Plus Size Bra Review: Elomi Betty

I promised this review to be posted on Saturday, and then I remembered that I don’t really blog/facebook/twitter much on the weekends 🙂

Anyways…

 

The Elomi Betty is available in sizes 34 GG-HH, 36-42 D-HH, 44 D-G, and 46 D-DD in the beautiful navy color (and soon in Black/White dot in December). Matching panties available in sizes M-4XL. I paid $68 for the bra, and $32 for the matching panties. I almost cried.

On my trip to size a friend at Nordstrom, I happened to see that they finally started carrying the Betty and matching shorts. I knew I shouldn’t have tried it on….because as soon as I did, I had to buy it. I bought the Betty in a 40HH, and the matching shorts in a 2XL.

Pics:

 

 

 

Features: Fully adjustable straps, 3 hook and eyes, plunging center gore, 4 part cups including side sling to push tissue forward, embroidered rose detail, bows on straps and central gore, minimum stretch 1″ straps, mesh wings, banded bottom.

Fit: A 40HH is typically the size that I can wear in a lot of Elomi bras. I need a 38J, but a lot of Elomi’s styles do not come up to a J-cup (at least not most of the really cute bras). Anyways, I could use a smidge more space on the side of the cups, but overall, the fit is good. I’ve worn this a few times and even once for more than 5 hours. I do not feel as though I am going to fall out of the cups, as is what usually happens when I wear a plunge bra.

Support and Shape: The support in the Betty is fabulous!! The shape on the other hand…..a tad too point for my tastes. Admittedly, I would love a little more more “oomph”.  I would love for my girls to be smushed together a bit more for a bit more of a dramatic cleavage line. See here how it holds up under a few of my low v-neck shirts/dresses:

    t-shirt

wrap dress

Wrap dress

 

As you can see, either my purple wrap dress is too low, or the Betty isn’t a good option for that dress. You also get more of an understanding of how pointy the Betty is in the side view.

Other Thoughts: I was really surprised by how stiff the material of the Betty was when I first got it. It reminded me of industrial strength netting that you would use to sew strange foundation garments. The panties are made of a similar material, though not as stiff. With multiple washes, the panties have definitely softened up, but the bra is still stiff. The material does not bother my skin, but it feels weird to touch. I do love the novelty of the Betty plunge, but as you can see, it’s not ideal for very low necklines, and gives quite a pointy shape. Other than that, the bra is quite comfortable, and you don’t fall out of it. I would have loved more oomph in this bra.

The Panty Experience: I did buy the matching panties in a 2XL. There’s no clear size conversion for Elomi’s panties, but I would say that the 2XL is comparable to a US 18/20. They are definitely much shorter than I am used to wearing (I typically wear full briefs), which is kind of hard to get used to. Also, they are completely sheer – hence no pictures. My husband really appreciates this characteristic, but I was kind of “meh” about it. The material of the panties is kind of slippery; when I wore them with jeans, I felt like my jeans were about to slide off of my bottom because of the panties. (maybe I need smaller jeans…)

Overall Grade: B…..the shape and the oomph of this bra could be improved! 

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