Review: Rosa Faia by Anita: Aurelia

Beauty

Aurelia is very similar in design to the Twin, but done completely in lace, and seamless inside & out. Although I am a lover of lace, I can't say the particular pattern of the lace is my favorite, but it's pretty enough. Aurelia reminds me a bit of both Empreinte Grace and Prima Donna Divine, but I find it far superior to both in every category but shape.

The color is a dark cream with a hint of blush, which is not exactly 'skin tone' but works well as a neutral for me under lighter colored clothing.

Comfort & Fit

Fabric.  Though sturdy, the lace is very soft and lays completely flat. It has a bit of stretch -but is not overly stretchy & therefore very supportive- and is very comfy against the skin and undetectable under clothing. If you find lace scratchy and uncomfortable, the Aurelia would likely be the exception you can wear. It is unlined and does snag against my fingernails a bit when I swoop & scoop, but this lace is not flimsy and won't tear. Still, I do the lean & jiggle instead, just to be safe.

Cups.  Like all Anita/Rosa Faia, they are meant for a balanced or full-on-bottom shape; though they do have quite a bit of room at the top, they don't have much space near the center to accommodate a lot of projection or inner fullness. So I was surprised when I got a nice soft tack. They do run 1/2 cup large, so if you're between sizes or very FOB, I suggest dropping down a cup. 

Band.  The usual Anita silky, stable, 3-hook hand. No power mesh; very comfy.

Wires.  These were surprising. They are on the narrow side! Anita wires generally run wide. They also run an inch taller than I prefer, but are still the usual more flexible wires in a complete 'U' shape, so they stay very close to the boob and do not poke the armpit or move around. They are designed to be supportive without resorting to a harsh rigid Panache-y or Elomi-esque style wire. I did opt to sister-size to mitigate what I suspected would be higher wires, & I'm glad I did.

Straps.  The usual wide, flat, very comfy and supportive straps you'll find in this brand. Anita straps are nice and long; I never have to extend them all the way, but they still work for petites. The straps are graded by size and are slimmer in the smaller cups; in mine, the lace cup tapers up into the strap, adding lots of support without cutting too close to the armpit and chafing UK-style. I did not get a good pic of that, but you can see it here:

 

Shape.  Rounded, slightly minimized, but not wide, due to the narrow wires. 

You can see how it compares to the near-perfect shape of the 1,000 times less comfy Prima Donna Divine. 

Aurelia on a rare sunny day

Divine

You can also see how Divine sits nicely below what I call my 'line of demarcation fluff in the sand'. I like wires to sit below that horizontal line of muscle 'n fluff to avoid the digging & discomfort it virtually always causes me when wires sit there. But Aurelia is an exception.

When Do I Wear It?

Aurelia is a great bra. My single quibble is the wire height, but I still find her very comfy for a full day's wear. She is a perfect choice for work: both flexible and securely non-bouncy. And a fine summertime bra, giving a rounded, non-projected T-shirt shape that is not too wide, and in a light and cool open lace fabric. The lace is very sensitive-skin friendly, but substantial enough to lend some helpful nip-camouflage. She is also very useful with empire waists and button-downs, as a not-really-minimizer, but more a 'projection softener'. And the more narrow wires actually make it more balanced and full-on-top friendly than the Twin. And, of course, this is a very comfy choice for PMS size fluctuation and tenderness. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a pic of how it looks under a blouse. 

Sizing:  42G. This fits me like a UK40G or a roomy Euro 40(90)H. I opted not to go for my usual 40H because the bands run snug and I suspected the wires would run high, so I dropped down a cup & went up a band in order to drop the wire height. Good plan. Because the cup runs a little large, I may even drop to a 42F next time. If you are full-on-bottom, you're going to need to drop a cup.

Price point: Full price runs $65, which is more than reasonable for this level of quality, which is much higher than, say, Panache or Wacoal, and obviously, much, much higher than budget brands like Delimira or Rosme. Still, I  buy a lot of bras. Clearly. =o)  And I do not have the benefit of personalized service in a local boutique (where I would happily pay full price); I have to do the research and order online. So if you do the same, I'd advise putting it in your Amazon cart and letting it sit there until it drops to $50 or so due to their super-annoying 'dynamic pricing'.