Lingerie Favorites: Charlotte Padded Bra, Bikini, and Highwaist Brief
Looking for a lingerie review or more information on a product before purchasing? You’ve come to the right place.
In this series, we’re sharing our favorite styles (and a few reasons why you’re sure to love them too.)
Charlotte Padded Bra
Construction
Charlotte Padded Bra | Charlotte Highwaist Brief in Woodrose
The Charlotte Padded Bra is a contour bra with an iconic, vintage-inspired design. Though this style looks like a molded bra from the outside, it’s actually designed with three-part cups with light foam padding for opacity and shaping. The side support, or side sling, functions to lift and center breast tissue for a more projected and rounded shape. The low cut design of the demi cups works for a multitude of necklines and further adds to the versatility of this style.
The leotard back helps to keep the wide set straps from falling off the shoulders. The power mesh-lined band provides a firm and snug fit for maximum support. The curved seams on the cups are a beautiful and eye-catching design detail.
Charlotte Padded Bra | Charlotte Bikini in Nude
Fit
Charlotte Padded Bra | Charlotte Highwaist Brief in Dusty Rose
The Charlotte Padded Bra is a supportive contour bra available in B to K cup sizes. It’s also one of our most popular bra styles and it has been around for a long time.
Coming from a bra fitter’s perspective, getting a great fit in the Charlotte Padded Bra really comes down to knowing your breast shape, whether your breast tissue is shallow or projected or somewhere in between, your breast root shape, the wire that works best for your shape, and, lastly, what a well-fitting bra looks like on. Like any bra style, this style may not work for everyone.
However, it is worth trying on if you are full-busted, or if you have shallow on top and full on bottom (FOB) breasts, or asymmetrical breasts. The padding helps to even out asymmetrical breasts to make them more symmetrical and the demi cup shape works to lift FOB breast tissue to balance the shallowness on top.
A few fit notes: The power mesh band provides a snug fit akin to shapewear, so depending on your body shape and fit preferences, your bra sister size may provide a better fit (one band size larger and one cup size smaller). We recommend starting with your regular bra size as a guide and adjusting the sizing from there.
Remember: Your sister size will not fit exactly the same as your regular bra size. Your bra sister size closely matches the cup volume of your regular bra size, but the placement of the wire will be slightly different due to the way that bras are graded.
We recommend visiting your local lingerie store to try it on in person to make sure you get the best fit. If you’re trying your bras on at home, do so in front of a mirror so you can see the fit and keep our bra fitting guide as a reference if you’re having trouble determining if the bras are a good fit or not.
Charlotte Padded Bra | Charlotte Highwaist Brief in Floral Shimmer
Related: How To Find The Right Bra For Your Breast Shape
How to style the Charlotte Padded Bra
Charlotte Padded Bra | Charlotte Highwaist Brief in Red/Black
The Charlotte Padded Bra bra works well under slouchy sweaters and loose-fitting tops and dresses. Paired with the matching Bikini or Highwaist Brief, it creates a truly special and beautiful lingerie set that can be worn on a date night, while running errands, to work, or while lounging at robe with a pretty robe on and a glass of wine in hand.
Please keep in mind that the vertical seams may show through fitted or snug tops, t-shirts, and dresses. If you’re looking for a seamless t-shirt bra to wear under fitted clothing, the Emma Plunge Molded Bra, Jeanie T-Shirt Bra, and Lynn T-Shirt Bra are exactly what you’d need.
The Charlotte Padded Bra is available in Bronze, Red/Black, Nude, Black, Woodrose, Dusty Rose, Floral Shimmer, and Blossom Print.
Charlotte Padded Bra | Charlotte Highwaist Brief in Black
Charlotte Bikini
Charlotte Padded Bra | Charlotte Bikini in Blossom Print
The Charlotte Bikini is a bikini cut panty with a curve-hugging fit. The elastic at the waist and leg openings stretches comfortably without feeling restricting or digging into skin. The big satin bow at center front pulls the look together and matches the luxe design detail on the Charlotte Padded Bra.
The Floral Shimmer, Black, and Blossom Print are constructed in satin. The Red/Black, Bronze, Woodrose, Dusty Rose, and Nude are constructed with matte and satin panels.
Charlotte Padded Bra | Charlotte Bikini in Blossom Print
Charlotte Highwaist Brief
Charlotte Padded Bra | Charlotte Highwaist Brief in Blossom Print
The Charlotte Highwaist Brief is a high waisted panty with a full coverage brief cut. The full coverage fit and curved seams visually shape the butt and contour hips. The vintage-inspired design echoes the beauty of the Charlotte Padded Bra.
For the majority of the colorways, the fabric has a matte and satin contrast with vertical seams that flatter and highlight curves. The exceptions: Black, Floral Shimmer and Blossom Print are constructed in all-over satin.
Charlotte Padded Bra | Charlotte Highwaist Brief in Blossom Print
Care
Proper care is crucial if you want your lingerie to last. We recommend washing bras and panties in cold water and avoiding the dryer at all costs. Hand washing lingerie is the gentlest option (as it involves the least amount of agitation), but machine washing on the delicate cycle is also an option if you don’t have time to hand wash. If you do machine wash your bras, be sure to hook them first, separate the colors (bright colors may bleed onto your light-colored bras), and sort them into mesh lingerie bags. Panties should also be sorted by color and placed in separate bags so the bra hooks don’t snag delicate underwear.
To wash, use a gentle detergent or laundry soap designed for lingerie and wash them on a delicates cycle in cold water. Once they’re washed, either hang dry them (drape the center front of the bra over the hanger – don’t hang a wet bra by its straps) or lay them flat to dry (away from sunlight which can cause the colors to fade over time) with the cups facing up.
Lastly, be extra careful when storing your bras. For molded bras, line them up in a drawer with the cups facing up – one bra in front of the other. Unlined bras, bralettes, and non-molded sports bras can be folded in half and stacked on top of each other to save space. Panties can be folded and sorted by color or style in a lingerie drawer.
One last thing…
Education is a big part of my job as a bra fitter. I feel fortunate to be partnering with Parfait on creating lingerie-related content with the goal of helping readers make educated and empowered shopping decisions. There is so much to bra fitting that we can’t cover in a single blog post, so the goal since the very beginning of the blog has been to tackle it one article at a time.
If you have any questions about any of these products or if you would like us to do a review on one we haven’t done yet, let us know in the comments below.
Related: Bra Shopping Guide: Tips For Buying New Bras
Charlotte Padded Bra | Charlotte Bikini in Bronze
We Highly Recommend
Whether you’re shopping for new everyday bras or lingerie for a special occasion, it’s always a good idea to seek out a second opinion. We know how hard it is to find bras that fit well and feel good, especially when you’re doing it on your own. If you’ve ever felt unsure about your bra size or you just don’t know where to go to find good bras, it’s time to let a bra fitter help.
Many specialty lingerie boutiques offer bra fittings. Their expert bra fitters will take the pain and frustration out of bra shopping and do all the work for you. Even better, their product knowledge can save you time and money. Plus, they know where all of the best bras are hiding.
If you’ve struggled with finding bras in the right size, it’s time to make a change. Visit our specialty store locator to find a store near you and schedule an appointment.
Happy bra shopping!
