Cagirlgoingpolish

I’m going to piggyback off of alisa ’s excellent review of the same bra in 34HH/J. My experience was almost identical - def check out the comments for more good info on this bra.

Me: FOT, close-set, center full, relatively soft tissue, somewhat wide roots, pendulous.

The Zara is beautiful to look at and well constructed overall. wireless bra that actually keeps my breasts at a decent height. If you can sister size down to a smaller band/bigger cup than your usual Bravissimo size, it might work, but the looseness of the band combined with the non-adjustable straps makes this less than ideal for larger ... cups - unless you have firmer tissue and/or somewhat self-supported breasts.

The cups are have a side sling and are built very well for my shape with a nice, high gore. But this bra is at least 1 cup size too small for me & the band is very stretchy, which means the straps take the weight of my boobs and they dig in quite badly after a bit. There is a really miserable thick seam right at the pressure point where the strap sits at the top of the shoulder. (See pics) Yeowch!

This was the bra that taught me what a bra blog tried to explain - though I'm not at all projected, because I am pendulous I need more projection @ the wire. Otherwise my breasts push the wires down and out of my IMF, causing the tops of my boobs to spill out as the cups are pushed downwards, making the band ride up and causing a lot of stomach & shoulder discomfort. Sheesh! #liveandlearn

I kept it - but I will definitely let it go once I find something more comfortable to take it’s place.
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Cornflower Blue colorway

Updated on Oct 04, 2020 Flag this

It's a beauty. It's the Mary Poppins of my bra-drobe - "Practically perfect in every way". Extremely comfortable. The very light padding on the cups lets it mold more closely to your natural contours, while creating a softly rounded & uplifted shape. The lace at the tops of the cups initially sat up and out a bit, but with time it's flattened nicely and conforms to the cup. It's a dream for my sensitive, FOT boobs. Cups are a bit too separated for me, though not nearly as bad as other Curvy Kate models I tried in 2015 (when I bought this bra) (I understand ... the now discontinued Flirtelle was an offshoot of CK) (I wonder - if I took in the gore, gathering me boobs closer to each other, would it make the tops of the cups a bit more closed?)

Too bad the band really stretches out from a loose 30-32 to a closer to a 32 + within a week or so. I bought this in a 30HH & 30 J and both bands did this. So I would say this fits more like a UK 32HH.

For me, I would need a 28K - one band size down, one cup size up, to correct the band and to stop spilling over & out of the tops of the cups all day. Alas. So close, yet so far.

Still, it gives a beautiful, rounded shape with plenty of *comfortable* support WITHOUT miserable wires and painful straps and pokey gores. If your boobs are FOT, this bra is a dream. The only other bra I've had that fit this perfectly was Freya 30H - Freya » Marvel Side Panel Bra (1501) from way back in the day. I plan to eventually list this when I fit something my size that's comfortable.

If anyone has an old 30JJ or 28K (if they made those) Ellie Padded Bra (FL6411) or knows of a bra that fits like this one, please do share! The Bratabase comparison tool gave me a couple of Curvy Kates padded balconettes & 1 Ewa Michalak Pl, so those are my next tries.
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Light beige colorway

Updated on Sep 20, 2020 Flag this

Not a winner for me at all!

Tried 30 JJ but the elastic on the top of the cups cut into my center fullness almost comically. The cups were far too closed on top on the JJ, though there is some very slight give in the elastic that lines the top of the cups.

For the 30K, Filled cups relatively well, but lots of wrinkling @ underarms & bottom combined with underwire immediately diving down my chest tells me there’s not enough projection for me @ the wire. Ow!

Cups are far too tall for me at the sides. Cut in and rubbed my underarms ... - hard to explain - see pics. That was the most uncomfortable aspect by far.

Band was a bit firm - only stretching to a 29” for me. Fine for my rib cage, but obviously not if. You are a true 30”+.

Overall, like most Bravissimo bras I’ve tried this season, too tall & shallow for my shape.

Someone less FOT & less Center full may fare better. Wires wider than most I’ve tried - too wide even for my wide roots.

Boo. Back it goes!
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This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Oct 12, 2020 Flag this

This bra is just gorgeous. I'm an over-the-top, love-all-the-bright-colors-and-jewel-tones, yay-bring-on-the-lace kinda girl. The color is a beautiful, rich Christmas red, that is a bit deeper and richer than the pics of the bra by itself. The cut of this is almost a clone of the 30HH-J - Bravissimo » Zara Bralette (LN605). Fitwise, though, I found it much stronger and more capable of handling larger boobs than Zara proved to be. (My shapes: full on top, center-full, close-set, tall & somewhat wide roots, narrow shoulders) here's how they compared:

Objective:
The crochet lace is much thicker and sturdier, which means the band is firmer - ... wore it on the loosest hook, instead of going straight to the tightest as I did w Zara - and the cups don't stretch out nearly as much as with the Zara. There is a very soft lining inside the cups so there's no itching or direct contact w the lace. The straps are smallest near the cup, but get close to 2"+ in the back. The band goes from 1.5"-3 near the gore, narrows under the cups, and increases to 3" from the sides to the hooks. Hooks are 4x4.

Subjective:
The Zara almost immediately took a dive down my chest, the flimsy band and stretchy cups wilting under the weight of my boobs, pulling the straps downwards as my poor boobs plummeted over the band and made a beeline for my bellybutton. Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit. Still. Not so in the Flora. I only wore it maybe 15-20 minutes, but I didn't notice the same southern migration. The straps stayed on the tops of my shoulders where they belong and the cups held my boobs up well, aided by a firmer band which fit pretty tts.

Downsides: since the cups were stronger they couldn't stretch to contain my breast tissue as well, so the cups felt smaller than the Zara's. Comfort was pretty good, but since it's wireless I got a lot more tension on the straps than I would with a regular wired bra. The band and cups were very comfortable, though.

Overall, I liked this bra better than the Zara. Since I could wear it on the loosest hook, I'll be wild and try the 32HH-J in hopes of getting more room in the cups without losing too much support from the band. Realistically, I think I'd need a 30JJ-K - but we'll see!
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Red colorway

This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Nov 03, 2020 Flag this

Pros:

The rounded, half-cup, mild cakes on a plate shape is practically perfect in every way for my FoT breasts & narrow ribcage. The only other Freya bras that fit my very FoT shape are the Patsy padded half cup and Parade "padded" half cup bra.

Band and straps are comfortable, though straps are a bit wide-set for my narrow shoulders. Most straps are. Wing height is surprisingly low, so no chafing under the arm.

Cons:

This fabric is tricky - it initially seemed rigid enough to contain me, but after a few hours of wear, I was not only quadding but actually nip-slipping on my bigger side. ... I've read a couple of other reviewers who had the same experience. Be ye not deceived, if you're not solidly contained in the cup, SEND IT BACK!

Unfortunately, as with all Freya half cup bras, I would need this in a 28J/JJ and this bra only goes up to a 30H. My ribcage is exactly 28" and while I make do with Freya 30's, the bands stretch quickly, putting more weight on the straps and hiking the back of the band, which of course means my boobs lose their support and start sliding down my torso and onto my stomach and waist. Thank goodness for Tums!

I'm keeping this to wear under very tight camis that will help hold my wayward breast tissue (since the cups only work if I'm holding still) but am absolutely going Polish. https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" /> Half cups are a must for me and the US/UK bras just don't make them in my size without extremely wide wires and/or painfully high wings as well as often splaying my breasts from east to west (I'm looking at you, Curvy Kate/Flirtelle!)



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Black colorway

Updated on Aug 05, 2015 Flag this

Such a pretty bra - just not quite the right shape for my breasts. I'm FoT with a lot of center fullness, and while I fill the cups well, as with every other bra I own - even if it's 2-3 cups too small - I have some gaping near the top of the cup where the strap is sewn in.

Adorable ditsy floral pattern, powder blue straps, 3 clasp band, plunge-style cups. Compared the Satine (the padded version from Bravissimo) Maisie's cups are not as wide-set in the middle and the wires are a bit narrower. The band is a Bravissimo 30, notably a bit tighter than ... the Freya 30's I'm used to, which are notoriously larger, more like a 32. The Bravissimo 30 feels good to me.

Comfort is great, I'm wearing this now even though the shape I get could be better. Band is nice and firm, straps adjust all the way so I can hike the girls up when needed!

All in all, a beautiful bra, I'm just a bit too narrow and full in the center - so my boobs tend to fall inwards throughout the course of the day. If you do well with plunges, I highly recommend this one!
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Updated on Oct 30, 2015 Flag this

This was a surprise hit for me. I love a good paisley and the white is quite pretty. Most importantly - really comfortable!

(Me: Full on top, center-full, tall & wideish roots, close-set, narrow frame -well, for 5' 10" anyways lol)

Shape was wider in the front than I usually prefer, as the wires were a big wider than I usually prefer, but still rounded and even minimizing. I didn't quite fill the bottom of the cup, which tells me it's a wee bit shallow for me there, but didn't cause any trouble. Tall cups for my tall roots despite a bit of wrinkling near the outer ... edges of the cup due to lack of adequate projection for my softer, pendulous tissue which migrates towards the gore. (Can you say really center-full??) There was no give in the lace due to the lining behind it, but the top of the cup was open enough for my upper fullness, even though I usually need stretch lace on balconette/full-coverage cups.

Band pretty stretchy. I was on the 2nd hook by the 2nd day. Rides up a bit like every other band I've ever owned - maybe because center fullness always wants more room at the gore and pushes wires down a bit? Anyways - love it!
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White colorway

Updated on Nov 02, 2020 Flag this

Oh my god. This thing is TINY! 30M - not so much. I run about a 30HH-JJ in Freya/Panache/Cleo and my poor boobs were completely overflowing. So please take into account that for someone whose proper size this is, the bra may well fit beautifully, it just clearly is NOT mine!

The upside is that it's gorgeous - silky black cups with a petite, multi-colored flower print that's beautiful. The cups are exactly the shape I need - a solid, supportive half cup. The line down the middle shows a little bit under thin clothing.

The band is relatively firm, I closed it on the 2nd of 4 ... clasps, but the underwire is miserable. Sank deep into skin on the sides and most of the front. Painful, red marks. Not the norm for me.

Straps are wide-set for my very narrow shoulders. Gogobee warned me that the customer service on her custom order was shaky enough that she wasn't sure if the straps were narrowed, and I will confirm that they are not.

I'm posting pics, but in all fairness, they're not representative of my size when I received the bra. I've now increased 1-2 cups and about 1 back size for an average of 32HH-J (hormones).

I'm disappointed, because it's a beautiful bra, rare to find such a gorgeous, lightly padded half-cup near my size, but realistically I'd say this fit more like a 30GG-H, or even a 28H-HH since the band is quite firm.

I'll be putting this up for resale soon on bratabase, so PM me if you're interested.
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This bra's measurements have been altered

Updated on Oct 30, 2015 Flag this

Super comfortable bra. The whole thing: the stretch cups are almost silky soft - no rigid or itchy material to be found. The gorgeous lace has a mesh panel behind all the but the very tip tops. There's an additional seam on the side of the cup - which I believe is for side support, making this a four-part cup. (A sling? Not sure on the terminology) The straps are a supportive 1" thick and the 3 hook x 3 row back & band felt tts and comfy. I could have put it on the 2nd or 3rd row, but it was distending the cups, as they ... were clearly too small, but 1st row was fine too. The underwire is relatively soft for me, but not as soft as others, like the @Comexim Tara, which buckled right away. The gore was very narrow and on the low side - 3" I think? Seemed to give my very center full boobs enough room.

me: FOT/ Center full, wide roots (I think), softer tissue & relatively narrow frame.

I didn't expect such comfort to give me such a great shape, but overall it kept me up and rounded. Now, granted, I apparently need to go up at least one cup size, but overall I really liked this style. The pattern is beautiful in person - like someone sketched vines fulls of flowers in a soft bluish-gray pencil. Had some difficulties, but I suspect they're peculiar to my shape, so I'll be posting a fit request to troubleshoot.

Overall, it's a really beautiful and comfortable bra. This is easily the 30th bra I've tried in the last month, and by far the best fit/shape I've found for me, overall. I'll be returning it, but if I can find a better fit with a different size, I'll def be stocking up!
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This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Sep 25, 2020 Flag this

Best fit for me so far in Panache (I've tried almost 50 bras, including Panache & Cleo's in the last 2 months - I'm dead serious about finding a good bra!) but greatly lacking in comfort and only moderately rounded for my shape.

I vary b/t 28 & 30, the band was loose enough to wear on the 3rd hook right out of the box.

Had some firsts -
1) band beneath the wires constantly folded under and chafed my skin -
2) rigid, fully adjustable straps were painful, chafing & dug in from the start, despite reasonable support from the band!

Very strange. By far the most ... uncomfortable Panache bra I've tried. Oddly, the pink version, which I tried in a 30H, didn't have any of these issues, so maybe it's just this one bra? Or the black colorway? I may try the 28JJ in PINK....

The cup shape is decent for FoT's like me, but only gave a rounded shape when I fully scooped & swooped and pulled the elastic lace up and over the tops of my breasts. After walking around a bit, the lace retreated back down the cups, giving that oh-so-desirable elf slipper/quaddy look. Boo. If I do go a band size down and a cup size up, I'm pretty concerned that the wires will widen, and this bra was already on the edge of too wide for me.

So appreciate any advice re: this bra, and sizing down the band & up the cup - I'm pretty desperate.

Also, I've noticed that no matter how well I fill or overfill the cups on most bras, I still have a gap where the strap meets the cup - Is this due to my very narrow shoulders or is this a "root" thing? (Haven't quite figured out the whole root thing yet.. I also feel like my boobs & bra should sit a couple of inches higher than they do...like the underwire should be sitting higher even when it's tight enough... )

Maybe I should open a fitting request.... lol
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This bra is not owned any more

Updated on Aug 05, 2015 Flag this