Review: Harper Wilde bralettes

Nutshell: Disappointing

In my never-ending quest to find comfy bralettes to join my two stalwarts, Bali and 32 Degrees, I was excited to try out this woman-owned brand, Harper Wilde. I tried The Bliss and Luxe.

My hopes were quickly deflated.

Beauty

Sleek simplicity. Zero frou-frou. Just simple lines, silky fabrics, in very limited non-colors.

                The Bliss & Luxe

Fit & Comfort

Here lies the problem. Per the brand's size chart, I should have been well within the sizes range. I can only assume that the chart uses a definition of "inches" that is unknown to me.

The cup size in both styles I tried was vastly underwhelming. Vastly. Also, the brand seems to be aimed at a very specific boob shape and body type: full-on-bottom boobs and a narrow, fairly petite frame. Not exactly a universal approach.

The Bliss

Fabric is lovely and silky, but oddly, not all that stretchy. The effect is of an old school flattening sports bra. I get a definite uni-boob and no bounce at all. The usual problem of a soft fabric finished with rough seams is present, so I've flipped the bralette inside-out to make it wearable for me; when only the soft fabric is against my skin, I can imagine being quite happy with this style - if only the cups had more stretch and could handle boobs with any projection at all, let alone a full-on-top shape.

Luxe

I had higher hopes that this style might better accommodate fuller boobs, but was soon disappointed again. I'm only showing the side view as Luxe is completely sheer. The fabric isn't the satin-soft smoothness of The Bliss, but it's softer than expected for a mesh style.

Front-adjust straps are a practical novelty that I appreciate; it's a shame the straps aren't wider and restricted stretch. In fact, applying some of that stretchiness to the cups, rather than the straps, would be a big improvement. As it is, the rigid mesh cups are cutting into my upper fullness so badly, Luxe is neither comfortable nor wearable.

When Do I Wear Them?

Luxe, never. The Bliss...not very often. I'd say that if you're under 5'6", narrow-shouldered, full-on-bottom and looking for snug bands and supportive, less stretchy cups, then Harper Wilde might work for you.

Size: 3X

This should have put me well within the size chart, but I find both styles to run incredibly small and not accurate to the measurements reflected on the chart. Because the whole design seems scaled to a small-framed person , i.e. The Bliss' straps are quite short (& non-adjustable) and Luxe straps are very inset, I don't think sizing up would improve the fit for me.

Price Point: $50

At this price, I expected...more. And for a woman-owned company founded by women who couldn't find bras that fit them well, it's a bit ironic that the brand is heavily geared toward one specific boob shape and body type.