of it was stuff I was doing for love rather than money, but kept me busy all the same)… Etc. And most of that is still going on, but I’m trying to get better at managing it, so I’m hopeful that things will be more frequent around here. But enough about me! You’re here to hear about this amazing, insanely beautiful bra, and I’m not going to leave you hanging.
So.
As I may have mentioned in a rather emphatic way in the past, my big obsession for a very long time has been with longlines. Unfortunately, by the time I knew they existed and also knew anything at all about bra fitting, I seemed to be sized out of, well… All of them. I literally couldn’t fine one anywhere, even to sister size into. *cue tears and hand-wringing* ENTER WELLFITTING (and Comexim).
Take a look at this, Gentle Readers. It’s… Well, like I said, just look. It’s so pretty. It’s sweet, and it’s sexy, and it’s… Oh, I just love it so. I would wear it every day if I could, but 1) all bras, even less delightful ones, need to rest a bit in between wears if we want them to last at all, and 2) there are outfits that it doesn’t work perfectly under (not that that always stops me). When I want to feel amazing, though? It’s my go-to.
But enough. Let’s talk shop. I was fortunate and flattered to be asked to model the Abracadabra Longline, a Wellfitting.com exclusive, so you may have seen these shots already, but I want to confirm what’s visible here, so you don’t think it’s all good lighting and flattering angles (although thanks to Michael Contreras of michaelpaparazzo.com, those are in place too). The bra is a light satiny lavender material overlayed with sweet and delicate white lace, the edge of which creates just the slightest scalloped edging on the cups. The cups themselves (not the band) are lined with a cottony material (I’ll get details on this soon and update!) that is stiffer for a lightly moulded feel, which I definitely appreciate.
As for the cut… You want plunges? I’LL GIVE YOU PLUNGES. Actually, no one specifically said they want plunges, but I’m going to assume some of you do and just go with it. So yes. The gore on this is so low it’s basically non-existent, and I mean that quite literally. There is maybe a quarter of an inch of material at the center above where the wires end, and where they end is basically just beyond the intra-mammary fold. For reference to help picturing this, if the wires ended at the same place on the outer cups, it would basically give you the wires of a shelf bra (also known as a quarter cup bra or, as a friend of mine put it, a “sexy underboob-only bra”). The result for me is that a little bit of tucking now and then is definitely called for, if not completely necessary. Those with very soft breast tissue might want to consider this, but I am definitely pretty soft myself and think it’s workable. You can see a bit of the boob’s neverending quest to escape going on in the picture below.
Obviously, the feature that begs discussion most is the band. I LOVE THE BAND. I am, like, totally a groupie. (See what I did there? *chortles*) The width distributes the (*cough cough not inconsiderable grumble cough*) weight of my breasts over a much wider area than a standard band would, which is extremely comfortable, to the point that I think I would opt for at least 80% of my bras to be longlines if I could. The band width also helps create a smooth back, which is something I always feel fussy about. On regular bras, I feel like I need to do them up really, really tightly to get the support I need and prevent the back from riding up, but it’s hard to avoid a bit of bulge on either side*. Not so in a longline! WOO! Take that, bulges. The day is mine. Bwa ha.
*Before you tell me that that’s a sign that they’re too tight, you should know that I’ve tried wearing looser bands and not only do they create significantly more bulge, they give me severe backpain as well and as a result are not a viable option.
For whatever reason, I didn’t end up with an actual picture of the back of this bra. Kind of bizarre, since it’s a point of focus and I am 99.999% sure we took some, but… Sorry, loves. Just trust me that it’s awesome. As an aside, my Abracadabra has eight hooks, which I think is absolutely the bomb dot com (NO REGRETS ON OUTDATED SLANG, PEOPLE), but I have been told that they are now using six because after trialing both, the feedback was more favorable for less hooks, mainly because it was easier to do up. I would like to officially register my stern glare at all the people who said that, as the whole point of longlines is the amazing wide band and if you want less hooks there are, oh, only A MILLION BRAS WITH LESS HOOKS ALREADY, but I mean, whatevs, it’s cool. *throws shade in general direction of the world at large*
I usually like a really out-front and projected shape, but somehow I feel the shape of this suits it perfectly. I might want a little more WHABAM in other longlines, but with the lavender and lace, this seems just right somehow.
So there you have it. Best bra. Much love, many happies. I am extremely excited to see that in addition to this and the Bravura (review forthcoming, preview pic below!), Wellfitting has recently released a Beige Nude Demi Longline as a basic bra. I’m hoping to get my hands on one soon. Or on, I dunno, like ten of them, maybe. You know. Some, uh, reasonable amount. I really can’t wait till they release plain black ones. I am going to be ALL OVER those things. Currently you can’t request their other fabrics in a longline cut (and apparently some of the laces aren’t tall enough to work, period), but I gave a nudge about the Bravantgarde and they said they would think about it. :)
This is the Bravura. Not gonna lie, I kind of want to just wear it as a shirt.
Sorry about all the “likes” and “uhs” and all-caps-moments… I’m just finding it hard to express eloquently my extreme love of this bra. You forgive me, right? I can’t help it. I’m so very enamored of it. I mean, aren’t you? If you want one for your very own, and you probably do, you should use the code “misshapen” for 10% off! The code works on any order over $79 (U.S.), so you don’t have to use it on an Abracadabra… But I recommend it. Just sayin’.
I was going to include a bit of a Q&A with the lovely ladies at Wellfitting in this post, but I think that it would be better saved for a post all its own. Feel free to comment here with any questions you have, and I’ll see if I can get answers and add them to the post I have started, to be published soon.
Well, I suppose that’s it for now, my dears. Thank you for listening to me as I blathered on like a lovelorn teenager about the Abracadabra. I hope you enjoyed the post and that it helped those of you on the fence get a better idea of how it looks and fits, etc., as that is ostensibly the post of the brog, fun as it is to write and take pictures and generally have an online home for my goofiness. Chime in and let me know what you think? I love you all and always want to know how I can serve you better in my bloggedy capacity.
Cheers, darlings. I’ll see you soon.
*****
Ratings:
Fit: 9/10 – For me, a bit more gore height would make the containment/support factor a bit better, but your mileage may certainly vary. Overall, as stated above… LOVE IT.
Quality: 9/10 – It’s lovely and seems very durable. It’s not made with really luxury fabrics, but I would much rather have nice, lovely fabrics I can afford than silks that I can not, so I say good choice here.
Comfort: 9/10 The only issue I have is that the elastic at the bottom of the band is a smidge tighter than I would like. But the back comfort offsets that a great deal. If they added padded straps… Oh man, I would be in heaven.
Final Notes: I’m wearing a 28P, which is how Wellfitting does their sizing; kind of a hybrid of UK sizing (28 band) and Comexim sizing (P cup).