Word of mouth is gold in fashion. It’s not always easy to navigate a saturated market full of options, so hearing a peer rave about a new brand is a great way to determine what’s the next hot thing — that’s exactly how I first heard about intimates line Cuup almost as soon as it launched in 2018. My curve model friends were singing the praises of this cool, modern, minimal line, so I was immediately intrigued.
This week, Cuup announced a size expansion, offering its most popular bra styles in band sizes up to 50 and cup sizes up to G (the largest size offered prior was 44E).
The brand quickly became a fashion favorite, spurred on by viral celebrity selfies and a growing reputation for successfully combining form and function. While Cuup’s initial size range was broader than many of its competitors, it left out some plus-size shoppers, particularly those with larger band or cup sizes (myself included). So, when it was acquired by the plus-focused FullBeauty Brands (which also owns Eloquii, Swimsuitsforall, and Dia and Co.) last year, I was hopeful that a size expansion might follow — and I made sure they knew it, asking creative director Yesenia Torres about it whenever I saw her at events. The knowing smile I got in return kept my hope alive.
“Cuup was already on its journey of being more inclusive,” Torres tells Refinery29. “We [FullBeauty Brands] believe in inclusivity, and we have seen the power behind it. There was already data showing that there was appetite for the [size] 40 bands. Why wouldn’t we continue this forward? Why would we exclude this brand from being able to get into that size range as well? So it was kind of a no-brainer.”
That didn’t mean the expansion could happen immediately, though. In order to get the fit and support correct, Cuup embarked on a year-long journey to develop the new sizes.
“We have vigorous testing — on our fabrics, how they feel on the body, what the modulus of the fabric is, how it lifts and supports you,” Torres continues. “Our next step was to bring in three different fit models to try all the way up to 50 bands. We found very early on that we wanted to, in the mesh product, add one tiny mesh wing on the side to give extra support for the women who are beyond an E cup. We wouldn’t have seen that had we not started to use different fit models [with different bust projections and shapes]. Once we felt really good about those expanded 40 bands, we then found another fit model in the 50 band range and went through the same exercise, put all the bras on them, and started to fit within it.”
The process didn’t end there: As someone who loves a good wear test, Cuup’s next step is the same one I would have recommended myself.
“We made all of the fit models wear-test everything, and it was vigorous” Torres says. “It wasn’t like, ‘Wear this bra one time and tell us how you like it’ — it was months of wearing it. We actually are very technical as a brand, so we would have them come in, draw the original on them from a new sample that we have, then put the wear-test sample on them and see how those lines matched up, where they were losing support, where the support maintained itself. Any commentary that we learned from the three months of wear testing, we applied it to the new samples.”
All of that extensive investment in getting the fit right is apparent in the final product. The quality and construction is visible as soon as you get the bras in hand, but, of course, I wanted to try it all on to see how it works on fuller-bust plus-size customers.
While I’m still technically out of the Cuup cup size range (I typically wear at least an H cup), this expansion finally took me into plausible sister size territory. (For everyone that doesn’t spend their time writing about bras, “sister size” is a term for the bra sizes surrounding yours that have similar cup depth, even if the alphabet cup size is different.) So I tested out three core bras from Cuup to see how they stack up IRL. (Note: The sheer try-on images were blurred.)
Cuup The Plunge – Mesh
This is one of the styles that’s synonymous with the Cuup brand in my eyes, so I was very happy to see it included in this new sizing rollout. As someone who’s just outside its cup size range, I knew in advance that these bras would not be a technically perfect fit on me — a disclaimer for all you bra fit sticklers out there! If you’re one of many customers within the newly-expanded size range, your fit should be even better.
I started by looking at Cuup’s size chart, and quickly realized I needed to size up in the band. (I usually wear a 40, but a 44 looks closer to my measurements per its sizing.) I also decided to try a 46, as cup sizes get larger as the band does, and I figured that could help me find the cup depth I need. That ended up being the right move, as the cups on the 44G were too small, but the ones on 46G were much better — and even more so after taking the advice Torres imparted about Cuup’s mesh bras: “My rule of thumb is you need to wear the product for a good one to two hours, because the compression that we’ve used in the mesh is really taut. You might feel like, ‘Oh, is this too small?’ It’s actually not. It’s easing into your body, and then, after a two hour wear, it’s the perfect size. It’s just one of the complexities of the technology within the fabric that remolds to the temperature in your skin.”
I wore the bra around the house for a few hours, and I did feel the difference. The power mesh didn’t lose any of its support or feel like it got bigger, but it did feel like a more personalized fit after the “warm-up” period.
The Plunge is a downright sexy style, especially in this black mesh, and the modifications made for the extended sizes (adding an internal mesh side panel for extra support and using a stronger yet visually indistinguishable mesh fabrication) happily don’t affect the look of the bra. The added mesh did it’s job, too, keeping the bust projection forward and natural-looking, with no side-boob spillover.
Torres also mentioned Cuup did extensive wear testing on its extended underwear sizes, and it shows: This liquid jersey thong was smooth and comfortable in my usual 2x, with no digging in or shifting with wear.
Cuup The Scoop – Micro
Every bra wardrobe needs a workhorse — a smooth, neutral bra that just works — and this style from Cuup has a lot of potential to become that type of go-to (especially since the brand offers a great selection of nudes, ranging from a paler pinky Blush to a gorgeous deep Espresso). The microfiber fabric is very soft and feels great on the skin, and the light lining throughout the cups minimizes nipple visibility. This style also has wider straps that sit comfortably on the shoulders (no digging in), which makes it a great candidate for a workday bra.
The 46G was definitely a wearable size on me, albeit with a little spillover at the top. This makes sense, as I’m technically a larger cup size than is available. I still see this style ending up in regular rotation for me: The support and comfort are there, and it’s a good option for scoop neck tops and light-colored button-downs. The coordinating brief bottom was also buttery soft and non-restricting.
Cuup The Balconette – Mesh
Of all the bras I tried, this sleek balconette style was the one that had the most spillover on me — but that may very well be because I didn’t have the time to do the recommended “warm up” period on this style before shooting it. Despite that, I really like the look of this one. The power mesh feels just as secure and supportive as Torres suggested it would, and the half seam on the front adds a bit of visual interest without distorting the natural shape of the cup. I also appreciate that the mesh styles come in a variety of neutral hues, giving “nude” options for people in a range of skin tones. This taupe is one of those, but I have to say I love the way it looks on my lighter skin, too — a great reminder that everyone benefits from having a good range of shade options!
The wide-set straps on this one make it even more likely that it’ll be a piece I reach for often: It’s so hard to find a good bra for square-neck silhouettes, and this one is perfect for all the shirts and dresses I don’t wear as much as I want to because the alternative is a strapless bra (something I generally avoid unless absolutely necessary). The coordinating high-waisted brief was the comfiest of all of the Cuup underwear I tried — which is saying something, because they were all really good!
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