Me: 34J/JJ UK, center-full, soft tissue, fairly narrow and short rooted.

So, Charnos bras have been on my radar for awhile now because they offer a number of balconette fuller but not totally full coverage styles similar to Panache Envy but there's not a lot of information out there on their bras. The black Suzette colorway was on sale at Bare Necessities who consistently offer hassle-free returns despite the annoying $6.95 fee, so off I went!

The bad: For a bra that regularly retails at $73, it feels much cheaper than the $49.99 I paid. The mesh is scratchy, the solid black fabric is not particularly soft and ... the embroidery felt rough underneath my fingers. I suspect it would soften some with wear and wash, but cheap materials will always feel cheap. The lower-priced Panache Envy and Jasmine ($67) feel much nicer. The straps are more wide set than I would prefer, and I think most people in the small band large cup size club would agree. No worse than Panache, better than Ewa Michalak. The gore did not firmly tack and rested sideways thanks to my asymmetry.

The neutral: as expected with black fabric, I found the band to be tighter than it should be. This bra does come in pink as well. I'm not sure why, but it didn't give me the in-cup quadding I often get from balconettes with this kind of upper mesh/stretch lace panel.

The good: Deep cups! Narrow wires! I was really surprised at how narrow this bra is, measuring at around 7". I'm terrible at tasks requiring fine motor skills, so I took the measurements a few times and got between 6.7" and 7". The wires land just inside my arm pit. They are a little long for me at 14.5", but the gore is 4" and the side of the bra covers my arm pit chub completely, so that's predictable. Still, I'm not willing to tolerate the arm pit poke. The cups are a great 14" deep. Given the gaping I experienced at the top of the mesh, I'd say this might work for people with breasts that are a little more full on top than mine. I also feel like the band had a little extra padding at the bottom of the wire, which helped it lay firmly underneath my breasts and not get bunched up or pinch-y as banded styles often do.

I'll be returning this bra because of the poor quality and fit issues. I can't suggest anyone pay $73 for it, but maybe the pink colorway has softer fabric. I'm impressed at how narrow the wires are without sacrificing too much depth. The wires, while still too long for me, are still shorter than the Panache bras I often go to. I'd definitely try another Charnos bra in the future.

Shoutout to Ewa Michalak's cookie pad for the impromptu nipple covers https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_mrgreen.gif" alt=":D" />
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Black colorway

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Mar 09, 2017 Flag this