Curvy Kate: Could use some work.
So. I have a bigger bust. To find bras in my size, I have to go for specialty brands. For most of my first-wearing-bras (from 9-~15) life, I lived in sports bras. Eventually however, these stopped coming in my size, and I had the choice of Fantasie (plain old maids bras) or Freya (aimed more for 18-30 yr olds). Lately a few more brands have come on the scene, Panache, and Curvy Kate, as well as one of the few shops that caters specially for bigger busted women (Bravissimo) starting to release their own bras. There are a couple of others, but as a 32 inch band, these don't cater for me (aimed at 34 inch and above, being the "plus size" market).
My rant here is about Curvy Kate. First off, they do some georgous bras and most people love them. However, as I am ranting about them, I obviously don't feel completely the same. So on we go.
My first experience with them was probably 2 year ago, when I brought one of their Princess bras, in purple off ebay. Never heard of them before, but it was purple and in my size! When it arrived, I was very disappointed, it ran slightly small in the cup and hugely small in the band, fitting more like a 30 inch, rather than the 32 it was meant to be. So it ended up in my closet for 18 months. I tried it on a while ago and noticed some of the ribboning had frayed away - with NO wearing in that time. Not impressed.
I decided to give them another go, and ordered a Tease Me and a Thrill Me from Amazon. I'd heard these ran big in the band, but wasn't how big, so ordered a 32 as normal. When they arrived, the Thrill Me had a manufacturing fault, a strap had been attached twisted and didn't fit anyway. This got returned for a refund.
The Tease Me was almost too loose in the band - it's on the second hook straight away and still loose! A 30 would have been better, and a bigger cup, which, as they go up to 30J, would still not quite be big enough! I wore it twice, before stitching came undone and a strap came loose - another manufacturing fault!! I didn't send this one back, having been worn, instead just hand sewed it back together.. However, a bra for a bigger bust should be made to withstand the usage of a big bust!
Next I brought another Thrill Me, same size as my Tease Me, which was a slightly better fit than the previous Thrill Me. The bra is fine, but I brought some knickers to go with it. I usually wear size 14, but as those were sold out, and I heard their knickers ran small, I opted for a size 16. Good thing too, but they fit lovely. I saved this for a nice occasion, so brought them out today. 3 hours of use, and guess what? some of the stitching has come/pulled loose at the seam where it goes between the legs! 3 HOURS of use!!
So? They need to sort out their sizing and their quality of manufacturing. I know many people like brands to have slight differences in sizing, so they know if X bra style doesn't fit, Y might. I have no problem with that, but when one of their 32 inches feels more like a 34, and another more like a 30.....well, there's something wrong going on. It doesn't help that the cups I've tried tend to run small too, and their Showgirl range has very awkward sizings (so 28 and 30 inches with D-J cups, 32 D-HH, 34 D-H) etc, which punishes those with bigger bands and bigger boobs. I've only tried 3 of their styles, true, but when 4 items out of 5 that I've brought from them have had manufacturing faults.....Not impressed!!
My rant here is about Curvy Kate. First off, they do some georgous bras and most people love them. However, as I am ranting about them, I obviously don't feel completely the same. So on we go.
My first experience with them was probably 2 year ago, when I brought one of their Princess bras, in purple off ebay. Never heard of them before, but it was purple and in my size! When it arrived, I was very disappointed, it ran slightly small in the cup and hugely small in the band, fitting more like a 30 inch, rather than the 32 it was meant to be. So it ended up in my closet for 18 months. I tried it on a while ago and noticed some of the ribboning had frayed away - with NO wearing in that time. Not impressed.
I decided to give them another go, and ordered a Tease Me and a Thrill Me from Amazon. I'd heard these ran big in the band, but wasn't how big, so ordered a 32 as normal. When they arrived, the Thrill Me had a manufacturing fault, a strap had been attached twisted and didn't fit anyway. This got returned for a refund.
The Tease Me was almost too loose in the band - it's on the second hook straight away and still loose! A 30 would have been better, and a bigger cup, which, as they go up to 30J, would still not quite be big enough! I wore it twice, before stitching came undone and a strap came loose - another manufacturing fault!! I didn't send this one back, having been worn, instead just hand sewed it back together.. However, a bra for a bigger bust should be made to withstand the usage of a big bust!
Next I brought another Thrill Me, same size as my Tease Me, which was a slightly better fit than the previous Thrill Me. The bra is fine, but I brought some knickers to go with it. I usually wear size 14, but as those were sold out, and I heard their knickers ran small, I opted for a size 16. Good thing too, but they fit lovely. I saved this for a nice occasion, so brought them out today. 3 hours of use, and guess what? some of the stitching has come/pulled loose at the seam where it goes between the legs! 3 HOURS of use!!
So? They need to sort out their sizing and their quality of manufacturing. I know many people like brands to have slight differences in sizing, so they know if X bra style doesn't fit, Y might. I have no problem with that, but when one of their 32 inches feels more like a 34, and another more like a 30.....well, there's something wrong going on. It doesn't help that the cups I've tried tend to run small too, and their Showgirl range has very awkward sizings (so 28 and 30 inches with D-J cups, 32 D-HH, 34 D-H) etc, which punishes those with bigger bands and bigger boobs. I've only tried 3 of their styles, true, but when 4 items out of 5 that I've brought from them have had manufacturing faults.....Not impressed!!