I wear my navy blue Perfect Cami all the time, unless I can’t find it (which happens too often!) or my top doesn’t match navy. These are two reasons I’d been wanting to add more camis to my collection.

However, two different reasons have held me back: cost and colors. For instance, I’ve been eyeing the Chickies “fake tank” since seeing it at Curve in August. I’d like to see if the snaps are more comfortable than the Perfect Cami adjustable slider that poked my skin until I finally removed it.Â (Now I simply twist the Velcro tab so that it sticks to the undersurface of my bra strap.) However, I couldn’t bring myself to spend $44.99 on a basic black demi-cami! Plus, neither Chickies nor Perfect Cami offers many solid color options.

A few weeks ago, both obstacles disappeared when HauteLook offered Second Base demi-camis in colors I liked for between $12 and $16 each. I remembered Brittany’s great experience with Second Base, so I stocked up on four styles, each in XL:

the Janet in wine with scooped boat neck and wide straps the Sarah in teal with adjustable spaghetti straps the Meredith in violet with scooped neck and wide straps the Jennifer in leopard with scooped neck and wide straps

The too-high Janet and the too-sheer Jennifer immediately went on the never-wear list (I realized too late that they were non-returnable), but I was thrilled with the Sarah and Meredith . . . until I wore them for longer than five minutes, as I showed you last month. Nevertheless, I so loved the violet Meredith under my Boden dress that I wore the combination to Thanksgiving dinner last week, where both of my older sisters mentioned separately that I might as well not be wearing a camisole at all. I disagree.

Granted, if you check out my side profile, you see that half my bosom is exposed, but it isn’t all the fault of Second Base. I have high-set breasts that are emphasized by my wonderful new boobs-on-a-platter Martina bra from Kris Line that I’ll be writing about soon.

I wear a 36H/HH these days, so perhaps I should have ordered a plus-size Second Base–especially since the amount of fabric for the back and front is identical. Here you see that the XL just covers my bra. I could definitely use a little more fabric.

Like Brittany, I love the fabric. I also like the ease of simply slipping the cami over my head and not worrying about special fastenings, but my Perfect Cami is still my first choice, at least until I figure out if Second Base will work better for me in a larger size.

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Lately I’ve been noticing more demi-cami options out there for us, and I discovered even more as I prepared for this post:

Brittany’s and my different experiences with Second Base are proof that more options are a good thing. One busty woman’s Holy Grail can be another’s Holy Fail. That almost happened to my friend when she tried Perfect Cami for the first time after reading reviews from Sophisticated Pair and Boosaurus (see Braless in Brasil for a great review from a nursing perspective).

Her first impression:

I got my Perfect Camis today. I was sooooo excited for them. Alas, they were an epic fail. All had too much fabric around the back/waist/ribcage so they kept riding up. And none of them were wide enough for the straps on my Cleo bra that I’m wearing today. And I know some of my other straps sit even wider! Back to the drawing board, I suppose.

Her final impression:

After the camis I got didn’t fit, I sent an email to the company. After some back and forth with the president, Ann Victor, she suggested that she could sew two different sizes together to create a custom size. She sewed the front of an XL cami to a size M back piece. That way it was tight around the torso (no drooping extra fabric) but still generous in the front to cover my boobs. Plus, the front bit was wider, so the loops were able to loop around my bra straps without straining the fabric.

Yet another reason that Perfect Cami is my first choice.