[Disclosure: Tutti Rouge generously provided this set for review. I was not compensated for this post, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.]
Like Liliana, which I reviewed on Wednesday, Betty has been a part of Tutti Rouge since their very first season. This bra is RIDICULOUSLY pretty—each season introduces a new print in a lovely satin, with ruffly lace detailing and satin-and-lace knickers. It’s an unapologetically femme lingerie set with a little signature Tutti kitsch, and I was curious to see how the padded half-cup shape worked out for me. I was lucky enough to review Betty in its first season, so I was also curious to see how the style had evolved, if at all, in response to customer feedback.
APPEARANCE
Betty is a lightly padded half-cup style bra with a single vertical seam. The outer layer of fabric (which is seam-free) is a shining Italian satin featuring a lush, color-clashing floral print on an ivory background with the Tutti Rouge Fall/Winter 2015 “Kiss and Tell” slogan hidden amongst the blooms. I’ll mention that the outer layer of fabric wrinkles noticeably when I put the bra on, rather than lying perfectly smoothly, and I’m not sure if that’s what happens with larger cup sizes or if it’s a fluke, but I just kind of smooth the fabric down and go along my way. The tops of the cups are trimmed with flat pink lace threaded with matching pink ribbon, and the same lace is gathered into a ruffle that trims the bottom of the band. There’s a lush pink bow and a pink faceted jewel drop at the center gore and at the waistband of the shortie brief. The pink, fully-adjustable straps feature the signature Tutti Rouge heart-shaped adjusters. The wings of the band are made of a lightly-dotted pink mesh, and the same mesh makes up the sides and back of the shortie brief. Tutti Rouge has always had a flair for knickers, and these are no exception: there’s a center front panel of the floral satin and a matching satin panel at the center back, while dotted mesh is gathered over the hips to meet the satin front panel. The legline features a folded edge for a smooth, no-dig look under clothes.
FIT
I requested my current most-commonly-worn UK sizes (32GG and 14/L). As I found with the first-ever version of Betty, the band is indeed firm, but happily it’s much more in line with other UK brands, and after a few wears it felt extremely comfortable. The center gore tacks firmly against my sternum, all my breast tissue is contained within the wires, and I get a nice lifted shape without any danger of spilling over the tops of the cups. The cups feel true to size, although if you’re between sizes, I’d recommend sizing up to get the best fit. As with many half-cup styles, the straps are set fairly wide, so if this is a source of discomfort, Betty may not be the style for you. Very often in G+ styles underwires can get very wide very quickly, but unlike some of the other Tutti Rouge styles I’ve tried, I find Betty’s wires fit me nicely and sit close to my breast root, rather than reaching back under my arms.
I’m wondering if in the past I had trouble with half-cups because I was very full on top; as my size has changed I’ve lost fullness on the tops of my breasts, and that might have changed how well this style works on my particular body. I will note that I generally need deep cups with lots of projection, and some half-cups are shallow, but Betty feels great– much deeper than other half-cups I’ve tried. This size/shape change also makes it hard for me to compare Betty 1.0 with the new style, because I can’t always be sure what’s a fit adjustment and what’s a “my body likes this better now” change. Boobs are complicated, sheesh. I worked with a new photographer recently who was like “THREE YEARS? How could you write about bras for THREE YEARS?” and I was like “Sir, sit down, we’ll be here a while, I have much to tell you.”
Compared to the other Tutti knickers I’ve tried (Liliana and Nichole), the Betty shortie brief definitely runs a bit smaller, I suspect both because the mesh sides don’t offer as much stretch as the other styles and because the rise in front is lower. I’m not sure I would want to size up, but there definitely isn’t as much wiggle room in terms of fit.
COMFORT
Y’all, no one is more surprised than I am, but of the Tutti Rouge styles I’ve tried this year, A PADDED HALF CUP BRA is one of my favorites. I’m genuinely astonished—as a rule, padded half cups and I DO NOT GET ALONG, and yet here Betty and I are, happy as can be, strolling along hand in hand into the sunset. The center gore tacks, but I don’t feel like it’s hurting me, and while the wires are firm, they’re not sawing into my ribcage. I’m really enjoying having a bra that’s so different from my three-and-four-part non-padded balconette bras, and yet is at the same time so lovely and well-fitting!
As far as the knickers go, if I had my druthers, I probably would have chosen the mini-brief rather than the shortie. I just really like an elasticated legline, and I LOVE the mini-brief’s lace-trimmed center backseam. I need my underwear to stay put on my fairly flat rear, and shorts don’t have enough structure or shaping for me—they want to wriggle around, which is not a lot of fun. The shortie is also sliiiightly too low-rise for me, in that my tummy tends to protrude over the top edge in way that’s both a little uncomfortable and not my favorite look.
OVERALL
Betty is a real winner, y’all. The Italian satin fabric and pretty jeweled trims add a little elegance to an otherwise whimsical style, and I’m completely taken aback by how much I enjoy wearing this cup shape. This lovely set is a welcome dose of light, color and cheer as we head into darker and colder days. While the shortie brief isn’t the best shape for my body, I’m still head over heels for Betty!
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Bra and Shortie brief: Betty by Tutti Rouge in Floral Print (c/o), 38-38 D-HH, XS-XXL. Tutti Rouge is a UK brand, so the cup size progression goes D, DD, E, F, FF, G, GG, H, HH, J.
Photos: Lydia Hudgens