Oh the Elise.... What a heartbreaker. I was happier than winning the lottery when I found this bra in 75E with all three matching bottoms in the saphire/marine colourway . It was love at first sight, but unfortunately it wasn't meant to be. Empreinte is cruel to me with their sizes. I have 75Ds that are way too small and now this 75E that is a cup size too big. I chose the balconette, not the full cup cut, but even this one is way too roomy. Where do I begin... I don't think there is a need to explain the luxurious quality this brand is already well known ...for. There is no other brand with bands like this: comfortable, holds, does not stretch out and lasts forever. It doesn't need to be tight to hold everything in place. Lovely single embroidered mesh in my favourite colour, fully adjustable straps that are decorated at the front. The wires are narrow with deep cups, just as they should be for my shape. Fits like a UK 30FF, so about one cup size too big for me. First I was thinking about altering the cups for smaller, but I'd need to sew a dart in the gore, too. It seems like an expensive experiment with me having zero experience with such adjustments, so I don't want to butcher this beauty. All three bottoms are absolutely fabulous, but the panties are my favourite fit. Read more 132 more words
That is a gorgeous bra. I'm not the best at spotting fit problems in photos. Could you point out where the cups are a size too big? They look okay to me.
I can't believe you found your favorite color and three matching bottoms!
learningaboutbras The gore is too high - this is essentially a balconnet, but it fits me as a full cup. There is excess fabric all over with not enough lift, too roomy. Maybe its not visible on the pics, because my breasts are fluid like pendulous. The top of the cup is the loosest. I fill all bottoms of bra cups, as my liquid boobs just take up the given cup shape starting from the bottom upward.
erispe have you considered wearing a nude pad/liner inside the cup to fill it out a touch more? It is indeed a beautiful bra, and looks to be a near-fit. If you love it enough this could be worth a try. I have very fluid-like breasts as well and this strategy worked for me to add fill to my bras on low-volume days in my cycle. I eventually gave up on unlined bras altogether because of my breast type, preferring lightly padded styles that are almost always more forgiving of minor volume discrepancies (including my asymmetry).
2ks-rddit-80 Thanks for the idea, it is certainly worth a try. I actually do have some pads of various sizes.
Oh Empreinte with your 3cm increments! I find most of their demis fit like a full cup. You could try cookies just to tug all the fabric into the right place. Here are the photos of my Empriente adjustments, but I am very centre full so the outside dart works well.
I kept the Ornella, but I have now tried swaped wires and I have not yet figure them out yet. http://bra.pe/XVQa/
My most successful Empreint fit has been the Vivienne which is not the standard demi cut. I have also swaped the wires and not quite figured it out yet, but the wire swap here was a great deal more successful unaltered than the Ornella. http://bra.pe/XUnM/
maddy2596 Gee thanks for this! What do you reckon I could do with Elise? The top of the gore is really poking unless I pinch the lower part of it together. So when the gore stabbing stops, this actually opens up the upper part of the cups even more, so it starts doing waves on me. I am actually happy with the wire width - the length is more of a problem. I have no idea from where to take away from the cups. I have never narrowed a gore either, so clueless how to go about it in order to be functional and esthetically acceptable.
I find Empreinte usually leaves some extra room in the wire channel. You can start by seeing if you can push the wires down the channel from the gore. If there is space there, you might be able to effectively lower the gore without changing the shape. I have freakishly narrow roots so I have narrowed the wires in a whole bunch of bras and and slowly working through them to sort it out, but I do know that Empreinte wires are a bit curved inwards at the top of the outside edge and thus may start poking on the outside if you stop the poking at the centre. If shifting the wires in the channel seems to help, getting them to stay put can be challenging. I'd suggest using overlapping stiches (needle goes in forward on top and comes up halfway back from the bottom so that the stiches overlap) and work each channel at least three times remebering that it is the single thread that crosses the wire channel that is holding the wire in place, not the stitches showing on the top of the fabric. I'd recommend doing a zig zag top stich after your several layers of overlapping straight stich (needle goes in below the line of the straight stitch from the top and comes up above the straight stitch from the bottom, in below and up above - and then the reverse as well backwards to create a zig zag on both top and bottom, in above and up below).
The general rule about hand sewing bras is that if the needle is sharp and the stitch firm, you can always cut the thread and completely remove it if you don't like it. It is when the stiches are tentative that the problems happen. All fabric, even lacy ones, are made of thread in a net. Some fabrics have a loose weave so you can see the holes like a cross stitch mesh in grade school. Higher quality weaves have finer threads and smaller holes. However, if the needle pierces the threads cleanly, the thread it draws goes straight through and doesn't attach to the faric threads. If the needle wobbles through, it can draw the thread into knots with the fabric threads. Elasticized and embroidered fabrics can be harder to work with, but the principle still holds. No fabric functions like sheet plastic. Piercing fabric is not the problem. There is no seal. The problem happens when dull needles sloppily (usually tentatively) partially perforate a whole bunch of fabric threads at once and tie them all in knots by smushing them together. Use a finer, sharp needle, and be confident with each stich. If you do not own a stitch ripper, get one. They are super cheap and function like erasers in sewing. If you use the stich ripper's point to isolate the thread from the fabric and rip the thread only without hooking the embroidery or fabric threads, your added stitches completely disappear as if never there.
As to how to work with the cups, I put the bra on and use pins to try out different seam options. The general rule I find is that how ever I have pinned it, I err on the cautious side and sew the smaller dart just inside the pins, rather than try to take out more than the pins do. Start with pinching the fabric to form a fold and pin the fold. Then I flatten the fold back to the fabric so that I sew two lines like you can see in my pics. I use an overlapping stitch as the fabric can be delicate and a single stitch would not provide enough of an anchor for when I move around in it. Sewing the elastic edging is pretty simple too - just pierce sharply and straight through without detours. I finish the top edge of the elastic with a blanket stitch (an edging stitch where you loop the needle though the last stich before you make the next one so that it makes a line along the edge and each stich look like the arms of an E). I always over sew, rather than under sew, knowing that the more stiches the less tension on each individual thread. Smooth and pin the cup flat, knowing that it is curved, and don't try to out think the curve - the fabric itself is all flat, not round, so seams are all flat and magically make flat fabric round.
I have put darts in the top cup both just inside the strap attachment and in the inner edge about an inch out from the gore and along the diagonal seam in addition to the ones on Ornella and Jasmine. Play with it. Empreinte mesh is more sturdy than it looks and so long as you don't force the needle to punch through spots it really doesn't want to go and are careful with the embroidery sections, the fabric quaility makes it easier to work with for a beginner than some of the cheaper fabrics in cheaper bras. Before you tie off, you can always un thread the needle and pull the whole thread out undoing all your stitching. If you are really worried, you could take it to a tailor. Even those that don't specialize in bra fitting could do a cup dart super easy, provided you are comfortable letting them pin your boobs! Just be sure to say "no cutting" and they can do magic that is completely reversible. I have a little Chinese lady in my neighbourhood whom I go to with challenging fabrics and dresses and so long as you don't mind the scrutiny and the poking and touching, it can be a lot of fun.
Good luck with it! A bra that is too small is hopeless. Anything that is too big, can be worked with.
Thank you maddy2596 for the detailed instructions. Not sure if I'll have the courage, but if so this will be my sewing manual. :)
So I think I definitely fell for Empreinte bras. After my trials in their atelier, I thought their unpadded balconettes weren't made for me. The gore seemed very stubby and the cups cut in. However I decided to order Ornella online at a bargain price. I thought that I could overcome these issues when trying it at home and putting it on more carefully. While trying bras at home is definitely better than in store, I was still facing the same issues. The cutting in isn’t actually that bad and the quadding decreases while wearing the bra so it’s not my main problem. However the gore was trying ...to kill me. It was very painful and left a red mark after a very short time of wear. Other than that, the bra is very comfortable, the band is perfect, just like the straps placement and overall shape. As it’s also very beautiful, I had to do something with the problematic gore. Pushing the wires down in the channels didn’t quite work as the gore was still hurtful and the wires went back up in the channels. As a last resort, I tried to bend the wires off my sternum. My first attempt was a fail, I didn’t feel much difference. The second attempt, much more drastic https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_wink.gif" alt=";)" />, turned out to be successful and I’m now happy to wear my Ornella without any discomfort. I’m really surprised to see that the gore actually still tacks. I tried to understand why the gore in this particular cut is so painful for me while I can barely feel it in Cassiopée and it’s even higher! I compared the wires in both bras and their form is different. The wires in Cassiopée are straight at the gore, thus they’re joint more or less from the base to the top (real U shape) while in Ornella the wires ends are more opened and they meet only at the top of the gore. I guess it somehow affects the pressure distribution and the pressure is more concentrated on the wires’ end in Ornella. This cut is a very good construction. It offers a great support, my boobs are immobilized. The shape is rather natural and more projected than in Cassiopée. I’m not sure if this would work for all kind of projected boobs though because the bottom of the cup seems a little bit shallow (at least in my size). It’s not a problem for me as my tissue is very soft and if there’s not enough space at the bottom of the cup, my boobs will just try to escape by the upper part without any discomfort. That being said, it seems that the material has softened since I started wearing the bra and this even before I washed it. The wires are also narrow like in Cassiopée, but their form under my armpits is different - they dont go straight to my armpit but are lightly directed to my back. The difference is really tiny. The band compared to Cassiopée is a little bit lower. Overall, I’m happy I persisted with this cut, because it offers such a great support during the day plus it's really beautiful and I can now try a whole lot of other beauties.
This is the result of my recent visit in Empreinte’s atelier. I initially just wanted to discover the brand and determine my size. If I were to buy an Empreinte bra on internet, I would probably try a 80E (and this is also the size their online calculator suggests). The French 80 bands translate to the British 30. In theory, my British 30F size translates to the European 65G or French 80G but I seem to mostly wear 80F in French brands. As Empreinte’s cups are known for being deep, I would probably go down from the 80F to the 80E. I couldn’t be more wrong… Thus I’m happy ...I actually got fitted by them. After being measured, I was given a 75F to try on but it turned out way too big in the cups. The 75E was perfect in terms of cup volume. I was really surprised when I saw the label – it says the 75E is equivalent to 30E. Normally, the French 75 bands translate to the British 28 but it seems Empreinte has its own sizing chart. I tried two types of construction: the seamless one and the 3 part balconette they call “corbeille”. I’m very disappointed because the balconette doesn’t work on my breast shape https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_sad.gif" alt=":(" /> I love their balconettes because they have the best designs and the most beautiful laces, but unfortunately in 75E the gore is too high and very hard making it painful and the cups are too closed off (even if I’m FOB). I tried the sister size 80D hoping the wires would be softer and the looser band would make the gore wearable. The wires are the same, but the gore and the cups are actually lower. This size could work but the band is unfortunately too loose. The other styles I tried were the seamless Melody and Cassiopée. I was very surprised with the fit. The cups are very high and I would call this cut fullcup. I’ve never bought fullcups because I thought they give a pointy shape but this one is surprisingly rounded. It’s also a tiny bit to closed off but there’s no major quadding. The underwires are quite narrow, comparable to the EM, and hard but I don’t have the gore issue in this cut. As mentioned, the cups offer much coverage and the straps attachment is placed really high. I thought it would result in empty space in the upper part as I don’t really have breast tissue up there but there’s no wrinkling. I already have some unpadded bras and they all have cups running high under the armpits causing some discomfort. There’s no such issue in this bra as the straps are quite close set. I would possibly prefer them wider because I have narrow root but I can deal with it. The straps seem sturdy and their stretchiness is only 30% according to the label, offering great support. They’re also rather long so they can accommodate low set breast. The band is very comfortable. It also seems it’ll stretch out a little bit because it’s only made of a single layer and the elastics seem less sturdy than in EM bras, but I don’t think it’ll require alteration. There are no words to describe how beautiful this bra is. I love laces but I’ve never seen a lace like this before. It’s intricate and shiny, all that I love! I think it’s right to say that I’ve never worn such a beautiful bra so far, I feel like a queen wearing it ^^. The quality and the materials are really good and the bra is really well made. However, when I compare it to my other bras, I have to admit that EM materials are the most suitable for the size and thus the most comfortable and the only Avocado I own is the best made bra I’ve ever seen (even if the shape and comfort aren’t perfect). This comparison proves that the Polish brands make a great job even though the French brands use incredibly beautiful materials. Read more 573 more words
Very short, projected, slightly narrow, close set, even center-full breasts...
These wires are delightfully soft: a welcome relief from Panache's heat-treated, extra firm wires. https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_smile.gif" alt=":-)" /> The materials feel both delicate and supportive. And, the projection this model allows is magnificent. The straps I long to show: they are lovely. If you have narrow, short-rooted, projected breasts, you want....uh....NEED this bra. If the wires were wider (I never thought I'd say that), this would fit me better. Ideal for projected, narrow breasts!! This is not a fit for me, and it will be listed soon https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_smile.gif" alt=":-)" />
Oh, such a shame this one's not a fit for you. What UK size would you say this one corresponds to?
DTT, have you received the Comexim you ordered in December. I know you ordered from Canada. It took almost exactly one month for my Comexim to arrive from Poland.
BaliBoy not yet, but I'm so ready for its arrival :-) @erispe To me, the cup dimensions (height and width) are a 30E, but the depth is like a 30F/FF. Truly, it is very well-suited for narrow, projected breasts :-)
erispe I was so afraid the cups would be too tall that I ordered the shortest cup I could find. In retrospect, I wish I had bought the taller cup :-)
I am completely in the dark with their sizing. The 30D fits like a 30DD, but the 30E fits like this and there is no size inbetween. I am trying to change my order that had three 30Ds to 30Es, but I don't know if they'd do it or if it is even a good idea. It is just so unfortunate that the users who added bras in our size range have not added measurements.
If we could convince Empriente to send us a few, I'm certain we could dramatically increase their sales. I don't have the cash available to buy more than one at a time. Darn. If I were independently wealthy, I'd buy habitat for millions of animals and bras ;-) What a dichotomy ;-) I'm amazed by the projection and softness of the fabric! I'm definitely purchasing another just so I can add data: somebody's got to do it ;-) ;-)
A narrow, projected bra good for short roots with a center pull strap?! What a find... I wish there were more bras with center pull straps. Maybe I'll find one before one of my bras saws my arms off. :P
I thought ordering a full cup style would be risky, the 3 part balcony, "decolleté" seemed the most simpatico to me. I tend get FOT in some bras, despite origally being FOB to even shape. Oh yes, I'd love to review some free Empreintes purely for science's sake. :)
Shortest gore and wings I've seen on a 30E bra! A real plunge! Unfortunately, the gore stabs me a lot. I want a plunge like this to work for me.
Wish the tall cups could take a hint. The shape is just wrong for me though, the cups are deep where I do not have depth.. Though the bottom is filled and the top seam does not gape.
I've never tried this brand, but it feels luxurious. Very nice small details and so soft.
Empreinte had better feel luxurious because it retailed for $120 here in the USA. But yay for comfortable bras! I just didn't want you to suffer sticker shock when you next went looking :(
Empreinte cups run simply HUGE. What happens then is that the lack of surface tension on the cups (and lack of '"boob push-back" against the whole front of the bra) can cause the gore to feel quite uncomfortable. If you are an E in any other brand at a given band size you'll want a D in Empreinte! Sorry this did not work for you. If you see a 30D in this brand at a good price you may find it worth a shot!
It's nice, but not $120 nice haha. Not many things are worth that much to me.
That makes sense! The cups measure deeper than some of my 30E bras, around 9.4". I should have asked for cup depth before buying, but no big deal. I'll remember that in the future :)
Empreinte is expensive in its home market (France) but not that expensive. It's not even close to top of the line couture-level lingerie brands. Their price point is about 70 euros for the regular line and 88-100 for the very ornate lace line. It's when they are imported that they become so pricy (120-30 for regular line and 150+ for the fanciy ones).
Yep. And I'm still pretty bitter about the one I bought so take this with a grain of salt but I don't consider them to be worth more than ~$40 USD. My Melody seamless lace was comfortable and all, but completely stretched out after less than a year. 🙄
Really! I have two and have had them 2 years, they are definitel.y stretched but not to the point I can't wear them anymore. That's a shame! Maybe you got a bad colorway. I have the petrol blue and the brown. If you want me to try to pick you up something from the Paris discounter when I go in mid-December, PM me about it.
Really! I have two and have had them 2 years, they are definitel.y stretched but not to the point I can't wear them anymore. That's a shame! Maybe you got a bad colorway. I have the petrol blue and the brown. If you want me to try to pick you up something from the Paris discounter when I go in mid-December, PM me about it.
Yeah it was a bit shocking. I bought it and went back to the store wearing it months later and the salesgirl immediately said "oh! Let's get you more support there!" and swapped it to the tightest hooks. Then asked if I wanted to try on their newest Empreinte, like I hadn't paid $170 for a bra I had just been told was obviously stretched to the max...... and the other one they had was even fancier, and therefore like $300. Ugh.
For what it's worth, it was a burgundy fashion colorway that they're not making anymore.
But that said...... I'm not gonna lie, I eyed the seamless non-lace Melody with some interest. >> Some of their other all-lace cups are also really pretty, like the Grace. (I don't get along at all well with their seamed cups.)
Did you by any chance size down from your UK/US band size instead of just from your French one ? THeir non-French band sizes are already converted, so if you normally wear a 32 in other brands you'll want an 80 French size which in other brands is a 30, but in Empreinte is marked 32. I did buy a 30 once by mistake (which is their French 75) and I didn't realize how much abuse it was taking because the elastics are comfy, but it was under too much strain and that is the one I did find stretched too much.
I'm sorry my post reads like gobbledygook XP
Most of my Empreinte purchasing and trying on was done through the Store of Lingerie in Colorado, and their fitter put me into the 30G Melody. Since then, I've gone down a cup size (woo hormonal birth control) and the 30F I tried on a few months ago just to confirm what I suspected had happened was indeed a perfect fit.
At the point when I was sized into the 30G, I definitely was a 32, and expressed surprise, but the fitter told me the brand just runs big. So, maybe, but I wasn't the one who made the sizing call. X3 At this point, I'm sure I'd be a real "30F", but I'm also a bit confused as to which size that means I should be ordering?
M, my snug underbust measures ~28", my loose ~30", and I absolutely used to wear exclusively 32s anyway, but these days I'm finding more 30s to be comfortable. (Though, since I'm also increasingly wearing Comexim and Ewa Michalak, their "70s" often being closer to 30s in measurements, I'm not sure where along the line it started being more comfortable to wear smaller bands...)
I wish French bras were a little easier to come by in the US. I just found a couple Simone pereles on Amazon much cheaper than usual. I ordered a Cleo at the same time too and I felt like I might be getting too snobby because cleos have been a tried and true brand and fit for me but I'm really leaning towards sending it back and I felt a little badly about that. It's no secret I have a thing for my lejabys too
it is definitely possibly to wear Empreinte bras a band length down from what's strictly necessary because they are soo comfortable, and it's actually still totally a good fit, the only problem was in my case at least, that that it blitzed the elastic much faster. I'm usually a snug 32 or more commonly a 30, and can comfortably wear both 30 and 32 in Empreinte, but 32 is as tight as I need (I also got a touch of east-west in that one 30 I wore and stretched too fast). I'm not sure what to say about Empreinte cups for you at this time, what cup depth do you usually wear?
I’ve waited so long to try this bra, and I’m so disappointed that it doesn’t fit. First, it’s absolutely gorgeous. Second, it’s got extremely narrow and vertical wires, which is what I really need. But: it’s huge. Both the projection and height are just… a lot. For reference, I normally wear a UK 30E/F, and I’d have to go down 2 cups sizes for this to fit.
This bra is a pretty light peachy tone color. In like-new condition. Non-stretch cup fabric. The wires are narrow and they are tall. I have listed this bra: http://bra.pe/GFpk/
The most beautiful bra. Allows for a lot of projection. Nice firm fabric that does not stretch. Gorgeously well made. Once you go Empreinte nothing will ever be the same. This bra has a very thin gore, so beware if you have wide set breasts. Fabric and lace is so soft and luxurious. You feel like a queen in this bra.
The cup material is quite firm and offers good support and a rounded, lifted, natural shape that is seamless but completely unlined. The wings are a very stretchy satin material, that I was able to go a size down on and still fit comfortably. Also, the E in the 30 fit better than the DD on the 32. Go figure.
That is a gorgeous bra. I'm not the best at spotting fit problems in photos. Could you point out where the cups are a size too big? They look okay to me.
I can't believe you found your favorite color and three matching bottoms!