JulieMay vs Bravissimo: Comfort vs Cup Range Compared
Bravissimo and JulieMay solve two different problems. Bravissimo is the better choice if you need a big cup, fitting bands 28 to 40 in D to L cups with free fittings in more than two dozen UK shops. JulieMay is the better choice if your skin reacts to your bra, with Allergy UK accredited silk and organic cotton construction, though cups stop at a G.
That is the honest summary, and if you are a 34J there is no point reading further: we do not make your size and Bravissimo does. But a lot of women land somewhere in the middle, needing real support and a bra that does not leave a red welt under the bust by lunchtime. This is the comparison for them.
What is the actual difference between JulieMay and Bravissimo?
Bravissimo is a fuller-bust specialist. It was founded in 1995 by Sarah Tremellen and Hannah Griffiths, built its name on serving D+ cups when the high street would not, and was acquired by Wacoal Europe in September 2024. Its expertise is cup engineering and in-person fitting. It sells its own labels alongside other fuller-bust brands such as Curvy Kate.
JulieMay is an allergy-friendly specialist. We started because of reactive skin, not because of cup size, and every design decision follows from that: a 100% Mulberry Peace Silk lining against the skin, GOTS-certified organic Pima cotton behind it, metal-free acrylic hooks, adjusters and wires, cotton-wrapped straps and underbands so no bare elastic touches you, and no stitched labels at all.
So one brand asks "what will hold a heavy bust properly?" and the other asks "what can this skin tolerate for fourteen hours?" Neither question is wrong. They just produce very different bras.
How do the size ranges compare, and who gets left out?
This is where the gap is widest, so here it is plainly.
| JulieMay | Bravissimo | |
|---|---|---|
| Cup range | B to G on cup-sized bras | D to L |
| Band range | 30 to 42 | 28 to 40 |
| Other sizing | Bralettes and the Georgia back-support bra in UK dress sizes 8 to 18 | Bra-sized swimwear in the same UK cup sizing |
| Skin-facing fabric | 100% Mulberry Peace Silk lining over GOTS-certified organic Pima cotton | Varies by style and by label; no brand-wide fabric standard published |
| Fastenings and wires | Metal-free acrylic hooks, adjusters and wires; cotton-wrapped elastics; tagless | Conventional hardware and elastics; not specified brand-wide |
| Independent certification | Allergy UK accreditation, NPF Seal of Recognition, Intertek amine testing | None claimed for allergy or skin safety |
| Fitting service | Online guidance only | Free fittings in shop, by video, by phone or live chat |
| UK shops | None | More than two dozen |
JulieMay sizes taken from our own UK site in November 2026. Bravissimo details from its published size guide, shop finder and website. Ranges and details change, so check before buying.
Read the first two rows together, because they matter more than the rest. Bravissimo starts where we stop. If you wear an H, J, K or L cup, we are not an option and we will not pretend otherwise. If you wear a 30 or a 42 band, we go there and Bravissimo does not. And if you are a 34F, you sit in the overlap where this choice is genuinely a choice.
Which is better if your skin reacts to your bra?
JulieMay, and the reason is construction rather than fibre alone.
Most bra reactions do not come from the cup fabric. They come from four things the composition label often does not cover: nickel in hooks, sliders and wire tips, rubber accelerators in latex elastics, disperse dyes, and formaldehyde-based easy-care finishes. A bra can read as cotton on paper and still have a nickel hook sitting on your spine all day. Our guide to nickel allergy in bras goes through how to tell which part of the garment is causing trouble.
The JulieMay answer is to remove all four. Hooks, adjusters and wires are acrylic rather than metal. Straps, underbands and waistbands are wrapped in double-layered Pima cotton, so the elastic never meets your skin. There is no bleach, no fixing agent and no harsh chemical finish, and the fabric has been through Intertek testing that found none of 22 restricted aromatic amines, with formaldehyde measured at 8 to 12 parts per million. That package, not the silk by itself, is what carries the Allergy UK accreditation.
Bravissimo makes no equivalent claim, and in fairness it has never set out to. Its own-brand styles and the other labels it stocks are built for support, which in a J cup realistically means engineered synthetics with good recovery. Composition varies style by style, so if you are sensitive you have to read each product page individually rather than trusting the brand as a whole.
Does Bravissimo offer anything for sensitive skin?
Nothing certified, but two things that genuinely help.
The first is fit, and it is not a small point. Friction from a band that rides up will do more damage to broken skin than any fibre choice. Researchers at the University of Portsmouth Research Group in Breast Health report that over 80% of women have been found to wear the wrong size bra, and that 51.5% of 1,659 women they surveyed reported breast pain, with larger-breasted women reporting more. Writing in The Conversation, breast health researchers link ill-fitting bras to chafing, skin abrasions and permanent shoulder grooves. Getting the size right removes a mechanical irritant that no fabric can compensate for.
The second is that Bravissimo's fitting is free and unusually easy to access. Walk into any shop without an appointment, or book a video call, a phone call or a live chat. Fitters work by eye rather than with a tape measure, you keep your bra on, and they do specialist fittings for first bras, maternity and nursing, sports, swimwear and post-surgery. They suggest a refit every six months. If you have never been fitted properly, that is worth doing before you spend anything with anyone, us included.
What Bravissimo cannot tell you is whether a given style has a nickel hook or a latex elastic, and that is the information a reactive skin shopper actually needs.
Where does Bravissimo clearly beat JulieMay?
Several places, and it would be dishonest to bury them.
- Cup range above a G. This is the whole ballgame for a lot of women. H to L is simply not something we make.
- Price. Bravissimo sits at high street prices and we sit firmly at the premium end. You could buy more than one Bravissimo bra for what one of ours costs, and for many budgets that settles it.
- Being fitted in person. More than two dozen UK shops, no appointment needed, no charge. We have no shops and no fitters, and online guidance is a poor substitute for someone looking at how your band sits.
- Breadth of category. Bra-sized swimwear, sports bras and high-impact support for a fuller bust are things we do not offer at all.
- Returns and exchanges. Trying three sizes in a changing room beats posting parcels back, especially if your size shifts with your cycle, a flare or a treatment.
Where does JulieMay clearly beat Bravissimo?
In the parts of a bra that touch broken skin.
A silk lining over certified organic cotton, metal-free fastenings, covered elastics and no tags is a specification you will not find in mainstream fuller-bust lingerie, because mainstream fuller-bust lingerie is engineered for lift first. If you have eczema, psoriasis, urticaria, hidradenitis suppurativa, topical steroid withdrawal or a diagnosed nickel or latex allergy, that specification is the difference between wearing a bra and not wearing one.
There is also real support inside our range, within its limits. The Valentina underwired full cup bra runs 32B to 42G, and the Ditsy Floral wireless t-shirt bra covers 30B to 42G, which surprises people who assume a sensitive-skin brand means a stretchy crop top. For lace with a plunge line, the Debbie plunge bra goes to a 42DD. Post-surgery, the Glacie pocketed mastectomy bra is built on the same construction, and our guide to choosing bras after breast surgery covers what to look for.
What about wires, bands and the under-bust line?
Wires are the thing women with reactive skin ask about most, and the usual advice is wrong in both directions.
Going wireless is not automatically kinder. A wireless bra holds a fuller bust by pressing the whole cup and band against the ribcage, which spreads load but also spreads contact. For some skin that is better. For skin that flares under the bust fold, it can be worse, because the warm, occluded, high-friction strip gets wider rather than narrower. We wrote about why that area is such a reliable trouble spot in our piece on intertrigo under the breast fold.
A wire is also not the villain it is made out to be. The problem with a conventional wire is usually the metal in it and the channel it sits in, not the shaping. That is why our wired styles use acrylic wires that bend rather than steel ones, and why we pushed back on the received wisdom in five myths about underwired bras.
The band does most of the work either way. If yours rides up, nothing else you change will fix the rubbing, and our guide to solving common bra fit issues is the place to start.
What should you do if you need both a J cup and skin-safe fabric?
Get fitted at Bravissimo, then work around the materials. That is the practical answer, and it is not a cop-out.
Start by finding out your real size from a fitter, because that single change removes the friction problem that fabric cannot solve. Then narrow by composition on the product page, choose smooth styles over heavily trimmed lace, and wash everything before first wear with a fragrance-free, non-biological detergent and no fabric softener. The NHS lists washing detergent among common atopic eczema triggers, and it is the cheapest variable to change.
If the reaction tracks the hook or the strap slider rather than the cup, a nickel-free hook cover or a cotton strap sleeve is a cheap experiment. And for the hours when you are not out in the world, a silk-lined bralette in UK 8 to 18 can give your skin a rest even if your daytime bra has to come from a fuller-bust specialist. Plenty of our customers own both, and that is a sensible outcome rather than a compromise.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bravissimo good for sensitive skin?
It is good for fit, which helps, but it holds no allergy or skin-safety certification and publishes no brand-wide fabric standard. Composition varies by style and by the labels it stocks, so you need to check each product page. If your reaction is to friction from a badly fitting band, Bravissimo may well solve it. If it is to nickel, latex or dyes, it probably will not.
What is Bravissimo's biggest cup size?
L cup, across bands 28 to 40, with some of the smallest bands stopping a little short of the very largest cups. That is considerably further than most of the market goes, and further than JulieMay, which stops at a G.
Does JulieMay make bras above a G cup?
No. Our cup-sized bras run from a B to a G across bands 30 to 42, and our bralettes and the Georgia back-support style use UK dress sizes 8 to 18. If you need an H or above, a fuller-bust specialist is the right place to shop and we would rather say so than sell you a bra that will not hold you.
Is a Bravissimo fitting really free?
Yes. Fittings are free in its shops and by video call, phone or live chat, no appointment required, and you are not expected to buy. Fitters work by eye rather than with a tape measure and you keep your bra on. Specialist fittings cover first bras, maternity and nursing, sports, swimwear and post-surgery.
Why are JulieMay bras so much more expensive than Bravissimo's?
Different inputs. Peace Silk yields roughly a sixth of the thread per cocoon compared with conventional silk because the moth is allowed to emerge, certified organic cotton costs more than conventional, and metal-free hardware and cotton-wrapped elastics add cost at every step. Whether that maths works for you depends on how much trouble your skin is giving you, not on how much you care about lingerie.
Can I wear a wireless bra if I have a large bust?
Often, yes, provided the band is firm and the cup is properly structured. A wireless bra spreads the load across the band and cup rather than channelling it along a wire, which some women find more comfortable and others find warmer under the bust. It is worth trying both before deciding, and the fit of the band matters more than the presence of a wire.
Which should I buy if I am a 34F with eczema?
You are in the overlap, so try both. A 34F is comfortably inside our range, so a certified silk-lined bra is available to you in a way it is not to a 34J. Get fitted at Bravissimo first to confirm the size, then decide whether the skin-safe construction is worth the price difference. If your eczema is mild and well controlled, it may not be.
The bottom line
Bravissimo wins on cup range, price, in-person fitting and category breadth, and for anyone above a G cup it is not really a contest. JulieMay wins on everything that touches reactive skin: a silk lining over certified organic cotton, metal-free hooks and wires, covered elastics, no tags, and independent certification behind the claims rather than the word hypoallergenic.
If you are choosing between them, the useful question is not which brand is better but which problem is yours. Cup size, go to Bravissimo. Skin, come to us, as long as you are a G cup or under. If it is both, get fitted there and manage materials carefully, and read our guide to the best bras for sensitive skin in the UK for the wider market, or our complete guide to silk for sensitive skin if you want to know what the fabric actually does and does not do. If your skin is not settling whatever you wear, that belongs with a GP or dermatologist rather than a shopping basket.
Declared interest: JulieMay makes silk and organic cotton lingerie, so we are not a neutral party. JulieMay sizes checked against our own UK site in November 2026; Bravissimo details from its published size guide, shop finder and fitting pages. General information, not medical advice.
