Why Fantasie Keeps Coming Up

Whenever Bras That Actually Fit Are

Mentioned

then looks all wrong once it’s on. Anyone with a fuller bust will know the feeling. The underwiredigs in at the side. The cups gape at the top. Or the band creeps up the back all day as if it’strying to make a run for it. It wears people down, and plenty of women end up giving up ondecent lingerie altogether.

There’s a reason Fantasie gets mentioned so often when this comes up. The brand dates backto 1967, when it started life as part of Strathmore Industries, and for decades it has designedspecifically for D cups and up. That shows in how the bras are put together. These aren’t B cuppatterns blown up a few sizes with larger cups stitched on at the end. Fantasie starts from howa fuller bust really sits, and how it moves when you run for a bus.

slings to hold the bust forward instead of letting it spread out sideways, and that sidewaysspread is exactly what makes so many bras miserable after an hour. Straps tend to be widerand sit in a better spot as well, which helps a lot under a fitted top or a blazer.

Cup shapes vary a fair bit across the range. Useful, because fuller busts aren’t all the sameshape. The Adelle is a half-cup style that suits women who are fuller at the bottom. The Reflectgives full coverage but with a balconette look from the front, which sounds like a contradictionuntil it’s on. Then the Envisage. It’s the workhorse, the one that goes under almost anything, sonew customers are usually pointed there first. Sizes? Backs from 30 to 40. Cups from D to K in most styles, but not every style is made inevery size, so check before getting your heart set on that nice plum one.

stores often carry a small selection, and in a less common size there may be nothing beyondthe basics. Online is where the real choice is. Fantasie bras are well represented at BelleLingerie, which carries a decent spread of styles and sizes, not just the two or three mostretailers can be bothered with.

With bras, fit is so personal that the returns policy really matters, so look at it before orderingfrom anywhere. Some women swear by measuring themselves at home with an online guide.In-store measurements can vary a lot depending on who’s doing the measuring and how busythe shop is that day.

Fantasie’s parent company has taken some steps towards cutting the environmental impact ofits manufacturing. That said, calling it a fully sustainable brand, the way some smaller labelspresent themselves, would be a stretch. The bras are built to last, and that counts forsomething. One Fantasie that fits and survives two or three years in the washing machine is abetter deal than a cheap bra binned every six months. Obvious enough. Still worth saying if theaim is to buy less and buy better.

Expect to pay £35 to £55 for most styles. For fuller-bust bras that’s middle of the road. Cheaperoptions exist, but there’s usually a compromise somewhere, whether in the fabric or in thestructural support.

Fantasie has lasted this long because its bras work for lots of women who’ve struggled to findanything that does. Not the most glamorous selling point. A real one, though. After a few roundsof buying, sending back and giving up, it’s at least worth trying one of the popular styles in yoursize before writing the brand off. The Envisage and the Adelle are both good places to start,depending on how much coverage you want.