Bra Review: Empreinte Cassiopée, 30E (75E) & Medium brief

My god, it’s full of stars…

It’s no secret that I love pretty bras, but then there is that next-level lingerie that is beyond beautiful. Empreinte is one of the French brands that has been at the top of my wishlist for ages. Even when I was in France, I looked everywhere, but I didn’t get a chance to discover their lingerie in person. The Empreinte Cassiopée set looks stunning in the stock photos. Every time it scrolls past on my social media feeds, I get a little mesmerized by it. So when I was offered the opportunity to finally get to try a set provided by online retailer UK Lingerie, I jumped at the chance.

Appearance

Isn’t she breathtaking? I love how Empreinte’s designs embody a timeless, feminine aesthetic. The brand is also lovingly admired for its wonderful fit on fuller busts. I’ve been told before by women that they exclusively wear Empreinte and won’t even try another brand. I’ve long wondered what I’ve been missing out on!

I’ve tried many pretty bras, but few as intricately romantic as Empreinte Cassiopée. Even the celestial name lures me in. Yes, I want lingerie that looks like galaxy full of twinkling constellations!

Cassiopée is a full cup, unlined bra. The coverage full, but the cup itself is sheer and seamless like a molded bra. It’s edged with a satin-finish elastic. The floral embroidered details on the cup have a slight sheen to the thread that reflects the light in a very hypnotic way. The photos in this post were taken in different light conditions and you can see slight variations in the appearance. I chose the Summer Blue colorway which is absolutely divine. I can’t get enough of blue lingerie.

The wings are microfiber with a smooth finish and the straps are reinforced and semi-stretchy. They are also very long and fully adjustable. Embroidered details continue onto the straps. The cradle, underwire channels and band also have a double layer of embroidered material which adds depth to the design as well as elaborate edging with diamond shapes and cutouts.

The gore charm, which also adorns the matching briefs in the set, is one of my favorite additions. The silver tone and whimsical swirls add another fun accent to an already ethereal design.

The bra has a celestial name, but up close the embroidery is a unique floral with a filigree feel to it. Because of the sheer cups, this embroidery really stands out against the skin. You can’t help but feel incredibly elegant when wearing it.

The briefs perfectly match the bra in terms of attention to detail. The front matches the embroidery on the cups; the sides match the cradle of the bra; and the sheer back matches the blue microfiber wings. There is something very satisfying about the perfect coordination of this set.

The item description from UK Lingerie’s website says that Cassiopée’s design

takes much of its inspiration from Versailles and other ornate palaces and castles that can be found in Europe’s own capital, and Empreinte have brought this aesthetic into the modern world with their stunning patterns and flourishing motifs. This is a regal pattern designed for the modern woman.

I can see this inspiration in the layers of textures that make up this set. The “architecture” of the design is at once delicately subtle, yet precise. Empreinte knows how to purposefully accentuate the body in a sophisticated way. I very much appreciate symmetry and patterns that are thoughtful and consistent. Stunning!

Size & Fit

This is a little tricky to explain because Empreinte does its own thing in terms of size. UK Lingerie lists the UK size conversion on their site, which does simply things a bit, because your usual “French” size will also need converting to make sense for Empreinte. For instance, a 30E tag size for the UK is a 75E tag size for Empreinte, but a French 30-band is usually an 80 and not all brands use DD.

Hang tag explaining the design features of the bra is a thoughtful touch.

Empreinte, like some other French brands, is known to run deep in the cups. Since these days I’m generally a 28F in unlined bras and even a 28E in deeper cups (though none of my 28E’s that I sized down in because they were too deep ended up being a good fit… but that’s for another post), technically a 75E risks being too big in the band and potentially in the cup. I knew that when I ordered, but I had scoured the web for some fit information and remained hopeful.

When I first put the bra on, the band felt comfortable on the middle hooks. That’s not bad considering I have about a 26-7″ underbust. The cups felt a little too big and unsupportive when I first put it on. However, I simply had some adjusting to do. As mentioned above, Cassiopée is a full cup bra. Normally I try to avoid these because I’m short and full cups risk taking up the majority of my upper body. Cassiopée does indeed have quite tall cups, and it also has extremely long straps. After adjusting them nearly all the way, I found that the cups were fitting and supporting much better.

Properly adjusted, the cups are a near perfect volume for my larger side, with a little bit of gaping at the top due to the cup height and my shallowness up top. If I could lower the strap attachment about an inch, it would be perfect.

The cups also have an elasticated edging around the top which makes them close in and contour to the body. I’m an even to full-on-bottom shape with shallow roots up top, so this perfectly contouring shape is literally they only way that I could wear such a full cup. The bra would still handle more upper fullness from me despite the cup edge being tapered by the elastic. For that reason I can see this bra working for a variety of shapes, with only the tallest roots with the most upper fullness being affected by the elastic edge, which itself is quite giving.

The wires on the bra are very narrow in a deep U shape. Because of the full cup, that makes them quite tall. They could be closer set in the middle (you can see there is a gap between them), but because they are narrow in general, it is not a big problem for me. The side stays clear of my armpit.

Once adjusted, I find that moving the bra to the last set of hooks improves the fit even more. With the straps and band more secure, I can see the shape that the bra gives is a subtly lifted, natural one. Because of my soft, pendulous breasts, my shape in this bra is slightly minimized, but natural and rounded. The narrow cups make for a centered shape while the side profile is soft and tear-shaped. The seamless cups give a beautiful smoothness and the embroidery is invisible under a shirt.

I love that this is the first full set I’m reviewing on this blog. It’s one of those sets that I’m actually not that bothered about how it looks under clothes (although it’s seamless and effortless), because it’s much more fun to admire in the mirror.

The fit of the briefs in a size M is excellent. With my hourglass shape, I like a mid-rise brief. I don’t always want a high waist and too low a cut tends to be uncomfortable. This brief falls just where I like it. The cut is just full enough to give me coverage and support while remaining comfortable and not bulky. I have a little bit of room at the back of the brief, but not enough that I’d be bothered to size down. I think it’s again because I’m petite and it’s something I get with a lot of bottoms. The briefs are also incredibly lightweight and it hardly feels like I’m wearing anything. I can’t express enough how much I love them. It was the briefs that sealed the deal on this set for me even though I debated on the bra because the cups are technically too tall for me.

Comfort

There are some aspects of this bra that should not work for me “on paper”. Namely, the height of the cups, wires, and gore. Yet when the bra goes on my body, some strange magic makes it conform to my shape and then suddenly it feels comfortable. It even accommodates my flared rib cage well. I think the very narrow wires are a strong contributing factor. On top of that, all of the materials feel smooth and luxurious on the body. Everything lies flat as it should.

Quality

In my opinion, the quality of this Empreinte set justifies the price. Every thread has been expertly placed and every detail adds to the overall aesthetic. I have no quibbles at all.

Final Thoughts

As I have journeyed into the world of beautiful and well-fitting lingerie, I have fallen in love with how the appearance and feeling of a beautiful set can have such an amazing impact on the wearer. The comfort and beauty of this set combined make it a winner.

As soon as it arrived, I was back on the UK Lingerie website seeing what else they had. There are so many brands that I would love to try. If you can wear a 32 band and up, you have much more to choose from. I’m hoping for more 28- and 30-band options in the future. 🙂

Cassiopée comes in three colorways (summer blue, rose sauvage, or black) and has three coordinating bottoms: the brief shown above, a shorty, or a thong.