Friday 11 November 2011

Panache "Confetti" Review

Panache's Confetti bra is discontinued and has been for a couple of years. But I decided to do a review of it for two reasons—first, it is still widely available on eBay, and second, it’s the bra against which I judge all other bras.


When I first ordered the Confetti, I had been wearing exclusively the Panache Harmony, which I’ll review in a later post, for about a year. Although the Harmony is a reasonably good fit on me, I was much more impressed by the fit and shape of the Confetti. Even my boyfriend declared that it suited me much better than the Harmony. You know you’re obsessed with bras when the males in your life can rattle off the specifics of a good fit!





I love the rounded shape the Confetti gives me. I have found very few non-molded/non-padded bras that give a shape this good, and since I prefer non-padded bras, it immediately became a favorite. It gives me the same shape as the legendary Freya Deco, but with a better fit in my size. I also love the fact that the Confetti isn’t “a lot of bra.” It looks really good even in the highest cup sizes. The Confetti is very low cut--the center gore is an inch shorter than the one on the Curvy Kate Ella. And because there is no seam or ribbon across the top of the cup, I still fit well into a 28HH in the Confetti, despite needing a 28J in nearly all Cleo and Curvy Kate bras.

Unfortunately, there is one big problem with the Confetti which is the only reason I haven’t kept ordering more and more of them—it doesn’t have a very tight band. Part of the reason for this is that I wore it so often over the summer and wore it out, but that was only a few months. For the sake of wanting the bra to last longer, I would go down a band size if I could.

I really believe the Panache Confetti is one of the best bras for larger cup sizes that’s ever been produced. The wires aren’t quite as wide as on the Harmony or Melody, so even if you don’t normally get on well with Panache, this might be a great bra to try out, especially if you find it for a good price on eBay.

7 comments:

  1. OMG, ARE YOU ME? I was just attempting to find a 34JJ confetti to buy somewhere, when I came across this blog, read a few posts, and determined that we're long lost twins or something.

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    1. Haha! It's nice to find another fellow Confetti fan!

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  2. I just got my Confetti in white today and I love it! It's supportive and in my actual size of 28HH. I have to admit I've been in denial about my size and have been squeezing myself into 28H's for awhile. This bra even gives me a little cleavage. :P I will definitely be purchasing this in black.

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  4. Hello there! I know you're not a fitter (and certainly not my personal one:P) but I was wondering if I could get a recommendation from you based on your experience? Your blog is so incredibly helpful! I just received a Confetti in what I thought was my usual size 32GG (I have to rely on online ordering, boo!). As you suggested may be the case in your post above, the band is quite loose, and much to my surprise, the cups were far too small on me. I've now ordered a 30J, though I usually prefer 32's. I want the Panache Andorra (after seeing how gorgeous it looked on you!), the Cleo Lucy and the Freya Antoinette, what sizes would you recommend based on a Confetti size of 30J/32HH? I know it's really difficult to do online, I'm sorry!

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    1. No problem, I love to help as much as I can!

      I wear the Confetti in a 28HH, and I really need the 28 band-in fact even that is a bit loose. But with most other bras I prefer to wear a 30 band these days, since it is just more comfortable for me and still equally supportive. I have the Antoinette in a 30H, and I also have the Amy (which is practically identical in shape) in a 30HH and they are both a good fit for me, the 30HH just covers more of my chest, so I would prefer the 30H in that style. The Antoinette is an amazing bra and I really recommend it. My best friend has the opposite shape as me (she is fuller on the bottom, I am fuller on the top) and we both love the Antoinette.

      I tried the Panache Andorra in a 30H and again, that was a good fit. I wouldn't have needed to size up at all, even though in some bras I do need to size up to a 30HH. The Andorra is quite stretchy in the top section, so I imagine it would again be a good compromise for different shapes.

      The Cleo Lucy is another of my favorite bras. It's a little trickier to know what size to get in that one, though. My best-fitting Lucys are in a 28HH right now but the backs are pretty firm on them so if I buy them in the future I will go with 30H. I also own the Lucy in a 28J but that is a little too big, however because the upper section is tighter, I need to take in the center gore on the smaller size so the upper section doesn't cut in on my shape. So, for the Lucy the size you need will depend more on your shape. Are your boobs fuller on the top, or the bottom, or do they have more balanced fullness? I would say if they are full on the bottom you can wear the same size you do in these other bras, if you are full on top you might find you need one size up.

      I think you could wear a 32 band in all these bras you've mentioned, as none of them are as loose as the Confetti band. You probably could wear a 30, but the 32 would also be fine, depending on how tight you want your band.

      As for the cup size, what bras do you wear a 32GG in? You say that is your usual size, have you found that that is the size that fits you in a lot of bras?

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    2. Wow, thank you so much for putting in the time and replying! I think my boobs are pretty balanced, leaning towards fuller on top, which is reaffirmed for me because I have the exact same qualms with bras as you do.

      I probably shouldn't say that my usual size is 32GG, because I haven't ever been fitted properly (the one store in my sad little city that stocks big-boob bras is a sales-focused rather than fit focused because they're independent and need to survive, I guess) and the last time I bought a bra was 2 years ago :S. But when I did, it was the Freya Polyanna, Freya Latisha (not because it suited me, because I thought it was a prettier offering, and I may have even sister-sized to a 34G, I'm a bra sinner), and the Freya Adele. I burst out of these now so I should probably stop living in the 32GG delusion. The Freya Deco and the Masquerade Lula Mae both work for me in a 32GG, the Deco being a little snug in the cup, and the Lula Mae a little loose in the band (contrary to most blog reports). I need a 30J in the Curvy Kate Thrill Me and Tease Me's, I'm currently rocking some quadra-boob in the 32H's which are too lose on their tightest hook, but this appears to be pretty standard.

      My underbust is 30.5 inches, but I find I have a preference for 32's. So now you have my up-to-date bra story! Thank you so much for listening/reading.

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