I was excited for this bra as we are moving into fall and I thought this could be a versatile piece -- in the summer, wear it as a top, in the fall/winter, wear it as a bra under a shirt. However, it was definitely not worth the premium price I paid for it.
The idea of this is very very cute, I love the idea of the design. But as for the execution? I don't have much good to say. First of all, the straps DIG INTO my collarbones even after just 30 minutes of wear, enough to leave a mark! I made them as loose as possible and it did not help. A wide, soft strap would be better. Secondly, the bottom part is weirdly loose? It does not at all look fitted and sleek like it does on the models, it actually has these big rolls of fabric instead.
Despite that, it looks relatively cute from the front, and I probably wouldve kept it if the straps were comfy, but somehow it also makes me look flatter than I already am? It's hard to explain and it may not look too bad in the photos, but you're just gonna have to trust me -- I know my own body, and this made my tits look kind of pathetic... and I'm generally proud to be part of the itty bitty titty committee. It just wasn't flattering at all. I think part of the problem is that the weight and fullness of my breasts is all at the bottom, not the top, so even with all the tricks of pulling my boobs around, it just didn't look very good. I wasn't getting that cleavage boost they keep marketing with these low-cut bras. I think perhaps a V cut would be better suited to breasts like mine, but V cuts don't exactly work for workout gear (although they did make that one mesh top that went deep in the middle, too bad they dont sell it anymore). But if the fullness of your breasts is all at the bottom like mine, then don't expect this to magically make your boobs look amazing.
As for the nip smoothing layer... maybe I have nipples of steel but it didn't quite work for me, so I am glad they still included removable cups, though I am upset it didn't work for me since I freaking hate those cups and wish they'd all just be sewn in instead of removeable! I will say that if you looked at me from the side without the cups in, you probably wouldn't see my nipples actually pointing out. However, from the front, you could ABSOLUTELY see the 2 dots that were my nipples and it was very very obvious what they were.
I do not believe any of these problems were caused by improper sizing, as it felt like it fit well without being too loose or too tight. I believe if I were to size down, the bottom part might fit better, but the bra area would be too tight. I also prefer my clothes not to feel compressive, and I think sizing down to an XS would feel too tight and make it hard to put this on.
Since I've absolutely ripped this top apart in my review, I will say one thing in its favor: the fabric used (except for the straps) was really soft and comfortable.
For reference, I'm about 5' 3", 118 lbs, and a 34B. I got the dusty lilac color. In one of the photos it shows up more blue cuz of the lighting, which isn't very accurate, but the sideways picture is more accurate to the color. I think the color does look like what was advertised in the product photos.
I like Popflex overall as a brand, but this just REALLY wasn't it. Decided to exchange for the mesh celeste bra and hoping to have better luck with that. I did get the Cleo bra they released at the same time as this Plie one, and it has none of these issues at all and is super comfy and cute... so go figure.