Review: Gorsenia Solange

Gorsenia is a Polish brand with an aesthetic that is closer to Kris Line than Comexim. Solange is a non-padded balconette and they have 'semi-soft' (padded lower cup, mesh upper) and padded (1/2 cup shapes) as well.

Beauty

Deeply gorgeous. A lustrous misty-cloud grey satin with silvery embroidery that catches the light. 

Solange wowed the BF while drying on the line. (I always, always wash a bra before the first wear to remove any fabric starch and processing chemicals.)

 Comfort & Fit

Band.  Stretchy & runs loose. This is sized nothing like ultra-tight Comexim, very tight Ewa Michalak, or snug US bands. It is a comfy non-mesh band with 3 hooks. It is arched under the gore, which makes it more comfy to sit in and doesn't put pressure on your diaphragm if that's something that bothers you.

Cups.  Very generous and very deep. Again, runs much larger than Comexim. I tried my usual Euro size of 40H and the cup was actually 1/2 to a full cup size large on me. The fabric is high quality and feels soft.

This is visible in the gapping on my smaller left side; though there is still slightly gapping on the larger side, it is not as visible. 

There is plenty of room for top and center fullness.

The mesh upper portion is a double layer, with a bit of give, but not stretch. The satin lower cup is very silky - not rough & 'laminated'. Yay!

Wires.  A little higher under the arm than I prefer, but this may be due to the cup size being a little too large for me. The wires are a softer gauge, like other Polish & Euro brands I've tried (exept Ewa) and they are narrow-medium width; just a smidge narrower than Natori, but not as narrow as Comexim. 

 
Tacking.   Unexpectedly, I am getting a perfect tack here: full, complete contact - including the top of the gore - that falls at a natural place between my boobs. It's more than a soft tack, but nothing like the harsh hard tack of a Panache or Tutti Rouge. It is perfect. And comfy. And oh so rare.

Something I get from very, very few brands. 

This means the gore is narrow, the wires are medium-narrow, and the cup is very deep. 

  
Shape.  Great!


Rounded, but not overly projected. 

Solange does not suffer from the pointy shape issues that can plague deep, seamed cup shapes.

The shape is like most Polish brands: centered, with boobs on the front of your chest. No arms bumping into the sides of your boobs a'la Panache.

The profile is lifted, but not overly boosted.  

Natural, not overly orb-like.
 
(The tag is on because I hadn't decided whether to return it for a cup size smaller. I opted to keep it for the one week of the month I experience a 1/2 cup size worth of swelling.)

Compromises

Stays.  There are the hated side stays, and they are not flexible & flat, but the rounded, thick type. But they were very easy to remove, i.e., not sewn into the band a'la Freya. 

Edging.  The edging beneath the wires is not the softest and tends to roll under a bit. Hopefully, it will soften a bit with each wash and even so, it is far softer than the La Isla bra, which has become quite wearable.

Straps.  The straps themselves are great: a smidge wider than average, and something between regular and restricted stretch. They are comfy and not taking on too much weight the way Comexim can. However, they are a bit too widely spaced - and I have broad shoulders, so... But I am reserving judgement until I try a band size down to see if it scales well and eliminates this issue.

When Do I Wear It?

Under pretty much anything. The shape is moderate and very versatile. Gorsenia is basically what Curvy Kate should be. Not just a great aesthetic, but a great shape. And at the far better price point of $30 on amazon. The brand is very promising for balanced or full-on-top boobs that like narrow wires and lots of projection.

Size:  40H  Which was basically a cup and a band size too large. I am trying a 38H next. The sizing is different from other Polish brands, and runs more generous in both cup and band. A good place to start is with your Euro size: go with the tighter band size you normally wear, and also go down a cup size. 

For instance, my usual Euro size is 38I (& I usually have to sister-size to the more commonly available 40H). So for Gorsenia, I would try a 38H. If you're trying to convert from your usual UK size, then either keep your normal band, or drop down one, & go up one cup. E.g. 38GG to a 38H

Update! 

After a second laundering, the underband scalloped edging is a non-issue. I have since worn Solange for an 11-hour day - longer than the usual 9 hours I wear an underwire, and she was extremely comfortable right up to the time I took her off. 

She provided very comfy support during PMS swelling, when my skin is at its most sensitive. I experienced no irritation from the materials during a mix of a long day at my desk followed by a mile of walking. 

This puts Gorsenia Solange into my top three bras: for comfort, she is #3, behind Natori Satin Fleur and the unbeatable Anita Twin. In price, Solange reigns supreme at $30 (the regular, non-sale price). In shape, she is #1, with the Anita a distant 3rd.  

Here is how she looks under clothing. For comparison, I'm wearing the Comexim under the same shirt, here: Comexim T under floaty top