This is something that has puzzled me ever since I got involved in the bra blogging community. People say that Freya has narrow underwires, and that Fantasie has wide ones (some people say Fantasie is moderate.) I have never, ever found this to be the case. The Freya bras I have tried have all had wide underwires, much wider than the Fantasie bras I love.
With regard to Fantasie, some styles have wider wires than others, and I do think the wires get really wide when you get up to an H cup and above. I think that Freya, in spite of the idea that they have narrow wires, is really all over the map. A quick scroll through the Bratabase shows that Freya bras of the same size, but different styles, can have widely varying width of wire.
So, I don’t think it is really accurate to say that Freya is a narrow wire brand. It is a brand that makes lots of bras, some narrow and some wide.
Rock The Curves 
Yes, I do.
I usually wear 32E-F, I bought Arabella in 32E and it’s ok, maybe I could go one cup size up, but the wires are too narrow. I tried different sizes and I found out that 30FF fits better, even though cups are a bit too big, but the wires are perfect. I tried on a Lyla bra in 32E, and it seemed to be exactly like Arabella.
I also have several Retro plunge bras by Freya and they are ok, but because of their deep plunge cut they have completely different wires and they are never too narrow for me.
I’ve heard that Arabella is narrow; that might be one reason it is so popular. Bras like Millie and Antoinette are about half an inch wider than Arabella though.
I think Freya does make some bras with narrow wires, I just don’t think that they are universally narrow. They have a lot of different styles.
I really do think Freya has narrow wires. I know some sizes are not as narrow as they maybe should be though. But I can pretty much rely on Freya wires not being a problem in my best fitting size 28HH (although perhaps the wires fit better in one cup size smaller), But I have not found this to be the case with any other brand I have so far tried, I always have too wide wires in everything else (I do not know about Fantasie as they do not make my size). Ewa Mcihalak is okay in their PL and CH styles in a cup size that is slightly too small (I’m between sizes), but the slightly too big size is not okay at all, the wire width is a major problem there, and just destroys the bra for me. Maybe it’s not only the width, perhaps the shape of the wire in other ways can matter too? Certainly the length of the wires can mean some bras are not able to sit as high on everyone as they should, so that’s one example.
I guess I’m the only one, then. I wear many Freyas & definitely don’t find them especially narrow. In fact, my Fantasies are far more narrow than my Freyas.
I think Pollyanna, Faye, & Jolie all have medium width wires, while Antoinette is noticeably narrower. Part of the reason Freya doensn’t feel narrow may be the lower height of the wires, & the way they slant back a bit under the arm. Antoinette’s higher wires cause a bit more digging for me. What I’d love to find is a bra with the depth & shorter wires of Freyas cups but the rounded shape of Panache?
Alicia, have you tried Ewa Michalak bras? They are exactly what you describe – deep cups, short wires under the arm, and a beautifully supported and rounded shape.
I haven’t yet, Anna – though I do drool over them & read all of CurvyWordy’s reviews. I’m in Alaska, so their rigid return policy would make it tough to try several sizes. How would you say they compare to Freya in terms of sizing? I’ve heard Ewa bands are much tighter, whereas in Freya & CK I have to go down a band size as they are so loose.
Yes, in my experience Ewa bands are about a band size tighter than the UK brands like Freya and Curvy Kate. I wear a 34 band in Freya, but a 36 band in Ewa. But I have heard that the band firmness isn’t as apparent in the smaller band sizes, so it depends on where you are in the size range. I would start by buying your regular band size and then use an extender for the first few months if it’s too tight a fit. That’s what I did!
As for cup size, I mostly buy Ewa’s plunge bras, as that style is made in larger sizes and really fits my bust well. Almost everyone online agrees to go up a cup size in the plunge bras, and I do as well. I can’t speak for the other styles, like the strapless and half-cup bras, but I think are truer to size, cup-wise!
Just a note, I have tried EM’s padded half-cups and I found them to run BIG in the band. Bigger than UK bands of the same size. I also have a non-padded half-cup and it runs small in the band and cup.
EM’s rep told me that the plunge bras run tight in the band, so maybe the plunges and unpadded half-cups run tight and the padded halfcups run large? I hate the inconsistency over there!
I agree that they vary in width, at least compared to Curvy Kate, Panache, or Cleo. What does set Freya apart is the relative depth of the cups, and the width of the gore. Freya is consistently both deeper in the cup and narrower in the gore than the other FF+ bras I’ve tried on.
I think Fantasie is also narrow in the gore and deep in the cups- thank goodness! I need narrow, deep cups, so most bras that fit me are from Fantasie, with a few Cleo and Panache cups working.
I’ve never tried Curvy Kate but because I’ve heard so much about the width of the cups, I am not really looking for them anyway.
I have a Freya Pollyana and one of the reason it doesn’t work for me is that the center gore is wider than most of my Panache bras and MUCH wider than my Bravissimo bras.
Haven’t tried Fantasie since they don’t make a 28 band but I will have to say that overall yes Freya’s underwires are narrower than Curvy Kate’s and Panache’s; by about .5″ to be exact. The only Freya bra I’ve found that isn’t is the Active Underwire Sports Bra.
Panache’s gores are the widest; Curvy Kate’s gores are the most narrow with Freya being right inbetween.
I agree that Freya has the most projection. Panache has the shallowest cups and Curvy Kate lies somewhere inbetween.
These are all my experiences with a 28DD so this may change in the larger cup sizes.
Definitely more narrow than Panache Superbra, I don’t know about CK. Freya bras like Millie, Antoinette, and the cuts based on Antoinette are very wide. Compared to Cleo, Fantasie, and Masquerade, I think Freya is wide. So I would say that Freya varies.
In terms of projection, I don’t think any bra is going to give you much projection in a 28DD.
Oh my yes even with my small size I can still tell the difference in projection. Panache = flattened/pancake shape with the point of my boob sitting below the nipple! It’s the most horrid shape I’ve ever seen! Sizing up in the cup doesn’t help either. By the time I get the cup to fit right the underwires are in my armpit and very uncomfortable! This is why I haven’t tried any Cleo or Masquerade bras. Since they are made by Panache I was afraid of getting the same horrid effect. Usually any bra that gives a more rounded shape is a no go for me.
With Freya I don’t have/haven’t tried the Millie or Antoinette so perhaps this is why my experiences run the way they do. My experience with Freya comes with a 28DD in Arabella, Lyla, Crystal, Cindy, Jolie, Active Underwire and Deco Strapless.
I wish Fantasie made a 28 band; I’d try them immediately if I knew I had a hope of them fitting right but a 30 band is simply too big.
Cleo is usually more narrow than Panache Superbra, you might get good luck with them.
In large cup sizes, Panache Superbra bras are so totally different from the smaller sizes: they are like a different bra altogether really. The only one I like is the Andorra: it is narrow and tall.
Awhile back a Fantasie rep commented here, I think letting them know we want smaller bands might help! She was very positive and responsive to the request.
I think your comment about Panache Superbra being so different between smaller and larger cup sizes is spot on, and applies to the other brands as well. I have found Freya’s HH and J cups to have ridiculously wide wires. Freya (and other brands) have not been very successful in figuring out a design for larger cups that will add volume through cup depth rather than through wider wires. In fact, I find little different between Freya’s H, HH, and J bras – they fit very similarly, with the only different being increased empty space in the cups under my arms. In my experience, Cleo is one of the best for larger cups – narrow wires, deep cups, and excellent forward projection.
I have had a lot of success with Fantasie’s side support models. In fact they are the bras I wear most! The wires stay narrow in most styles, and are very strong- I like a stiffer wire so it doesn’t stretch out and become wide when the band is tight.
With their “balcony” models, though, Fantasie’s wires get really wide above GG cup. So I can’t recommend those.
Cleo is hit or miss for me- some of their bras have shallow cups and some do not, so I can’t just assume one will fit. I love the Sasha/Alexa line though and I hope they will bring out more in that style. I have a Sasha and am still trying to find an Alexa that I can afford. I just wish Cleo would have a wider band in larger cups, I hate the two-hook bands.
Hi. How are Panache Superbra different in larger sizes? I have Andorra 32H and it’s too small on the sides and in the wire and the band is too loose.
I wouldn’t call it narrow and I would say the wires stretches a little while wearing it.
In larger cup sizes in Curvy Kate I have read that the wires stretches. Does the same thing apply to Panache?
I find that the larger the cup size, the wider and more shallow Panache Superbra bras get. They also become less lifty, in my opinion: for example, a Tango in a D cup is a nice bra with good lift, but a Tango in a G cup puts the boobs low and pushes them out to the side. You can see examples of this in my archives, where I reviewed the Panache Tango II and the Panache Eliza.
All underwires will stretch while you are wearing the bra. Some are more stiff than others. I find the Andorra to be more stiff than many other bras I have tried, such as say Empreinte or Primadonna.
I find the Panache Andorra to be narrower than other Superbra offerings. It sounds as though yours is too big: if the band is loose, it can’t stretch the wires to give you a good, stable fit. The wires do need to stretch a bit, it is all part of the right fit. You should definitely go down to a 30 band, but maybe stay with the H cup, because in Andorra there are no real sister sizes. (The 32H, for example, has a smaller cup than the 34GG.) If the 30H is too small in the cup, then go to the 30HH, etc.
Different Panache bras are really different. The only Superbra that fits me is Andorra, so I can’t attest to the wires in others. I did have an Eliza and a Tango briefly and their wires seemed very strong though.