SIL Tradeshow: Panache Favourites for AW16

I love Panache – they have been such a corner stone when building my bradrobe for these past five years and I have affectionate feelings for their Cleo non-padded balconettes (one of them which I reviewed a few days back, check it out here!). The Panache stand is also one of the highlights of my tradeshow visits as it is a huge collection which needs a lot attention. Usually, I tend to post each Panache sub-label as its own post but this time, I decided to share my very favourites from each range. If you are interested to see the whole collection, please head over to Bra and Body Image as she has it all covered! However, let’s jump into my favourites, as I would love to share some true gems with you.

PANACHE (main brand)

Top to bottom: Jasmine in Orchid + Rose Prints (up to K-cup), Elise in Praline (up to G), Ava in Pearl Grey (up to H), Thea in Black Floral (up to K), Clara in Heather + Slate/Teal (up to J)

Panache main line is quite well-known for its habbit of pushing out new prints and colourways of its original styles – with a few completely new additions, of course. I haven’t been too keen on the Jasmine prints since the very first navy/ floral print but now I think Panache has come up with something a bit more feminine and soft than the past animal and geometric prints – I am still a sucker for romance and for that taste, the new Jasmine prints cater very well for. My absolute favourite has to be the Orchid print as I love photo-realistic florals and the dark colourway of it which go perfectly well together for the AW16 season.You can also see the two fashion colours for this AW season with these prints – blue is still continuing to win the colour trend game and burgundy is now making its way to the full bust world along with other brownish red shades.

One of the new styles that kinda stole my heart was the Ava. I have been falling in love with grey lingerie over the past six months or so and I am so happy to see it as an option alongside of black and navy. Grey suits fair skin tones so well and looks lovely with ginger hair (hehe, biased much) and I am quite convinced the Ava’s non-padded plunge shape would be perfect as my bradrobe staple. The styling of it is nothing overtly vavavoom but I like its basic prettiness that speaks to the “Sunday-in-bed” side of me. Unsurprisingly I loved the Heather colourway of the Clara as well, as it’s such a gorgeous hue of grey-ish blue and with the pairing of yellow-ish cream the set is like straight out of Marie Antoinette’s wardrobe.

CLEO BY PANACHE

Top to bottom: The Breeze Longline in Geo Floral (up to H-cup), Hettie in Black/Pink (up to J), Kali in Black/Pink (up to J), Skye in Magenta/Lime (up to J), Marcie in Tangerine (up to J), Piper in Cobalt (up to J) and Della in Floral Print (up to J)

Cleo is the queen of bright and clashing colours and we were not disappointed this time either. I do feel that Cleo could almost go a bit more crazy with its design – I would love to see some more innovative prints which Cleo is so well-known for! The best designs within the Cleo range in my opinion are its boldest ones – the new floral printed Della (go and buy this bra now, it’s amazing!) and the new Piper longline. I adore the electric cobalt blue shade of the Piper and it combines perfectly an amazing fit and gorgeous looks while still remaining young and fresh. If I would have to pick just one set from the whole Panache AW16 offering, Piper would most definitely be it!

With Cleo collection, instead of teal and burgundy the Cleo collection features delicious magenta and brighter blue tones. As a pop of colour, we can see some tangerine and lime contrasts which are super appropriate for the early autumn season. How cute is that pumpkin shade Marcie? Again, the Breeze longline remains a favourite to me personally as it is still such a cute style with a great graphic autumn floral print.

PANACHE BLACK, SPORT & SCULPTRESSE

Top to bottom: Panache Black “Ardour” ja “Etta” (both up G-cup), Panache Non-Wired Sports Bra in Blue Marl (up to H), Sports Bra in Neon Pixel Print (up to J) & Sculptresse “Chi Chi” in Lace Print (up to HH)

The Panache Black, previous Masquerade range, is a rather small sub-label for Panache but for me, it’s one of their most interesting ranges. The size range is a bit smaller as well, which is a shame as these styles are truly stunning – for example, the new Etta design features a striking see-through stripe detail which I am a big fan of. Another favourite from the Black AW16 range is the basic Ardour style – it’s a grey t-shirt bra that would be an amazing option to some people who usually buy beige or black bras for their everyday bradrobe.

My favourite from the different options for the infamous Panache Sports bra was the Blue Marl as it something totally different than Panache has done before. The inspiration for this non-wired version of the classic sports bra came from the British Olympic team colours – what would be more appropriate for a British full-bust brand that makes an award-winning sports bra? What caught my eye from the Sculptresse collection was one of its original styles Chi Chi in this new Lace Print which reminds me of Snow White. This style will also be available in a dark brown Cappucino shade which will be an excellent nude shade for some women of colour!

How did you like the new Panache AW16 collection? Are you feeling the colours and prints? Let me know in the comments! xx

Sunday with Samanta – Hana A111 Review

As we discussed the Sunday with Samanta series with Marzena, the head designer of Samanta, she gave me a list of suggestions she wanted me to try which included some of their oldies but goodies, including the bestseller “Hana” in A111-cut. To be completely honest I wasn’t super excited about the design but Marzena asked me to give it a chance so I decided to do so. I was glad I did – Hana is a great everyday basic which comes in soft tones of grey, deep red, beige, white and black which all feature the same guipure lace that makes the bra a bit more interesting to the eye. Here are my thoughts on the cut and style…*This set was gifted to me by Samanta. All opinions are my own!*

Design: Even though I was not immediately impressed with Hana as it seemed a bit too mature to me, I decided I would give the unusual combination of rose pink and grey a go as it seemed like a nice option to add to one’s summer bradrobe. The grey is light enough to go under most shirts and even though the lace is a bit bulky it is still a subtle looking bra with a simplistic styling. Even though I am not a huge fan of simplistic florals, I did like the light rose pink daisies quite a bit.

The A111 cut is something I was intrigued to try as I had seen how it worked on Sweet Nothing’s and wished it would be a bit better fit for yours truly. I was pleasently surprised by the shape and cut of the A111 and now it is a firm part of my bra collection where it serves as a great everyday option. The cups feature three parts each, including a narrow side support panel to bring the bust slightly more forward from the sides. The cups give me a natural yet rounded look under shirts and they even look a bit optically minimizing just as the cut description promises. The materials are very light-weight making the bra perfect for hotter climates!

The Fit: The A111 cut fitted me surprisingly well considering how often these sorts of shapes start looking a bit droopy aka not uplifted enough. The A111 Hana offers me just the right amount of uplift for everyday use and I like how rounded it makes my boobs look. The sizing seems to be in line with my other styles from Samanta – I am wearing a perfectly fitting 65J in the pictures. I would say the depth of the cups is spot-on for me with A111, as the bottom part of the cups doesn’t fold at all and my breast tissues fills the cups completely.

I would say the A111 cut is a very good fit for gals like me with more full-on-top boobs as there is plenty of room on the top part of the cups, allowing the breast tissue to take its place without any bulging at all. This is a great feature as so many bras these days are targeted more for the full-on-bottom gals which is of course fair as they are the majority. However, it is nice to find a bra that fits well without any extra room at the apex and no cutting at the top! The band seems like a regular 65 or 30 band and it seems to stretch up to approximately 30,5″ (maybe 31″). The gore seems to float a bit away from my sternum but I prefer it this way as extremely tacking gores can be a bit painful on me.

Comfort: The A111 Hana has got a lot of wear ever since I received it as it is such a comfortable set when it comes to every aspect of it – the materials, seams, cuts and wires are so thought-through they pass the test with full points! I have sometimes had trouble with Samanta straps coming too far apart and the edge of the cup chafing my armpit but this style has none of those problems in sight. This however is no wonder; Hana is one of the oldest Samanta styles produced and has been perfected to the very last detail when it comes to fit and comfort. As you may have noticed, full-bust bras require years of work to get perfect and even then, there is always someone who dislikes the fit.

The straps of Hana are half-adjustable which is always something that needs to be taken into consideration when thinking about the comfort aspect of the bra. I had no trouble with the straps at all though and they are adjusted half-way, meaning shorter and taller gals than me can easily still wear the bra with comfort.

I was also sent B300 classic briefs as co-ordinates which I really liked as a matching bottom to the bra. Even though I am a big fan of the Samanta boxer cut when it comes to bottoms, these were equally comfortable but a bit more revealing as they almost resemble a brazilian cut brief. The B300 briefs are also a bit more low-cut than the boxers so if you like eg Cleo bottoms, these are definitely for you!

If you would like to get a Hana A111 of your own, the style is now on sale for 39,30€ for the bra and 18,30€ for the B300 briefs on the Samanta online store (US customers can order via email). As the style is already discounted, this month’s Sunday with Samanta will not have a separate discount code. Nevertheless, the style is very much worth the price and fairly affordable for such a great staple!