Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

In Sept & Oct 2014, I spent 2 full months purchasing and assessing 18(!) different styles from Anita's Brassiere Line, designed in Brannenburg, Germany and manufactured at Europe's highest altitude underwear factory (LOL!) in the mountainous Austrian state of Tyrol Matrei. I'd never had success with English or European Bras, until I encountered this brand. I didn't have a whole lot of success with this line at first, either. But eventually, I ended up keeping 10 of 18 Anita bras! And I have only ever once purchased the same bra brand twice [Olga Women's Today's Tapestry Minimizer ]. The problems that many customers seem to have with this brand lie in the sellers' descriptions. There are slight, but important, differences between the bra styles that are not made clear on the product detail pages. This led to a lot of back & forth buying & returning, when I could have saved myself all that hassle (and further research on Anita), if I'd had a quick, but comprehensive, guide like this one: The difference among Anita's bras is largely fabric content-- namely the Spandex quota (Elastane, Lycra). A very small percentage of stretch greatly affects how each bra fits. I've read every single review of every Anita bra offered on Amazon, and the number one complaint (as was mine), was that they were "elastic city," or "this is not the bra I bought last time" or "I love Anita bras -- and was deeply disappointed in this purchase. Buy the 5493 - that's what i thought I was buying." I've tried hundreds of varying sizes in different brands, and never has so little fabric content change altered the fit so much! The line consists of two parent styles, the Anita and the Rosa Faia, who are difficult to distinguish from one other. The Anita Aurelia Bra 5672 (20% Spandex) is a lovely stretch-lace underwire, a less lace-layered version of the wired Rosa Faia Lace Rose Bra (also 20% Spandex), which is exactly like the wireless Rosa Faia Lace Soft Rose Bra (15% Spandex); the wired ones are 20% Spandex and wear markedly different! I figure that the wireless bras have less elastic to allow the nonstretch-textiles to hold in the breasts better. Like Anita's Soft Cup Nursing Bra (15% Spandex) is exactly like Rosa Faia's Twin Firm Nonwire Bra (15% Spandex) but for detachable cups and HALF the price (Money Saving Tip!). Differentiation starts to get even tricker when you get to the Rosa Faia TopComfort Ricarda Underwire Bra 5468 (25% Spandex) which, but for a few flecks of lace, looks maddeningly similar to Anita's Twin Firm Underwire Bra (10% Spandex)--but with more than TWICE the Spandex, so bounciety... bounce. AND the Rosa Faia TopComfort Ricarda costs TWICE as much as Anita's Twin Firm Underwire. Insanely similar then becomes "a bra by any other name fits just as well." The Anita's Flora Support Bra (15% Spandex) IS Anita's TopComfort bra 5409 (15% Spandex), just $30 cheaper! There is no way to know this though, without exhaustive research! I mean, I had the flu for 13 days and this is what I solely accomplished in 2 friggin' weeks! Just like the bra on this page, Anita's Light and Firm Sport Bra (20% Spandex) IS Anita's Active Sports Bra 5531 (20% Spandex), only the former costs, on average, $50 and the latter $85!! So what I'm saying is, you are safe with quality if you purchase the least expensive Anita bra, as long as you select the Spandex content that works best for you! Anita's Versailles Comfort Underwire Bra (25% Spandex) and its wireless sister, Anita's Versailles Soft Cup Comfort Bra (20% Spandex) is one of a handful of Anita's stand-out styles, like my favorite, the wired Rosa Faia Alicia Bra (15% Spandex), and my most detested, the Rosa Faia Scarlett Underwire Bra (15% Spandex), and two wireless bras, Anita's Safina 5448 Bra (10% Spandex) and its basic twin, the Anita's Comfort Clara 5459 Bra (15% Spandex). Remember, the LESS elastic in a wire-free bra, the better; that my seem subversively counterintuitive to some, but it's the truth. The Rosa Faia Twin Soft Cup Comfort Bra comprised of 30% Spandex, exactly resembles the Rosa Faia Twin Firm Nonwire Bra (15% Spandex) but for TWICE the Spandex (bounce... bounce)! If you don't know what textile factor you're looking for, how would you choose between these, other than price (or color, which too, is an insufficient parameter for a well-wearing bra)? I made the mistake of buying the Rosa Faia Twin Soft Cup, hating it, then getting the Rosa Faia Twin Firm Nonwire, and thinking I had already purchased it, sent it back untried. Upon discovering my confusion, I had to purchase it all over again! Pain in the Ass! Now, I'm left with hoping this review helps someone else avoid this. After trying 3 sizes of the Rosa Faia Twin Firm Nonwire Bra (15% Spandex), I wrote a bitter review of it entitled, "RIDICULOUS!" The very next Anita Bra I received in the mail was the wired version, and that was the turning point--NEVER have I looked like the brassiere model in the picture, with perfect bossoms! But I DID in my regular size of 40E (40DD in US brands) in the Anita's Twin Firm Underwire Bra (10% Spandex). IT WASN'T THE UNDERWIRE THAT MADE THE FIT. IT WAS THE 5% LESS SPANDEX. Now, this is NOT to be confused (yeah, right, too late for that!) with the insanely similar Rosa Faia Twin Underwire Bra (30% Spandex)! Dear Anita: Throwing in the words, "firm" or "soft" or "top" into a long jumble of a bra title is way insufficient to describe the vast differences in wearability among your vastly varying, yet look-a-like brassieres! Yours Not So Truly, Signed, A Snarky, Confused Cosumer! Now, a true Anita style stand-out is the Rosa Faia Alicia Underwire Bra (15% Spandex). It's fits exactly like Anita's Twin Firm Underwire Bra (10% Spandex), with slightly thinner straps adorned with rose appliques. Satan's anus, I've just confused myself--again! For reals, I just had to check my cart, to see if this is one style I'm ordering two of!(?) Finally, Anita's bras are EXACT in sizing, so you must find your correct size for them to fit; although I was able to use a Dritz Soft-Bra Back Extender( 3 hooks and 2" wide) on one 38 Band that was on sale (I'm a 40). And the Anita Light and Firm Sport Bra whose page this review is on? Yeah, it's one of the 20% elastic disasters I had to send back! Bounciety...bounce, ...bounce....bounce...! It was so stretchy that the weight of my DD's hung over the band and made it curl up! And it's practically unadjustable! The straps could only be tightened/loosened 4 Inches. Since the Lycra content was so high and the only other fabric present was Nylon, the straps started out tightened up the farthest they would go, so it was all downhill from there if the bra stretched out or shrank! Strap-Tightening Length is one of the two most important mesaurements left out of Brassiere descriptions everywhere; the second is the Vertical Cup Measurement. Because padded straps, wide bands, supple side stays, etceteratta--none of these matter if the cup doesn't immediately cover your bossom up and down, because that is a characteristic that cannot be augmented. You don't want your chest flesh hanging out the bottom or popping out the top or sides. And even though the cups seemed a generous 9" vertically, the band simply didn't' cover all the way down over the bottoms of my breasts. I think someone with smaller, less dense breasts could wear it quite comfortably. I exchanged it for the Anita Extreme Control Sports Bra (THE least stretchy of the entire line at only 5% Spandex), which fit perfectly. NB: Every bra listed here is non-padded. Anita offers only 3 padded bra styles, which they fortunately make explicit in the titles. [Rosa Faia's Padded Scarlett Bra, Rosa Faia's Padded Contour Underwire Bra and Rosa Faia's Beautyfull Women's Padded Bra]. Hope this Helps!