Review: Tutti Rouge Eve Fuller Bust Bralette

I have a lot of love for Tutti Rouge's design aesthetic of frothy confections and whimsical touches. Who doesn't love their now-iconic heart-shaped strap adjustors? But I no longer wear my Tuttis due to the discomfort of the rigid wires and the aggressively tacking gores. 

But I was tempted by this bralette and curious as to what kind of support it might give. 

Beauty

Oh, Tutti, you heartbreaker. 

Eve is gorgeous and opulent. A baroque lace pattern with a sheer tulle overlay. With polka dots. That's right. Only Tutti Rouge can combine lace and polka dots and not have it look over the top.

But is she wearable? Here we go:

Comfort & Fit

Band. There really isn't one, just a deep strip of lace that is elasticized at the top; that provides your minimal baseline support.

Cups.  There is true support here. The soft lace, combined with the mesh overlay, actually gives moderate lift due to its not-very-stretchy effect. The deep-V shape provides a lot of separation -it is holding my relatively close-set boobs further apart than they naturally sit. 

This means you won't get any smooshed together cleavage or sticky boob-sweat, so yay for that. It also means that, unless you are wide-set, you are going to slowly migrate to the center and have to redistribute your boobs repeatedly.

Straps. A regular bra strap with the wider panel of mesh layered over it in front. They are comfy and this combination does increase the support, which is welcome as there is no real band to distribute the weight. I am less enamored of the hybrid harness/cross-back style. It's tough to get a pic of it, but if you ignore the glare & the toothbrush reflection, this gives you some idea:

It is not uncomfy per se, but it makes it needlessly difficult to get into the bralette, as there is no clasp. You really need to have it perfectly aligned before pulling it over your head, as if a strap is tangled, you have zero hope of straightening it out once on. You will have to pull it off and start over. 

Shape. Round, wide, minimized, and surprisingly contained. You can definitely wear the Eve bralette out of the house. I did and found her supportive enough to stand in for a bra. 

Compromises

Straps.  Yeah, they look cool, but the annoyance factor is high. It often takes me two tries to get into the thing. A set of hooks in the back would have improved the whole experience. 

Comfort.  I was ready to take Eve off after about 4 hours. No specific areas of discomfort, except that section of the strap/upper cup that runs close to the armpit. This is really just an ever-present element of UK bra design and I'm not here for it. 

When Do I Wear It?

When I'm feeling that Beauty is more of a priority than Comfort. So, weekend sexy times, basically. Or date night out. Which works out nicely, since you're going to want some assistance in removing Eve. Because crazy straps.

Size. 42F (UK) Tutti bands run quite snug, so this fits me like a 40G, which is my actual size these days. It equates to a US 40H. 

Pricepoint. Regular price on ASOS is $19.50, which is a bargain for the brand.