MASQUERADE ~ Delphi in Black/Ivory 28F

I bought the Delphi by Masquerade just after I received my Rhea from the same brand. I needed a sophisticated black bra and I loved the looks and fit of the Rhea so much that I decided to stick to Masquerade for this purchase. My preference went to the Black/Graphite model but I was only able to find a 28F in Black/Ivory. That's of the downsides of falling for a discontinued model: beggars can't be choosers.

While the Delphi is extremely pretty, it doesn't feel as luxurious as the Rhea and I think it's mostly due to the mesh covering of the cups. Not that mesh can't be high-class. But here it's kind of rough and dull. The gorgeous embroidery saves it from feeling cheap. I love the design.

I also love the straps. Their wider shape at the top gives them a sophisticated look and they're a very soft satin. They're also very comfortable. Bonus: the satin part doesn't stretch and provide good support. Too bad the support isn't where I wanted it though. But more on that later.

The band is satin as well and I found it to fit very weirdly. The first time I put the bra on, I used the first hook and got the same snug fit the Rhea gave me, which was great. But, from the way the gore didn't sit flat against my sternum when I sat or slouched, it felt as if the bra needed to be worn on the second hook. When I tried that, the general fit of the bra was indeed improved. Only problem was, I could barely breathe! So I wore it on the first hook. Now, a month later, wearing it on the first hook clearly feels like the band is a bit on the loose side and wearing it on the second hook has become comfortable. 

For reference, I wore the Delphi once to twice a week during the past month because I try to rotate my bras. Which means the band stretched like crazy in a very short amount of time! The band seemed so stiff when I got the bra that I didn't think such a thing would happen. To prevent it from stretching too much and prolong its life, I've decided to wear it on the first hook when I'm having a lazy day at home and to use the second hook only if I wear it when I go to work.

My main complaint with the Delphi is that it brings my breasts too much in a forward position. It squashes them from the side to give them a lot of forward projection.

I'd read some reviews before buying it and several said that it gave the same shape as the Rhea. It isn't at all the case, at least, not on me. The Rhea gives a gently rounded shape and craddles my breasts close to my body while the Delphi thrusts them out there. It's not a look I particularly like.

I think it's partly due to the placement of the straps. I tried to simulate straps placed less on the outside of the cups with my fingers and it made the cups bring my breasts gently back closer to my body, giving them a more rounded shape.

Another reason is probably the single vertical seam of the cups to the 2 of the Rhea.

As you can see in this picture, the top of the cups doesn't lie flat and is pretty thick. It will show under thin clothing. So will the embroidery.

I can fill the cups pretty well when I wear the bra on the second hook but, when I still wore it on the first one, there was a lot of gaping going on when I sat down or slouched. My breasts don't have enough volume to them to fill such deep cups in all circumstances. On the plus side, that makes it an ideal bra for "that time of the month" when I've got a bit more volume up there.

Profile view. The shape seems pretty unatural to me, perhaps because I know my breasts shouldn't look like they're attracted to what's directly in front of me like a magnet to its mate.

What "forward volume" the bra makes me gain is at the expense of "side volume" and, all in all, makes for a weird, minimized look under a certain type of clothing.

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Bottoms

I'm not very fond of thongs but it's useful to have a couple in one's collection. They also were the cheapest option for me (price of the thong + shipping). I usually order a UK size 12 when it comes to bottoms because I try to avoid muffin tops and panty lines as much as possible but the thong was only available in a size 10. I ordered it anyway and I'm glad I did because they do run big and sizing down turned out to be the right thing to do.

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Verdict

From my review, it might seem that I don't like the Delphi at all and that I should consider getting rid of it. That's not the case. It's far from my favorite bra but I've learned to make it work and a girl needs to have a bra that will still work well during that time of the month. So the Delphi will stay in my collection until the band stretches too much and I can replace it with another pretty black bra.