Bravado Nursing Bra - Product Review

I was really excited to be asked to review for Bravado Designs....  I was sent The Essential Nursing Tank in suede blush and the Sublime Nursing Bra in French Vanilla. I intend to breastfeed my second child - after a difficult start feeding with Daniel I am glad I persevered and he was (combination) fed until he was around seven months, not as long as I had hoped, and combination feeding was less than ideal but given our circumstances at the start of our journey I am really proud we managed that long.

 

When I was pregnant with Daniel I had a lot of fluid retention, so it made shopping for pregnancy and post pregnancy clothes really hard as I couldn't be confident on what my true size would be. I ended up getting to the point of thinking I should probably buy some nursing tops and rushed to Debenhams, guess-timated what size I would be and bought them. Once Daniel was born I ended up buying various sizes in Matalan - buying underwear when you are sleep deprived and tired and enjoying a rare thirty minutes peace is not ideal!! Subsequently I had a stack of nursing bras, none of which fitted that well and had probably cost me a fair bit.

 

This time around I was determined that I would get it right, so when I was contacted by the lovely ladies at Bump PR to review for Bravado I was a bit concerned on how I would get sizing right.... I usually buy my underwear from M&S so I thought I would go with their sizing and see what happened. I suggested the next size up to what I am wearing currently, to allow for the growth that occurs in the last few months and to my delight the nursing tank and nursing bra popped through my letter box in December.

 


In this blog post I am only reviewing the nursing bra, the tank doesn't fit over my bump, I ordered this based on my post pregnancy size as I intend to wear it in bed. If I had ordered the next size up then it would cover my bump and be very supportive. However, as my one won't be used until I have had the baby I will review in due course. It does look and feel brilliant and I can't wait to try it out.

So, sizing... I was really worried about this, all brands size their stuff slightly differently, and it drives me mad. But, as noted above I ordered based on my size with M&S and I found Bravado to be very similar in their sizing, possibly a little less generous. However I am comparing a non wired bra (Bravado) with the wired ones I have at the moment from M&S. It fits me comfortably now and the Bravado design is clever enough to accommodate more than one size - whether or not it will still fit once the baby is born and I have the delights of the milk coming in, I am less sure, but we will see. I am optimistic though as there seems to be enough 'growing space'.  Bravado have a really useful guide on their website on how you can expect your sizing to change... I wish I had seen this first time around with Daniel - I wouldn't have wasted half as much money!



 

Unusually for a nursing bra, it's a very pretty item too - all too often nursing wear is functional and practical whilst losing some femininity and prettiness. This is a pretty vanilla colour with gorgeous detailing on the cups and straps - in fact at first glance you'd be surprised it's a nursing bra such is it's prettiness.  Closer inspection however reveals the clips to release the cup for feeding (they are easy enough to do with one hand). The picture above makes it look whiter than it is in reality.

 

I've worn this a few times now and it feels plenty supportive enough, pretty and I am sure it will get a lot of use. The Sublime comes in  three colours, Black Cherry, French Vanilla and Chai. I really like the French Vanilla colour, it adds to the pretty feel and soft look of the bra, and I am tempted to buy the matching bottoms at some point... perhaps when I have lost the bulk of the baby bump and any weight I have gained. Maybe a mother's day treat to myself! Another big bonus is that the bra washes really well. The guidance is to hadnwash only at 30 degrees, but to be honest I really don't have the time (nor inclination) to start hand washing my underwear! Inbetween nappy washes, towel washes and multiple clothes washes I don't want to stand gently washing underwear!!!

I tossed it in with a normal white wash and I admit, I was a little worried that as it was quite delicate looking it wouldn't stand up to being thrown in with my other clothes (and Daniel's food stained clothes!) but it has! I accept that washing in this was might reduce the lifetime of the bra, but after 4/5 spins in the washing machine it still looks as good as new.

 

The Sublime Nursing Bra retails at £36. This might seem pricey but I honestly think it's well worth the money. Once I have settled down after the baby is born I will be looking to order more from the Bravado range. I can't fault the item in terms of look, comfort, practicality and usability.

 

 

**Please note I was sent a sublime nursing bra and essential nursing tank by Bravado, free of charge, in exchange for a fair and honest review. All words, thoughts and comments are my own.**