This bra is now a little small for me, but it is still wearable. The only problem this causes me is that under the arm the underwire sits on the tissue of my larger breast.
The first time I received this bra one of the hooks was not properly sewn in, but once I returned it for a new one I found no problems and it feels like a very well-made, good-quality bra. The satin material feels luxurious and I love the Mulberry colour. The cups are lined with cotton for comfort.
The vertical seams on the cups provide excellent uplift and a rounded shape. From the side it looks ...slightly minimising, as this cup construction often can, but I feel like most of my bust is up front rather pushed back around my ribcage, as is often the case with Panache.
The straps are only partly adjustable, which was an initial cause for concern for me. However, I haven't found this a problem, despite usually having to shorten straps quite a lot. The bra is fastened with two hooks in my size (28FF).
The bra comes up very high in the centre, which I usually find causes it to dig in. This was the case at first, but after a couple of wears it no longer did. The underwires are very slim, which means the centre gore is narrower than on any of my other balconette bras. This is great for me as my boobs are very close together at the top.
The band is not particularly stretchy and I'm still on the loosest hook after a couple of months of wear.
The thick lace edging shows under tight tops, but is generally OK under most things. I think it's a great bra for everyday luxury. My only major complaint is that the matching knickers run large. I usually wear an 8-10 and the 8 in these are very large on me. I tried a couple of pairs and found some to be bigger than others, so that suggests an inconsistency in sizing. Read more 229 more words
My shape: Self-supporting teardrop with very tall and wide roots that give me fitting problems like shallow breasts, but with max lower projection and loads of side-boob; slightly FOB, center-set, forward-facing, and firm tissue that doesn't like being pushed around.
This review is for the Sapphire colorway I received in a swap around Christmas.
This is a very pretty bra, but alas, not for me. First off, the cups are ITCHY. Scratchy seams in the cups absolutely drive me nuts. Curiously, it wasn't the lace that was itchy- that was barely noticeable, regular lace, and the satin was SO SOFT, especially in the straps, and even the band wasn't a ...problem, nor was the tag. It was all in the modesty cookies, and boy, it was bad. When I took the bra off after the photos, it left red marks all around my poor nipples, and while I welt easily, this was still pretty significant. I don't know if washing would fix it or smooth out the sheer fabric seams at all. Honestly, I'd rather just have a completely sheer all-lace cup instead.
On to shape:
Projection: I think this bra has a lot more upper projection than I need. My tissue slopes in a fairly straight shot from my collarbone all the way down to the apex, and I have sadly discovered that there is (so far) not a single three-piece cup that can comfortably or attractively accommodate that. It also is fairly shallow in the bottom of the cup. Looking at other users' photos, I would have thought it would be projected enough, but now that I am going back and looking at the stock photos, I can see a lot of them riding down slightly on some of the models and wrinkling in the same places. The major culprit, though, is the apex: that sucker is REALLY TALL. Like, more than 1" higher than mine. You can see in the photos that scooping didn't do that much to alleviate the wrinkles caused by this combo. The cup is too high because of all this - you can also see where I tucked it down so things fit a little better. (Note: without having the seams criss-cross right at the apex, it is way less scratchy this way!)
Also, the sides are slightly shallow, too - inside by the bridge AND outside under the arms. I think this is why I initially felt like the wires were too narrow, but in the photos you can see that they obviously aren't. Because of this, I get a little bit of tissue trying to escape over the wings as if they were too short, but not enough to bother me.
Wire width: Great! I love wide wires. These are definitely wide enough for me.
Wire shape: Pretty good! Too steep, but it didn't bother me.
Band: Maybe a little on the tight side, but I think it would relax with a wear or two. It was certainly comfy enough, and obviously sat properly. I wish it had 3 hooks instead of 2, but oh well.
Straps: Plenty of adjustable length for me, although they can only adjust halfway because of the embellished front. Speaking of which, I love embellished straps! Lots of people don't, but I do. They are so pretty and cute, and so SOFT! If I could, like, cut these off and put them on another set of cups, I would.
Bridge: The center gore is tall, but actually really comfortable. I had to go back and edit to add this, because it was so comfy I forgot all about it. Super narrow! I'm sadder now that this didn't work out, because I need super narrow bridges. https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_sad.gif" alt=":(" />
Overall, not a bad bra, and still very pretty. It's a bit more like a frosted cupcake in person, in my opinion, but I love the choice of tassle instead of a bow at the center front, the embellished straps, AND the comfy bridge!, but I do wish it wasn't so scratchy. There's no way I want to troubleshoot this to find a potentially better size match with that looming as a possibility. Read more 574 more words
My shape is low set, short and narrow rooted, and soft.
I like half cups and this one came in a 28 band, which I've been trying some of lately since my ribcage/breast size shrunk recently. I got the raspberry colour because that was the only option, though I'm not actually a huge fan of pink. Now that I have it though, I actually kind of like the colour on.
This bra reminds me of 28FF - Cleo » Juna Balconnet Bra (6461) but perhaps not as soft feeling on the outside because of the lace on the cups.... It is a three part lightly padded half ...cup with a lace overlapy and a lace trim along the top of the cup. When I measured, I didn't include the lace in the cup height. Although the bra itself fits, and even bubbles with a fresh scoop and swoop, the lace floats just a teeensy bit when I move around. There is a similar lace trim along the straps which is pretty. However, the straps themselves are a bit thin for my liking. The band is fairly firm, without too much extra stretch. There's a little pleated looking bow on the gore. Three sets of clasps with 2 hooks each. The left cup under the underwire curls up, even when I'm not wearing it, but I don't notice it when it's on. I'm not sure if this is from them storing it or what, but it's a minor irritation aesthetically.
The cups are a bit wide for me, and so the wires don't sit up nicely in my IMF, but run about a cm under it all the way around to the sides. The shape is a tiny bit flattening but still rounded. The wings are too low for me too, so when my arms are down, I see some side boob/fat that looks like it's not being completely contained. It's not that this cup is super shallow, because I think it's typical for a 28FF depth, but I think it may not have a ton of depth right at the underwire?
Overall this bra is decent. I'll probably keep it and wear it, even though it's not a perfect fit. Read more 261 more words
This bra was the first non matrix sized bra I ever tried... in 28DD. It was too small for me then and this one is too big for me now. I love love love how it looks and have been searching for a 28F since I found out it was being discontinued. I decided to try one size up because I want this bra to work for me soo bad! Turns out 28F *should* be the right size for me and I could probably go for a 30E as well. Bummer. Unfortunately, I think this bra will be unattainable since the straps were a tiny bit too wide, the cups a tiny bit too tall (and overall about half a cup size too big), and the gore kind of poked me. Other than those things though: Ermergd I love this bra! It's soo beautiful and elegant and well made and I wish it worked for me.
I received this bra 2 days before my 28FF Cleo Nyla (the same cut as Cleo Marcie) and was surprised at how similar the fit is. The Persia is put together differently a little differently (probably due to the lace construction), and a little better than the Nyla (which has weird lace bubbles).
Okay. This bra is beautiful and seems made from high quality materials. I found the elastic used on the band less tight than my Nyla, but heavier and more stable. The straps might be too short for some, I'm 5'4" and have an inch to spare. Also, although the bottom of ...the cup is lined, if you hate the feel of lace you will hate this bra.
Though initially comfortable, I found that the high gore got stabby by the end of the day. Aggressive wire bending seems to have fixed the problem.
Besides the stabby (but tameable) gore, the cups are technically too wide on me, but still comfortable and supportive. The relatively open "FOT" construction works well with my center full breasts.
tl/dr IMO, the Masquerade Persia is a fancy lace Cleo Marcie.
I tried to get another 28FF Masquerade Tiffany Plunge Bra after I wore this the first time, but this seems to have been the last one for sale on our planet. I love the super low gore, the low coverage cups, the satiny material, the wide enough wires on the sides. I wish the wings were higher. I wish the straps were fully adjustable. I'll eventually shorten the straps. I have firm tissue, so I can deal with low gores and very low cups.
I bought three 30F Masquerade Tiffany Plunge Bras from Zulilly, knowing I'd have to alter the bands. That's how much I love this bra.
This is such an underrated bra! This is my go-to bra for any occasion.
Pros: Soft material Most comfortable moulded bra I've ever worn Straps are semi-padded Nice tight band for a sub-28 such as myself Simple yet elegant Encapsulates tissue surprisingly well for a plunge Lots of support
Cons: Expensive (around $82) Not available in beige Not fully-adjustable straps Not my preferred shape under a shirt (I like round and uplifted)
I personally love cleavage, which this bra can give on a day when your breasts are bigger, but the cups are just separated enough to where they don't get sweaty.
Rhea just doesn't work out for my narrow, projected boobs. It is definitely too small nowadays, so while a size or two up might remedy the nipple-popping quadboob, the bottom would probably still be empty and folding over. The band is nice and snug though, which is a plus if you are sub-28, and fit issues aside, it is indeed a stunning bra.
This bra would be beautiful if it fit. Very pretty colour, nice shape and details. Band and cups both fit small. Band feels about one size small, closer to a 26 band, and cups feel at least 2 sizes too small. Center gore does not sit flat and it feels as if my nipples are going to pop out. The bra also pushes up and in creating a bit of cleavage.
This isn't my favorite bra. I had to buy an extender for this bra because the band and straps are so stiff. I can't quite fill the cups so they wrinkle slightly. Although this bra has nice detailing, it looks very lumpy under a t-shirt.
This was my first real bra love and I still find this bra, especially this colourway, to be the most beautiful bra ever conceived. This particular bra is one of my first properly fitting bras I bought back in 2011. I’ve always had a love hate relationship with this style. Despite its design, all the rest in this bra was thought to make you suffer. Or at least to make me suffer https://d28qt14g3opchh.cloudfront.net/smileys/icon_wink.gif" alt=";)" /> First, there’s an incredibly high and large center gore. I’m not particularly close set, but this is too much for me. Then, at least in this size, the band is ...way too high all the way long. It’s particularly uncomfortable under my armpits where there are placed vertical underwires. The cups are very wide but I imagine I was really spoiled with narrow EM wires. And to cap it off, the straps are unstrechy in their front part. Antoinette is very difficult to put on. The bottom of the cup is quite shallow and you really have to pull the cup up to place the wire in the IMF. Read more 79 more words
This bra gives me the most amazing cleavage! And it's one of the most beautiful bras I've seen! I just love all about the appearence of the Rhea (antique ice)! BUT unfortunatelly this is not such a good fit for me as I hoped it would be. The underwires run down and I have to replace them after only about 20 minutes, so this is not gonna be an everyday bra! I must say though, that the issue with the wires might be because of the band, which is actually to wide for me. So I will probabely sew the band in and see how this goes. fingers crossed xx
This is such a gorgeous bra that I'm planning to keep it even though it's not an ideal fit. I would agree that this bra is suited for wide and shallow while I seem to be decently projected, even/FoT, and perhaps a little narrow. I have a little fold at the bottom of the cups where my boobs are looking for more depth and a small bit of quadboob on top. That said, the cleavage is pretty good and I don't feel like these issues are complete deal breakers if that's the look I'm going for.
Strapless bras are not for me. I don't even have a use for them. Why on earth did I buy one?
I guess it was peer pressure, "Everyone needs a strapless bra in their collection, for special occasions."
That said, the satin on Tiffany is lovely and so luxurious. And it has three hooks instead of two, which I wish all bras in this cup size and larger had.
Thanks for the thorough review!
I do love the design, too bad about the scratchiness and fit issues!