Karlee Smith is a company specializing in post operative bras and sports bras especially for women who have had breast surgeries, including augmentation surgery. If you missed my Retailer Spotlight on Karlee Smith, you can check that out HERE. The company graciously offered to send me and three of my co-bloggers a bra of our choice to review. You can check out my co-blogger Yoomee’s review of the Karlee Smith Sexy Lady Snap Me Twice Bra HERE. Be sure to subscribe to our blog so that you won’t miss the remainder of the reviews to come!
In addition to their line of sports bras, Karlee Smith also offers a line of surgical recovery bras which contain some very impressive features which you can read about HERE. Either of the lines would make a fabulous recovery bra and either could be continued to be used long after recovery is complete. I wish I had known about this company back when I had my own surgery.
After some consideration, I chose the Body Love Front Close Sport Bra in pink pin stripe “pink love exclusive”. This bra features an anti-microbial finish which is an exclusive finish, formulated to absorb moisture and odour. The fabric is wickable, formulated to adapt to the wearer’s personal body temperature, assuring 24-hour comfort.
This particular bra is available in just three sizes, Small, Medium and Large which gave me cause for concern as I typically wear a 30G UK which is obviously small in the band, but comparatively large in the cup. After reading the Section on How to Measure and Find Your Perfect Bra Size it became apparent that you only need to know your under bust measurement. My under bust measures 27 inches and so I went with the smallest size, being the Small (28 – 32 inch band size) and crossed my fingers.
I didn’t have long to keep my fingers crossed because my bra arrived at my doorstep incredibly quickly, especially as Karlee Smith is an American company and I am in Canada.
The fabric of this bra is very soft and lightweight. The fabric composition is 88% nylon, 12% spandex. It is completely seamless and wire-free and features a 1.5″ soft bottom elastic band which keeps the bra firmly in place.
The comfort level of this bra is unsurpassed. It feels really good! I feel so free and breezy in it! The band feels good and doesn’t move around. I found the zip front closure easy to do up and undo. I found it easiest to do up when I leaned over. This put my boobs in a nice forward position. I could feel light compression in the boob area of the bra and this helped to keep me in position throughout the day. Butt crack style boob cleavage was present and you could absolutely wear this as a super light and comfy cleavage bra.
In the interests of disclosure, prior to my implant surgery I was not flat chested – rather I had sad old deflated flapjack style boobs with plenty of natural hang. Any upper fullness I once had, had long left me, probably around the same time that my sanity left me and the first of what would ultimately be four offspring began to arrive. I am a blend of natural tissue and fantastic plastic. My implants are 370g Inspira SRF and we will never know really what size I was pre-op because I never knew how to measure properly. Although I had a crescent lift done with my implants, I still have significant hang. You know when you see articles asking if you can pass ‘the pencil test’? Never mind that. I can jam a stapler under there and it’ll stay put.
I suspect that because of the above, I still experienced fairly significant bounce on significant impact (jogging, zumba etc.) while wearing this bra. Possibly if it was offered in size XS then there might have been enough compression to better control my bounce. It does work well for me for lower impact workouts, weight room days, as a lounge bra, a casual wear bra and a sleep bra (yes I wear a sleep bra every night). On low impact gym days this bra feels comfy, cool and amazing compared to my armour-like, sweaty, heavy-duty sport bra collection. In addition to the uses outlined herein, this bra could also be an excellent choice for women who suffer from hormonal sensitivity, costochondritis, chronic pain and a myriad of other issues.
The Karlee Smith Body Love Front Close Sport Bra retails for $90 USD and can be ordered through their web page. Some surgeons provide a Karlee Smith recovery bra to their breast augmentation patients. If you have a surgery booked, you should ask your PS if he or she carries KS recovery bras.
An Enhanced Experience 