I dyed the Portia/Princess hybrid

Original post can be found here.

I used Rit Dye in the purple color. As the water was boiling, I read the side of the bottle that says not to use it on polyester fabrics. I already had my mind set, so I was going to do it anyway. But I had a feeling that it was going to dye, because I the dyed a white dress with pink Rit Dye, and the back of it that had mesh, didn’t dye. So I crossed my fingers. I probably used more dye than I needed to, but I wanted to make sure that the bra came out dark. I really wanted to dye it brown, but I forgot to go to the dye section when I was there yesterday.

On to the pictures:

In the above picture it looks blackish, but it’s not. It’s very purple.

I believe the polyester warning on the Rit dye bottle was for the stitching, in my dress the stitching stayed the original color. And as you can see the thread is still white, as is the floral design and the lacing. Well it actually got tinted somewhat.

I don’t know if this occurred because I used hot water & dye on the bra, but the lacing is comIng undone form one area on both of the cups. Oddly enough, on both cups it’s on the right side (when looking at it).

Inner part of the cup

Band

The floral design

Underneath the floral design

The fit:

I don’t know if it was the dye, or it was the scorching hot water, but the bra shrunk. From my experience being a denim addict, I know that really hot water (too hot to touch) can shrink jeans.

so yeah, it shrunk, a good amount. Before I needed to alter the bra, now I don’t think there’s enough room to alter it. It shrunk enough that now it fits. The band, however feels really tight. I ordered some new extenders, so I’ll probably wait to wear this until those come in. Enough blabbering.

Right side

Left side

No gapping.

A little space in the upper panel on smaller breast.

Side view

I initially was going to make this a two part post, with the dye being one post, and the actual alteration another post, but I’m not going to alter it now.

What do you think?

Curvy Kate Portia/Princess 28e

Okay. If you’re confused about the title, it’s because this bra is labeled as ‘Portia’, but it’s actually Princess.

As per the CK website

• Princess: soft raised polka dot & floral embroidery with a ribbon slot. Rounded shape.
• Portia: criss cross detailing, ribbon slot & flirty bows.

Once you start looking at the pictures below, you will see that this is not a Portia, as labeled, but Princess. I don’t know of the cut is different or not.

Color: white

The bra: this was sold to me as a used bra, so it’s not as white as it once was– fine with me because I’m going to dye it.

the gore with the bow.

It has the characteristic fuzzy polka dot pattern, floral embroidery and ribbon slot.

Some discoloration on the polka dots

The straps have the same floral embroidery as the top of the cup.

The review: this is a 28e, and I knew there was a chance this bra would be too big or wouldn’t fit. I have a pink CK Princess bra in a sister size (30dd) and it’s too big.

You can see somewhat from the front that it’s too big.

And from an angle

 

But there is some space at the top on my smaller breast.

There’s a good amount of space so the top of the bra, which is why I’m going to alter it later.

The gore tacks, but it is kind of pressing into my sternum.

But for some reason there’s an area at the bottom of the bra on BOTH cups where the wire doesn’t touch my skin. It is where two seams meet, and around the area where the band connects with the wire. No matter how much scooping I do, it’s there. I got this bra used, so it is possible the previous owner(s) bent the wires.

Another issue I have is that on my smaller side, the cup kind of cuts my underarm. Now I’m one of those people that loves side boob to be completely covered, but this is a little too high for me. (Which is a first)

 

The bra does however, look very nice in the profile.

 

This is going to be a keeper. Mainly because I want to dye it and alter it. Plus I got it very cheaply.

Update: I decided to compare the wires. I’m pretty sure these were bent to give some sort of shape for the previous wearer.

The wires of the bra side by side.

When I push in the wires closest to the band. You can see the gore section doesn’t touch.

When I push the wires closest to the gore together.

I dyed the bra purple.

Curvy Kate Princess/Portia + bra extender

So I finally got my bra extenders in the mail. It took almost a month, which is one of time reasons I hate doing intl orders/shipping. I’m impatient, I want my stuff now.

Anyway, I decided to try it out on my CK Portia/Princess hybrid bra, since that was the one I felt was the tightest.

I don’t know if you can see in the picture, but the extender is actually a little wider than the band, however, the actual hook & eyes are at the same spot, so it closes with no issue. It looks funny, not no one is going to see my bra but me.

I put it on the first/tightest setting. The band feels a lot better. Not as tight as before. The cups however, feel looser. There’s space in the cups now.

**compared to before

The gore was pushing in slightly.

The biggest issue I had was that the sides of the cups were rubbing on my skin and irritating me because they were so high.

Hopefully I won’t have to wear the extender with this bra for long, as I liked the fit without it.