When Darlene asked me to participate in the sports bra try-on-athon I was thrilled. I’m always hoping to find a sports bra that will be supportive, not feel too restrictive, and fit my petite size–I’m 5’0″. I was gifted the unwired version of the Panache Sports Bra in a 30G. All opinions are my own. Clicking the Amazon affiliate link in this paragraph may result in commissions paid to Hourglassy.
I have a confession to make. I hate to run. I don’t mind bouncing up and down a bit as long as I’m wearing a decent sports bra, but full on running is not for me. That “decent sports bra” I’ve been wearing for years has been the Panache wired sports bra. I’m very happy with it, though anytime I’ve tried to run in it, I’m still not totally pain free unless I hold my boobs–something I don’t exactly feel comfortable doing in public!
When Panache came out with an unwired version, I was curious to try it. Not because I thought I’d like to take up running, but because the molded cups sans wires looked intriguing. They held the promise of comfort and support without wires. I imagined it would somehow feel more free and light on than a wired sports bra and still offer separation, a feature not found in other wireless bras. So, when I heard I would be gifted one I was excited to try it.
I have another confession to make. I’ve been very lazy lately. There was a month or more there where I did not work out at all, let alone do any bouncing or running. I broke my workout fast to try out this bra. As of this writing I have worked out in my new wireless Panache sports bra 4 times. I have figured out that in order to get full support I need to adjust the straps to their shortest and use the j-hook, thus making it a racer back bra. This makes my breasts sit very high up, but when I tried to lower the straps, the bra band slipped below my rib cage — one of the hazards of being busty and five foot zero. If I release the j-hook, I notice the bottom of the cups collapse a bit. The cups may be a bit small. If I were at a store I would definitely try going up a cup size, though that may make the bra too tall for me.
The first time I worked out in this bra was at home with a DVD. That workout involved some bouncing and I was comfortable and pain free. The other workouts were at the Y. After some time on the elliptical, I decided to brave the treadmill. Yes. I confess, I ran. I felt almost comfortable. It was OK. I wasn’t in pain but after a reaching a full jog I still wanted to hold my breasts.
As for other activities I do think this bra feels lighter and less restricting than the wired one. The anticipated separation without wires lives up to its promise. I will be very happy to wear this bra for my, hopefully more frequent, workouts. As for running . . . I think you know the answer!
Note: I’m using my fingers to show where my ribcage is in these photos.
