I'm not small, I'm just distributed differently!

May 9, 2011 3:06 PM

Help a side-chested girl find a decent push-up bra.

My breasts sit too far apart on my chest and have their distribution of weight too far down and to the sides to work with regular push-up bras. If I manually push the cups close enough together in the middle to create cleavage, the underwire overlaps. They're a little on the small side (32D on a 5'3" gal, but all that volume is at the bottom/sides, I can easily fit three fingers on my breastbone between them), so I'm not expecting a miracle, but I know women with less up top have made it happen.

Anyone else have a similar body type? Am I just destined to look flat-chested in a low-cut top? I've tried just about every kind of push-up bra VS makes, with pretty unspectacular results.

posted by petiteviolette to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (21 answers total)

Have you only tried VS bras? Because Victoria's Secret bras are basically overpriced crap. Is there a local mom and pop speciality bra store in your area? It might help to get a proper fitting (most women wear the wrong size bra) and then work from there. Also the lady working the bra store will most likely be versed in all things boobs and would be able to help you get to where you want to be. If there isn't a local bra store, then maybe try Nordstrom who also offer bra fittings and a wide selection of quality bras.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 3:23 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

victoria's secret makes pretty crappy bras, and tend to be really bad at even getting you the right sizes, to be honest—if you're lucky enough to have an old school lingerie store near you, where they can give you a proper fitting and find you the right bra, DO IT. i drag my friends with unhappy boobs to my bra lady and they always come out happy.
posted by lia at 3:25 PM on May 9, 2011

Maybe a custom-made bra? Google brought up quite a few options.
posted by Glinn at 3:26 PM on May 9, 2011

Have you had a proper fitting? Not a VS fitting, but at a small lingerie shop where its owners are devoted to finding the correct fit for *you*? I was a skeptic until I took ukdanae's excellent advice here, here, and here. Seriously, there was a huge difference between what I was wearing and what I should have been wearing, and the right bra makes my clothing fit differently and much better.
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:27 PM on May 9, 2011

Response by poster: I've tried department store bras from Nordstrom to Macy's to Sears. I've tried Target and Wal-Mart as well. I haven't noticed any significant differences in look or fit among all the retailers. I stuck with VS for a long time because their 34C was pretty much a perfect fit on me for a few years, but I've lost some weight and now need to restock my closet.
posted by petiteviolette at 3:29 PM on May 9, 2011

Nthing proper fitting being the problem here. Department store associates are frequently not trained to do proper fittings, particularly if you have a unique body type (and everyone does, but from your description with overlapping underwire, you may have special needs). Please go to a bra specialty shop such as intimacy and get fitted, if only once in your life.
posted by pupstocks at 3:37 PM on May 9, 2011

(Intimacy does alterations too. I don't work for them, but they really changed my life at one point.)
posted by pupstocks at 3:38 PM on May 9, 2011

sorry to triple post. They also have a list of good bra stores across the nation(PDF) if you can't get to an honest-to-god intimacy shop.
posted by pupstocks at 3:39 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

I bet the Chantelle Sublime 3952 push up would work for you. Have you tried it? Nordstrom sells it so you could try it on there. Here it is on ebay.
posted by peep at 3:46 PM on May 9, 2011

I'd first learn my correct size as recommended above and then look for a bra that pushes your breasts up into mounds above a low neckline rather than going for cleavage - think Marie Antoinette era! Obviously only for times you want to really play it up, but the swelling breast look could be a good substitute for cleavage if you find that even with a good fit cleavage eludes you.
posted by bumpcat at 3:51 PM on May 9, 2011

Since you are 5'3, then this might help. It makes me look like I have cleavage, which is quite the accomplishment. If you can, go to Nordstrom's and have them fit you for this bad boy.
posted by mrfuga0 at 4:14 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

If you are in the New England area, please visit Lady Grace.

They are the best store around for finding the right size. I have never had a bad experience with them, and those ladies know their stuff.

If not, try to find a store like them. As everyone else has said, that's really what you need.
posted by zizzle at 4:22 PM on May 9, 2011

I have similar issues, and the only thing I've found that works is to get bras that have seaming like this. This is the closest thing to manually pushing your boobs inwards and upwards.
posted by emeiji at 5:27 PM on May 9, 2011

I'm here to nth going to a specialty bra/lingerie shop and getting a fitting there. They're going to have brands you won't find elsewhere and will most likely have someone working there who will help you find exactly what you need.
posted by shesbookish at 6:43 PM on May 9, 2011

I have to chime in with the specialty shop as well. I am a hard to fit size, and my local shop (CC's Lingerie in Phoenix, AZ... I would link, but their website is beyond horrible and is not an accurate representation of their awesomeness) absolutely changed my life. Every woman, easy or difficult to fit, should have a bra fitted by a real professional who has decades of experience.
posted by LyndsayMW at 7:04 PM on May 9, 2011

See if there's an intimacy store around you. They will fit you properly, and they only have high quality bras for sale.
posted by carmel at 7:05 PM on May 9, 2011

Nthing finding a bra shop and getting properly measured and fitted -- the difference between a bra shop and a department store is huuuuge.

In the meantime, I recently read (although I don't remember where -- sorry!) about a trick some people use to lift and shape: take a pair of knee highs and fill each with about a cup of rice at the toe. Tie them off (leaving room for the rice to move so you can shape it to your body; you can always make another knot if the rice is sliding around too much) and tuck them inside a bra about a cup size bigger than your usual.
posted by shamash at 8:49 PM on May 9, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks so much for all the recommendations! I looked up specialty lingerie shops in my area, and there's one a few miles away that got great reviews on Yelp I'm going to try ASAP.
posted by petiteviolette at 10:02 PM on May 9, 2011

Seconding Wacoal Petites. A bra (which has now been discontinued, of *course*) from that line was the only thing that ever gave me cleavage.
posted by jocelmeow at 12:26 PM on May 10, 2011

Bras with the seaming that emeiji referenced are called "cut and sewn" or "fully constructed" or "highly constructed." (The second two terms sound like battle gear -- har!) The more seams there are in the cups, the better the support.

Anyway, good luck on your quest!
posted by virago at 1:20 PM on May 10, 2011

But note that not just any seaming will do. If the seams go horizontally across the cups, there is no inward pushing effect. The key is that you have a single piece of fabric that goes from the strap and down the sides, and that seam that also goes from the strap and swoops down across the boob, kind of like a sling.
posted by emeiji at 11:22 PM on May 10, 2011