Bras I Hate & Love Tries Tutti Rouge!

I've been dying to try the new brand, Tutti Rouge, ever since I first saw the product photos. Recently, I was fortunate enough to be loaned a few of the styles by the lovely Erica over at A Sophisticated Pair. I tried the Liliana in 30HH, the Betty in 30HH, and the Birds of a Feather in 32HH. My immediate thoughts are really positive. I figured I was going to love this brand, and I did. The bras are lovely in person and are really well-made, which is nice because they are also fairly affordable. I expected that I would need a larger cup size and band size in this brand, and I did. My conclusion is that I would fit a 32HH in all the styles I tried. Since I usually wear a 30H in Cleo and a 30HH in other brands, that's 1 band size up and 1-2 cups sizes up. I would recommend most people try a size up from their normal size in this brand. From what I have heard, the bands run tight in the smaller size region and start to run larger in the upper band sizes due to increased stretch, so if you wear a 34/36 band or above, you likely won't need to size up in the band.

Now let's see the bras...

Here's the Liliana in 30HH. Liliana has a three-piece balconette construction with padding in the lower two sections.

It's too small, but the shape is perfect for my boobs. This bra gives a very rounded shape. It keeps the girls really close to the chest, and as such is pretty minimizing. This bra is going to be GREAT for anyone who wants their boobs to look a bit more subtle but still really rounded.

I actually liked the partially-padded cup construction. I don't dislike padding as much as I once did, but having the top section unpadded really helps minimize that bulk that some of us dislike in padded bras. I had heard that this top section was stretchy, but I didn't find that it had much stretch to it.

The Liliana won't work for those who need deep cups and a lot of projection. It's just cut too shallow for that shape. If you have shallower boobs and like the 'purple shape', try the Liliana.

Next up, the Betty in 30HH. This bra has a half-cup construction with vertical seams--a shape guaranteed to give lots of uplift and never look pointy. Unlike most half-cups that have two seams, the Betty just has one:

Apologies about the antique mirror.

Again, this bra is one cup size too small, but the shape works for me.

It's so uplifting that it almost works as a strapless (and no, my boobs aren't self-supporting):

Half-cups typically work best for full-on-top boobs because the upper tissue can sit outside the cup. Those with full-on-bottom boobs can still get awesome cleavage in half-cups but might need to size up. I think the Betty will work for both types.

Like the Liliana, it is somewhat minimizing, so it's good for those of us who like that. Because of the nice cleavage it gives, though, this one will also appeal to those who like to give their boobs more visual oomph. In terms of size I think it runs about the same as Curvy Kate's Thrill Me and Tease Me half-cups--in other words, a little small.

It's cuter in person than it looks online, with the ruffle detail and cool modern-looking flowers. In this colorway, it's almost a little too twee for my tastes, but it's going to be coming out in red/black and a blue shade next season. I think I'll find myself tempted by the blue.

Next, I tried the Birds of a Feather bra in 32HH.

This one was the perfect size and fit, but didn't work for my shape. It has a full-cup construction with a side support panel, and like the Liliana the bottom sections are padded. Full-cup constructions usually don't work for full-on-top boobs because the upper tissue tends to make them look pointy (a topic I'll be posting about later this week), but sometimes they can succeed with a side-support panel. This one didn't have quite enough lift to avoid the pointy look on me, and also had some extra space I couldn't fill at the bottom:

I need this much lift.

If I had less upper tissue, though, my boobs would curve back in a different place, which would eliminate the pointy look. This bra will likely work better for full-on-the-bottom ladies. It also has a little too much depth for me, so there's a bit of empty space where my boobs are too shallow to fill the cups. So women who have more depth and projection to their boob will fare better with the Birds of a Feather bra, even though the Liliana probably won't work for them.

Overall I'm really happy with Tutti Rouge's launch. They started right off going up to a HH cup in all their bras, which fills my heart with joy. Since they run a little small in the cups, I hope to see them expand up to K or higher in the future, and with their clear enthusiasm to go to higher cup sizes straight off, I'm guessing they probably will at some point. I also like the fact that Tutti Rouge offers a range of different constructions and cuts so that different shapes will be able to wear the brand. Trying this brand felt sort of like the way I WANTED to feel trying Curvy Kate for the first time (sorry, Curvy Kate--expect a post about THAT next week!). I'd recommend Tutti Rouge (in a cup size up!) to fans of Cleo and Freya who want to expand their horizons.