Review: Natori + Envious Plunge

Now here is the bra I really thought I'd be wearing with the velvet plunge dress in Vegas. I expected Natori would be my best shot at a lightweight, non-padded, comfy plunge style. And I was pleased they finally added a plunge style at all in larger cup sizes. 

Beauty 

Envious is really pretty in a non-fussy way. Baroque embroidery in matte gold. A sleek and minimal frame. True, the gore seemed a bit wide which gave me slight pause...and...

Yeah. Waaaaay too small. In every way. Bummer.

Fit & Shape

Cups. Seriously lacking in capacity. They run a good cup size smaller than other styles in the brand - maybe 2. And the lace fabric of the upper cup is surprisingly low on stretch. A feature that would have really improved the fit and made up for the frankly underwhelming cup capacity. 

I'm surprised the bra looks as good as it does in this pic. What it doesn't show is just how compressed it felt on my body and the sensation of cutting in is a dealbreaker for me. If not for that, I would have tried to make this work.

Gore.  It does run wide. If the band wasn't so small, this would be a prime candidate for taking in the gore 1/2", to tip the cups and make them slightly more open on top. 

Band.  Incredibly tight. Runs a full size small. It fit like a tight 36. The fabric was nice however and very stable.

Wires.  The usual Natori wires: medium-narrow, not too high; on the flexible side, but very stable. Pretty ideal for me.

Shape.  Rounded and compact.

The look and shape of the bra remind me a great deal of Chantelle C Chic Plunge, which gives a great shape, though it is non-stretch and has the folded-ruffle effect straps which look great, but cut in uncomfortably. (That bra also runs incredibly small.) I was hoping for that same shape and minimal 'not a lotta bra' feel in the Natori Envious.

When Do I Wear It?

Well, if I could crowbar my way to a decent fit, this would be an everyday go-to. Beautiful enough for occasions, but very practical for me. I love the lightweight fabric, the compact rounded shape, the low gore, and the whole 'less bra' feel of the frame. There would be compromises - mainly the too-wide gore and the upper cup fabric having less stretch than is ideal for me - but overall, this is the style of bra I keep searching for. And failing to find.

I am becoming rather exasperated with Natori's inconsistent sizing issues. The first 4 styles I tried were very consistent, the last 3...not so much. There are enough wins for me to keep the brand as a favorite, but they really have some work to do on quality control for sizing.

Size:  38H
Note: I am very tempted to try again, especially as there is a sale on the style. My guess is that just bumping up to a 40 may not be enough to offset how small this style runs, since it's undersized in both cup and band. I may try bumping up 2 band sizes, which seems extreme, but I just hate to give up on this style.