I’ve extolled the virtues of the Prima Donna Deauville bra on D Cup or Bigger almost since I first started this site. This summer, my new love from the Prima Donna brand is the Madison. The team over at UK Lingerie were kind enough to send me one so I could experience the Prima Donna Madison for myself.
UK Lingerie has got quite an expansive range of lingerie brands, including some of my other faves like Anita and Curvy Kate. They carry all sorts of underpinnings for every possible occasion from bridal, to maternity, to everyday, to sportswear. Fortunately for me, they ship worldwide and I received my bra here in Canada within 2 weeks of the posting date, even after a brief stint at the customs office.
The bra itself, like any other Prima Donna bra does not disappoint, and the craftsmanship is evident before you even put the bra on. The Madison comes in two different styles, padded and underwired. I opted for the underwired bra (style 016-2121) as I very rarely like to wear bras with any padding. The undercup is made of a very soft material that feels very plush to the touch.
The top part of this three-section cup is made of an eye-catching embroidered lace that manages to completely avoid two common hurdles you have when you get a new lace bra: the lace is not scratchy at all and manages to lie relatively flat under clothing. It’s still a bit visible, but definitely not enough to deter me from wearing it under smooth, clingy fabric. Maybe as a big-busted gal I’ve always tended toward lacy bras, so my tolerance for a bit of visibility under clothing is probably higher than most.
I got the bra in black in a G cup and it fits fantastically, holding my breasts in securely from the sides and keeping everything nicely supported within the cup. No issues with side spillage whatsoever. In fact, I am so impressed with the level of side support this bra offers that I will probably include it in my next version of my side support bra round-up.
In the size I received, the bra has 3 hooks. The straps are most-of-the-way adjustable. While you can easily adjust to the point where the lace starts to creep up the strap (about halfway), you can squeeze out an extra inch or so past the lace if you need it.
I’ve spent the past few days wearing it in the summer heat here in Toronto. Despite it being a full-cup bra with a lot of material, it doesn’t feel cumbrous to wear. The lace allows the bra to breathe quite well, making it excellent for all-day wear, even when you’re out and about. I’d say the absolute best thing about this bra is that it doesn’t even feel like you’re wearing it at all. By the end of the day, you start to feel some aspect of your bra at some point. Even my beloved Elomi Matilda’s underwire starts to get to me at the end of a long, sweaty day, but somehow the Madison doesn’t.
I know a major deterrent to most people purchasing this bra is the price. It’s a European bra, so once retailers on this side of the Atlantic account for importation costs and the exchange rate, you’re generally looking at paying north of US$100, which is nothing to sneeze at. I have said this about the Deauville though and I will say it about this bra: you most certainly get what you pay for. As much as I love Freya and Elomi bras, my fit experience within their lines is not always consistent. With Prima Donna, once you’re sized properly and you know the cut that works for you, you can use that info to confidently go from line to line.
On the topic of sizing, Prima Donna bras are usually said to fit a little more snugly than other brands, so when I made my sizing choice, I adjusted accordingly. Normally I’m around a 34-38 back depending on the brand. With Prima Donna I opted to go up in band size. I chose a G cup, but if I could have done it over again, I would have opted for an H just to have that little bit more depth, and kept my back at my normal size.
The fabric on this bra is quite stretchy, compared to Prima Donna’s usual fit. The upside of this is that it will conform to your shape. While you might have to size up in other Prima Donna models, you might find that you’ll want to start at your normal cup size for this bra, especially keeping in mind that fabric relaxes the more that you wear it.
Overall, I’m very happy with this bra and I’d recommend it to anyone. The shape works well for my pendulous, FOB chest, and the elastics do a good job of making sure the cup conforms to my shape, meaning that there’s no unsightly gapping (yay!).
While the shape of the bra isn’t perfectly round in the first few wears, it does avoid that pointy look that you often get with three-part cups.
Even if you decide that the Prima Donna Madison isn’t for you, I am sure that there is a Prima Donna bra out there with your name on it. If you can’t find a store that stocks Prima Donna near you, take advantage of Amazon Wardrobe and try some bras from this brand, girls! You will not regret it.