Review: Avocado Calypso 70J

I've been a huge fan of Avocado for a while now, having tried several of their styles/sizes. They are by far my favourite lingerie brand I've tried so far. When I saw the Calypso, I had to add it to my collection.  

The 70 bands I've tried by Avocado have all felt too big, so I initially bought a 65K in the Calypso Hn cut, but it was too tight in the band (felt like a 28 band). I also decided it was the wrong cut for me (too wide), so I exchanged it for a 70J in the A cut, which is a better cut for me. 

NB: Stock photo from website

  SIZING/FIT

Band-wise, the 70J was so much better, measuring 30.8 inches stretched. This is quite small for a 70 band, as all the other 70 bands I've tried in Avocado have stretched to 33" or more. The Calypso band is pretty much perfect for me, as I like a firm band for support but obviously not super tight that it warps the wires or is uncomfortable. For more measurements, you can see my bratabase entry for this bra here.

The underwires are great as well. They sit right up against my IMF and are fairly narrow (though not as narrow as Comexim). They also don't come up as high under the arm as a lot of other bras, so it is super comfortable and not at all pokey.  

The A cut is meant to be more "fuller coverage", but I think full coverage in Poland has a different definition. The edge of the cups definitely come up higher towards the straps on the A cut than the K cut, but in no way is this bra limited to higher necklines. This kind of cut lends itself to a narrower look from the front as the taller comes pull the breasts a bit more inward. There is a fair amount of projection, but the lining of the cup is not stretchy at all, so if you have a lot of upper fullness, you may find that it cuts in a little.

APPEARANCE

I'm not a fan of beige lingerie. It brings me back to when I had to wear plain bras because I didn't know my real size or where to get nice-looking ones from. But the taupe combined with the jade green is really lovely. The embroidery is beautiful. There are two shades of green, and in the lighter lime embroidery there is a shiny thread that runs throughout it, making that middle colour look a bit shimmery. 

The fan shaped embroidery makes it look almost peacock-y, which I love.

Close up of the centre gore embroidery

Closeup of wing embroidery

SHAPE

The A cut is a favourite shape of mine. It is an uplifted but natural, rounded shape. Almost like a rounded teardrop. There is decent projection, but you feel very anchored and secure in this, so I find it ideal to wear to work. The edge of the cup comes up fairly tall where it attaches to the straps so if you have a short torso and larger bust than me, this could be an issue (not so much a comfort issue but it could be visible in some tops/dresses). I don't find that the cup comes up too tall in this size, but I did when I was wearing a 70L.  

The edge of the cup is quite closed as well and has no stretch, so if you are very full on top, you may need to size up or give this cut a miss.

Since receiving the A cut (and the Annick in Love K cuts), Avocado have changed their cuts.  They now offer the NF (Natural Firm) and RV (Round Versatile) cuts. The NF has replaced the Hn cut, and the RV has replaced the A and K.   

Having said that, while the Calypso Hn has been replaced with the newer NF, the A cut is still available here.

Avocado's replacement cuts

MATCHING BOTTOMS  

I rarely buy matching underwear as I pretty picky in that department. Having said that, the Calypso bra is pretty unique-looking and difficult to match, even if you were to just get a pair of beige bottoms (which I think would completely negate the sexiness of the bra). Not to mention, the bra is very cool toned taupe, rather than a yellowy beige.  

I figured I would buy the matching bottoms to treat myself, and I'm glad I did. I usually like mid-high rise underwear as I'm a pretty curvy girl but didn't know which style to go for, so I emailed Avocado so ask which one had the higher rise. At the time, there was the short and the classic brief available, and they said the classic brief would be higher rise. Now, along with the new bra cuts, it looks like they've removed the short and replaced it with a full brief option, which looks a higher rise.

The shiny thread in the embroidery is more noticeable in this picture.

The classic brief that I received does not look like the picture on the site. On the model, the front of the knickers is not the sheer green colour, but the opaque taupe colour. I'm actually quite glad, though, as I think it looks nicer with the all green on the front. The sheerness on the front makes it a bit sexier, too.

  

These briefs are really comfortable. While the sheer green material has no stretch at all, the taupe material does but is soft enough that there are no visible panty lines. I bought the size Medium and it fits nicely, if not slightly big. While I'd consider these briefs to be a lower kind of mid rise (and almost too low for my liking), they still cover my butt perfectly fine and don't dig in anywhere at all. I'd say these fit like an Australian size 12.

MEASUREMENTS