Mesh and lace bustier - bustier discontinued by Coquette - review by mandiegk

The Mesh and Lace Bustier by Coquette is a one-piece gartered bustier. The bustier is beautiful to look at, but it will not flatter everyone. It comes in sizes S, M, and Lpo. The bustier is only available in purple and black.


Material/Design:


According to the tag, the bustier is made of 82% spandex and 12% nylon. The bustier material is soft and stretchy enough to accommodate a range of sizes, but it isn’t firm enough to hold in or mask your trouble spots like some stretchy materials. The material is completely see-through. Aside from the mesh and spandex materials, the bustier also has a flexible plastic boning, metal hook-and-eye clasps, and lace trim.


The front of the bustier has three separate panels. The center panel is solid purple and starts between the two cups at the top and runs longer than the other sections of the bustier.


The purple center panel is trimmed on both sides by a thin strip of black fabric; this is where you will find the plastic boning. The boning runs from the center bottom of the two bra cups all the way down to the lace trim at the bottom. The two side panels are identical panels of the black lace. These panels begin at the boning and end under the arms. The lace used for these panels has a flowery pattern. There is also a lace trim that goes around the entire bottom of the bustier. The cups of the bustier are a sheer purple color. The tops of the demi-cups are trimmed in black lace. On the fabric between the cups there is a small black bow. The cups of the bustier have underwire going all the way up into your armpit, but no additional support. Attached to the top of the cup are the bustier’s black adjustable spaghetti straps.


The back of the bustier is predominately the sheer purple spandex/nylon material found on the front center panel. Around the top of the back panels there is a thin black trim similar to the fabric that covers the boning. Down the center of the back there are two rows of hook and eye clasps on a solid black band. The hook and eye clasps make it difficult to put on by yourself unless you clasp it first and then pull it over your head. I tried this out because a prior review said the material was stretchy enough to just slip the bustier on over your head and I had not problems putting it on this way. It’s much easier than trying to close all of the clasps behind your back.





The garters that come with bustier are the standard plastic and rubber closures. The garters are both detachable and adjustable so they can be easily adjusted or removed to suit your needs.


Cleaning/Storage:


The bustier’s tag says to hand wash only, but I never listen to the tags. Twice I have washed in it cold water on the delicate cycle and it has held up nicely. However, do not put in the dryer or it will cause damage – I hang mine up to dry.


For storage, I use the hanger that came with the bustier to hang it in my closet. You can also store it in a drawer, but just be aware that the bustier can only be folded the long way because of the boning.


Packaging:


The mesh and lace bustier comes packaged on a plastic hanger that says “Coquette” on it. The garters are packaged separately in a small plastic bag attached to the bustier. The set comes wrapped in a clear plastic bag, which is recyclable.

Fit:


I got this bustier in a size medium. The medium on Coquette’s chart says it'll fit a size 8-10, B cup, 36-38" bust, 28-30" waist, and 38-40" hips. I am a size 4-6, D cup, 34” bust, 28” waist, and 38” hips.


To be honest, I found this to be a bit baggy on me, but I needed a Medium because of the cup size. The bustier doesn’t look loose or baggy on me, but it definitely feels big. I always buy up a size for the cups and I never have a problem with firmer materials. I actually should wear be a Medium with most of my measurements, but if you are on the low end of the sizing chart you might want to go down a size.


Part of the problem is the boning of the bustier; it doesn’t do what it is supposed to. The boning is too flexible and doesn’t provide any cinching or shaping; it seems to be there more for aesthetics than anything else. It is also really difficult to get the boning to lie flat; it either flares out a bit at the bottom or causes some bunching just under the bust line. Here is a picture of the front view, but just not the breast are looks a little odd because I am wearing a bra since, unlike the model, I actually have visible nipples.





The cups are the only part of the bustier that fit me really well. I usually hate bra cups that don’t have any padding because they make my breasts look saggy, but the support from the underwire and the boning was enough to eliminate that problem. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no way my D cups would fit in the smaller size. The underwire would definitely dig into the sides of my breasts and I have serious doubts it would rest properly underneath my breasts. Due to the see-through fabric, this is not an item where you can manage with cups that don’t fit properly. For that reason I would recommend against this for petite women with larger breasts, because you either have to deal with cups that are too small or the rest of the garment being too big.


Another problem with the bustier is that it is just not flattering on me. I’m not sure if it is the material or if it is the sizing problem, but the bustier seems to accentuate my problem areas. More specifically, it makes my stomach even more pronounced. I think the material is just too soft to hold in those problem areas. I have other bustiers that do a much better job of flattening and flattering my mid-section. Here is a super unflattering side shot: Taller people might have problems with this bustier being too short when using the garters. I’m only 5’ so I never have problems with anything being too short, but I did attempt to simulate what this would look like on a taller person. I think it would look fine sans garters, but using the garters pulls the bustier down in a really unflattering way.

This is still in good shape and I still love the color, but I don't really like the way I look in this compared to other pieces I own. The main problem is the serious lack of support for my DD cups; I look really saggy.

The mesh doesn't do anything to hide my imperfections. Also, I'm still a little irritated that there weren't even matching panties with this. I'm going to keep it for when I want a different color, but it is not something I plan on pulling out of the closet frequently.