Reviews: 3 Options from Leading Lady

Based on how useful and comfy I have found my Leading Lady cami-bralettes - which, naturally, now appear to be discontinued - I tried three more styles: a T-shirt bra, a long(ish)line bralette, and a sleep bralette. Let's see how they worked out for me:

Brigitte Molded Padded Seamless Underwire

Beauty.  Lots of pretty colors and patterns. I opted for Classic Cranberry, a juicy jewel tone with a subtle pattern. 

Fit & Comfort. What in the actual...?! Just no.....oh dear, no, no, no. I was not expecting this bizarre shape. It is both shallow AND pointy. I can't imagine how they accomplished this. Or...why they even tried to. The majority of the depth is way over at the outside of the cups, practically halfway around your back, with virtually none at the center of bottom. The gore is around 4" from my chest. A larger cup would not help since it would be up to my eyebrows, and still wouldn't have any depth. I can't assess comfort because the shape mismatch is so extreme.

I don't think this is a full-on-top issue, since most full-on-bottom shapes will not have the extremely shallow and side-weighted shape the cups demand. Perhaps the bra scales better in smaller sizes, who knows. But with the ultra-pointy silhouette, i.e. boob tent creator, I'd give this one a hard pass. 

Greta Wirefree Bralette

Greta had real potential, ruined by what, for me, is a fatal flaw - but may not be for you. 

Beauty. I find this sleek and pretty in the color way Modern Violet.

Comfort. Wonderful soft modal fabric, which is the gold standard for sensitive skin. The deep band is also soft and stretchy; in smaller cup sizes it gives more of a longline effect. The darted seams are actually non-irritating.

Fit. The cups have a lot of depth and capacity. The size range is impressively large, from S-5X. This is a 3X which equates to 38F-40H (US). Lots of stretch to accommodate different shapes.

Love the low sides! They taper away almost to the band in back, while still giving coverage where you actually need it. There is a very decent amount of lift and a nice rounded shape with some separation, too.

So, why oh why didn't this work for me? The straps. For some reason they decided to try to get fancy and make them an X-shape. 

Yeahhh, a really bad design move, especially for non-adjustable straps. It was the main complaint mentioned in reviews. Though I did not find them too tight, I found the place just endlessly uncomfortable. And awkward. I was constantly aware of them and hated the feel of them creeping ever more toward my neck. There is just no way to fix this, short of cutting the straps and reattaching them in a more sane configuration. Which is a real shame, as Greta is a stellar bralette in every other way. Bummer.

Bamboo Crossover Sleep Bra

This one was almost a keeper.

Comfort.  Bamboo is right up there with modal for sensitive skin nirvana. Once I had turned it inside-out so the seams and elastic would not annoy my sensitive skin, of course. This is something I have to do routinely, and was expecting. It's definitely comfy enough to sleep in.

Fit.  You can probably already see the issue coming.....Yeah, even though there is nice cup capacity on the sides:

There simply wasn't enough cup capacity in the front and center. Sadly, this style tops out at a 2X, and I really needed a size up. I thought about keeping it anyway, but I knew that the cutting in, especially on my larger side, would drive me nuts over time. Not to mention the annoyance that boobs tumbling out would cause if I actually tried to sleep in it. 

I actually liked the style and have no real complaints about the design. The drawback of reduced size capacity that always accompanies a crossover style are balanced by it being super easy to step into, as there are no hooks. Because Leading Lady bands run on the snug side, I think this size could work for you if you're between, say, a 36E-40F (US) especially if you're full-on-bottom.

Who Will These Work For?

I'd honestly just give all their wired styles a miss. It's just not worth the trial and error to -possibly- find that one style that doesn't have that truly bizarre shallow yet pointy cup shape. 

But the bralettes are actually worth a look. If you're petite, or actually like racerback or X-back styles, then Greta would be a great, very comfy option for you. And one of the few available in a truly large cup, smaller band size range - and at a decent price point. The Bamboo Crossover is a nice sleep bra option in you're in the size range. It's unfortunate they discontinued the highly practical and comfy cotton cami-bra style, but I will keep an eye out for new styles from the brand, in case they come out with something similar.

Price: All styles were around $30.