Beauty

[Agent K]

This is long so please bear with me! I read with interest the threads about the Genie vs. the Ahh bra, and since I had the Ahh, I bought the Genie, and diligently conducted some experiments.

(some of this info is on the other threads, too):

Update on my 'science experiment:'

Got some new Ahhs! from HSN, and a Genie in what I thought would be my size from Bed Bath et cetera.

I had several Ahh bras from way back and had given them away (all but one!). Now I know why. While the straps are comfortable, the band is punitively tight. To the point where I thought I would throw up. I had to peel it off me after five minutes. A larger size was just a bit more comfortable, but I returned these to size up yet again. (Got the wrong colors, but tried it on, and it's like Goldilocks. The big was too big, the small was too small).

The support isn't nonexistent, but not great. The shaping isn't wonderful either.

As for the Genie, it appears to be made of a slightly different, slightly thicker material, and you do get those added cups, but 'my' size? I could barely squeeze into it, and when I took it back to the store, they were out of any bigger sizes.

After New Years, they had restocked, and while I was able to squeeze into the up-sized product, the same problems remained: that tight, tight band. If anyone is sensitive in the mid-section, I can see this would be a big problem.

Then I noticed a similar product at Kohl's. The regular price for this bra is about $30 each (as opposed to the Genie, which works out to ten apiece if you can find your size in a store like Bed, Bath and Beyond, and the on-sale Ahh product). But it was on sale for $16 so I bought, and tried. It's of a heavier material than the Ahh, because it's supposed to be reversible, but the size range isn't there. And while the band was less tight and torturesome, the support wasn't great either, and the cup size would be good for A or B only. It's going back, alas.

So there you have it. All three products are slightly different. I really wanted to like these step-in bras and wanted to wear them because the straps truly are comfortable. But there are real problems with support and with band comfort. Unless you get a ludicrously big size, if you have one of those sensitive mid-sections, you may be out of luck.