Because I loved everything about the Greta bralette - save her annoying X-back straps - I decided to try her sister, Loretta. Different fabric from the delicious modal of Greta, but still a very soft microfiber, and in a similar V-neck style, but with regular bra straps. Here's how that went for me.
Beauty
I tried Loretta in the awesomely named colorway of Whiskey Rose. First off, the deeper V neckline lined in lace makes her prettier than the plainer Greta. That lace continues about 1/2 way up the straps. More on those later.
Comfort & Fit
Cups. Unfortunately, they run significantly smaller than the Greta's. I'd say by a full cup size. The reviews on Amazon note that 40% say the bra 'runs large'. Yeah, no. This demonstrates that about 80% of bra reviews are left by folks who genuinely do not understand how bra sizing works. And correlates with about the same % who are supposedly wearing the wrong size anyway.
The positive: the vertical seams give a nice shape under clothing. More important: the seams are completely flat, specifically the inner layer that lays next to your skin. I can't emphasize enough how unfortunately rare this is, even in more expensive brands, and how hugely it impacts comfort.
The negative: despite the seams, the cups are needlessly shallow and lacking in lift. Though the profile is actually better than this angle would suggest.
This is due mainly to.....
Straps. They are very - inexplicably - thin, but adjustable. Leading Lady makes some great large cup bralettes, in wonderful soft fabrics, but after trying two styles - both of which have needlessly complicated or inadequate straps - all I can conclude is: they really need to have an actual person with big boobs explain to them how straps work.
Band. Very different to Greta's unique band, which I really liked. This is a more traditional band: taller, with 4 hooks. Had the straps been wider, there would have been all day support potential here.
Shape. You can certainly leave the house in Loretta. It gives a soft, rounded natural shape - not nearly as flattened as the pic above would suggest.
When Do I Wear It?
Well, I wore Loretta to work one day under a chunky sweater and the straps began to cut in annoyingly after 4 hours, making Loretta a great after-work or weekend bralette.
Sizing: Unlike Greta, Loretta comes in cup size ranges. I tried 42/DD/F/G, which I found to fit me like a 40F. Because the bands do fit snugly, you have room to sister-size up in the band, and, especially if you're full-on-top, I'd suggest you try that.
Note: I've added an affiliate link, which means that if you opt to buy this yourself, then I get about a quarter from Amazon, to help cover the costs of this blog.
