Review: Fantasie Rebecca Nouveau Spacer bra

Nutshell: virtually the same bra as the Fantasie Rebecca, but less plain and with less irritating trim. (The Nouveau style was apparently discontinued last month so will be around a bit longer on discount sites.)

Beauty

Very plain, save for the Art Nouveau swirled tracery embroidery along the underband and sides....which you can barely see as it's tucked under the shadow of my boobs. Little tuxedo bows and embroidery on each strap. This color is cream, too pale to serve as a neutral, but I hate it less than my dreaded beige. The Nouveau was supposed to have a lower cut than the regular Rebecca, but I can tell no difference in the height of the gore.

Comfort & Fit

Cups  Fabulous spacer foam: by definition, this fabric is thin and breathable. Kind of remarkable, really; like a loose-weave foam. When I walk around I can actually feel the air flowing to my boobs, similar to a mesh bra but a lot more comfy a fabric. As you can see, you will not get full Tshirt bra style nippy coverage from spacer foam. It's enough camouflage for me personally, but although I'm not typically prone to headlight issues, you can clearly see some outline.

 The cups run large, by around 1-1/2 cups. I'm wearing an FF from 4 years ago here, i.e., 2 cup sizes smaller than my usual GG. I could go up a cup today - due to the double-bubble happening on my right side - but it still fits quite well. They are not cut tall, which I appreciate.

The shape is very round, with even fullness in the cup, which is shallow at the gore, but otherwise quite deep. 


Band   It's a standard Fantasie band: snug, and with only 2 hooks. It's surprisingly comfy considering that, but it does have that unfortunate UK construction where the band angles upward in the back. That can make it appear the band is riding up, which is not the case at all. It simply isn't angled downward slightly - as so many European bands are - which has the great feature of counter-balancing the weight of the boobs and fitting securely and without the need for tightness. A far better design approach than simply insisting upon tight bands, which balance the weight through sheer constriction. I digress.

Straps  Nicely placed. They are not center pull, so can still be worn with wide(ish) necklines, but are placed a little further in than the usual balconette, while also angling in at the back. They are on the thin side of average, which is fine, because due to the design they are not carrying too much weight.

Shape  Very rounded and a little wide.  

 
It accommodates quite a bit of upper fullness and the spacer foam fabric is flexible enough to actually let my boob retain its natural shape on top.

I'd say full-on-bottom shapes will experience some empty space at the top of the cup, but balanced and full-on-tops will enjoy the fabric respecting their natural upper boob sovereignty.


The shape is not minimized exactly but the projection is softened which makes flowy tops or boxy shapes hang much better. No boob tent issues here.

When Do I Wear It?

When I want a very round shape, with more coverage and smoothness than a seamed bra can provide, but don't want a full-on molded foam Tshirt bra. Especially during warm weather and clingy fabrics.
Size:  38FF