My next bikini top review for this season is from Figleaves’ own brand, Just Peachy by figleaves.com. I wasn’t sure what to expect for this top as there are so few reviews from this line, but when I saw the tiny white dove print on navy, I had to add it to my cart. It was an impulse buy. For science.

Let me preface this by saying that I went against my better judgement in choosing this item because I liked the pattern and wanted it to fit. Any kind of deep plunge is really not going to work for me. I made the mistake of trusting how the top looked on the ill-fit model – check out that impressive floating gore – which we all know is also photoshopped to hell, and thinking that it appeared more like a balconette (slightly higher gore) than a true plunge. Spoiler alert: I was wrong.

Appearance

The Just Peachy Dove Underwire Padded Plunge was by far the most cutesy swim top I ordered this summer. My aesthetic these days is, for some reason, split right between “sophisticated/elegant” and “too cute”. The white doves on a navy base with deep pink and white polka dot straps fall directly under the latter for me. I don’t know why I am so drawn to tiny and ditsy prints, but I am. Navy is one of my favorite colors and I’m a sucker for navy and white together in prints. The deep pink straps are ultimately what gives this top the girly edge. They also kind of canceled out matching it with bottoms I already have, so I would probably have tried to get the matching bottoms if it worked out. Still, this lovely dovey item found its way into my cart in size 30FF.

In person, the top has that same cutesy appeal and I actually like it a lot. Where it differs for me from the stock photo is the cut. It has a true plunging low gore at only 1.75″ high. The gore is also 1″ wide, rather than the taller and more close-set gore that it looks like it has in the photo (to me, anyway). The cups are nicely padded to a medium thickness with a single seam down the center. There is no trim on the edge of the cup.

The pink polka dotted fabric from the strap continues along onto the wings. There is matching navy plastic hardware including a single clasp closure that you twist and click in place to open and close.

The interior of the cups are lined with white swim fabric. This top just about gets away with that for me because of the white in the print on the exterior. In my swimwear shopping this season, I have learned that I generally do not like contrasting white interiors for swimwear and much prefer a matching lining. It just feels cheap and unfinished to me to use white.

Size and Fit

Sadly, this top is a shape mismatch for me. I swear I will review items that actually fit at some point! Naturally, that’s not to say that this bikini won’t work for you.

The first thing I noticed is that the band runs tight. I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it when I first put it on, but it stretches to only 27.5″. That’s about my UB measurement at the moment and a stretchy 28″ is more comfortable for me. I never tried it in water, so I can’t tell if this top would stretch out more when wet and maybe the firmer band would be an asset. Another Figleaves top that I tried and will review later was also a 30-band, but the band stretched to 30″, for comparison. I was surprised by the firmness of this one.

The cup is about average width, but comes to a deep point. The single seam construction is a little odd for me, with the seam located closer to the gore. It doesn’t give my center-full breasts the right shaping or placement as a result. The cup is also closed on top, so better for even and FoB shapes, with seemingly more room at the wire. On me, however, the apex was in the wrong place and the cup still wouldn’t sit in my IMF right.

The gore, while short, dug uncomfortably into my chest at the top. I didn’t spill out of the plunge as feared. Instead, the shape of the top just gave me a flat, east-west appearance that was empty at the bottom and pointed at the apex.

I don’t think it helped that the way it was packed for shipment meant that the cups were flat packed on the seam, so I couldn’t get the center of one cup to lie flat. It was really difficult to get good photos for that reason.

Otherwise, I estimate that the cup runs true for a 30FF, but just requires overall more fullness of shape than I have and maybe a self-supporting bust would have more luck.

Comfort

I didn’t feel comfortable in this swim top and couldn’t wait to take it off. Again, it was really difficult to get photos of because of the funny shape it gave me and because I was hurrying to get it off. It left angry red marks where the gore was digging at the top. The top of the cups were also cutting in uncomfortably. The straps, on the other hand, were very comfortable and soft as well as fully adjustable, and the back closure felt completely secure.

Quality

This Just Peachy plunge has smooth, sturdy, nicely made fabrics on the interior and exterior. The plastic closure feels substantial and secure, and is even much nicer than the one on the Panache Amelia I reviewed while being available at a much lower price point. For the build quality, I have to give Figleaves credit for affordability and nice materials.

One thing I can’t forget about this top is that when I first took it out of the packaging, it had a really funny chemical smell. I tried it on a couple of times and tried to air it, but the smell never dissipated. Another Figleaves top I’ll be reviewing also had a similar (the same?) unpleasant smell. So if you plan on getting a Figleaves top, I recommend that your first dip be in a highly chlorinated pool. Oof.

Final thoughts

This top is really cute. I think it would work best for even shapes with some self-supporting fullness. The style also comes in a tankini version and two different bottoms, where the pink polka dot fabric is used more inventively to give them a unique look compared to a lot of other bikinis. They are all adorable and on sale at Figleaves at the moment. Even though this top didn’t work for me, I can safely recommend the Figleaves house brands for their substantial build quality and cute designs. (That smell, though.)

Measurements