I am now ten months in to my breastfeeding journey with my second child, which means in my life so far I have breast fed for almost THREE WHOLE YEARS. That is insane – almost a tenth of my life! I am therefore what you might term an established breast feeder, and as such, I have got through my fair share of nursing bras. Overall… my consensus has been pretty much unanimous, in that most of them are a little bit pants… (excuse the ubderwear related pun).
Whilst I have found the odd nursing bra that has been comfortable, as well as easy to gain access at the crucial moment, nearly all of them have become misshapen, lacked support, or made my boobs look flat, making me long for the days of squeezing my mammories back into something that at least resembles attractive underwear.
When I was asked to review Bravado Designs nursing bras, I have to be honest I wasn’t holding my breath. Sure, they looked fantastic in the pictures, but what would they be like in reality? Would they be just like all the others?
After a couple of weeks, I have to say I am actually very pleasantly surprised. I have finally found a nursing bra that doesn’t squash my boobs flat, washes well, is super lightweight and comfortable (even during the night), and unfastens quickly and easily for a feed. Here’s our review.
About Bravado Designs
You have to love the back story of Bravado Designs – the story began 25 years ago when two Mums simply couldn’t find a comfortable or stylish nursing bra. So instead of just sitting moaning about it (like me!!), they made their own at their kitchen table using some extra leopard print fabric and an understanding of what nursing mums really want. The early success of their Original Nursing Bra led to their vision to make nursing bras infinitely more comfortable and stylish, while supporting new nursing mums through all of the highs and lows of breastfeeding, of which, lets face it, there are many!
My Experience
I was sent two different designs from Bravado Designs – The Confetti Nursing Bra in Plum (£28) and The Body Silk Seamless Yoga Nursing Bra in Charcoal (£34)
The Bravado Designs Body Silk Seamless Yoga Nursing Bra
Super comfortable with a sporty look, the fabric is very soft and lightweight, so that I didn’t really feel like I was wearing anything at all! The straps are convertible using a little clip included in the packaging, so you can swap from traditional straps to a criss cross back – which is super helpful if you want to wear a halter neck or embrace the exposed shoulders trend that is so popular at the moment.
The clips are very easy to unfasten one handed, which is even more important now Neve is wriggly and annoying at bedtime, and removable pads meaning that even with my still essential nursing pads inside the bra looks seamless and smooth under my t-shirt.
I felt supported and comfortable, and could happily wear this to bed at night without feeling like I was wearing underwear which is a massive plus.
At £34 this is the more expensive bra of the two, and you are probably paying extra for the alternating straps – if this is less of a concern you may prefer one of the other designs.
The Bravado Designs Confetti Nursing Bra
I loved the colour (deep plum purple) of this bra, and it felt a lot more feminine than the previous sporty design. I actually felt more supported in this one out of the two – the centre rouching of the design created more of a cleavage, and again, this was comfortable enough to sleep in without feeling like I was wearing a bra.
Again, the clips were easy to remove one handed, and as such, feeding was quick and easy.
The confetti nursing bra retails at the slightly cheaper price of £26 and is available in a number of colours including fawn and black.
For both bras, the sizing is relatively easy using their online sizing guide chart – and rather than them coming in individual sizes you use the chart to select small, medium or large. I would say the chart is pretty accurate, as the bras I received fit well.
Overall, so far I am really really pleased with my bras from Bravado Designs and will continue using them to see if they last the test of time! Whilst they are not what you could deam sexy underwear, they are fresh and feminine and perfect for everyday comfort whilst making life just that little bit easier. They don’t automatically scream nursing bra, and for me, that is a very refreshing change!
You can check out the full range of Bravado Designs nursing bras on their website here.
*Disclosure – we received two bras from Bravado Designs free of charge for the purpose of this review, however all thoughts and opinions are my own*
