I think coral is such a lovely colour, so when I saw this review by Miss Underpinnings, I just had to get one. I could only find the coral on the Miss Mandalay website, and I didn't want to pay £36 + £15.95 shipping for a bra that didn't even fit. Large Cup Lingerie also stocks the coral, but not in my size. So, I purchased two Paige bras in the yellow on sale at Bravissimo for £21 each, a 34GG and a 34H. I am usually a 32H, but I had heard that the Paige ran small in the band, and small in the cup for fuller on top girls.
Miss Mandalay "Paige" (from the Bravissimo website)
The bra itself is very pretty. The colour isn't as bright as the Bravissimo picture. I was expecting something a bit more like my Cleo 'Lucy' (which is more of a canary yellow), but the Paige is more of a soft yellow, almost pastel but not quite.
I didn't even notice the detailing on the straps until I took it off, but it is very pretty.
I liked the centre gore; it's not too high like some of my balconnettes, but not too low like some plunges that make me feel less secure. It sat completely flat and is just over 3 inches high. The back had 3 hooks as well, which I like in a bra.
Now for everything that was was wrong.
Now this could be a positive or a negative, really: The material is not very soft... it's actually pretty stiff. The band stretches to about 34 inches, if I pull as taut as possible, I get it to 35 inches. A 32 band, although it would have fit, would have been quite uncomfortable. The Paige also makes my boobs sit a little too far outwards for my liking. I generally prefer them to be a tad more front and centre, but not too cleavage-ey.
This is my right breast, which the Paige fit.
Extra fabric at the bottom of my left cup (happened on both). I fidgeted around with the cups to try get it to fit better, but it just wouldn't work. I'm not very full on bottom, so even though the volume of the cup itself would have been fine, it just wasn't the right shape.
The wires are also quite high and weren't the most comfortable. They were alright when trying on, but I could tell that they would end up poking and causing discomfort.
All in all, it makes me sad this didn't suit me, as I think it has potential... just not for girls with full-on-top breasts. It's pretty and I think the stiffer less-stretchy fabric could be a good solution for girls with smaller back sizes that find it hard to find firm bands. The stiffer fabric also helps retain the cup shape quite well, given that it's quite sheer. If any of the problems were fixable (such as making the centre gore narrower like I did for my Cleo Lucy), I would keep it as a nice, feminine, everyday bra... but it's just not for me. I'll be returning the bras to Bravissimo.