Saturday, July 28, 2018

Review: Prima Donna Divine

My sister has zero bra issues. She is a 36F, wears Prima Donna exclusively, and when she needs another bra she just picks one up like a pair of socks. Yeah. I can't imagine that either. She's also full-on-bottom and does not have sensitive skin. While we're at it, she has wavy, rather than curly, hair that is frizz-proof. And by any objective measure, I'm a nicer person, with a sense of humor about myself, so there's that. =o) Kidding not kidding. 

Anyhoo, I've long meant to give Prima Donna a try. They are, however, what I consider spendy i.e. they run $90 and up. I wish I had the option of just investing in 3 or 4 very expensive bras and calling it a day. The first problem with that plan is that I experience a lot of size fluctuation - even more as I tiptoe through the onset of perimenopause - making that a pretty poor investment. Also, I simply have not found expensive brands to be more comfortable. There is definitely an increase in fabric and construction quality at the mid-point price of around $50 compared to bras under $30. But the value quickly drops off after that. 

Full price for the Divine runs between $125 - 150. I found one on eBay (new with tags) for $50. I do not think the full price is justified.

Beauty

PrimaDonna DIVINE Underwired bra

Prima Donna Divine



A pretty pattern in molded lace with a 'heart-shaped' neckline. It comes in several colors and because I was still trying to fill that T-shirt bra shaped hole in my bra-drobe I opted for Venus, which is a lovely pale blush. On my skin, it functions as a neutral and is a better match as a skin-tone bra than a yellowy beige. 

The Divine reminds me a great deal of the Empreinte Grace, which I like very much. 

Comfort

Spoiler: the waters are about to get rough

Fabric.   Shockingly harsh, rough 'lace'. I wouldn't even consider this to be lace, actually. The closest comparison is the starched lace doily that adorned my grandmother's coffee table. I'm pretty sure that thing could've supported a small bowling ball, and not just peppermint candies. I suppose that's the idea here: rugged support. Yeah. It is not comfy. At all. 

The Divine is not lined and, unlike the Grace, the inner side is not smooth; the cup fabric is much, much rougher. When I took the bra off at the end of the day I could actually see -and definitely feel- the entire pattern imprinted on my boobs. My husband found this highly amusing. Direct quote "It's like reading Braille on your boobs."

Band.  Surprisingly, it has only two hooks. Since the band is fairly tall at the sides, I'm not sure of the purpose of having it taper in the back to only two hooks, but it is not a plus for comfort. The fabric of the band is soft-ish on the outside, but a rougher mesh on the inside. Again, why? If it's for strength and fabric retention, then reversing that so the softness is on the inside would be a no-brainer. The picot trim edging the entire band, top & bottom, does no favors to the cause of comfort. Additionally, the band runs very tight. I actually added an extender, which increased the comfort enough to make it wearable.

Straps.  Wide and great fabric. A slightly spongey texture that is soft. However, they are very wide-set. As I have very broad shoulders, it is incredibly rare to have the experience of a strap sliding off my shoulder, but these did. Since the band is tight on me, going up a band would actually make the straps sit even wider, which would be unwearable for me.

Fit & Shape

Cups.  That wrinkling toward the bottom you can see above is actually a dart. This gives the cups a great shape and adds depth to accommodate some projection. On my larger side, the darts do not lay as flat. The molded cup shape is meant for a balanced shape. Those darts would have done me a lot more good had they been an inch higher, since my fullness is on the top. However, I can't blame brands for designing for the majority. And full-on-bottoms are, by far, the majority shape, with balanced coming in second, and full-on-tops....well, we're clearly a distant 3rd. 

The only brand I have found that is designed for full-on-tops is Gorsenia. And unfortunately, they have changed their designs, removing most of the features that made the now-discontinued Solange so comfortable. 

Gore.  Very narrow, which I love. Also much lower than the Grace, which I really love. The lower the gore, the better a bra will fit my full-on-top shape. I don't get even a soft tack, but an acceptable 1/2" float.

Shape.  Really beautiful; round and slightly less boosted than Grace, the Divine gives a perfect T-shirt shape. 

There is no denying that the Divine looks great under clothing. I wore it under a T-shirt:
 

And, here, with a very fitted modal top. You can see that rugged lace right through the fabric, which is fine with me, as it's quite pretty.





That's basically how my boobs looked when I took it off. They retained a faint imprint of this pattern.









When Do I Wear It?

When I want a round T-shirt friendly shape, without overly boosted projection, and I don't want any foam involved. For me, that means the very specific situation of a hot muggy day and thin fabric. The shape is pretty much perfection, but the comfort leaves much to be desired. I mean, a lot. If the fabric was actually comfy and the band and strap issues were not present, then yes, I would happily pay $125 for this bra. But as it is, even the $50 I paid is a stretch. Actually, any stretch in the cups would have have been welcome. I have no doubt the Divine will wear like iron (& feel like it) but I just don't care that the bra will last into the next generation if I don't want it on my boobs.

Size.  40G
I did a lot of research on the sizing of Prima Donna and in the end I went with my Empreinte size. The bands run a full size smaller than Empreinte, which I find true to size. And the cups run around 1/2 cup large, also true for Empreinte. So the 40G is a cup size smaller than my usual Euro size, and more similar to my US size.

This size is, technically, the right fit for me, and if you like snug bands, you'd be fine keeping your usual band size. I like a more moderate +2 fit (2" larger than my actual band measurement) and if you do, too, then you'll want to go up a band size. I have no idea how the strap placement scales in smaller sizes, so keep that possible issue in mind in you are narrow-shouldered.

2 comments:

  1. Strangely - I just wore (and recommended this bra to someone) today. And I completely agree that the fabric is aggressive. It's the biggest issue I have with this bra. I found the straps slipping all day - don't remember this happening when previously I've worn this bra. I thought it was that the straps had loosened but now I'm going to consider whether they're too wide altogether. (I have narrow shoulders and, I realize, in diff sizes, bras can have diff proportions - but still, what if that's what's going on.) I do think this bra is better than its Empreinte counterpart - the Melody. I wrote a few posts about these bras a while ago.

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    1. I remembered your really comprehensive review of this bra....right after I put it on. Haha. I wish & I’d gone back & re-read it first. As to the straps, if the band was very loose, I’d have expected it, but it’s definitely not; slipping straps are almost unknown for me, so I do believe it’s an issue of poor scaling in the design. I may still try the Madison, with it’s stretch lace upper cup, but overall, I think the brand is overpriced.

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