Hello Everyone,

Last year, Parfait stunned the fuller-bust market by announcing they would be expanding their traditional D-G line to incorporate up to a UK K cup.  Ultimately, the expansion applied to three styles:  the Charlotte Padded Cup Bra, the Sophia Wire Bra, and the Alexis Babydoll.  At the time, I did not own a padded cup bra due to my cup size, so I snagged a Charlotte in Dusty Rose.  The fit was not fantastic for me, and over time, the bra welted the skin where the side of cup hit the crease of my arm.  As a result, I was skeptical about trying anything else; however, my desire for a pure white bra overrode my instinct, leading me to gamble on Sophia.

Sizing and Fit:  With Charlotte, the size 30J was the best fit even though I had overflow toward the center, and I opted to try this size in Sophia.  The band felt heavenly and worked perfectly on the loosest set of hooks, but the cup did have overflow near the center gore.  Ordinarily, I wear around a 30HH, and I recommend sizing up at least one cup size in Sophia.  In my opinion, the chief drawback of the HH+ cup sizes in the Parfait expansion is the use of a uniformly shallow cup shape.  With Sophia, my close set breasts splay to the side by the shallow center cup while also sitting above the underwire at the bottom.  When I first purchased Charlotte, the shallowness issues were manageable because the underwires were narrow and the cup shape open; nevertheless, Sophia abandons the narrowness in favor of underwires which extend far onto the side and fuller-coverage cups at the front.  The center gore hits high on my sternum, and I have about three fingers worth of space between the underwire and my breast tissue on the side.  The cup is also tall on the side as well, enclosing nearly all of my underarm.  For a petite or short-waisted woman, this bra would be murder.

Having brutally critiqued the fit, I do want to note the bra lifts and supports well, and even with the fit issues, the bra is refreshingly lightweight and comfortable.  Utilizing wider wings, the Sophia anchors to the side and provides added support for the fuller-bust.  It completely relieves any stress on my back and feels like my breasts are self-supporting.  My biggest concern is height of the cup on the side since it sits in nearly the same spot as Charlotte.  I’m also not crazy about the side profile either.  The stiffer top cup is creating a downward pointed shape—a profile which often occurs when the cup darts inward and forces breast tissue to relocate.  In my case, breast tissue overflows the top of the cup but is also forced downward in a less flattering shape.  In fact, Sophia reminds me a lot of the Panache Rumeur, which also sported a wide, shallow, and tall design.  This just does not work for me or other fuller-busted women needing more cup depth. 

Materials and Design:  Considering Sophia retails for around $49, I was not expecting such high quality materials, but I was pleasantly surprised.  The lace cup, in particular, feels sturdy but soft and breathable, and the fabric on the wings supports breast tissue comfortable.  Parfait also utilized a thicker fully-adjustable strap (yay!) to disperse weight better on the shoulders, and the band features four hook-and-eye closures and wide wings, again to aid in weight dispersion.  I admire this design decision and think it demonstrates how much Parfait wants to create a great product.

To their credit, Parfait only recently attempted to work with a heavier, fuller-bust—and there are some smart decisions here—but the main issue is the shape of the cup and underwire.  They need to think narrower and shorter, especially in these higher cup sizes.  Digressing from fit and materials, I want to comment on the overall aesthetic of the bra.  First, I love the use of a pure, bright white.  The lace channels a French vintage vibe, creating a lovely but practical basic set.  The sheerness was a bold choice for a freshmen effort and pans out perfectly.  As I mentioned on my recent Colette review, tastefully sheer bras in higher cup sizes are hard to find because manufacturers tend to use industrial grade fabrics for added support, but Sophia performs well with a thinner material.  If only the cup and underwire shape were different!

Overall Grade:  C+/B

For more information, check out the video below.: