Removing the wires from a bra

 This blog post is going to be about how the fit of a bra changes when you remove the wires.

I will be using my Impimi Nicole bra, and the original review for that can be found here.

I chose this bra specifically because the wires are extremely painful for me. Literally when I put the bra on this morning the gore was stabbing me. I love the color of this bra, but it’s virtually unwearable with the wires.

 

What I did first was get the sharpest scissors I have and gently go back and forth with one end of the blade, against the wire channel above where the wire is.

 

The wire didn’t slip out easily, so I had to use a little force.

 

As you can see, the wires are definitely in a plunge shape.

 

Once I took the wires out, the cup immediately widened.

Left side has wire, right side does not.

 

The width with the wire is about 5 inches

 

Without the wire the width is 6.5 inches

 

When putting the bra on after removing the wires I immediately felt a difference. For one, it was more comfortable, there was nothing stabbing me. With the wire removed there was nothing holding the cup into place, so on my bigger side the cup kind of collapsed. This bothered me very much. I found myself constantly touching my chest. It felt weird.

 

Here are some comparison pics

With the wires

Without the wires

 

You can see the cup is too small (now)

The cup looks a little lower without the wire.

 

The gore doesn’t tack.

This bra felt somewhat like a padded bralette. I’m not sure if I mentioned this, but I hate bralettes.

 

I don’t know what I’m going to do with this bra. I can’t wear it with the wires, and I don’t like it without the wires.

New Polish Brand Impimi ordering + Nicoll bra 65E

Ordering:

As you can see, I paid about $48 for this bra

Impimi is a Polish brand I recently became aware of. The main reason I chose to buy a bra from them, was because I saw an everyday bra that came in brown (I’m a sucker for brown bras). When I initially contacted them, I asked how much the shipping to the US was, because when I tried to complete my purchase, my address wasn’t accepted. I also asked how the sizing of their bras compared to Ewa Michalak, and Comexim. They responded a few hours later (if my calculations are correct, it was around 10pm in Poland), saying the shipping was about €6, and their fit was similar to Ewa’s. So I decided to go with 65E, which is the size I mostly wear in Ewa. (Although now I kind of do wish I went with 65D). But going based on their size chart, I’d need size 65F, which is what I had in my cart before I received the email. I placed my order July 14th. The ‘confirmation’ email I received from them:

 

 

 

 

After that, I never received an email from them. I did email them and ask if they could lower the gore to 6cm (2.36 inches). I didn’t receive an email saying whether they would or could do that (but the gore was about 2.4 inches). July 25th, I received an email stating the my order was complete. I want sure what that meant. Did it mean my order was processed, or did it mean my order was shipped? I didn’t get a tracking number, so I decided I was going to wait a few days, to see if I got an email. But later that day, the package was at my parents’ house. So it took 11 days from the time I ordered, to receive the bras (not bad at all) The bras were packaged in boxes in a big bubble mailer. One of the boxes was crushed.

 

The straps

The straps are stretchy, but not overly so. When I stand  the straps are in a good spot, but when I sit (slouching) the straps feel like they’ll slip off my shoulders.

The cups

Fit wise, the cup shape reminds me very much of Comexim. The difference look wise is that this bra is a 4 part cup, instead of a 3 part cup. The cup height for 65E is 5.75 inches (14.61 cm) (the same as an unaltered 65G Comexim basic). I think if you have short roots, this particular bra will be too tall in the cups. When I stood straight up, the bra fit fine, but when I was slouching (on the couch), it almost seemed like there was too much cup, the whole upper portion was empty. (I have breast tissue that extends up to my collarbone, but it gets shallower the higher up it goes.)

The sides of the cups come up very high. High enough that when I wanted to adjust the straps to make them tighter, I decided not to, because the side of the cup was already slightly irritating.

The wires

The wires in this bra are hard. Panache hard. Painfully hard. hard enough that I wondered where I can buy softer wires that would fit the wire channels.

The gore

If I only had one word to use to describe the gore, I would use “painful”. Within seconds of putting the bra on, I knew the gore was not going to be my friend. The two issues are: 1 it’s high, and 2 the wires are not soft, like at all.

The band

There is boning on the sides of the band. The band seems long, but firm (the stretch ratio is 1.2), unstretched it is 24 inches (60.96 cm), stretched it is 28.5 (72.39 cm)

The pads

The pads are removable and quite thick. A lot thicker than most pads I’ve come across. The pads are labeled so you know where they should go (or which breast they go with). The pointed edge is towards the gore, and the rounded edge is closer to your armpits.

 

*I was not wearing the pads in any of the pictures

Impimi Adell 65E

First and foremost I was gifted with this bra, when I bought the Nicoll. All opinions are my own.

I have wanted to review this bra for a while, but I’ve been waiting for Impimi to respond to my email. My last email to them was Aug 4th, and they still have not responded.

I emailed them to let them know that this bra as well as the other bra they sent me didnt fit me as well as I liked. They’re bras that I would only wear once (for the purpose of reviewing them), and they wouldn’t get worn again because they’re not comfortable. However, as of writing this, I haven’t worn this bra (or the other bra they gifted me; and the bra I did pay for, I only wore once).

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The straps

The straps are somewhat wideset. Not wide enough that they slip off my shoulders, but wide enough that they rub against my skin.

The cups

The cups are just an all around fail for me. There is space at the top of the cups were the lace and the padded part meet, but the very top of the cup is flush against my skin, and the lace isn’t stretchy. There is a band of elastic on the inner part at the top of the cup (where the red decoration is), so if I were to size down, there would be some cutting in. The bottom of the cup is angled upwards, so I get a very pointed appearance, almost like a bullet bra.

The sides of the cup come up very high. It irritates my tail of spence, and this is just from trying it on, I couldn’t imagine wearing this all day. Literally bringing one arm over to scratch the other arm isn’t comfortable.

The wires

The wires are also problematic for me. They are shaped like a Nike check/swoop, and as such, they come up too high for me. I do think if the wire were shorter/more of a U shape the cup would sit better. The length of the wire is 8.75 inches (22.23 cm)

The gore

The gore is too high for me at 3 inches (7.62 cm). Ideally, I can work with Comexim’s gore of 2.75cm at the highest. But because the wires are heavy, the gore is painful. The width of the gore is .75 inches (1.91 cm)

The band

The band is TTS.  There is boning on the side of the band. The back part of the band is stretchier than the wings  (before the boning). The band is riding up somewhat because I have the straps adjusted quite a bit so there isn’t a lot of space in the cup. (Adjusting the straps longer doesn’t stop the strap issue though)

 

My guess is that this bra would fit someone that has a wide root, and is even (not FOT/FOB), but doesn’t need a ton of depth at the wire, and probably best for someone that has wideset shoulders.

 

I really wanted this bra to work, but it doesn’t. When I emailed Impimi, I told them that this bra, and the other bra they sent me were a little too big. And asked if they would send a different size. They said they would, and commented that the Nicoll bra that I purchased looked too small