I always see people begging for strapless advice around the interwebs. The question I see most frequently is something like this: “I’m projected and narrow—HELP ME”..okay, not a question, but looking for a strapless bra when you’re projected and narrow can be really damn hard. The nature of a strapless bra’s construction means it HAS to be shallow and wide to stay up on your body. By being shallow, it can essentially propel your boobs upward by forcing them to do so. Beyond that, it really HAS to be lined to, you know, hold a shape. I have personally never heard of an unlined strapless bra’s success, once you take off its removable straps.
I’ll be honest, too. I had given up on strapless bras. I decided I would never wear a strapless thing again and gave up. My good friend, a fellow bra lover, happened upon a 28G Tiffany strapless (from the sadly discontinued Masquerade line of Panache) and gave it a try. As she is my boob twin in one cup size up, she wanted me to try it. I did. That’s why we’re here! We’re going to look at that Tiffany today~
The Tiffany is becoming harder to find, ever since Panache discontinued Masquerade. I will always be jealous of people who knew their actual size when this line came out because it’s GORGEOUS. I love it. Alas, time has passed, and we are officially in August of 2015. Sigh…
Now, a 28G would normally be too big, but the shallow nature of the bra means this fits projected ladies closer to a 28FF – so, one cup size down. GO UP ONE CUP SIZE. The only other strapless I had was a 34D, back in the day, and I had to yank that thing up every twenty minutes. Good news—I don’t do that in the Tiffany!
LOOK AT HUH.
Girl u shiny.
The bandeau style means you do not see the underwires from the front at all. It has a satiny finish and is a shiny black bra. This is the least bridal option of the Tiffany I know of. In the front, there are three vertical seams, but they are just for show. The inside has a single vertical seam. I like vertical seams and find that they have minimizing qualities.
The Tiffany is very closed on the top. Normally, this would be a problem for me, but the cup is tall enough that it is “closed” up right before where I have volume. Thus the Tiffany’s a little minimizing, as it doesn’t let the goods hang out.
See the center vertical seam here and note the gore – you can see how wide it is. It’s surprisingly hard to take a picture of a very dark bra when it’s very bright out…
The Tiffany’s gore is hella wide. It’s rare that I buy a bra where there is actually a visible space between the center underwires, but the Tiffany has that going on. As I have not worn it an entire day, I cannot say if that is comfortable or not, but I imagine it could be aggravating after a few hours. I am currently wearing it now, and I do notice the gore, so I may have to take that in. It might also be because the gore is SO TALL! It’s 3.5” tall. That’s pretty damn tall.
The cups are not nearly as wide as I’ve seen on other strapless bras—these are about 5.6” out of the box, so, you know, not 6 inches across. I bent the underwires inward, reducing that to about 5” across, which is pretty impressive considering the wires are very firm. The depth is also 8.25”. The greatest area of depth is right at the vertical seam, which not quite in the center—it’s closer to the gore. For that reason, I think this would be very good for people with some center fullness.
The band (a 28) is firm. Silicone bands are around the “wing” area and they do not feel like they’re a moving risk. I have to really pull to move this up OR down. I might use an extender next time for this, as the band is sort of uncomfortably tight.
Side profile. You can sort of see the slight minimizing quality as well as the slightly square shape.
Let’s backtrack a bit. Who does this bra work for?
Center full-shapes—I would recommend this to “even” shapes as well. Soft tissue girls should look into this. I don’t think it would work on firm tissue girls. I could manipulate these titties into fitting, but I have extremely soft tissue.
What to keep in mind?
GO ONE CUP SIZE UP. So if you’re a 30F, look for a 30FF. Keep your band the same—this is a firm bra and I find the 28 kinda terrible in terms of being able to take deep breaths.
This has a single vertical seam. Underwire is hella long—gore is tall and has a visible space between it (so it’s wide) and might require an alteration to fit comfortably. This band runs VERY firm.
Appearance of bra itself (6/10)—Not my favorite look, to be honest. I don’t like the three seams on the front—they show through thin fabric and will be noticeable under thin strapless shirts/dresses. I don’t really like shiny bras.
Appearance of bra on my body (9/10)—Slightly square shape and forces my boobs outward a bit, so it makes my boobs look wider and farther apart than they are. Still, it’s lifting and staying in place, so I am impressed.
Comfort of…
Straps (0/0)—N/A, as I’m strictly wearing this as a strapless. It does have removable straps, but I would not wear this under something that doesn’t need a strapless look.
Band (8/10)—Silicone lining. FIRM AS HELL. I recommend an extender if you like to breathe.
Gore (6/10)—Wide and tall. Wideness can be remedied by an alteration. Tallness can’t. Yet it has to be tall to stay where it is and maintain its shape.
Underwire (6/10)—Very long underwires that are firm.
Cups (7/10)—Safe armpits, cool! If it DOES manage to fall throughout the day, I will definitely have quad-boob, but it does not seem like a “travel-prone” bra.
Overall rating, then? The Masquerade by Panache Tiffany bandeau (28G) gets…
70% – Sounds right! Not my favorite bra, but definitely look into it if you NEED a strapless bra that isn’t 7” wide on the cups.
brogwithadog 