I tried this bra in a 32HH a few weeks ago, and although the cups were too small, I was impressed how secure I felt in this bra because of the wires, firm band, and full-coverage (it's labeled as a balconette, but there's a lot of fabric in the larger cups sizes.) Also, the straps were very thin, and as a person who's never had a bra with thin straps, the idea of finally having one was appealing!

The 32J arrived, and when I tried to put it on, I was surprised that I could not fasten the band at all (I had no problem in the previous 32HH that I tried just a few weeks earlier.) Thankfully, I invested in some bra extenders and was prepared. I really just needed one more row of hooks for it to work (I'm one of those "hook from the front and slide around" people -- I haven't yet mastered hooking from the back!) I wonder if this was a 30 band that was mislabeled because when I stretched the band for measuring, I got 31 inches (and I stretched pretty hard!) The 32HH measured at 32 inches stretched, and you would think they would be the same.

The band is nice and snug, the cups seem to contain all of my tissue without quadboob. A lot of people seem to have issues with Panache wires being too wide or poking them in the underarm, but so far I really like them. I'm only 5'4", but I have short legs and a long torso, so maybe this is why I am able to handle their large wires. I also have narrow, sloping shoulders, so I seem to always have problems with straps being too wide on the cups. The straps seem to be in an acceptable place (not 100% ideal, but good enough.) They do cut into my shoulders a tiny bit, even after I loosened them, but that may be due to me just having a lot of body fat (I'm just soft all over.) Also, I think I just have permanent dents in my shoulders from straps, so it may just be because of that!

Although this bra doesn't give me the most coveted shape in the world (it's almost an upside down 7 under a shirt), I decided to go ahead and mark everything as fitting in Bratabase because really, it fits quite better than most bras I've tried, and I'd like to get more accurate recommendations. Also, it appears very east/west in my pictures, but I assure you that it's not. I may be holding the camera at a funny angle because all of my front view pictures appear east/west, even if they're not. It also may be because of where I'm placing my nipples -- sometimes they end up at the top of the cup, and sometimes they're at the bottom or off to the side in a strange spot -- I just have to adjust them so they're even and not crazy looking.

**Edit: I am wearing the bra all day today for the first time, and I must say, it feels FANTASTIC. The straps are not bothering me at all (not digging in and not pulling too far from the sides), I have not created any quadboob yet, the band feels the perfect tightness (with my extender until it gets stretched out some), and the wires feel like they are in the perfect spot. Also, the shape is actually better than what I originally perceived (I'd still prefer it be a tad bit more uplifted and centered than it is, but it's not bad.) Still not my ideal, but I don't feel self-conscious about it at all. Plus, the colors are so pretty! Matching shorts are going to be my next purchase.

**Edit #2 after a month of wear: I still like how this bra fits, but I have become more and more self conscious about the shape it gives me under clothing. I feel like I am minimized and smooshed down. I almost wonder if I really needed it in a cup size larger, because even though I didn't have quadboob at first, I keep having it more that I wear it. I like how it looks on its own, but I really do not like how it looks under a shirt. I wore it quite a bit when I first got it because I only had one other bra that actually fit, but now that I'm planning to purchase a few more bras in my correct size, I will most likely sell this one in the near recent future. It's just so darn pretty, though. *sigh*

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Jan 13, 2013 Flag this

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