{TOP DRAWER} Bras & Blowouts with Panache Lingerie
For a really, really long time, the concept of "lingerie" resembled an unrealistic fantasy that looked a whole lot like a Will Cotton painting (that I first viewed in a Chelsea gallery as a first-year student at Parsons). At a 38HH, I'd accepted that finding lingerie that looked beautiful and served its function was my personal holy grail, and not one that I'd likely ever completely satisfy. I could find pieces that looked hot and were fashion forward, but then they lacked on quality or fit -- and then when I found the pieces that did fit properly, they were ugly and purely utilitarian -- a major deal breaker for a Taurus like me. When I finally did my first lingerie column for Marie Claire, I was introduced to a bevvy of new-to-me brands, and the one that stuck with me by far the most, was Panache - a brand that specializes in D+ sizes. Continue...
I've learned that lingerie should empower its wearer - and it has little to do with who is seeing it, and everything to do with feeling good about yourself even before you put your clothes on. Once the clothes are on, you realize how much the fit of your foundation changes the appearance of your wardrobe, too; clothes lay and drape better, you can reduce (or eliminate) bulging caused by undergarments, you might even stand taller.
I've had these boobs since I was 12-years-old, and the vast majority of my bra shopping until a couple of years ago has been utterly traumatizing. I've had a lot of fittings - but the first time I was fit in Panache bras was honestly a turning point; it was genuinely the first time I found exactly the look and aesthetic I love partnered with the right fit, comfort, and technology. I became so obsessed with the line, that I pitched them to host a lingerie-fitting event, and dubbed myself the "bra-evangelist" - spreading the gospel of good fit and sexy lace.
After months of brainstorming with some of my favorite people at Ann Magnin, we set our hearts (and a date) on "Bras & Blowouts" - bringing some of our favorite blogging babes together to get their hair did at Rachel-Zoe-approved DreamDry, and made sure they all went home with the right size bra, too.
We've probably all heard that painful statistic that Oprah tossed out a few years ago, that "85% of women" are wearing the wrong sized bra -- and I believe it. Especially in the plus world, it seems that many women are wearing too-small of a cup size and over-compensating with a too-large band size; (I can't tell you how many incorrectly sized "44-DD's" were in attendance!) I can't speak for everyone, but getting the right fit really eliminated my back problems that I thought were caused by my breasts. Can you believe that? My whole life I had been waiting to get a reduction, but apparently all I needed was the right size bra.
For girls on the fuller end of the size spectrum, their new line Sculptresse, offers the same commitment to beautiful, technologically sound undergarments with an expanded size range - up to a 46J, making the entirety of Panache's size offering from a 28-46 D-K.
Extending the life of your bras is hugely impacted by how you care for them. Powder detergents like Forever New are specifically made to care for the elastics and delicate fabrics of lingerie, and make hand-washing in your bathroom sink a really painless task. Hand washing also preserves the shape!