It's no secret: I love this bra. It fits great - not perfectly, but that's to be expected -, gives me a really nice shape and I adore the aesthetic. I find myself reaching for it more often than all but one of my bras (and that's only because my Ewa Michalak CH Karmelki has a delightfully snug band).
Cleo is a staple for the fuller bust crowd who want a more youthful aesthetic than a lot of brands have on offer. Add in the narrow wires, projection and immediate depth common in their unpadded bras and you basically have a match made in heaven for me! I just wish they made 26s...
I snagged this off Poinsettia for £23 shipped which was a nice discount from its £28-£30 RRP (I'm all about discounts). I ordered the only colour available at the time, a bright pink described as cerise. After reading Big Cup's review I expected a more muted colour bra, perhaps a little reddish, and a bra without much immediate depth, potentially clashing with my shape and also being quite pointy.
What arrived in the post was a raspberry pink bra, which I have quickly grown to love, and a classic Cleo round profile!
Blake also comes in a turqoise colour with a contrasting black trim, straps and bow. I prefer the raspberry but I know that lots of people are more partial to the blue. It's sold in sizes 28 F-H, 30-38 D-J.
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| Panache's stock photo |
Design:
The beige trim lifts the pink and takes this design from fun but boring to really cool in my opinion. The metal hardware matches the beige colour. I also really like the leopard bow even though I usually hate animal print with a passion!
The "crafted for fit, styled for fun" line printed on the inside of the wires is definitely how I'd describe this bra. Big Cup said it had a bond girl vibe and I have to agree. It's fun yet classic, bold yet subtle. I could wax poetic about it all day long...
Just look at that mesh! It's really neat, from afar it looks like tiny diamond shapes. From up close it's a really interesting geometric design.
Sadly this mesh doesn't continue onto the black, instead the band is made out of plain pink powermesh. I much prefer it when designs continue onto the back, but it's not the worst thing in the world.
Construction:
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| I believe the strap gap here is mostly due to my lack of outer fullness and the bra's strap construction. I fill out the top of the bra well aside from that. |
The bra has a three part cup, relatively narrow straps, and a two hook closure. I have grown to prefer three hooks, and I know some people in the H+ range can't wear Cleo bras because of their use of two hooks only, but this bra is plenty supportive with just two.
Some people find Cleo's bras to be scratchy. Blake is lined with a smooth mesh, and the straps are soft on the inside too so it's pretty comfortable. I'm honestly surprised just how smooth it is whenever I put it on.
The bra is pretty good quality. It's well sewn and the materials are sturdy. I wouldn't expect any higher quality from a Cleo bra. One issue is that, after a few hand washes, the fabric at the ends of the wire channels seems to be running a bit, but it should be easy to just stitch back in and try to forget about.
Fit:
Cleo says this bra is based on the shape of Marcie. I don't think that's strictly true. I think it's like a cross between Marcie and Lily, having more projection than Marcie but being more open on top than Lily. If you are full on bottom and very projected, sizing down in this bra may help you fill out the top (which is what happens to me).
The wires are nice and narrow, and the cups very rounded.
However, you can see that the wires are too wide for me (as are all bras so I'm not holding it against Blake).
The bra has lots immediate depth so the wires only ride down a little bit on me.
It also has a fair amount of room in the center - the gore tacks despite my boobs wanting to push it out, however it sometimes tacks only on one side. The gore is slightly narrower than average.
The band is true to size for a 28 band, stretching to about 28.25". This is a shame for me because I prefer really snug bands, but good news if you like your bands to be correctly labelled! It fits well on the snuggest hooks for now, though I'll have to alter it in the future.
Bratabase Measurements:
Overall:
As soon as I put this bra on I thought to myself "this is a keeper". It's great for those days when you want a round, uplifted, a little-in-your-face shape but without the cleavage that comes with the only EM bra you own which happens to be too small in the cup. It's comfortable and secure. I would recommend it to anyone who has had success in Marcie and Hettie/Lily, and particularly those who feel that Marcie is just a bit too shallow and open on top but Lily/Hettie too deep and closed on top. It is narrow and projected.
Sadly it looks like Blake will be discontinued after this season so you'll need to buy it soon if you want it!
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