Black satin and lace bustier - bustier discontinued by Coquette - review by Alan & Michele

From the durable black satin enhanced by the flat lace overlay to the subtle ruffled trim, this bustier by Coquette is probably one of the nicest I've seen for the price.

The workmanship is excellent, with durable hidden seams and not a stitch out of place. The boning is sheathed inside shiny Spandex runners that have a single line of stitching along each side and rolled edges for a streamline look. Strong mesh-like strips up the back hold metal eyelets for the satin lacing ribbons, which are about 7/16" wide (or 1cm) so you can tug a fair bit without worrying about tearing anything.

There is padding in the bust to help maintain the shape, and a tiny line of black elastic sewn into the lace so it will conform over the top of the breasts. The shoulder straps are both wider and thicker than what is found on most lingerie today, which felt more comfortable to me.

Overall I was impressed, and I have the feeling that this bustier would last for a long time even with frequent wear.

MATERIAL:
This bustier is made of 90% polyester satin and 10% spandex. I'm assuming that the Spandex content is in the elastic, which is sewn around the bottom edge and over the cups, in the shoulder straps, and in the sheaths that hold the boning in place, because the body fabric of the bustier doesn't stretch at all.

There is a semi-stiff fluted organza trim around the bottom and top edges, which gives way to the softer lace just above the breasts. The organza could have been uncomfortable, but the manufacturer had the foresight to sew it to the outer side of the garment so it doesn't touch the skin enough to be irritating.

The boning is 1/4" (about 1/2cm) wide strips of plastic which bend very easily vertically and do have some mild side-to-side bowing action too. They are strong enough to withstand some mid-range cinching to enhance your figure, but wouldn't be enough for any serious waist training.

The breast underwire, on the other hand, is a thick metal similar to a sturdy coat hanger and would provide some real support to larger cup sizes. The wire is well padded on the inner side, so I didn't even notice it when I had the bustier on.

SIZING:
I was counting on the sizes running small, as they do with many lingerie companies, but that isn't the case with Coquette. I ordered a size Small, which their chart states is for women who wear 4-6 (I'm a 4), have a 26-28" waist (I have 26") and a 34-36" bust (I'm 34"). Unfortunately, it also states it's for a B cup, and I'm only an A cup. As a result, with the laces tightened down, the bustier fit me like a dream both in width and torso length, but I had about a 1" gap between my breasts and the top of the cup which the elastic there didn't hide. Due to the padding, the cups maintained their sexy shape, but I just didn't fill them.

There is about two feet of extra ribbon for lacing in the back, and the shoulder straps are also adjustable. Thus I'm certain that the bustier would fit all of the given sizes in a range accurately, but the moral of the story here is that the cup size really matters.

WEARING:
One excellent feature of this bustier is that there is a black zipper hidden next to the boning on the left side. This way you don't have to have someone around to lace you into it, and it's easy to take off in a hurry too! Even better, it only takes a second to slip it off and adjust the lacings for a perfect fit.

Once I had it on, I was surprised to find that this bustier really didn't feel all that restrictive since the boning flexed. It does get a little hot after you've worn it for awhile, but since you can't see through the fabric and it's comfortable to wear, you can use it for day wear or clubbing too.

CARE INSTRUCTIONS:
The manufacturer suggests that this bustier be hand washed, and I did the first time I wore it, but in the interest of seeing just how durable it was I've washed it twice since then inside a lingerie bag in the washing machine. If you decide to try that, just keep the machine set on cold water, delicate cycle, and then drape the bustier over your shower curtain or something to dry.
After all three washings there's no sign of mis-shaping, loose seams or frays anywhere, so I think it's more likely for heat to damage the bustier than anything else, since the plastic boning might warp.

Michele says:
I loved this bustier from the minute I saw it in the EdenFantasys catalog, and when I got it was even better than I thought it would be. Needless to say, there's never been a time in my life when I've been more upset about being small-breasted than when I found out this beauty wouldn't fit me. Right now I'm trying to figure out if there's any way I could alter it to make it conform to my lack of boobs (yes, it's nice enough to be worth the trouble of sewing), so if anyone has any ideas I'm, all ears!

Alan says:
Michele was practically in tears over this bustier not fitting her right, but I didn't see that much of a problem with it. True, if I was standing right in front of her and looking down her front I could see the gap between her breasts and the material, but it wasn't all that drastic and was actually a sexy view if you know what I mean. From any other angle, it looked really shapely in general and I loved it either way. I can see where she wouldn't want to wear it out in public with the extra space at the top, but I'm doing everything I can to convince her that it's more than welcome in the bedroom, especially since I don't have to mess with all those laces to get it off of her.