This is one of my favorite bras! Happy medium of super comfortable, lovely shape under clothes, supportive, and cute. Cups aren't too tall so I don't have gapping issues with my soft FOB breasts. The band is almost too big, but I wear it on the tightest hook and it's just about perfect.
I did try the sister size, 32GG, but for some reason only has two hooks, which I hate. It also has deeper, taller cups and gaps like crazy. (It's the Floral Shimmer colorway, which apparently has more projected cups- I need shallow cups).
Update: I got two additional 34G Charlottes- the Wild Pink ...(bubblegum color) and Dusty Pink (pale pink). Wild Pink fits the same way as the blue one, with 3 hooks and shallow uplifting cups.
The Dusty Pink only has two hooks and the cups are deep and projected, totally different fit. I would probably fit better in a 34FF in this version. This is so frustrating! I wish Parfait would make it more clear when they are changing the fit/number of hooks for a particular bra. Read more 79 more words
Balconette with 3-part padded cups. Padding is thick, but not completely stiff. Outer fabric is matte and insides of cups feel cotton-y. Embroidery detail is in a gold color (more matte than shiny) with a circle/wheel design along the tops with scallops at the edge. Matching bow at center gore. I think the sides are some kind of powermesh. Straps are also blue with plastic blue hardware; they are elastic, but not super stretchy. Hooks and eyes are blue and are in sets of 3. Elastic runs along entire bottom edge.
~~~~~~~~ Not going to go into too much detail. Basically, this bra is typical fit for Parfaits on me: too wide, too shallow, and too tall.
I bought it hoping to help find my Parfait size. It helped confirm that I probably will never have a Parfait size. Their size/shape scheme just won't work for my boobs.
The things about Parfait that make them a not-so-great fit for you are what makes them a great fit for me. ;) Their plunge styles are the exception - they just aren't wide enough nor tall enough in the right places and the ones I've tried were padded in the bottom part of the cup so I run out of room and end up quadding beyond any quad level seen before and that just looks awful - my boobs would leave me and never return if they could when I try to stuff them into one of those.
I'm jealous! :D
But now I'm thinking I should try a plunge if they don't work for you. lol
It's worth a shot? I plan on looking into Parfait non-padded next.
Have you considered any of the Claudette styles?
valentine556: I do have a 32G - Claudette » Dessous Mesh Underwire Bra (CD2000) that I'm on the fence about. It mostly kinda sorta fits, but I think the wires are too wide for me. I've only worn it once or twice because it's so see through. Seriously, sheer body paint would camouflage me more!
I don't know if that's what is supposed to be a plunge or not. From what I remember the gore is low on me, but it has been a month since I last tried it, so I don't remember.
Ah, yeah the combination of the odd non-fit of the one Claudette style I've tried and pretty much all the others being super-sheer fabric are why they're off my "to try" list. Early on in my correctly sized bra finding journey someone recommended the brand so I tried the cool cotton and that made me want to find who recommended it so I could smack them with the bra. :P
I really wanted to love this bra. The design is so beautiful and it gave me a lovely rounded shape. I also liked the soft lace/mesh that made up the top part of the cup. However, the bra has a few flaws.
I felt like the gore was a bit too high, but that's more of a personal preference mismatch than a problem with the bra itself.
The one major problem with the bra is that the seam running across the front of the bra is very thick and raised. This means that the seam is visible under shirts that are thinner and more fitted (the style I like to wear). I suppose that if someone liked thicker/looser shirts, this would not be an issue.
I have a very full chest and need a lot of coverage from a bra. The band on this is a nice tight 34". The sides went up pretty high under the armpit. The center gore did tact even though the cups were very large. I thought that since I went up a few inches (from 40 to 42) in my bust that I could fit a G. I was wrong and swimming in these cups. I am definitely still a 34FF.
The Charlotte is a foam three-part cup with side support. Advertised as ‘light foam padding’, I find I disagree- this is one of the heaviest bras I have tried in my size, as the padding is thicker than the Freya Deco, Panache Porcelain, or any Masquerade bra I’ve tried. The sides of the cups have satin fabric over them, functioning as side supports. The straps are almost fully adjustable, except for an inch right above the cup covered in satin. It’s a lot of bra, even if it doesn’t give much coverage!
I’m not a retro person or into the ‘pinup’ aesthetic for myself, but the piping appeals to ...me geometrically. The red color is actually a deeper red than in pictures, and it contrasts well with the black details. It’s low cut and gives a round, uplifted shape, perhaps due to the side supports helping keep tissue in the cups.
HerRoom advised going up a band and a cup size from my usual. Sadly, this bra doesn’t come any larger than a G so I only I went up a band size. The band is still tight at 34, but the cups are just a bit too small- there’s a tiny bit of overspill. Furthermore, the side support boning digs in after a few hours, and it feels like the top and bottom elastic of the band are markedly tighter than the rest of it. If you have migrated breast tissue on your sides, check for how the side support boning and elastic fit. Read more 145 more words
I'm trying this bra after having already tried it in a cup size up (34GG). The GG was definitely better for me, I'm a little too busty in the center with the smaller cup size. I do still think this bra is extremely comfortable and supportive. It is an adventure getting all 5 hooks clasped, but the payoff is worth it.
I got two additional 34G Charlotte half cup bras- the Wild Pink (bubblegum color) and Dusty Pink (pale pink). Wild Pink fits the same way as the blue one, with 3 hooks and shallow uplifting cups.
The Dusty Pink (this bra) only has two hooks and the cups are deep and projected, totally different fit. I would probably fit better in a 34FF or even a 34F in this version. This is so frustrating! I wish Parfait would make it more clear when they are changing the fit/number of hooks for a particular bra.
Pretty true to size meaning it doesn't fit right now . I expected the fit to be too small because I already had the 36g in pink. I hoped sizing down would solve the overly wide wire problem without being too tight. I was kinda right. The cups overflow but the wires are much less wide. The band is just a little too tight to look good, although it feels fine. Update 5/19: the band and skirted portions just fit at my current weight. The cups look like a fit but I bet they'd quad within a short time.
This is probably the best-fitting bra that I own! The tall wings and gore keep my soft FOB breasts in place, and create a nice rounded D shape under clothes. There is boning on the sides next to the wings, which makes them extra supportive. However, this does detract a bit from the comfort of this bra. I normally wear this on the middle hooks- Parfait seems to run small in the band.
The black piping does show under thinner shirts, which is kind of a pain, but I just pop on a tank so they don't show! The fabric over the gore is not sewn down to the gore, so it kind of sticks out oddly, but this doesn't show under clothes and isn't a dealbreaker.
This was my first online purchase of a non-matrix sized bra. I read as many reviews as I could and the majority said that the both the cups and the band ran small. This wasn't true for me. The band was huge even on the last hook. The cups fit me weird- the gore tacked and I was able to fill out the inner cups but I was floating inside the outer cups. The top of the cup also gaped. I ended up giving this one away.
I bought this bra new on Amazon a couple weeks ago. Parfait must have updated their sizing practices with the Charlotte because not only were there more sizes in general (up to K now!) but their 34G fit much closer to an actual 34G.
The older charlotte I used to own was 34G, but fit like a 34F. The new bra has an adequate depth that more is more closely like a 34FF. The band, as all PbyA bras, is small. So, that finally works out to 32G. Not bad.
I love the charlotte because it is so comfortable and stylish. I feel like a goddess in this. It compliments my shape extremely well (even, full). The extra side wing support is fantastic for keeping side boob at the forefront, and the wide wires are great for wide roots.
Initially, this bra wasn't very comfortable, and did weird things to my boobs. However, after "breaking it in" for about a week, I love it! There is just a tad bit of folding at the bottom on the side of my smaller boob, and there's a slight amount of quadboob-like stuff going on in the center, but otherwise it fits great. If I were to buy again, I would probably get a 32GG to fix the gore issue and add a little bit of support.
I have very close set boobs which usually makes bra shopping difficult since so many bras have such a high gore. This bra is the first I have tried where the gore tacks with no pain. It's very comfortable and works well with my full on top shape, not cutting in anywhere on the top and filling out the bottom of the cup perfectly. As an added bonus, the bra itself is also quite pretty with very lovely lace detailing.
Shape: mostly even, slight full-on-bottom. Small nipples. Average projection, wider-set, tall. Broad shoulders.
The first time I bought a Tamara was in a size 34DD when I measured as such. The uncomfortably tight band and the massive quadboob left a bad taste in my mouth for Parfait. While the structure was sturdy and the material very elegant, it was also totally unwearable. Fast forward to now.
I measure as a 32G across the board and rarely have shape issues causing me to sister size or size up. With Parfait I've learned to work around their crazy sizing by sizing wayyyy up. A 34G for me it is.
The Tamara ...is pretty much a bedroom bra if you buy it in your usual size. It is very shallow to push your boobs up to high heaven. The actual cups end about half-nipple height and the rest of the nipple is covered by some lacy stuff. The material is satiny and romantic. The boyshorts (which I haven't gotten yet) are of the same material and so the set is very sexy and coordinated.
However, the 34G doesn't really fit like an impractical bedroom bra at all. In fact, it fits pretty awesome. It lifts and separates, but not drastically so. The band is not very stretchy and has long wings, making a 34 feel very sturdy and supportive. The cups are short, but don't cut into the boobs, creating a fairly smooth curved shape. The straps are a little farther apart than most bras, but that is standard for most Parfait bras. It's as comfortable as any of my other bras.
Granted, I can easily make this into a cleavage-fest simply by adjusting the straps ultra short.
All-in-all a good second impression. Read more 181 more words
Band is snug for a 34 as I've found most Parfait By Affinitas bras to be. Cups are too big for me, but seem true to size. Lace is not terribly stretchy.
Sorry, not a terribly in-depth review. If I have time, I will update it.
This model of the Charlotte runs a bit small in the cups and band, which I guess explains why I (usually a 32FF) fit into this bra fantastically. This bra is seriously one of the best-fitting and most comfortable bras I have ever worn. For starters, the material inside is soft and plush. The padding is minimal enough so I don't feel like my breasts are right under my chin, yet substantial enough to hide pointy, chilly nipples and make a nice smooth shape underneath thin shirts. I thought the tallness of the cups would be bad for my shape (sort of even but slightly more full on bottom), but it actually works for me. The straps are wide, which I like because they don't dig in as much as smaller ones (looking at you Victoria's Secret). The side wings are tall, which I also like because it keeps the armpit/back fat contained rather well. All in all a pretty, comfortable, well-supporting bra.
Stick to what suits your boobs - with my specific make up, and issues, and size, I need a balcony, and no matter how much I want that not to be the case, it is. It probably doesn't help I think this is too big, but I just need the firm uplift and presentation that either a Balcony or a firm pair of hands can provide (and having a pair of hands lift up your boobs all day kinda gets in the way).
I love this bra! SO comfy, gives a great smooth line at the back, lots of lovely lift and 'cakes on a platter' look - its a shame this is still a size too small for me - I had to sew the central gore together a bit, to make the band smaller - I also think this gives it more of a balcony fit rather than a plungey fit, which my boobs appreciate a lot more and probably adds a lot of the cakes look, I'm not sure how much of this look it would give if I left the band alone (as it's nowhere near fitting ...un-altered). The cups are obviously still too big - I predict I need a 32F maybe in this (which is a nightmare to get where I live), so hopefully I'll eventually get one to fit! LOVE this so much. My boobs are very much scooped and swept for this shot, they fall down quite quickly when wearing this, so this is the 'best' view possibly but not long term (hence needing a size down as well). Read more 76 more words
Isn't it a great bra? It's one of the very few bras with wires tall enough under the arms and wings that are wide enough for me. (The only others I've found are the balconette 6931 version of the Charlotte and the Panache Emily. I have to size up in the cups in all three of them, though, from my starting-point size of 30FF to 30G.
All that, and my breasts don't push the Charlotte's wires down, which is an issue I have in most bras, generally due to lack of depth in the bottom of the cup (not too-narrow wires, which I've learned to avoid). My firm tissue usually goes LOL NO! and shoves those suckers right down, but even though the Charlotte is a pretty shallow bra, that firm band keeps the wires where they belong like magic.
I adore my Charlotte. I know that Breakout Bras, A Sophisticated Pair, and Beauty-full Bras all carry them. Breakout Bras has free shipping, and the others are about $4. If you want to consult for sizing, A Sophisticated Pair has given me good advice before. I think the sizing may be a little different for purple if you want it- choose your usual size I guess.
Unfortunately I'm in Australia so it's few and far between retailers here :( And I seemingly can't order something without trying it on (my bulging bra draw without a single bra that I feel fits me totally is testament to this).
Many thanks for the assist though - one day Australia will realise you can have big knockers without having a large back (or I'll give up and just open my own chain up and be done with it lol).
This bra is fine if you don't need to use your arms. It cuts into my upper chest/boob at my armpit hard enough to rub raw. Gorgeous bra, cups fit great, but not comfortable strap-wise.
The things about Parfait that make them a not-so-great fit for you are what makes them a great fit for me. ;) Their plunge styles are the exception - they just aren't wide enough nor tall enough in the right places and the ones I've tried were padded in the bottom part of the cup so I run out of room and end up quadding beyond any quad level seen before and that just looks awful - my boobs would leave me and never return if they could when I try to stuff them into one of those.