I recommend getting up one band size in this bra. The band is very firm and runs tight.I normally wear a 30 band in Panache, but the 32 band on Ariza felt almost too tight on me.
The support from the band is awesome. I could almost wear this bra as a strapless.

Shoulder straps are thin. I don’t like that. But the band on this bra is that stable that it really does support a larger bust and there is very little weight on the shoulder straps (as it should be !) I have loosened thee straps to a comfy length, so they do not cut in too ... much.
The shape it gives me is a bit pointier than I prefer. (nowhere near a Bravissimo Dotty Spot though)

Now the 32J is 1 - 2 cup sizes too small for me. I though about trying a 32K as recommended in fitting help section, but then I decided otherwise. I usually like my bras rather a tiny bit too big than too small. On this one I came to the conclusion that It should rather be a tiny bit small than too big. I won’t imagine what these thin shoulder straps would do to me when I have to tighten them all the way!

Comfort: 3 / 5 (I have to wear it with an extender first, the band feels too tight.)
Appearance: 4 / 5 (I love the bright purple color, shape is not that great)
Quality: 5 / 5 (can say nothing bad so far)
All in all a solid 3.75

Edit: I decided to keep this bra. I like that it is extremly supportive. I wear it now with an extender with 2 extra rows of hooks. The cup does fit now better but there is still slight quadraboob, although not as bad that I would have to size up to 32K. 32J is exactly the right size to fit the bottom of my breast (no empty fabric) but I need the volume of a 32JJ or 32K on top to get rid of the quadraboob. A 32JJ would probably be a better fit in this bra.
Now that I'm wearing it for a whole day I have to say that the wires on the side are almost too high. If I bend over they start poking. So I don't think I would get along with the older Arizas, where the wires used to come much higher.

beware of the inconsistent band sizing in Ariza: http://www.bratabase.com/profile/3a1/adventures/1692/
up to J - cup it rans very firm in band - go up 1 band size
from a JJ cup and up it rans rather loose, don't size up
a 30K has the same band length as a 34J !!


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Updated on Feb 06, 2014 Flag this

I tried this bra in a 32HH a few weeks ago, and although the cups were too small, I was impressed how secure I felt in this bra because of the wires, firm band, and full-coverage (it's labeled as a balconette, but there's a lot of fabric in the larger cups sizes.) Also, the straps were very thin, and as a person who's never had a bra with thin straps, the idea of finally having one was appealing!

The 32J arrived, and when I tried to put it on, I was surprised that I could not fasten the band at all (I had no problem in the previous ... 32HH that I tried just a few weeks earlier.) Thankfully, I invested in some bra extenders and was prepared. I really just needed one more row of hooks for it to work (I'm one of those "hook from the front and slide around" people -- I haven't yet mastered hooking from the back!) I wonder if this was a 30 band that was mislabeled because when I stretched the band for measuring, I got 31 inches (and I stretched pretty hard!) The 32HH measured at 32 inches stretched, and you would think they would be the same.

The band is nice and snug, the cups seem to contain all of my tissue without quadboob. A lot of people seem to have issues with Panache wires being too wide or poking them in the underarm, but so far I really like them. I'm only 5'4", but I have short legs and a long torso, so maybe this is why I am able to handle their large wires. I also have narrow, sloping shoulders, so I seem to always have problems with straps being too wide on the cups. The straps seem to be in an acceptable place (not 100% ideal, but good enough.) They do cut into my shoulders a tiny bit, even after I loosened them, but that may be due to me just having a lot of body fat (I'm just soft all over.) Also, I think I just have permanent dents in my shoulders from straps, so it may just be because of that!

Although this bra doesn't give me the most coveted shape in the world (it's almost an upside down 7 under a shirt), I decided to go ahead and mark everything as fitting in Bratabase because really, it fits quite better than most bras I've tried, and I'd like to get more accurate recommendations. Also, it appears very east/west in my pictures, but I assure you that it's not. I may be holding the camera at a funny angle because all of my front view pictures appear east/west, even if they're not. It also may be because of where I'm placing my nipples -- sometimes they end up at the top of the cup, and sometimes they're at the bottom or off to the side in a strange spot -- I just have to adjust them so they're even and not crazy looking.

**Edit: I am wearing the bra all day today for the first time, and I must say, it feels FANTASTIC. The straps are not bothering me at all (not digging in and not pulling too far from the sides), I have not created any quadboob yet, the band feels the perfect tightness (with my extender until it gets stretched out some), and the wires feel like they are in the perfect spot. Also, the shape is actually better than what I originally perceived (I'd still prefer it be a tad bit more uplifted and centered than it is, but it's not bad.) Still not my ideal, but I don't feel self-conscious about it at all. Plus, the colors are so pretty! Matching shorts are going to be my next purchase.

**Edit #2 after a month of wear: I still like how this bra fits, but I have become more and more self conscious about the shape it gives me under clothing. I feel like I am minimized and smooshed down. I almost wonder if I really needed it in a cup size larger, because even though I didn't have quadboob at first, I keep having it more that I wear it. I like how it looks on its own, but I really do not like how it looks under a shirt. I wore it quite a bit when I first got it because I only had one other bra that actually fit, but now that I'm planning to purchase a few more bras in my correct size, I will most likely sell this one in the near recent future. It's just so darn pretty, though. *sigh*
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Updated on Jan 13, 2013 Flag this

For reference, my measurements are:
1: 30.5
2: 27
3: 36
4: 37.5
5: 35.5
Size: 30F or 28FF
Full on top, slightly wide roots.

Good: It's cute. The gore tacks.

Bad: This bra is so uncomfortable for me. Although I can stretch the band reasonably, it feels too tight. No matter how I adjust it, it feels like it's sitting too low on my ribcage and poking in. I believe the wires may just be a bad shape for me.

Additionally, I believe this bra would better fit someone whose breasts are fuller on bottom. The cup was slightly loose all over, but I wouldn't be able to size down because the top of the cup slightly cut into my tissue. It created a bit of a quad-boob, but I believe that it would be a problem if I were to get a smaller cup size.

Overall, I think the bra runs true to size. I would imagine that it would look and feel good on a lady with a smallish ribcage and full-on-bottom breasts.

Updated on Apr 10, 2015 Flag this

The good: above average support for bottom-heavy boobs, love the skinnier straps and narrow centre front for narrow shoulders and close-set breasts. Pretty colour.

The bad: wires dig in at sternum and under armpit. Don't think they're too high, almost like the cups tilt into the body (bottom to top) and they poke at the top. Fabric on bra wings is pretty stretchy so don't expect this one to be particularly long-wearing.
Also, the bottom band curls up on one side and out on the other after the first wearing or two (maybe because it is less stretchy than the mesh? See photos.) The narrow edge of the band can dig in at the bottom on the side that curls in.

Updated on Feb 13, 2014 Flag this

This is for the turquoise colored Ariza
The cups feel firm, in that they don’t open much when they are stretched. The band is very tight for a 28. It’s nice, though I’m still using the middle or smallest hooks (depending on the day). It’s a balconette, but the cups are very full at the top, so not so great for full on bottom boobies. The straps are pretty far apart for me, and they don’t seem to attach to any part of the cup in a way that would provide uplift. You can follow the upward force or pull along the strap line, down along the elastic that ... runs back along the upper part of the cup under the arms. A side panel or something that attaches the strap to the bottom of the cup in some way would be better. The profile of this bra is really, really pointy, especially on my larger side. My “smaller” side is slightly more rounded (or less pointy, rather). The top lace also cuts in to the top of my larger side just a little bit when the strap is tightened (in a vain attempt to create uplift), creating a very slight flat, angled stripe down the top edge of the bra. This isn’t really enough to be noticeable under clothing, and I don’t really like the bra enough to try different sizes. I could probably take in the center gore and see if that helps, as it’s a little bit wide. The straps are NOT fully adjustable, and I ended up having to shorten them a little bit. Overall, not my favorite look but, that said, it is really comfortable.
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Updated on Oct 28, 2012 Flag this

This bra is just gorgeous. I always wanted this red colorway of the long gone Ariza. It's the perfect red, bright and vibrant that doesn't lean into orange / tomato red. It's a strawberry red. Anyway the bra does not fit me. Bra calculators give me sizes like 30J / 30JJ these days but the cups on this bra are just too small.
Also Ariza is known to be shallow in the cups, so this does not go well with my fot, center full boobs. The wires and gore are very tall, the whole bra feels very supportive. I don't like the thin straps very much. The pics don't even show how much it cuts in, but I think it is a good cup size too small.
If i can ever find it I would try it in 30JJ or 32J.

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Updated on Apr 06, 2020 Flag this

Panache Ariza has been made from AW2008-AW2013. The newer versions had a slightly different cut and lower wires. This one although is one with the good old cut in all it's difficult-to-fit glory!

I had many Arizas when I was around 30JJ-32K a few years ago. The Ariza gave me a better shape and support than the Panache Tango and it wasn't as weak as Jasmine or Envy. I liked how it made my boobs appear smaller by having them close to chest in a round slightly minimized shape. So there were times when I loved the bra but it was also always kinda difficult. I have not ... worn an Ariza bra since 2014 since when I grew out of my 32Ks I could never get a good fit in it again. Lately I went down in size and tried to wear my old 32Ks again, but they gave me horrible quadboob. So I jumped on the opportunity to try this 34K as an exchange bra.

The issues with this particular Ariza 34K bra:

The band on this bra is much too big. Unstretched it measures 78cm, and I measure 79cm underbust, so I can just wrap it around me without even stretch it. Another Ariza oddity: bands up to J -cup in Ariza ran small- tts while in JJ-K they suddenly got very big/loose.

The wires under the arms are extremely tall! I'm not petite and I have somewhat tall roots but it's just too much! They poke me in my arms very badly and stab me if I try to sit down wearing the bra! Ideally the wires of my old 30K Ariza would be a good fit, but the cup volume is much too small on that one. Speaking of cup volume, this bra measures 37cm cup depth when I stretch it over my knee. If I don't even stretch it much, it measures 35cm! For comparison Tango 34K has data here of 40cm cup depth in 34K!

So Ariza's cups are super shallow! They are also very tall and wide. Therefore I can somewhat fit my boobs into the bra. I tried to show in my pictures what happens when I try to arrange my boobs into the bra so they are fully inside of the cups. I cannot fill the bottom, because there is barely any room, the cup is super shallow there. Then my soft boobs are pushed against my chest and even fold somewhat inside the bra. The side of the cup and the top is empty again. I wonder how I could ever get a decent fit in an Ariza bra? I assume that my boobs were more shallow-tall before my weight gain. This bra was an epic fail but I learned a lot from it and how my breast shape changed with weight gain and recent weight loss.

The unique feature for me that made Ariza "better" than all the other Panache full cups: besides being very supportive it's the U-shaped wire that is so sturdy you can barely distort it! While on other bras the wire can be pulled back by the band a lot, on Ariza it barely happens, I tried to show it with the pic with my hand under the band. The wire keeps it's U-shape even with tension on the band while on some bras the wire is so weak it can end on your back so easily (see 34K - Bravissimo » Boudoir Beau (PA07) wire and that bra band was not even tight on me!)
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Updated on Mar 19, 2019 Flag this

This bra is gorgeous and shapes well, The wires are fairly high and can poke into underarms. The cups are true to size, but the band was uncomfortable for me (chafing).

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Updated on Sep 13, 2015 Flag this

Too closed in the top of the cup, I think. Maybe sizing up would fix the issue with the weird shape? Not sure. Too tight in the band. Otherwise it's nice. Wire widths are good.

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Updated on Sep 16, 2014 Flag this

This used to be my favourite bra for a long time. Sadly my boobs decided to grow again. I need now a 32K/32KK in other Panache bras (like Floris and Melody) and probably a 32L in Ariza.

pros +
+ gives a uplifted round shape
+ full on top friendly
+ very sturdy construction
+ wires are a bit narrower than on most panache bras (Tango, Melody, Floris)
+ band is very firm and barely stretches out with wear
+ very supportive, gives "boobs of steel" feeling

cons -
- fabric is a bit itchy at first wears
- shoulder straps can dig in
- wire pain since the wires are very very stiff (but that also makes the ... bra so supportive for big / heavy boobs) but also note that I get pain from wires digging in in all my bras when I wear them a full day, because the bras have to carry a lot of weight

about this colorway: compared to other Arizas I tried in this size (blossom and mint) I found that this one is less full on top friendly as the cups are more closed on top and also it runs slightly small all over.
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Updated on Aug 30, 2014 Flag this