The quest for a usable strapless continues. Back today with a review of a bra I’ve previously owned in a different size, sold, and now purchased again! Strapless bras are, by design due to simple gravity, a shape mismatch for my narrow and projected breasts. Without straps, cups have to be wide, shallow, tall, and likely stiff and bands have to be tight to hold the bra up and keep breasts contained and close to the chest wall. That said, I’ve always been on the hunt for the “least evil” of the strapless world, because it really is a summer wardrobe staple for me. I’m not going to let genetics define what I can and cannot wear, and you can pry my spaghetti strap tanks and strapless shirts and dresses from my cold, dead hands.

I sold my EM Mclezny because I couldn’t stand how stiff and shallow it was. I expect a level of stiffness, but it was basically unfinished plywood and very uncomfortable. I debated about returning to the Deco for a while, and when I saw one in a sister size pop up at a reasonable price on eBay, I finally gave in.

Let me backtrack and talk about my first Deco to help my readers better understand why I bought the size I did the second go around. My first Deco strapless was a 28F. Deco runs big in the cups, and that’s not a bad size for me. Volume wise, it was okay. The band was pure torture. Unlike other Freya bras, the Deco strapless runs very tight in the band, and its wings are very tall and have plastic side boning. I have rib flares. I couldn’t wear it for longer than an hour at a time without being in serious pain from the boning stabbing me in the ribs.

My ideal size in Deco strapless is a 30E. However, Deco retails for $66-69 full price. I can’t justify spending that much on a bra that is a guaranteed poor fit, so I settled for an eBay 32E. It is too large for me all over, in both band and cup, but because it is too big in the cups, it actually helps it work. With more room in the cup than I need, my narrow and pendulous breasts can kind of just “swim” in there instead of fighting the bottom of the cup for room and I find it stays closer to my IMF for a longer period of time. Let’s take a look.

From the front, it doesn’t look too bad! The bottom of the gore is floating, but the top of the gore tacks. The cups are tall and in my armpits, but at least they are very soft. The whole bra is very soft and comfortable. I really do love the material all Decos are made from. And it’s beige and seamless, which is a big perk considering most of my summer tops are very light, both in color and weight.

From the side, we see the problems. The wires are far too wide for my root, measuring at 5.75,” and the band is crawling up my back. Surprisingly, the underwires are fairly close to my IMF, which I assume is only possible because the cups are too big. If I’d get my hand out of the way (no idea what I was doing here lol!) you’d better be able to see all the gapping and empty space at the tops of the cups, which are just too dang tall for my short roots. It’s especially bad if I cross my arms or lean forward.

From an angle, we can see evidence of minor wrinkling in the bottom of the cups, but at least I’m not folding them in half. You can also see the shadows the gapping creates (and how high my waist is on my torso). What I don’t see and much appreciate is the side boning digging into my flared ribs like the nightmare 28F did. Due to the cup height, I have to really pay attention to my tanks and make sure the tops of the cups are not sticking out of my shirt, but for the most part my tanks are cut higher than this bra. I am very low set on my chest and have never met a bra that obviously sticks out of any of my shirts, so this will not be the case for anyone whose bust is high set and tends to have trouble with gores and cups showing under low cut shirts. I’m afraid these cups would be on display all the time.

And…. the band. Oh dear. It’s hooked on the tightest hooks here, with room to spare.

To sum up: It’s comfortable. It’s beige. It’s too tall, but it disappears under my clothes. I can’t decide if I care enough to alter the band. I have to pull the bra back into position several times a day. It’s not the worst strapless bra I’ve ever tried. It does its job.

For shallow breasts, the world is your oyster. Buy the strapless bras. Buy them all. For us projected ladies, we have to settle. It’s a simple fact of life. My mission is to find the best of the bad ones, and share my experiences. And sadly (?), this really is the best strapless bra I’ve ever tried.

Thanks for stopping by!!