This bra SO PROJECTED. I feel like my boobs go forward so much because of the side slings, but they don’t go in nor up. Although my breasts are supported, I don't feel them being lifted up. I'm not used to wear full-cup bras so I feel like the top lace section is really large. It is stretchy so it doesn't cut into my top fullness and tall roots. The wires are slightly too wide for my very narrow roots, but not by much. The gore is too high and wide for my super close-set boobs so I am going to overlap it. There is A LOT of projection at the bottom of the cups, but not as much room in the centre in the top lace section.

Navy colorway

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Sep 01, 2020 Flag this

I'm not quire sure how to describe my problem but it's like it doesn't support the bottom of my breasts enough? The cup might be too wide because even with "scooping" twice it wasn't filling out at the top and I felt like my breasts were heavy at the bottom and the underwire dug into them there. Not the right shape for me.

Kingfisher colorway

Updated on Jul 11, 2019 Flag this

Bought this bra after finally figuring out my correct bra size! It's SO comfortable and supportive. I never thought I'd like an un-lined bra but this one just checks all the boxes. It gives me a smooth and natural shape, honestly I don't feel like I'm wearing a bra most of the time. I bought it in black but the band doesn't seem tighter than normal like some black-dyed bras.

Nude colorway

Updated on Sep 15, 2017 Flag this

This bra fits great. I desperately want more lift but I do like the way this bra keeps my breasts front and center. I would like a more rounded silhouette but I am becoming more accepting of how unlined, non-molded bras fit and look under clothes. My breasts are extremely soft and this bra keeps my tissue contained comfortably and properly.

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Aug 22, 2017 Flag this

I acquired this Envy quite cheap, secondhand from the buy/sell/swap subreddit. It's definitely been worn a few times (judging by the wear on the tag-- the lace itself seems to be in mostly solid condition). Also, it's possibly been put in the dryer, or in the washer, as the underwire seems to be slightly warped (though this could also be from age). The lace/band around the underwire won't seem to lay flat, but it doesn't affect the fit. I wanted to try the Envy, as it seemed that it might be deep enough in the cup, if loose in the stretch lace top. When I got it, I ... was right-- very comfortable, wasn't sliding out of my IMF nearly as badly, and the top lace was gaping like wild.

I decided to do a little experiment, given how inexpensive the bra was to begin with. I figured, if I ruined it, oh well-- now I know what definitely won't work. What I did was cut along the side of the stretch lace against the side panel of the bra, on each side. I also cut about .5" along the bottom (making an L shape and freeing the edge of the lace from the side panel of the bra). Then, I pulled the stretch lace tighter, about .5" or so at the widest point, and sewed it back on in an angle, so that the excess lace on the side made a triangle shape-- the widest point being at the top of the cup, the tip of the triangle at the bottom corner.

Doing this small and easy alteration proved to make all the difference-- there was now no gaping along the top edge at all. Of course, doing this does have one drawback-- as I only narrowed the top of the cup but not the bottom part of the cup, there will be a slight "nipple" in the fabric by the corner of the lace/side panel due to the extra fabric on the bottom accommodating for the shorter length of lace on top. However, it is barely noticeable, and definitely cannot be seen under shirts. If it were possible to do the alteration on the other side of the cup, the sides where the lace attaches near the gore, I think the alteration would come out a little nicer-- but there is just no extra room to sew. I'll also admit that I did this project as a complete novice seamstress; I can barely sew a button. The black textured lace on the outside of the bra saved my ugly stitches-- they are completely hidden in the fabric/color.

I also noted that I had a nicer, more rounded shape after tightening the lace-- which makes sense. The gaping, loose lace was not providing any extra support, while now it is. Overall, I don't think I would attempt this with a brand new, expensive bra. This is probably best saved for cheaper ones that you don't mind ruining, but I am pleased to say that this is officially my best fitting bra. Having wide/short roots with a lot of projection has proved to be a challenge for me... sometimes, you have to be creative!
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black colorway

This bra's measurements have been altered

I cut the stretch lace on top near the side panels, pulled it about .5" tighter, then restitched it in place. This prevents the stretch lace from gaping like crazy.

Updated on Apr 06, 2017 Flag this

At the time that I bought the Envy, the band fit looser (I've since gained weight). So although the band was very firm, I don't think I would have gone up to the next size (32 to 34). I could have used a bit more length in the band, but the 34 band was too loose. The bra seems to be the size that I normally fit into in Panache bras, so I would say that it is true to size. The stretch lace is a problem for me as I have very soft breast tissue (45 years old; years of breastfeeding), so my tissue migrates over ... the top over time, creating a bit of an overflow that shows through clothing. As well, the weight of my breasts falls mostly on the underwire as it is not distributed evenly across the cup. This leads the wire to dig into the breast tissue under the arm. I don't think a bigger cup would have solved this problem; I think I just need firmer fabric. As I have very close set breasts, I find the bottom half of the cup pulls away from the centre gore in a way that distorts my soft tissue. A deeper volume in the cup beside the gore would have solved this problem and allowed for more projection and less of an east-west pull. Overall, I do not like the stretch lace that Panache uses in its bras. It's too stretchy which results in lengthening over time, and it pills against clothing making it look cheap and feel scratchy. In the past, when I could fit into Chantelle bras, I found that Chantelle stretch lace was high quality: highly resilient over time, always reinforced with a thin band of firmer elastic along the edge of larger cups, and never pilling or becoming scratchy over time. As both companies' bras are at around the same price point (in North America), it would be lovely of Panache to use better materials in their bras.
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Updated on Apr 30, 2016 Flag this

I bought this bra, along with the 30F - Freya » Gem Balcony Bra (1361), mainly as a fitting experiment. Both were recommended for women with short torsos. Panache is supposedly the widest wire width, good for wide root breasts, while Freya is generally the narrowest wire. I am not sure whether I have Broad Root Breasts, or just a lot of migrated tissue under and around my armpits on a very small rib cage due to 20 years of wearing a bra with a cup two sizes too small and a band two sizes too loose living in Orange in a ... Glass hell. I wasn't really enlightened about root size by comparing the two, but I can say this was a damn uncomfortable bra for me!

EVERYTHING rubbed in this bra: strap edges at connections in front and back, gore and armpit poking, the lace itself, the edges of the wings, the bottom edge of the band... Aarrrrggghh! Both bras actually felt like my ribs were pressing outward at the bottom of the band, causing the top of the gore and the armpit end of the wires to dig in. Because the Panache is so much more heavy duty than the Freya, the problem seemed more extreme. The Panache Envy wires are long, rigid and flat, almost like a metal picture frame. They felt heavy, intrusive and unforgiving. They did not want to bend around my body, even though the industrial strength mesh band forced them to (note my underarm picture - the wire extends all the way past the midline to my trapezius muscle). The deep "U" shape at the bottom of the Panache wire made them dig into my ribs right at the lower corner. I even got the jewelry pliers out and bent them to go over the rib at the edge of my sternum they were pressing on, to no avail. https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_sad.gif" alt=":-(" /> I did this with both bras -- the Freya Gem became slightly more comfortable, but not the Panache.

What is the definition of "wide" versus "narrow" wires, numerically speaking? I laid the two 30F bras on top of each other. Both were exactly 5.5" wide inside between the wire ends. The biggest difference was the shape of the curve and the fact that the Freya was .5" longer than the Panache, and spread open more as I stretched the band.

For those with small ribcages and wider roots, the distance from one outer wire tip across the frame of the bra to the other outer wire tip is 12.25" lying flat.

As a 46-year-old who breast fed two for two years each, I'm a bit deflated on top (think of a hardboiled egg laying sideways in a short sock). Although the four-part cup seemed like it would offer great uplift, the "U" shaped wire and stretchy lace fabric did me no favors. I cringe at the pictures I've posted. I think my petite frame, short height, and very sensitive, stretchmark-scarred skin just couldn't handle this bra.

On the other hand, my 20-year-old daughter who is also a 30F (though with a 26" underbust and plenty of all-around fullness), LOVED it and looked absolutely stunning in it!
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Nude colorway

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on May 27, 2015 Flag this

Panache Envy, “nude”

pros
+ full on top friendly due to stretchy lace
+ the color works quite well with my skin tone
+ quite narrow wires (in a 32JJ!)

cons
- I am not able to wear it for a full day. The wires give me severe pain, the pressure of the gore is too much and I even get trouble breathing, I felt like this bra tried to kill me (more on that later on that review)

- Not enough lift from the center (it's not even the gore to blame, I don't think a taller gore would be much better...) it's just that all my boob volume gets distributed towards ... the center and there is nothing that really lifts there, so I kinda feel like my boobs will fall out of the bra at any time.

- Stretchy lace. Oh the issues I have with bras that are not roomy enough for my full-on-top boobs. Stretchy lace could be the solution for all the quadboob issues. But it's also a problem! It just doesn't give enough stability.

- I find the band quite big, I need to wear it on tightest setting and still can fill a whole hand under it! It's weird to think that I need a tighter band? Or does it just feel too big because the bra isn't that supportive?

- I dislike the projected shape. (Picture where I am wearing a black top) It's the side-support causing this, bringing boobs towards the center but since my boobs are already quite center heavy it gives me too much projection.

I figured out a way to make the shape less projected and the bra giving me more uplift (pictures with the white top): adjusting the straps shorter (it's actually not that difficult to adjust them further than the padded part of the straps allows) but then with the shorter straps it comes more strain on the shoulders. I need to wear the band on tightest setting to prevent it from riding up. With that the bra starts to feel very supportive but also quite constricting. A lot of weight is on the straps which causes neck pain and there is a a lot pressure on the gore which caused pain in my chest and felt like I couldn't breathe. After a whole day of wearing it got too much. I had to get out of the bra asap and cannot ( I don't dare to) wear it any more since then https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_sad.gif" alt=":(" /> I even felt pain and out of breath after removing the bra https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_sad.gif" alt=":(" />
I am very sad as I think this bra is pretty and a good design that will work on many different shapes. I think it will work very well on smaller, less heavy boobs.
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This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Feb 11, 2014 Flag this

-edit- update at the end-
My first underwire bra in like 10 years! I don't even know what a comfortable bra should feel like, which is why I'm calling this an adventure. I almost love this bra so much. The bottom of the cups fit beautifully but the wire comes up over the IMF toward the inside of my breasts and the cups are too separated, consequently the gore is quite painful. The lace on top scooches down and wrinkles, when I pull it up and toward the center of my chest it looks like I fill the whole cup but it doesn't stay that way, it sort of ... collapses back down. The band is quite secure, tight but comfortable, and the bottom half of the cups feel very supportive. I would love the overall look and shape if the lace on top stayed up. I wish they made a 30C, I don't know if the cups are maybe too small? If so, it'll be a great period bra. But I feel like the volume of the cup is okay if only the top didn't slump down. I have tall shallow (?) roots (or bigger pecs, Idk but either way tops of cups tend to cut in and give quad boob even when cups are too big), which is why I thought stretch lace on top would be good but I guess not. It's almost right, but a few things about it are slightly off, and the cups being too separated is definitely not good.

-edit-it's been about a week, the band has stretched and I'm on the smallest hook now. However, with my PMS boobs filling out the cups more I'd say this bra is close enough to say it fits. Lace mostly stays up with just a little wrinkling around the nipples, and the wire stays in my IMF. I may still try to narrow the gore.
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30:4 30D

Cups too separated, top of cups scooching down

Panache

Envy Balconnet Bra (7285)

4 suggestions

Updated on May 24, 2024 Flag this

Seems to fit fine after the swoop n scoop but over the day I get a tiny sliver of spillage

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Apr 18, 2024 Flag this