Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Genie Bra Re-Review

When I first started this blog, I used to create lots of goofy info-graphics, taking my often lofty, naive ideas about things and showing them in a more realistic light.

I decided to do the same with the Genie Bra. In my original, casual review of the Genie Bra, I wrote a silly post about it not being invented by a genie and added a Photoshopped image of a woman whose breasts were clearly fighting a losing battle with gravity.

The company contacted me, apologized for my disappointment, and even offered to send me two new bras, more suited for my body type -- the Milana bras. I graciously accepted!

They arrived last week, but Mark has been on laundry duty in the evenings while I've been busy doing (ahem) medium readings, and working on a new creative project that I hope to have wrapped up by the end of the month. Our paths just haven't crossed at laundry time, and the Genie Bra hand-off didn't happen until last night, when I finally got all my dirty clothes together.

This morning, I woke up and pulled the Genie Bra out of the dryer. I decided to wear only this bra all day -- to put it to the full test. I mean, I didn't do jumping-jacks or anything, but I did load the dishwasher, which is pretty much the same thing for me.

First, I want to say that I absolutely love the look of this bra and the feel of the material. It's cozy, and supportive. It looks like a nice tanktop and has a pretty, lacy overlay that can be slightly exposed with a V-neck for a nice, layering effect. I really didn't want to put anything else on over it but decided to anyway... because I didn't want to end up in a real-life episode of Seinfeld.

I did find this version of the bra to be much more supportive than the first Genie Bra I had. I can easily see myself wearing it for a full work day.

As for the cons:
  1. Though Mark later admitted that he dried all my clothes on the "Extra Heat" setting, I still found it unusual that one of the bra's cup inserts (the left one) migrated inside the bra during the washing and drying process. The bra is completely sewn shut, so I had to move the insert blindly through the fabric to get it into its proper place on the left side.
  2. I still didn't feel like this bra was quite as supportive as my regular one. After 12 hours, there was some "slight slippage," as you'll see below.
  3. I also didn't like the seams on either side of the bra. In certain lighting, and when wearing tighter shirts, um. Oh, I'll just say it... they look like nipples -- two small, sad, droopy nipples.
That said, I'll continue to wear the Milana Genie Bra to work daily. I only work part time, so I dress for comfort and a reasonable amount of support. As for the awkwardly-placed seams... well, it's cold on my side of the office anyway.

All joking aside, this is a great product. It does what it says for a reasonable price. Since having my daughter, anything too restricting makes me very uncomfortable, and this bra has just the right balance of support and comfort. I give it the YMIS vote of approval!


2 comments:

K said...

It's been a year, any chance you're still wearing the Milana? I just picked one up today. It's great so far but we'll see how that lasts. I never quite understood why as a bra gets bigger the sides don't really get wider. Bigger ladies need more coverage on the sides! The only thing I've found that holds in the side fat is a sorts bra, which never gives support! This is a great combo of the two. It doesn't keep my breasts quite as high as I'd like but I'm going to happily trade that for not having the band dividing my underarm and back fat into three lumps because the band is too small.

Unknown said...

Hi, K! Yes! I actually have been wearing mine almost every day. It's funny -- the crazier my life gets, the less I care about losing 2 inches of lift in the afternoon. Haha!

I also tend to wear mine over an under-wire bra just for some added support. I do that almost every day. I like how it makes me look separated but lifted and smaller. It shows more of my waist, so I look more in shape! :-)

In almost all of my recent pics on Instagram, that's what I'm wearing underneath!

Thanks for writing!! Let me know how it continues to go. I find that washing and drying it really does return it to its shape and original elasticity.