Free to be serene bra
Lululemon doesn’t offer many sports bras for larger cup sizes, and when they do, the designs tend not to be too exciting. I like the free to be serene bra since it’s a cute, strappy design made with somewhat larger cup sizes in mind. I bought one to try in basic black since I’ve found myself looking for black bras in my drawer a lot lately.
Lululemon advertises this bra as light support for a C/D cup, which I agree with. It’s not supportive enough for high-impact endeavors like running. It’s very comfortable, though, which has made it one of my favorite options for low-impact days. I wore this on on my red-eye flight to Ireland a couple of weeks ago, for example.
Mine is a size 2, my normal lululemon bra size. I wear a 30DD in regular bras, but because of my small band size, designs for C or D cups usually work for me. The free to be serene fits just a touch looser than my energy bras of the same size, but not enough that I would size down. The band is wider than the regular free to be bra, but not quite as wide as the energy bra.
The front of the bra has a subtle V-neck that’s flattering for fuller busts. The bra doesn’t dig in at all and is very comfortable. The sides of the bra under the arms are cut a bit low, though, so watch out for potential spillage.
The one downside of this bra is that the back straps are a bit loose, which is why it’s only light support. I’m not sure if it’s because the straps are cut too long, or if they’re too thin to firmly hold up the weight of the bust and therefore feel loose. Compared to my energy bras of the same size, the straps on my free to be serene bra are slightly thinner and stretch a little more easily when you tug on them. If you find most bra straps are too tight over the shoulders, this one might suit you.
Overall, I like my free to be serene bra and (obviously) decided to keep it. But, since it only works for low impact, I most likely won’t be amassing a large collection of colors. For that, I’ll be sticking with my energy bras.
Align crops in boysenberry
It took me a while to come around to aligns. Even though they’d been out for quite a while, it took me until last fall to finally buy my first pair in alberta lake, which I talked about here. Now that I’ve had those for a few months, I felt confident enough about liking them to buy my second pair in boysenberry. I prefer the crop length over the pant length since I find them more flattering for my body type.
I love boysenberry, which is a deep, rich purple very similar to lululemon’s black grape. Boysenberry is just a tiny bit lighter. Besides being beautiful, deep, saturated colors like this suit every season.
Like my alberta lake aligns, my boysenberry pair about 90% opaque, but not perfect. I prefer to wear dark or skin-colored underwear since there’s some risk of show-through in a bend. However, many women seem to find them 100% opaque, so your mileage may vary.
I wear align crops in my usual lululemon size (2). Some women prefer to size down, but I like how mine fit in my true size. Sizing down also can worsen potential opacity problems, so I wouldn’t size down even if there was a smaller size available. As you can see, the rise is pretty high, reaching all the way up to my belly button. The waistband is balanced nicely so that the high waist looks proportional and doesn’t create the dreaded “long butt.”
As the “naked sensation” implies, aligns don’t have any compression. The fabric is quite flattering, but it isn’t going to hold anything in. Since it’s so lightweight, the fabric is fairly revealing, so you’ll need seamless undergarments (or none at all if that’s your thing).
Lately, my favorite places to wear my align crops has been my aerial silks class and light/moderate intensity hikes. For hot days, the breathable, light feel of the nulu fabric is fantastic. I’m glad I finally have another color to rotate in with my alberta lake pair.
Outfit details
Lululemon free to be serene bra – black
Lululemon align crops – boysenberry
Love the boysenberry Align Crops on you! I just added 3 more to my collection. Jaded, black currant, and dark adoble (they are replacing my bordeaux drama ones from a couple of years back).
Dark adobe is such a pretty color!!! I bet the aligns are gorgeous.
I love that outfit and own both. Looks great on you.
Thank you! :)
I ordered the free to be serene bra in razzle the other week but plan to return it. I love the color but I agree with you that it is less supportive than my energy bras and I didn’t feel it would be functional for me. Aligns are my new addiction I just got dark carbon and dark adobe. Ideas for new align items: I would love to see a pant with a 28″ inseam and a short with a 4″ inseam.
Yeah I’m surprised they haven’t expanded the align collection more considering how successful the current two items are! I think your ideas are definitely good ones.
Love this outfit! I’ve had the same crops in my cart for ages now and as always AA, you are my enabler:-). Will comfortably be pulling the trigger today.
Heh, you’re welcome, I think? :) I hope you like them!
I yet have to get a pair of Align’s…the reviews on Lulu site weren’t the best do I held off. But you may have just convinced me. I adore this colour too, I do wish they would keep it permanent as I would like this colour for fall. Btw Suzanne have you tried cycling in Aligns? How do they hold up for that? I now bike to work and need something light weight for the summer het.
I own a couple of the Serene’s and wear them casually or to yoga. In my opinion Lulu does not make any bras for truly busty ladies (a C or D cup is hardly busty). I’m a 32GG and have given up finding functional sports bras at main stream shops. The only one I can wear and do any kind of high impact exercise in is the Panache sports bra. I buy it online from the UK as nowhere in Canada have I seen ur in stores :(
I’m a G cup as well and I absolutely swear by the Enell high impact bras. They aren’t much to look at (I refer to mine as my bulletproof vest), but my ladies do not budge, even while running and riding horses. The Enells hold up really well over time too – I’ve got some that are pretty old that feel as good as my newer ones. Might be worth looking into if you can find them where you live :)
I agree with you that lulu doesn’t make truly full-busted options (which is why I said C/D is “somewhat” busty in the post, haha). Even though a million trillion fashionable activewear brands have popped up, there’s definitely still a need/opportunity for better options for good sports bras for bra sizes that aren’t just 32-26 A-D.
Re: cycling, I’ve never biked in my aligns, but the fabric is prone to pilling, so while it might feel nice, the pants themselves may not hold up well.
Do you find that the colour differences between your Alberta Aligns and the Boysenberry are all that different? I have the Align I crop in Burgundy and am thinking of getting another pair in a colour that is easier to match (other than boring black). Thankfully we here in Canada have a range of nine to choose from. Decisions, decisions!
Yes, I do think that alberta and boysenberry are plenty similar. I really like to wear dark, saturated colors for bottoms so that’s partially some personal bias. :) I do think a purple tone would be fairly similar to burgundy though. Jaded could be a good option for you though. :)
I like my Free to be Serene bras for sand volleyball and casual wearing. I am tall and don’t have too much trouble with the long straps. I can’t wait for them to release it in another fun color! The only other bra I can wear from Lulu is the Ta Ta Tamer, which isn’t that cute without a shirt on, IMO.
Yeah being tall would definitely help with the strap issue. :) I agree that the tata tamer is pretty much a shirt-only bra. I hope they come out with more options soon–the enlite bra was a decent start at least.
Love these pics, super pretty! BTW, you can really tell that you’ve been training/running. Looking ultra svelte, lady!!
Thanks! :) My body shape has definitely evolved a lot since I started running so much. As my miles increase, my calorie output is getting pretty intense. And my legs are getting super strong–not that I’m complaining. :)
I would have been concerned about ticks and Lyme Disease in a place like that without a jacket and shoes(?).
They are, though, gorgeous pieces and: I do ennnvvvyyy whatever routine you must do to be in the kind of shape I wish I could (LOL) get the same results from!
Thankfully there are virtually no ticks here in northern AZ! :) Almost 8 years of gallivanting around in the woods here and I’ve never seen even one on me or my two dogs. Good thing, because ticks are one of my least favorite things in the world, and I lived in VA/NC for most of my life, so I know all about them, ugh.