Review and Giveaway: Bra Barrette (CLOSED)

It’s summertime. And here in Michigan, that means not only hot days, but humid ones as well. The kind where you start dripping with sweat as soon as you open the door. And even though this summer has been a cooler one than most weather-wise, there are still plenty of days when we’re all breaking out the tank tops and bathing suits in any attempt to find a way to get cooler. But with the strappy tops comes the extra worry, of how to keep those straps from slipping down the shoulders or how to keep your bra straps in place underneath your clothing – whether at home, or at work. Constantly having to hitch straps up or reveal what you don’t really want to be seen has always just been a part of summertime life. But not anymore, thanks to the Bra Barrette.

What it is:

The Bra Barrette is the essential tool every woman needs in her wardrobe. Made from a flexible and durable plastic, the Bra Barrette adds fashionable jewelry to the back while holding your tank top, swimsuit or bra straps in place. Plain Bra Barrettes are ideal for keeping your straps hidden under clothing and staying professional at work. Charmed Bra Barrettes add personal style to the back of your clothing with interchangeable charms and jewels. Genuine SWAROVSKI Crystallized Elements will add grace and elegance to any formal wear.

Bra Barrettes work very simply – you loop your straps through the spiraled ends and adjust the barrette up or downwards until the fit is right. You choose whether you want it to be visible or not – but many of the styles are meant to be worn as an accessory that adds flair to your outfit.

From the website:

It’s TIME! You deserve a Bra Strap Holder with Function and Fashion!

A Bra Barrette will extend the life of our hardworking bras. Often the elastic is the first thing to go. Save some money – use a Bra Barrette to keep your straps in place.

The Bra Barrette is not only functional, but with the added charms and crystals it’s fashionable too. Each Bra Barrette is tinted plastic so the color will never fade. Each charm is attached by a clasp so you can interchange your charms to match your outfit!

Courtesy of Bra Barrette and ChicExecs PR, I received a clear plastic bra barrette to test out and review.

Here’s my take on it:

Ok, so first of all I need to explain that my idea of a tank top (that I’m willing to be seen in public wearing anyway) does not involve narrow or spaghetti-type straps at all. So I was perfectly happy to just use the ‘plain’ bra barrette to help with a problem that I’ve had for quite a while – namely bra straps that just will not stay up. Now granted, these bras aren’t exactly new. And the straps are a bit – well, let’s just say ‘stretched’. Yes, I’ve had them for quite a while, but with the exception of this one little strap issue, they’re comfortable and do the job they’re meant to. Or at least I thought they did. Until I tried the bra barrette. And realized that my bras were actually lacking more than I’d thought in the ‘lift’ area.

In fact the first thing I noticed when I put the bra barrette on was how – high – my chest appeared. Especially since it basically forces you to improve your posture as well, by pulling your shoulders back. I was able to put it on myself, although I had to loosen the bra straps a bit first in order to avoid being choked. But after I slipped the straps over the ends, it lay rather flat against my back and once I adjusted it to about midway down, I could breathe again and actually found it to be quite comfortable. It’s certainly an easy way to get a little more life out of these bras which will need to be replaced at some point – but not nearly as soon now.

The bra barrette seems very durable, even though it’s flexible enough that it doesn’t cut into you when you bend or twist. I can also see using it with my bathing suit top, which does have think straps that I’m definitely interested in keeping where they belong. And I’ve actually noticed that it works very well to keep my bra straps hidden underneath the tank tops that I do wear – even though they have wider straps, it only takes a little bit of slipping for the bra ones to peek out from underneath. With the bra barrette on, my straps are securely where they’re supposed to be – right on my shoulders.

The bottom line:

The Bra Barrette is both functional and stylish – unlike other versions of bra strap holders I’ve seen, just the swirled ends of this one makes it an attractive accessory that you don’t have to hide if you don’t want to. And when you add in the decorative colors and jewelry added to the ‘charmed’ and ‘crystal’ versions, they become an accessory you want to be noticed instead of hidden.

Where can you find it?:

You can order bra barrettes directly from their website at http://www.brabarrette.com. They are also available at several retailers throughout the US and abroad. A plain version costs $3.99 or you can purchase the more decorative styles for $9.99 and up.

Would you like to try it?:

I was sent an extra Bra Barrette that I would love to offer to a lucky reader who wants to keep her straps in place with this useful and decorative accessory. The one that I’m giving away is a ‘charmed’ style in copper, with a bikini charm hanging from it. If you’d like to try one of these out for yourself this summer, here are the rules:

1. Enter by visiting the Bra Barrette site and leaving a comment here to let me know which design is your favorite. Please don’t just say ‘choose me’, or your entry will be discarded.
2. The contest will run until Saturday, August 15th at 11:59 pm EST. The winner will be selected through random drawing, contacted by e-mail, listed on this post and also submitted to PRIZEY. US entries only, please.
3. Please leave a valid e-mail address or other way to contact you! If you don’t wish to leave your e-mail address, please make sure that you leave a unique name and check back with PRIZEY to see if you won. If the winner hasn’t responded within 3 days, an alternate winner will be chosen by random drawing.
4. If you’d like extra entries, you can:

• Subscribe to my RSS feed (click on the orange icon in the upper right sidebar) or subscribe via e-mail – leave me a separate comment to let me know.
• Mention this contest on your blog with a link back to this post, and leave a separate comment with the link to your post so I can find it.
• Either Twitter about, ‘Digg’ or ‘Kirtsy’ this post – leave me a separate comment with your username at whichever site(s) you chose (one extra entry per method).

So that’s a total of 6 comments/entries if you do all of the extra entry options.

Good luck! 

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED – the random number generator has chosen comment #4 as the winner:

Congratulations to Benita G (no blog) whose extra subscription entry has won for her! I will be e-mailing you shortly to work out the details.

This post courtesy of: Bra Barrette and ChicExecs PR. No payment or compensation, other than product samples as described above, was received for this post.