I have been lusting after the Masquerade Orla for some time now. Ever since Ewa Michalak slowed down on the production of HM style bras, their non-padded vertical seamed bras, I’ve been on the lookout for non-padded bras with vertical seams. When the SS13 season came out, I was ecstatic to learn that Masquerade was coming out with one.
I already own a Masquerade Rhea in 28H and it’s amazingly comfortable, if a bit a of tight squeeze in the band. I’ve been transitioning to 30 (in most brands) and 32 (in really tight brands like EM) for some time now because 28s just aren’t as comfortable as they used to be. The thing about my Rhea is that it’s too big because I believe it’s designed for breasts with more projection than my own. I figured I should buy a 32FF because that’s a volume smaller than my beloved Rhea and because Masquerade runs pretty tight in the band.
I ordered this from SimplyBe USA, which is probably the most confusing thing I’ve ever done. They convert their sizes, but in a way that makes no sense. I read somewhere on bratabase that someone ordered a a 34J and was assured it would be a 34G but then received a 34FF I believe, so I was hoping I ordered a 30GG as they were out of 32G. Thankfully I made that mistake because the 30H fits me way better in the cup than a 30GG would.
The fabric is very soft. The lace itself is non-stretch, but the opaque panel at the top edge of the cup is stretchy, though I still think this is probably more suitable for even to full on bottom breasts. The band is not very stretchy at all. I was hoping to buy a 32 band because Masquerade is one of the least stretchy band brands I’ve ever encountered. This 30 band feels a lot like my (albeit stretched out) 28 band on my Rhea, so bear in mind if you decide to order this bra. I’m hoping I can break it in well because I don’t think I will wear this a whole lot if the band doesn’t break in.
This bra runs really really really small in the cups. I fit a Freya Half Cup in 30G, which are considered to run small already. I would say this fits in the cups like in between a 28H and 28HH in a really shallow bra like the Juna.
The shape is minimized, round and not terribly uplifted, which suits me just fine, though I can understand if others are not really taken to it. The cup is fairly short and does not have a lot of projection, so this model suits my very shallow shape well and will likely be good for breasts with less projection (though I’m not sure if that will be the case in smaller sizes).
As you can see in the above picture, the lace is a bit loose, but this is mostly due to the position I’m standing it (as it flattens my top tissue). You can see in the other positions I stand in, the cup is firm on my breast, but not cutting in in any manner. It’s like this bra was specifically designed for my shape breasts!
The color isn’t actually as light as my pictures make it out to be. I would call it a really light beige, suitable as a nude colored bra for someone with extremely light skin (I’m talking like you either never see the sun or possibly albino). The pictures might not show it very well since I look quite washed out, but I have somewhat dark skin at the moment (Sicilian skin).
The wires are strong and do not distort much in spite of the fact that this bra is definitely too small in the band. They are wide, but not too wide. The fabric is very lovely and soft. Usually I find the wires or the fabric in non-padded bras to be scratchy, but that is not the case at all in this bra.
The straps are partially adjustable and fairly short I would guess (I have a short torso so I’m not the best judge of such things) as I have them adjusted to the longest setting and it’s perfect, so I don’t think I would recommend this to anyone with a longer torso.
I would definitely recommend this bra if you have similar breasts to my own. The bra is gorgeous, non-padded, and comfortable (in spite of being too tight).
Sexy Beast 
You have this bra sitting well below your underbust. It’s almost down to your waist! Is that because your boobs won’t fit into the bottom of it, or is it scooting down because the band is tight? I think you would get a better fit if you grabbed the ends of the underwire (one cup at a time) and hauled them up about an inch.
Absolutely too low. Looking back on it now, I don’t know what I was thinking. I recently had a second bra epiphany, that I have been wearing my bras too low, and was loosing support. Thanks for the suggestion. I recently gave this away through bratabase, because I’m not going to fit into that any time soon.
Aw, too bad. Was it the tight band? I think with a looser band you could have pulled it higher and gotten a better fit/shape from it.
I found your post because I am thinking of getting an Orla and was looking for reviews/pics of it on real people. So thank you for posting it!
For sure. I would have done better with a 32G or 32FF (I’m not sure which one). I could pull that high enough even in a too tight band, but it hurt like hell, which is why I sold it. I think it runs pretty small. 32FFs that run small or 32Fs that run small in the band but large in the cup are my best bet these days, but this was only about a cup too big.