I’ve lamented before about the lack of certain bra styles for large busted ladies like me, including strapless and “special occasion” bras to fit under certain styles of clothing. Another one of these categories is bralette and boudoir styles, although I do have to admit that all the categories I’ve just mentioned have definitely made some major improvements over the past few years, especially with launches of brands like Scantilly.

I do completely understand though why bralettes are not often available in larger cup sizes – they are so popular because of the lack of “scaffolding” (for want of a better word!) that makes them much more minimal and natural looking, however many larger busted ladies wear bras in order to get support, lift and shaping, which many bralettes sadly don’t provide.

However, Ewa Michalak recently released the PL Croptop Maskarada which is an awesome compromise between the lacey bralette look and the lift, support and shaping of a real bra – I just knew I had to try it, so I was really lucky that Ewa Michalak were happy to provide me with one of my own to try. So let’s take a closer look!

Shape & Appearance

First up, the appearance of the PL Croptop Maskarada is striking! It’s unlike anything else I’ve seen in the bra world recently and will appeal to a large group of us who are looking for something like this. It might need a little further explanation though!

The bra consists of two layers: an underneath “real” bra in a light beige colour (that’s quite similar to my skin tone) and an over layer of black lace which extends further down the ribcage and looks, to all intents and purposes, like a bralette. It’s an optical illusion bra!

The bra underneath has is a low plunging gore style – not quite so low as our recent Wellfitting Extra Deep Plunge review, but still quite low on the sternum. And it provides a quite stunning amount of uplift and cleavage! I’ve never actually tried a PL style from Ewa Michalak before, but I really liked it and would definitely try another, simply for its uplift and shape!

The bralette over-layer is a lot more dainty with the black lace and a two piece cup with a vertical seam. It can easily be manoeuvred to cover the bra underneath so it very very nearly looks like you don’t have the bra underneath! It attaches at the band and at the back with two narrow straps. I was expecting the lace band to have a tighter fit, closer to my body, but I don’t think this detracts from it. And it’s possibly because my rib cage/waist is smaller at that point than the bra expects (I get wider lower down!).

Both sets of straps are adjustable and it fastens at the back with 4 sets of 3 hooks and eyes.

Size, fit & comfort

I received my usual Ewa Michalak size in this bra, 65G, which is a 30G in UK sizing, but I tend to find their 65 bands are usually closer to a 28, my usual UK size. And this is a perfect fit for me! The band fits snugly but not too tight, the cups enclose all breast tissue perfectly, providing plenty of uplift but no spillage or gaping, and the wires are the perfect width for me. Can you see why I love Ewa Michalak bras?!

The cups come with removable padding. I’m wearing the bra with them included here, which is why I’m getting super cleavage, but they also work for asymmetry. I can wear the bra comfortably without them too and still get a good fit, which is nice to have the option!

I find the bra comfortable to wear. The only problem I think I would have with it is that it would be difficult to wear under certain items of clothing because the black lace layer is wide at the straps and loose around the band, so you couldn’t wear it under anything too tight or too low cut at the neck, unless you want to show it off, which I guess actually is kind of the point of wearing a bralette – so it works for that!

I received the bra with the Maskarada high briefs (which I’m wearing here) and the Maskarada Open back Thong. To be honest, I haven’t really worn the thong apart from trying it on yet as it’s not really day wear wearable for me, but I LOVE the high briefs! I’m really into this high leg style cut at the moment and find them comfortable and flattering. These are both a size 38 (UK 10) and fit me comfortably. I do find them a little overwhelming in terms of detail when worn as a full set, but sometimes I like overwhelming!

The bra also came with a little piece of lace that I thought at first was a garter but turned out to be the “mask” that the models are wearing in the photos, which is a nice additional extra!

The PL Croptop Maskarada bra is available in sizes 60-105 (28-46) DD to M, however some of these sizes are custom order only (at an extra 40PLN) costing 259PLN (around £50). The high briefs are available in sizes 38-48 (10-20) and are 89PLN (around £17); the open back thong is available in sizes sizes 36-48 (8-20) and is 59PLN (£12).