Panache & Chantelle sports bras -- are they actually the same?

I've been wearing the Panache sports bra for a while and find that it controls bounce better than anything else I've found for running...but the overall fit isn't ideal on me. It has a small bit of room at the front of the cup, but if I go down a cup size I squash out badly at the armpits...so I'm like a 32D+ in the Panache, if there were such a size. Depending upon the bra/manufacturer I am generally a 34D/32DD.

Chantelle makes a bra that looks virtually identical...so it has me wondering if it is the same bra, but Panache is a UK company and Chantelle is French. If it's not the same bra I'm tempted to try it for comparison.

Panache Sports Bra
Chantelle Sports Bra

Thanks for the link! I'm going to have to try those (I've tried neither and haven't heard of them). I can't stand ANY bounce and I'm a D cup too. So far I like Moving Comfort's Juno bra, but boy, its a workout just to get it on. I'm always on the lookout for a good running bra, and I like having recommendations first (because the really good ones are so darn expensive) so thank you!

Well if you go to corporate, they don't mention any kind of relationship between the companies. Honestly, the bras don't look that much alike to me - the Panache bra covers higher on the upper ribs; the Chantelle offers the option to wear the straps racerback or straight where the Panache doesn't. (If you look at different colors, the site actually has different photos that make some of the differences easier to see, though they're all the same model.)

Is there a chance you live near a store that might carry the Chantelle bra?

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Well if you go to corporate, they don't mention any kind of relationship between the companies. Honestly, the bras don't look that much alike to me - the Panache bra covers higher on the upper ribs; the Chantelle offers the option to wear the straps racerback or straight where the Panache doesn't. (If you look at different colors, the site actually has different photos that make some of the differences easier to see, though they're all the same model.)

Is there a chance you live near a store that might carry the Chantelle bra?

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Actually, the Panache also has the J-hook in back -- I always wear mine racerbacked. In some photos they don't look much alike, but in others they do. In black the only real difference appears to be the colored stitching on the Chantelle. It does look like it maybe comes up less high, but I wonder if that's more related to the teeny models wearing them. In this photo the Chantelle bra looks a lot taller-cupped:
http://usa.chantellegroup.netdna-cdn...G_SPORT-FT.jpg

And the Panache:
http://cdnd.lystit.com/photos/2013/1...arge_flex.jpeg

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Originally Posted by Aromig

Thanks for the link! I'm going to have to try those (I've tried neither and haven't heard of them). I can't stand ANY bounce and I'm a D cup too. So far I like Moving Comfort's Juno bra, but boy, its a workout just to get it on. I'm always on the lookout for a good running bra, and I like having recommendations first (because the really good ones are so darn expensive) so thank you!

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I LOATHED the Juno...I actually have never understood the popularity of any MC bra -- I have tried 4-5 and found none of them to be all that good at controlling bounce. The Juno was scratchy and literally rubbed me the wrong way. The Maia was the least underwhelming one I tried, but it was similar to the Champion one I loved, only more $$.

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Originally Posted by zoom-zoom

I LOATHED the Juno...I actually have never understood the popularity of any MC bra -- I have tried 4-5 and found none of them to be all that good at controlling bounce. The Juno was scratchy and literally rubbed me the wrong way. The Maia was the least underwhelming one I tried, but it was similar to the Champion one I loved, only more $$.

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That's why it drives me nuts when I have to order sports bras and can't find them in person to try them on -- its shocking how they're a totally case by case basis. I probably wear my Junos a bit tight (they're so squished in, nothing moves) which makes them hard to get one, but nothing moves. I've been lucky enough to never get chafing except when my heart rate monitor moved underneath the band in a funny way. I haven't liked any of the other MC bras, I agree they didn't stop bounce. My second favorite is an UnderArmor bra I found at an outlet mall that zips up the middle. It was like wearing a straight jacket, but nothing moved. I just haven't been able to find another one like it since.

I am excited to find new potential bras (my husband can't understand why I'd spend so much, but then again, he hasn't dealt with bouncing).

I have found that I prefer fully encapsulated sports bras. I have a Juno, and I wear it when my Freya Active sports bras need washing. I LOVE those bras, and they come in a HUGE range of sizes! I am a 32FF and that is hard to find, let me tell you! I've had them for several years now - they get used (and washed) a LOT - and they have been standing up to the abuse well. I do toss them into the washer, but air dry them on a hanger, as I do all my bras. Except the Juno. I keep hoping something will happen to it so I can no longer wear it but so far my evil plan has been unsuccessful.

Freya Active (Storm)

They aren't the same. Chantelle bra’s are made in Epernay in northern France. Panache's are made in Sheffield England and China. On a side note the Chantelle Group donates a portion of their profits to educating young girls in Africa and Asia.

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Originally Posted by rebeccaC

On a side note the Chantelle Group donates a portion of their profits to educating young girls in Africa and Asia.

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Oh, that is cool! And I really want to order one, but they appear to not yet be in stock at many places.

I now have both bras in a 34DD (normally wear a full coverage/full figure 34D/32DD) and am further convinced that they are the same bra...perhaps one company is making both and the other company is simply rebranding. They fit identically. Aside from some very minor cosmetic differences there really is no difference in fit and function...or price, unfortunately. I still don't quite fill the cups, but the cup size smaller had me squashing out under my arms. Boobs are dumb. Big boobs are extra stupid dumb.

Zoom Zoom, your ending comment made me laugh; not trying to be disrespectful! When I was younger, I hated being small, but now I realize that being large breasted has its own set of issues. With a good padded bra and the right advice from a fitter, I can look appropriately proportioned.
Many years ago, I was at some charity luncheon and the speaker was a plastic surgeon who did a lot of boob jobs. At the time, I was a very skinny and flat chested group exercise instructor. He was showing us a breast implant, which was being passed (really thrown) from table to table. Right when he was talking about all of the "aerobics instructors who are getting implants," someone threw the thing to me and about 75 women were laughing their azzes off. I did not think it was funny, but now I do!

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Originally Posted by Muirenn

I'm thinking about getting one. I usually wear a 34DD. Why did you size up? Should I?

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I'd probably try a 36DD...they run kinda snug around (and I like a snug bra) and the cup size seems to fall between sizes, too. Though if you don't have particularly wide/full boobs you might find thee 36D works.

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Originally Posted by Crankin

Zoom Zoom, your ending comment made me laugh; not trying to be disrespectful! When I was younger, I hated being small, but now I realize that being large breasted has its own set of issues. With a good padded bra and the right advice from a fitter, I can look appropriately proportioned.
Many years ago, I was at some charity luncheon and the speaker was a plastic surgeon who did a lot of boob jobs. At the time, I was a very skinny and flat chested group exercise instructor. He was showing us a breast implant, which was being passed (really thrown) from table to table. Right when he was talking about all of the "aerobics instructors who are getting implants," someone threw the thing to me and about 75 women were laughing their azzes off. I did not think it was funny, but now I do!

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Those things are heavy, aren't they?! My biggest frustration is that pre-reduction surgery I was a 34DDD, reduced to a 34D. Now I am a 32DD (because when I lose weight I don't lose at all from my boobs, just my ribcage. So much for that myth of breasts being primarily fatty tissue. Fatty tissue doesn't lactate). I would have loved to have been taken down to a C, but because the base of my boobs is so wide (each breast is well under my armpit and they meet in the middle without much space between), there was no way to do that without creating "pancake boobs." Even as a D I have a bit of that, hence my issues finding bras that are wide enough in the cup without having excess material at the front of the cup.