Where do porn stars buy their underwear?

November 27, 2005 3:13 AM

I know there's been a few questions about bras, but... Where do porn stars get their bras from? Usually, they have large breasts, and obviously, they need pretty bras, so is there a specialist underwear company for porn stars? Do they just know where to go? And can non-porn stars get these as well?
posted by Katemonkey to clothing, beauty, & fashion (26 comments total)

I had a friend who had to order special made bras from Sweden that would fit (she was triple D or something unusually large). They cost about $60/each.

Some Googling shows there are a few resources out there.
(Of course, these are probably NSFW)
posted by spiderskull at 3:23 AM on November 27, 2005

The Bra Specialist (NSFW) (formerly Sheer Fantasy Lingerie) is recommended by Chelsea Charms (NSFW), who probably has the largest, er, 'charms' in the business.
posted by chrismear at 3:54 AM on November 27, 2005

Millions of non-porn-star-or-stripper women have implants and solve this problem, and millions of women have quite large natural breasts in need of support.

I certainly see my fair share of porn, and plenty of porn stars these days are all natural, and the unusually large and/or augmented are rarely so large- whether augmented or not- that bras in their size are unavailable on some retail store shelves. For the extremely large breasted women, possibly shopping from the specialty stores mentioned already is necessary, but that's no different than for large non-sex-industry women who sport a pair of 32F or G cup breasts.

Chelsea Charms- besides being, well, freakish and pretty disgusting at least in my opinion- is an absolute outlier. That's not really "porn star" in the traditional sense that Katemonkey probably meant. There's a whole genre of breast lovers, and an even smaller group that fetishize breast to the point of absurdity- hence, Chelsea Charms. Give me the all natural and lovely Nadine Jansen or Ewa Sonnet any day! :)
posted by hincandenza at 5:05 AM on November 27, 2005

Porn stars strike me as Fredrick's of Hollywood and not La Perla.
posted by raaka at 5:12 AM on November 27, 2005

There is a company in the UK called Bravissimo - who specialise in lingerie for bigger women.
posted by mattr at 5:36 AM on November 27, 2005

I don't know about porn stars, as I never seem to notice what they wear, honestly. But I remember a friend in the UK telling me about Agent Provocateur (NSFW) if one is looking for sexy undergarments. I think they have brick and mortar stores in the UK, but it looks like one can order online as well.
posted by terrapin at 5:37 AM on November 27, 2005

I just remembered (ok, I checked) that KateMonkey is in the UK.
posted by terrapin at 5:39 AM on November 27, 2005

But most large bras also have large chest sizes - what about thin well-endowed women? I have a friend who finds it very hard to find good bras. Where can you buy a 32 or 34 DD?
posted by jb at 6:01 AM on November 27, 2005

Oh, I see Bravissimo does - but unfortunately on the wrong continent for her.
posted by jb at 6:03 AM on November 27, 2005

Bravissimo does ship overseas.
posted by Gator at 7:55 AM on November 27, 2005

the bra itself was invented at Cadolle, in Paris -- you can still go there, it's in rue Cambon, right besides the louvre. The first-floor boutique sells ready-to-wear, awesome bras and bustiers. But you might want to check out the upper floor: upstairs, M.me Cadolle offers a made-to-measure service that sounds perfectly right for you. The variety of design and the quality of the handmade lingerie is simply incredible (a single bra can take more than 30 hours work to sew). This will, of course, cost you a lot of money. But I think it's highly likely that you'll never be able to get a better made-to-measure, sexy bra. Not to mention, you'll be able to put all those crude San Fernando Valley porn girls* to shame.

* I second those here who say that the porn stars are getting their lingerie from Fredericks. the aforementioned La Perla doesn't work if you're a particularly curvy woman. same for the otherwise amazing Kristina Ti
posted by matteo at 8:46 AM on November 27, 2005

There are a few companies that make bigger bras for women who aren't otherwise big. Undercover Experience (badly designed site, but nice underwear) in the UK carries several and last time I ordered from them shipping to the US was free. Before I found them online, specialty bra stores that jacked the prices up another $40 were the only place I could find those sizes. In my experience retail stores do not carry bras for women who are well endowed but not overweight. My personal solution was to go for a fitting at a specialty store, pay the $100 for the bra (I looked at the insane price as payment for getting a good fitting, which was one of the best things I've ever done), and then looked up the brand online when I got home for future purchases, which led me to Undercover Experience, who I've used for the last few years with no complaints.
posted by jheiz at 9:24 AM on November 27, 2005

Poupie Cadolle is a French couturier who owns and runs Alice Cadolle, one of the finest lingerie shops in Paris -- custom-made lingerie, no less. Poupie Cadolle is royalty in the world of lingerie. Her great-great-grandmother Herminie Cadolle invented the brassiere in 1889, and her mother, Alice, who ran Cadolle before her, was famous for both her custom-made and ready-to-wear lines. An international coterie of rich women travels regularly to Cadolle's atelier in Paris, happy to attend three fittings over a six-week period in order to acquire their underwear. And they are right to do it. I know, because I have just bought my first custom-made bra from Cadolle.

posted by matteo at 9:53 AM on November 27, 2005

Agent Provocateur (posted above) is my favorite lingerie shop (stores in LA & New York), but they only go up to British E cup sizes, which is the equivalent of US DD. The width only goes up to 36, I believe.
posted by booknerd at 10:07 AM on November 27, 2005

Yellow pages: bras. I think most cities have bra specialty stores. I suspect (I'm a guy) that these primarily cater to post-mastectomy clients, but wouldn't be surprised if they had products or even custom-tailoring for big breasts, too.
posted by neuron at 10:22 AM on November 27, 2005

If you're in the UK, the only place to go for proper bra fitting is Rigby and Peller in London. Every woman I've ever spoken to on the subject has had nothing but praise for their fitters and assistants. Expensive, but you get what you pay for. And (my knowledgeable girlfriend informs me) they stock bras up to a size H.

Other than that, another shout-out for Bravissimo from this sofa.
posted by Hogshead at 11:05 AM on November 27, 2005

It is really hard to buy a bra without putting it on. Both Nordstrom and JC Penney have in-store bra fitting specialists. Did you know that 4 out of 5 women are wearing the wrong size bra? These specialists must surely know where to get larger-than-average bras and other specialty bras locally. I can't imagine a specialty bra shoppe not having professional bra fitters.
posted by ilsa at 11:11 AM on November 27, 2005

The tough part is, when you're buying a larger size bra you need wide straps to avoid back pain. I have a small band size and huge cup size. I wanted the bras to be pretty rather than practical, and as a result ended up with terrible back pain. So, when I want to feel pretty or if somebody's going to see it, I have a pretty bra to wear but know I'll pay for it later. Otherwise, I wear my "functional" bra. I suspect porn stars do the same - I hear they're people too.
(After talking to many people in the same boat, I suspect a good majority of those who are wearing the wrong size and are over a DD have just refused to go any higher since "only porn stars wear 36G")
posted by Iamtherealme at 11:43 AM on November 27, 2005

I'm a 32DD and I shop at Nordstroms which carries about 3 or 4 brands in that size, or I buy Feria which has a large selection. When I'm in London I go to Bravissimo which is great or M&S which has a huge bra selection.

Another good place to look is at stripper/ fetish stores, they usually carry regular lingerie too and in larger cup sizes.

porn stars these days are all natural, and the unusually large and/or augmented are rarely so large- whether augmented or not- that bras in their size are unavailable on some retail store shelves. For the extremely large breasted women, possibly shopping from the specialty stores mentioned already is necessary, but that's no different than for large non-sex-industry women who sport a pair of 32F or G cup breasts.

I'm gonna assume you're a man because, trust me, it is NOT easy to find larger bras in regular retail stores and no-one I know has natural 32G breasts!
posted by fshgrl at 12:47 PM on November 27, 2005

Oops, I meant Felina, not Feria.
posted by fshgrl at 4:22 PM on November 27, 2005

Sorry fshgrl, I worded that poorly. Being a guy, I was addressing the "porn star" part of the question more than the "where do you buy bras for large breasted women" part. I meant to say:

• A lot of "porn stars" these days are more "young & skinny coed look" than "90's era huge breasted silicone" types, and thus those porn stars have no more trouble shopping for bras than any other women.
• Plenty of the larger, or augmented porn stars, are 32DD or 34DD-ish like yourself, and thus able to shop at the Nordstrom's et al that carry wider ranges, and have professional measurings available.
• There are women even larger than that, either through cosmetic surgery, or through genes alone. All natural 32G and larger breasts do exist, and aren't so rare as to be unheard of- I think Danni Ashe is one example of someone who is exactly 32G using professional measuring. Other women are similar sizes, but refuse to wear the proper bra size.
• For those women, you need specialty shops that cater to the niche market, like Bravissimo. No one makes bras for Chelsea Charms, or for that matter, Milena Velba.
• ilsa and Iamtherealme are right- 4 out of 5 women wearing the wrong size doesn't even seem shocking. Many women mis-size their bras, either by getting the wrong band size and/or the wrong cup size, for whatever reasons. Shame at having 'too big' breasts, or feeling like buying a too-big bra is an admission of being fat- god only knows.
• [fark]Finally, this thread is useless without pictures of Iamtherealme and fshgrl[/fark]- oh, and of course I'm a guy! :P

posted by hincandenza at 5:21 PM on November 27, 2005

Many women mis-size their bras, either by getting the wrong band size and/or the wrong cup size, for whatever reasons. Shame at having 'too big' breasts, or feeling like buying a too-big bra is an admission of being fat- god only knows.

It's because most stores don't carry a range and most women get fitted by the salespeople at these stores. If you go to Victorias Secret they don't have 32DD so they'll measure you as 34D or 36C (which are the same cup size as a 32DD) and sell you that instead. The measurers at Nordys generally suck too but at least they have the size range to choose from.

As an aside, I can't imagine anyone thinking that a larger bra size made them "fat"?
posted by fshgrl at 6:24 PM on November 27, 2005

For me, it's because I feel like a freak of sorts. Is it just me? For some strange reason, I feel better buying a 38DD than a 34G. I know it's ridiculous. It seems that the manufacturers stop thinking about aesthetics at all in the larger cup sizes, and it's pure function, when you can even find them.
I've seen polls that say the average American woman is a 36C - I wonder if it would actually be larger if those answering were measured and not just asked.
On preview - of course spellcheck didn't like 34G and asked if I wanted to change it to agamemnon. Again reinforcing the freak thing.
posted by Iamtherealme at 12:38 AM on November 28, 2005

No, it's not just you. I'd never tell someone my bra size in person (also 34G). When my fitter told me what it was I thought she was insane. However, the bra also felt so, so, so good after tugging all day at 38DD bras that never fit right. So while I felt self conscious about it at first, I got over it. I also feel less fat now, because they look a lot better in one that fits, and learning to understand sizing made a big difference. Growing up I did feel fatter getting in to a C, D, DD... but I didn't really understand how that was linked to the number. Now that I do, and I realize I'm a smaller band size, I actually feel thinner (just bigger boobed). I'm sure that most women are a lot like me and were wearing the wrong size because that's what was available. I bet there are a lot more F,G and above women out there, who just haven't been measured right. And until they are I guess there's still going to be this sort of "freak" stigma attached to being that size. Oh well, at least I'm a freak with a nice chest - as deformities go that's not so bad.
I don't even try looking in retail stores for my bras, I order all of them now. I spend a little more to get something that looks nice, and I feel a lot better about them and myself than when I'd get them at the mall.
But no, I don't know where porn stars get them, so maybe I should be quiet now...
posted by jheiz at 5:25 AM on November 28, 2005

A couple of years ago, I gave my wife a Christmas present of a visit to Bra Smythe, 905 Madison Ave. (72nd St.), New York, NY 10021 [phone], which had been recommended in the NY Times as the best foundation garment source. She said the saleswoman, who had been there 50 years, called out her size as she walked in and made excellent recommendations.

If what you're interested in is fit and support, rather than the sex angle, this is the place to go. Not cheap, though.
posted by KRS at 4:29 PM on November 28, 2005

Fairly comprehensive online source: Bigger Bras. They have some very pretty, albeit expensive, French bras from Empreinte ranging from 34C to 46F.
posted by shawna at 10:15 AM on November 29, 2005