I'm at the beginning of my bra fitting journey, trying to sort out my proper size with help from Bratabase, Reddit's ABraThatFits, and many wonderful bra bloggers. I figure it's time to stop lurking and join the community! I will try to get pics before I return the Andorra. I own 2 ancient Body by VS 34DDs, which I now know do not remotely fit, and I just acquired a Claudette Dessous 34F and a Panache Andorra Full Cup 34E. I need to get over my social anxiety and body insecurity and check out my local Nordstrom's to try on different brands/sizes.

This bra is insanely comfortable! The only complaint I have is the profile shape I get, which from bottom to nipple is shaped slightly 'beaky' and compressed to a point. It's not the cute retro kind of point either, it's more of a compressed mammogram kinda point, but then the profile from the nipple up is a nice rounded yet contained shape, with no cleavage (but my breast shape makes it very hard to get cleavage, to my dismay, and I'm super full on top). I think this bottom beaky shape occurs because of Andorra's horizontal seam in combination with my natural shape. I should note that the second time I wore Andorra, the shape wasn't nearly as pointy. Otherwise, I feel comfortably contained, breasts are held close to the body, fabric feels soft and silky, everything feels locked in and secure (but I have firm tissue, so I don't have much jiggle to contend with) and very uplifted. I could see Andorra being a great everyday bra, and especially good for helping prevent button gape on non-stretch shirts, or to lessen the 'boob tent' effect of a flowy top. I wonder if the beaky profile is lessened for people who have a more even or full on bottom shape?

I'm pretty sure the 34E Mineral Blue Full Cup Andorra is a cup size too small for me. I need to take pics and ask for fit advice. The comfy stretch lace makes it so there isn't any bubbling over at the top. The color is more green/teal than the warm blue I expected, but still very pretty, and I like the color on the lace pattern cups, as I feel the light color interwoven with the "Mineral Blue" base color makes it more interesting and sophisticated. When I first put it on, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to close the band on the largest hook. I wore it for half an hour, laughed at the crazy shape the bottom half of the cups gave me, and took it off with the thought that I'd need a 36 band for sure, and possibly a larger cup. I was thinking maybe the profile wouldn't look so bizarre if I sized up, as I've read that this bra can look very pointy if it's too small. A day or so later I tried it on again to get some measurements, and surprisingly it felt a lot more comfortable! The band no longer felt too tight, but nice and secure on the largest hook, with no back fat spillage. Also, the shape wasn't nearly as 'beaky' and compressed in profile as it was for the first half hour of wear. Weird. I guess some bras really do have a kind of break-in period?

http://bra.pe/QIyT/

Mineral Blue colorway

Updated on Dec 28, 2017 Flag this

• 3

  I also get a "beak" shape in all Panache unlined bras, unless they have only vertical seams. I got this shape when I was young and very firm with more breast height/upper fullness and I get it now I'm old, postbabies and very soft! The only thing that hasn't changed about my shape is that I'm projected with all my fullness on the inner side of the breast, and although gravity conceals it, my boob structure is technically rather conical if you're looking from the side. I think most Panache cups are seamed in a way that does not accommodate that. If you aren't hung up on designs being super trendy, Fantasie has some full cups that are perfectly shaped to match this breast shape--look for the ones that have straps which aren't too far apart.

• Interesting! I wonder why some of us get that 'beak' shape in Panache's unlined bras? As I was reading your response, my first thought was, "Aha! It must be because of firm tissue!" and then as I continued reading, I realized that you still get the beak shape after changes in your tissue softness. Maybe it's due to having a projected and conical breast structure?

  Thank you for the tip about Fantasie's full cups, and also to look for vertically seamed Panache bras. I would love to find a bra as comfortably soft to wear and yet still secure feeling as the Andorra, but minus the beak profile! I hope the Fantasie bras are as comfortable as the Andorra. I'm just figuring out what bra shapes will work best with my body. Trends are not very important to me; my priorities are comfort, along with looking nice (to me, 'nice' is not super pointy or east/west) under clothing. It's just a bonus if the bra happens to be what I consider pretty.

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  I think fundamentally "beak shape" occurs when some or all of your upper breast is not able to conform to the angle and shape of the relatively flattened Panache upper cup shape. (This can seem misleading because "flattened upper cup" doesn't mean FLAT upper boob surface from apex to cup edge: you can have super round boobs and still fit in there just fine as long as your tissue is located where the cup has room for it.) So anyone who has a taller breast shape than the cup, OR a higher breast apex, OR more upper-inner or upper-outer quadrant fullness than the cup does in your size range, is going to end up with this funny shape.

• Thanks again for your thoughtful comments on the "beak shape" phenomenon! I didn't realize that there is such a large amount of variables that can affect bra fitting! I'm amazed at the wealth of knowledge in this community, and glad to see this is a place free from body shaming. I really should take pics to accompany my review, and also to post under Fitting Help.

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  You're welcome! Yes, a wealth of knowledge is what happens when you get a large number of bra obsessed people in the same place ;-) And I'm glad to say there is no body shaming allowed at all!

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