AnitaAnita Women's Light and Firm Sport Bra

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!

As expected. Came quickly. Nice bra

First bra for larger busted women that fits perfectly!

I usually wear a 40E, so hearing that these ran small, I ordered a 42E and it was really tight on the last hooks I ordered this bc it was a better price than a similar brand I like which is 3x the price. But I guess, in this case, you get what you pay for. I’ve returned this one.

Super feeling

This was my first new bra in a long time (what can I say, I hate paying so much for underwear). I'd lost a lot of weight since the last new bra and was back to my barely-there A girls again. This bra fits very nicely and there's no bounce ... although I'd have to be on a trampoline bra-less to get bounce at all anyway. I like the wider shoulder straps--ever since I saw my mom's shoulders and the deep grooves her narrow bra straps had worn there, I've tried to get wider straps, but it's kind of rare for bras to have them.There's one other thing I find almost magical about this bra. I was able to try it on and wear it for several hours without my skin going all red and irritated from wearing new clothing that hadn't been washed yet. Normally, if I haven't washed new clothes, I can't wear them without that occurring. The only irritation was from the plastic strip thingy that holds the "advertise/sale" tag thing on. (When you are going to keep it, you clip that and throw it away--that isn't the real tag with the washing instructions.)Now it's a smidge tight around my chest, but I don't think that's the bra. I think that's a result of me wearing too-old bras for so long I forgot what actually fitting felt like. I'm getting used to it ...

Lightweight and comfortable for home. I doubt I’d wear it working out but I do wear it hiking as it dries fast. 36d and that’s what I ordered and for great. No privacy cups so you have to add them, but good for minimizing.

This bra fits great. The material is plasticky and thin, which is great for everyday wear, but when I saw how much I paid for said plasticky stuff, I wasn't as impressed. The material is very thin and I use this as an every day bra as opposed to a "sport bra". The construction seems like it will last a long time and seems to be great quality, stitching is great and shoulder straps are industrial strength. I do wish the band around was as buff as the shoulder straps. The wider strap around is what seems to give me the support (32e). I can wear this though for 16 hours + and forget I have it on so it's definitely quite comfy. By the way, this is my fourth "Anita" bra, the other 3 are true sport bras. And yes, I paid more for those.

I have been wearing these sports bras for years. I keep coming back to them because I find them strong, supportive, comfortable and flattering.I used to be a 34F and these guys were an absolute life saver. They minimised my rather too ample cleavage and I never had to worry about my breasts escaping in the embarrassing way large breasts do. I could even jog in them. After Breast cancer surgery I returned to these guys as a 36C and I still love them. I'd give them 10 stars if I could.

Such a comfortable bra that feels surprisingly light yet gives very good support.

I already have two Anita bras and find them very comfortable. This one I ordered in a smaller size due to weight loss but it squashes my boobs, and don't give me any shape whatsoever!! Maybe I should have gone for a larger size, but rather than return it to Germany will just hold onto it. Probably another £39 down the drain, will I never learn!!

My favourite bra. This bra is a very comfy and so strong. I love it

After undergoing a risk reducing double mastectomy recdently I asked the hospital which bra they would recommend. I'd tried several other sports bras but they were right! the Anita Women's 5521 Seamless Sports Bra is the most comfortable and supportive bra that I've tried. Its also easy to wash through and dry. I would highly recommend it.