Kris Line are a Polish brand, stocking bras in 65-100 (30-44) bands and A-KK cups. The brand has their own sizing system – each cup in Kris Line is based on a 2cm increase, compared to a one inch difference in UK brands. They also use an I cup between HH and J. I have been curious about Kris Line for a long time, but due to being a Polish brand, their bras are often very hard to find at reasonable prices in the UK. Recently, Brastop have got quite a few older season models in stock, including a couple up to a K cup.
The first bra I decided to try was the Selena Semi-soft Balconette, a half-padded underwired bra in green. Brastop skip the I cup, so a KL 70JJ is listed as a 32K to correspond with UK cups. I am around a 30KK in UK brands at the moment, so I decided to try the 32K to get a good comparison with UK brands. The measurements of both of the bras in this post are displayed at the bottom.
Appearance-wise, I found this bra to be much more beautiful in person – the lace under the cups is just stunning. Despite being listed as green, I would say this is more of a muted turquoise. The bra also has removable padded inserts which add quite a bit of volume, which would be good for those between sizes.
Sadly, it is very much too small in the cups. A UK 32K is a sister size of my current 30KK and should theoretically be okay in the cups, but I found the cups to run very small – I don’t think the side pictures capture quite how much quadboob I have. I had also heard that Kris Line bands often run small (partially why I tried the 32), but I found this band to run loose at just under 33 inches. I believe this bra is about 3 cups small on me, and 1-2 bands big. This, combined with comparing the measurements with other bras on Bratabase, leads me to estimate this bra as fitting like a loose-banded UK 32H/HH.
Fit issues aside, this bra is really wonderful and I am so sad it doesn’t fit. The wires are gloriously narrow with a low, narrow gore which is perfect for my close-set boobs. The wires also seem to be quite firm and stable, so they stay fairly vertical at the sides rather than distorting as the band stretches. The sides are also nice and low (no armpit digging!), and the straps are the widest and comfiest I’ve seen. It seems to give a very uplifted, somewhat pointy profile, though that may be different in the right size cup.
The second bra I decided to try was the Promenada Unpadded Balconette in a 30K (KL 65JJ).
Once again, this is a really stunning bra, far more gorgeous than it first looks in the official pictures. The embroidery on the cups is delightfully sophisticated, and the lace edging is lovely. I also love the embroidered straps and the patterned navy mesh.
Unsurprisingly, this is also too small in the cups. I have huge amounts of overspill, and there is some empty space at the bottom that I can’t fill due to the cups being too small. The cups feel about 4-5 sizes small, and the band stretches to just under 32 inches. Using the same method as before, I would say this fits like a loose-banded UK 30H/HH or a firm 32GG/H.
The Promenada has all the same good features as the Selena: narrow wires, low/narrow gore, low sides and comfy wide straps. It seems to give a slightly pointed, naturally uplifted shape, the kind that I personally favour for everyday wear. I would compare it to a 32H Bravissimo Alana, but with slightly narrower wires/gore.
Assuming the 2cm-per-cupsize estimation is accurate, a possible way of estimating cup size would be by manually calculating between your UK cupsize in inches and KL cupsizes in 2cms. For example: I currently need around a KK cup in most brands, which is the 16th UK cup. 16 cups → 16 inches → 40.68cm → 20-21 cups, which suggests I would need around an M in KL sizing. Using this for the above cups: a JJ is the 15th KL cup. 15 cups → 30cm → 11.8 inches → 11-12 UK cups, which would be an H/HH. That is pretty much what I estimated these bras to be, so that calculation could be worth doing as a part of choosing a size.
I can’t speak for any of the other Kris Line bras, but for anyone in my size range, I don’t think it would be worth trying either of these bras. However, for anyone who wears a HH cup or under and prefers narrow, deep cups, these bras seem like a very good choice, though I would definitely recommend going down a band size and going up (I imagine) at least 2 cups. The sizing is the main issue – aside from that, they are very well-made, hugely comfortable, and undeniably gorgeous. Brastop does usually have a decent selection of last-season styles at a reduced price, so if you’re in this range, I think they would definitely be worth trying.
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Thanks Anna. This is really helpful. I’ve been looking into Kris Line for a while, as I think their bras are beautiful, and it would be good to have more UK stockists. If I do decide to stock them, I’ll make sure I draw up a cup comparison chart, so I can easily re-size from an English to Polish.
Oh, I dream of a Polish bra with wide-ish cups. I read every brand review I can find, and inevitably, I find the dreaded N(arrow) word. Sigh.
I thought some EMs were on the wide side.
I am about to try a M cup tomorrow, a true KK cup at LaBella Intimates. This was helpful in concluding how they run.
I’d be very interested to hear how you get on! I’d love to be able to try Kris Line, unfortunately I’m still very confused on the sizing. I’m guessing I’d need somewhere between an L-M cup, no idea what exactly though.
We stock Kris Line swimwear on our UK online store and after much testing and measuring against brands like Freya, we’ve converted it to UK sizes by going up two sizes on the band and up 2 cup sizes from DD cups onwards. For example, I’m a 32FF in Freya but an 85GG in Kris LIne (I’ve actually gone up 3 band sizes because I wear my Freya bras on the widest setting) and of course there is only one setting with swimwear.
I hope that helps. But my advice would be to buy a couple online if you can’t find any locally, preferably an online store with free returns. It’s really worth going for Kris Line in terms of quality and detailing – but more importantly it compares well on price with other brands. I may talk to Hannah, my Kris Line sales rep, about holding some trying-on events in a couple of cities around the UK. There is interest in the brand, but as you say, the sizing issue puts people off.
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We stock Kris Line bikinis and find there sizing to be a little odd but once uv mastered the size difference it fits great and the quality is excellent ?
we too have stock of Kris line bra / bikinis . pls have a look at our shop [REDACTED]. thanks
No you don’t you liars 😮
Kris Line bras are hard to find! I bought one online and it is my absolute favorite bra. It makes my F size look great. So don’t give up, keep looking for the right size.