Cleo Neve Review

I recently ordered the Cleo Neve in Coral from Amazon. I ordered a 32H, whereas my current best fitting bra is the Cleo Lily in 30H. I read that the band ran tight, and I figured sizing up in the cup might be a good idea. I was right.

Sizing

Size up in the band. The 32 on me was still snug on the loosest hook, so it was pretty much perfect. As far as cup size, I'd choose your regular size or size up if you have a lot of projection. The 32H gave me a little bit of quadboob, but that seems to be a way of life for me at this point. The wires were only a little too wide for me and did not cause any problems (for reference, I am on the narrower side, but not quite as narrow as the Polish bras cater for). The wires came up to a good height for me as well.

Fit

Overall, I was happy with the fit. My boobs felt lifted and cradled, and it gave the cleavage I want from a plunge bra, without being too in your face. There was no weird East-West shape; everything was pushed front and center.

On the right side of this photo, you can see a fold where the cup lacks projection.

One fit issue I had was that the bottom of the cup did not have immediate projection, which caused the very bottom to not be filled. This is a common problem for me, but on this particular bra, it doesn't seem to affect the fit.

It's hard to take a picture of your back.

As with many small band/large cup bras, the strap placement just seems all wrong. The straps are positioned very close to my shoulder, which could cause rubbing for some. The straps are also attached very wide at the back, which just feels kind of strange. I can imagine strap slippage being a problem. 

Appearance

This bra is a really great t-shirt bra. The coral color is bright and fun (and does not appear pink in real life like in the photo above). There is a small bow with a charm on the gore, and there is small edging around the top of the cup and the bottom of the band. The edging is set in so that it cannot be seen through clothes, but the actual line of the cup is visible because it is a padded bra. 

Under a t-shirt the edges of the bra are visible, as with most padded bras.

The straps have a subtle polka dot pattern, which gives a nice sparkle to the bra.

One thing that I didn't like as much was the way they attach the straps to the top of the cup. I feel like this is an often forgotten detail of bras which, given a little thought, could make the bra look more luxurious. The particular bra uses a simple triangle of stitching and nothing to ease the transition.

My Issue with the Bra

I have never been able to wear un-banded bras. For those of you who don't know what that means, an un-banded bra (like the Neve or the Lucy) has a band attached to each side of the cup and at the gore, but there is no band underneath the cup. In banded styles (like the Marcie or the Lily), there is fabric running all around the bottom of the bra, including directly under the cups. 

My problem with un-banded bras is that the bottom of the cup and gore digs painfully into the top of my stomach. When I first tried on the Neve, I was very happy with the bra. The band was snug, but besides that it was very comfortable and flattering (and a plunge in an H cup!). But as soon as I sat down with the bra on, I knew that it would never work out. It dug in to my tummy and caused me to want to take it off as soon as possible - not something I look for in a bra.

Conclusion

While I really do love this bra, it is going back. I thought I could handle trying another un-banded style, it is just too painful for me.

Fit:   4/5

Shape:   5/5

Appearance:   4/5

Comfort:   2/5

- The Lingerie Architect

Lengthening Bra Straps

For my first post, I thought I'd start out with something that has made a huge difference in fit for me. I am only 5'1, but with low set breasts, I often have problems with straps that do not adjust long enough for me.

The extremely short straps of an Ewa Michalak S Ptys (which also didn't fit for other reasons).

 I love me some Cleo bras, but off the rack the straps are way too tight, making a perfectly fitting bra completely unwearable. I figured it would be worth it to try to extend the straps, and I was happy with the results.

What you need:

• Some ribbon about the same width of your straps. I got mine from Walmart for about $1 per spool. Go with something stronger, the ribbed kind not the shiny kind.
• Scissors. You are going to need to cut your straps, but don't worry it's okay!
• A needle and thread.

The goal. This is my Cleo Bella.

First grab your scissors. The goal here is to cut at the end of the fabric that makes your strap and to add the ribbon, following the same pattern as the original strap, only longer. Use the other strap for reference. I would not recommend doing them at the same time if you are a beginner.

Snip Snip.

From there, remove the little piece still in the adjuster, and thread your ribbon through the same way. Double over the end of the ribbon and sew it to match the opposite strap.

Just like this.

Cut the ribbon a little longer than you think you will need, the thread it through the loop in the back of the bra. Try the bra on, and measure how long you want the straps to be. I usually make them a little longer so that I can adjust them shorter if need be. It may help to safety pin the ribbon where you want it before taking the bra off. Then trim the ribbon to where you need it, double over the end, and sew the ribbon on the inside of the strap, as shown below.

Sew it together and then you're done.

A shorter piece of ribbon will be more discrete (hidden almost completely behind the real strap) but will be more difficult to adjust due to the stitched part. The ribbon showing doesn't bother me, so I cut a little more from the original strap and allow more ribbon to show. Do the other side to match, and that is all there is to it! I had no problems when I did it the first time, so I did it on 3 more bras, my Cleo Bella, Ellis, Lily, and Zia.

It looks great on my Zia with black on black.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for my blog, please let me know!

 - The Lingerie Architect      

Welcome!

I'm a 20 year old college student studying architectural engineering. Between studying and work (and more studying, and more studying!), I discovered the world of bra-fit, and with that gained a new hobby. When I found out I was a 30GG and not a 36DD, it was quite revolutionary and I became hooked on trying to find the perfect fit. In this blog I hope to share my bra experiences, good and bad, and perhaps help others on their own bra journey. You may also know me from my /r/abrathatfits account, as fizzlepop. Thank you for visiting!