I received these items free of charge to review.
Today’s lingerie review is a little different to usual. Last year, British D+ bra retailer Bravissimo asked me if I’d like to have an online bra fitting and as that’s something I’d never done before, I was curious and said yes. So in place of a straightforward bra review, I’m splitting this article up into two main parts: a review of the fitting experience and, of course, a review of the lingerie itself.
The online bra fitting
Bravissimo offers in-person fittings in its stores, but if you can’t make it to one, they also have a free virtual fitting service done via webcam. Helpful for me since I live in Spain! There’s no need to book ahead; you can just click a button on the website to get connected with a fitter, all the way up to 10pm on weekdays and most of the day on Saturdays and Sundays too.
My fitter was named Cora. After introductions, we kicked off the fitting with me showing her the fit of my current bra; I couldn’t find any advice on the Bravissimo website about which type of bra to wear, so I opted to wear an unlined one, wired since that’s usually my preference and without any major fit issues. (The FAQs note that you can also wear a fitted top, if you’d prefer to be more covered). There was no tape measure involved, just a friendly chat about how the bra was fitting. Cora asked me to turn to the side so she could see the underwire placement, and also show her how much ‘give’ the band had. She also asked about my usual size and the shapes I typically like or don’t like.
After the fitting part of the call was over, we switched to looking at the Bravissimo website together where she walked me through some styles she felt could work well for me. Funnily enough, two were exactly the ones I’d had my eye on before the call! I never brought them up myself, so she certainly understood the shapes and styles I was most interested in. Those styles were the Dana bra, a plunge in unlined lace and with a front fastening, and the Niya bra, also a plunge but with smoother, lightly padded cups. She also suggested trying the similar Niya Lace bra.
As a lingerie writer who almost exclusively shops for bras online, I have a good understanding of how a bra should fit and feel pretty confident about selecting styles for myself that are going to work for my body shape. However, I still found the virtual fitting helpful thanks to extra tidbits that Cora threw in while we were browsing; while showing me the styles, she also gave me fit advice, noting for example that the Niya bra had a slightly smaller cup fit than the Niya Lace.
Overall, I had a good virtual bra fitting experience with Bravissimo. The only negative point I can think to mention was that it was a little hard to hear at times due to a poor connection, but we made it work! I do imagine that an online, tape measure-free fitting service such as this one would get less accurate the further out your current bra is from your ideal size. But if you’re not happy with the fit of your bras once they arrive, Bravissimo tells me you’re welcome to hop on a new video call before returning them so that a fitter can take a look at the issues and help to narrow in on your perfect size.
The Bravissimo website
Just a quick note to add here about the Bravissimo website: while they do also sell briefs, there’s no actual briefs category and bottoms don’t have their own product pages or appear in searches. They’re only visible on their matching bra’s page under a ‘complete the look’ heading, although you can still add them to your cart without the bra.
That plus the fact that all three briefs were sold out in my size at the time I was sent these products – the Dana brief in fact being sold out in 6 of 7 sizes despite being a fairly new launch at the time – makes me assume that briefs are just not a priority for this retailer. But I do find it strange that they’re not easier to find on the website! I’d also find it helpful to have back-in-stock alerts, so I could get notified when my size becomes available again instead of having to remember to keep checking the website.
Review: Bravissimo’s Niya bra
Available sizes: UK 28 DD-J and 30-40 D-J / US 28 DD-M and 30-40 D-M
The Niya is the bra that Cora told me had the smaller cup fit, and we decided to try it in my usual size of 30DD. This is a bra style they’ve had around for years. It’s a lightly-moulded bra with cups made from four vertical panels, so it gives a lot of lift but isn’t an overly deep shape, making it one of those rare moulded bras that actually works for and doesn’t gape on shallower busts. It also looks very smooth under clothing. The plunge neckline is quite deep, although looking at the website photos, I can see that to add extra, they’ve made the centre gore slightly taller on larger sizes than it is on my 30DD.
On the inside, the cups are soft cotton and the band is powermesh; on the outside, both are covered with a diamond-patterned mesh. The straps on this bra can be detached at the back and crossed over. All of the hardware, including a decorative semi-circle between the cups, is rose gold and unfortunately the strap hardware has tarnished a fair bit in the six months I’ve had it.
And how does it fit? Pretty true to size! The band fit is great, firm but comfortable (and hasn’t stretched out at all in these six months), while the cups are fairly spot on – the neckline is digging in just a touch on one side. I still think that this is the best size match I could have got with this bra, but I agree with the product description advice that you should choose the larger one if you’re between two cup sizes.
Review: Bravissimo’s Niya Lace bra
Available sizes: UK 28 DD-JJ and 30-40 D-K / US 28 DD-O and 30-40 D-O
The Niya Lace might initially seem like it’s just the original Niya bra with a lace overlay on the band, but there are actually more differences than that. The main one is the centre gore: it’s taller, making it a less-deep plunge. The straps here have a J-hook to convert them to racerback, instead of being able to be crossed over, and the outer cup is a smooth woven fabric instead of sheer mesh. The hardware is also different, a Bravissimo ‘B’ between the cups in gold and tone-on-tone strap hardware. As it’s slightly less of a ‘basic’ bra, it’s currently available in Navy instead of the Black/White/Champagne options of the plainer Niya.
There’s a different in the fit, too. Firstly, the band – although both of these bras are 30s, the band on Niya Lace is roughtly 1cm shorter on the tightest setting. It still fits me well. As for the cups, supposedly only the original Niya fits small, but in my opinion, they both do. Now, I can’t give you a direct comparison because I received the Niya Lace in a 30E, but these cups fits me super well (just the tiniest bit of gaping at the top) and since I normally wear a 30DD, that means they do also come up a bit on the small side.
Review: Bravissimo’s Dana bra
Available sizes: UK 30-40 D-H / US 30-40 D-K
Finally, I tried the Dana bra back in my usual 30DD. I’d liked the look of this one for its plunge shape in stretch lace, which tends to be a good fit on me – the thin, stretchy fabric makes it less likely to gape than a more heavily-structured cup. The decorative back also adds outerwear styling potential, such as under a blue camisole in summer.
Dana is a front-closure bra which, while ideal for anyone with mobility issues, can be trickier to fit since often (as is the case here), the band length is fixed. The stretch lace is lined with powermesh in the cups and band, and the cups have a support-enhancing interior side sling in a double layer of the same mesh. They fasten at the centre-front with a gold snap closure. The back is tall with a racerback shape, and the straps that start behind just behind the neck are adjustable, which is the only fit tweak you can make on this bra.
Unfortunately, the Dana bra doesn’t really work for me. The band fit is actually fine – stretchy so flexible, but also firm and supportive. The neckline also lies nice and flush, so you would think this bra was a good fit if you only looked at that part. However, the underwires are completely the wrong shape. They’re too wide, meaning the outer tip is too close to my underarm, and they swoop down too low, creating a 1″ section of fabric at the base of the cup that stays empty and flat no matter how I try to adjust it. It’s the same issue I have with the Panache Clara bra, only even more exaggarated.
Maybe in a cup size down with a smaller wire this bra would fit me better, but really, I think it’s just better suited to something with a much fuller bust shape to fill it out. There are reviews on the website that are very complimentary about the fit, and others describing it as “odd” and “weird”. It’s definitely a bra that I think is best tried on in store so that you can assess a few different sizes.
Also, although the snap closure stays securely fastened, it started to dig in a bit on my sternum by the end of the day, so I can’t say I found this bra terribly comfortable either.
Final thoughts – do I recommend Bravissimo?
I received these bras almost exactly half a year ago, and I’ve been wearing the Niya and Niya Lace ones non-stop since! They’re very comfortable, supportive, smooth under clothing, and close enough to a perfect fit. If you prefer a deeper cup shape then you might not have as much success with the fit as I did, but otherwise, I’d definitely suggest giving them a try if you like the look of them – just remember to pick the larger one if you’re debating between two cup sizes.
The Dana bra, while a cute design, is going to be more hit and miss. But if you can’t make it to a store, at least Bravissimo offers free returns and exchanges, even on international orders.
And don’t forget about their free online fitting service! While my experience with the Dana bra goes to show that nothing can replace actually trying a bra on your own body, it can still be helpful to chat to an expert if you have questions about the fit or you’re not even sure which bra style to try – I’m really glad I got the other two that Cora had recommended.
Are you a fan of Bravissimo bras? Have you ever had a virtual bra fitting? Add your thoughts or questions in the comments section below.