Review: Anita Edelweiss (in which I get my frump on)

The Anita Twin is still my ultimate go-to for comfort, i.e. it is the bra I can least feel on my body. In fact, it is pretty much the only bra, in the history of ever, that I've actually forgotten I'm wearing. There is no question of which bra I would choose for a long plane trip. But so far, that comfort success has not been true of any of the four other styles I have tried in the brand. The seamed styles in particular have a really frumpy aesthetic, and significantly less comfort. 

Unfortunately, the seams and shape appear very different in a the larger sizes. To wit:

Comfort & Fit

Fabric. Described as 'soft opaque microsimplex lining'. It's a very fine-textured, silky, almost batiste feeling fabric. The embroidered top section has no stretch, but is very soft against the skin.

Band.  Not the usual Anita soft microfiber fabric band. It's power mesh, of which I am pretty much on record as being a firm non-fan. It fits as usual for the brand. Their bands run snug, regardless of the fabric, and I've never seen anything but 3-hooks, widely spaced; a very stable, anchored band that does not require a tight fit. 

Cups.  They run a full cup size large, compared to others in the brand.

Straps.  A different, and interesting, construction. Very substantial, but smooth, and connected to the side of the cup, which you'd think would give better lift, but, uhhhh, doesn't. 

Seams.  Unlike the stock pic above, the seams are completely horizontal in this size. Something I did not expect, and would never seek out. It's frankly a terrible choice of seam structure, giving a matronly, frumpy silhouette on most boob shapes, but especially on full-on-top boobs.

I mean, yikes.











And in profile, the frumpitude is 
really hi-lit in all its glory:

Too-wide wires, and in this case, also too tall. The vertical side seam is basically defeated in its purpose of bringing tissue forward by the wide wires and horizontal seams - both of which are at odds with creating a centered, forward shape.

Beauty

The silky, delicate embroidery and the finely textured fabric do have an understated loveliness. 

The quality of materials is very high, as is the workmanship. The seams lay extremely flat, with zero puckering. They are surprisingly discreet under a medium-weight knit, or button-down broadcloth. And the shape, under clothing, is not as awful as I expected. But I certainly wouldn't call it a flattering shape, either. The fine fabric and details just cannot overcome the, let's face it, intense frump factor.

When do I wear it? 

Hmmm. Wellll....probably not often.The Edelweiss is basically the granny panty of bras. But without the comfort factor. I will likely only whip this out for PMS week, or in the (very rare) event that I require an actual white bra.  

Size: 40G. (This brand is German, so that's a Euro G) This is actually a cup size down from my usual 40H in Anita, so this definitely runs a bit large in the cup.