An early inflation technique from 1968

It all started with the WonderBra, designed to produce a sexy, erotic and alluring cleavage to even the most petite bust. Fashion model Kate Moss praised them in 1994 with her comments to The New York Times Magazine: “I’ve got a couple of those Gossard WonderBras. They’re brilliant, I swear, even I get cleavage with them”.

At the same time Eva Herigova was making a splash with her racy billboard ads for WonderBra. In the famous poster image of her in a WonderBra, gazing down at her breasts and the caption “Hello Boys”, was she addressing male admirers or her breasts?

The WonderBra ad that sent men veering off the road

Since then we’ve been bombarded with “fashionable” images of stick thin celebrities and models displaying their impossibly orb-like breasts. But with or without plastic surgery they wouldn’t have nearly as much impact without a “booster” push up bra, a ‘must have’ bra for any woman’s low-neckline wardrobe!

Commonly called “push-up bras” by most brands, these friendly bra styles help significantly lift and press together the breasts using permanent or removable pads made from foam, gel, silicone, air or water. Some versions use graduated foam cups or built in “bump up” pads which are molded into the interior foam and are lightweight, so there’s no need to worry about inserts falling out!

19604519 Tactel Change Seamless Push Up Bra by Change of Scandinavia

So for maximum impact I’d strongly recommend that you try the Change of Scandinavia’s Tactel Seamless Push Up Bra. It uses the newest foam technology with built-in pads to boost your bust, it’s extremely lightweight, breathable (essential for summer), and the super soft Tactel fabric makes it fabulously comfortable for everyday wear. (See also Calvin Klein’s f2892 Seductive Comfort Customized Lift T-Shirt Bra).

For smaller-busted ladies, Triumph’s 3070 Petites Push-Up T Shirt Bra and the 3040 Diamond Jacquard  Petites Push Up Bra are ideal. The cups are tilted upwards and inwards to produce the best cleavage possible, and the built in pads give an additional “boost”. Because the cups are completely smooth, these bras are perfect under fitted tops too!

One of the prettiest and most curvaceous booster bras I suggest is the new 1838 Lacy Push-Up Bra by Triumph. As well as the foam padding it includes small removable gel pads so you can decide how much cleavage enhancement your outfit can take! With convertible straps too, this bra (and Triumph’s Seamless 1738 version in this new collection) gives you the option to cross the back or replace them altogether with transparent straps (sold separately).

1838 Push Up Lacy Bra by Triumph

And of course if you want to add additional boost to any of your regular push up bras then try adding Bra Doctor’s Silicone Enhancers or one of the Flaunt silicone pads by Fashion Essentials. Take a peak at Now That’s Lingerie’s selection of their most popular pads designed for all kinds of effects, petite to fuller-busted women.

So have fun flaunting your cleavage this summer – Now That’s Lingerie has the bras you need to give you (and your lingerie wardrobe) an extra oomph!

Ask me about fashion!

Teresa

teresa@nowthatslingerie.com

Hello Boys image from mydaily.co.uk : Wonderbra’s Hello Boys campaign featuring Eva Herzigova voted most iconic ad image of all time : MYDaily UK

Gisele, Salma & Scarlett images:Hollywood pictures galleries: 5 Pictures Scarlett Johansson Search Results gisele bundchen–Backseat Cuddler ; Hollywood Celebrities Wallpapers: August 2008

Quite a trendy M&S ad from the 70's

Unfortunately most Canadians may remember M&S as a pretty stodgy retailer, mainly catering to senior citizens and ex-pats, but in the UK M&S undies are an essential and surprisingly fashionable staple. Before the very recent days of “indie” lingerie retailers and websites M&S was the only place to buy quality lingerie. I don’t know any English woman who hasn’t purchased at least one M&S bra or panty in her lifetime!

In the 1930′s they were one of the first stores to sell “Artsilk” garments with their highly successful “Artificial Silk Rayon Knicker” (a slinky French Knicker). When nylon first appeared just after WW2 hosiery was still hard to come by so M&S started producing their own “St Michael” line of nylon stockings and slips. By the 1950′s they were selling many assorted lingerie and corsetry styles, even developing their own brand of easy-care nylon fabric called “Bri-nylon”.

High fashion lingerie from an unexpected source

In the 1980′s M&S underwear really hit it’s peak with vast areas of their shops dedicated to trendy fashion-led lingerie. They designed and engineered new bra technologies and in 2000 won The Queen’s Award for their “Secret Support Bra”, a highly specialized bra developed for DD-G cups featuring hidden reinforced cup “slings”.

The M&S public apology for their bigger bra fiasco

Not all of their innovations have been so popular. In 2009 a large-breasted lobby group took on M&S over it’s new policy of charging more for bigger bras. They were forced to repeal this unpopular surcharge on DD cups or larger and posted a public apology in the nation’s newspapers. “They didn’t want a lot of big-breasted women storming their annual meeting”, said a spokeswoman for “Busts 4 Justice“.

Recently M&S have introduced the UK’s first ever Carbon Neutral Bra – the “Leaves” collection is certified by The Carbon Trust and helps support the deforestation of the Sri Lankan rainforest. The entire collection is manufactured in an eco-friendly plant constructed from earth bricks, it uses solar power energy and harvested rainwater. Take a look at our own Elita Bamboo collection of soft bras and panties which are manufactured in Canada – therefore reducing their carbon footprint – and from environmentally friendly bamboo fabric!

The UK's first ever 'Carbon Neutral' lingerie line from M&S

M&S’s laterst “Flatter Me” bra (launching next month) is inspired by the 1950′s hourglass silhouettes in Mad Men using old fashioned corsetry to smooth out any rolls and bulges. It looks quite extraordinary with it’s curved wings which eliminate any underarm bulges and boost the cleavage. The Triumph Full Fashion Strapless Diamond Jacquard Bra has a similar retro corsetry look and has perfect support worn under those cute little 50′s Mad Men dresses!

The extraordinary 'Flatter Me' bra from M&S

Thanks for reading and see you next time!

Teresa

teresa@nowthatslingerie.com

Thank you to marksandspencer.com for their images and their lingerie.

Lingerie images: Lingerie & Underwear :  Women’s :  Marks & Spencer

Flatter-me bra image from: The Daily Mail, April 9, 2011

2978 Strapless Bra by Triumph

Finding the right strapless bra is not always easy.  Petite women and fuller-busted women alike have particular difficulty finding a strapless bra.  For A or smaller B-cup busts, some strapless bras can flatten out the breasts or they may not fill the cups completely; for D or DD cup wearing women and beyond, into E, F, G, H, etc, it may seem impossible to get any support from a strapless bra.  Here are a few quick, general tips to choosing a good strapless bra.

General Tips:

Look for silicone lining inside the back wings and band of the bra.  There are usually two strips of silicone per side inside the band, one at the top and the other along the bottom, to help the strapless bra stay put, like a no-slip grip.  Some strapless bras also have a silicone strip along the bottom, right beneath the underwires, for extra support.

Make sure the back band is sufficiently tight, but not asthmatically so, when you notch it at the LOOSEST hook. This is to make sure your bra will hold up properly; if your back band is too loose, it will not support anything and will move around too much when you move.  After a few wears and washes (by hand, please!), the back band will stretch slightly and you may find yourself using a tighter configuration for your back adjustment.

Tips for Petite Women: look for bras that have a pockets inside of the cups where a pad can be inserted or removed.  Depending on your choice of neckline, you may opt for a slightly more push-up effect for a lower-cut bodice, so you would have the option of inserting your removable cookies (pads), or another type of removable pad (fabric, silicone, water, gel).

2640 Strapless Bra with Removable Pads by Triumph

Tips for Fuller-Busted Women: Even if you find a strapless bra that fits you perfectly, you may still feel uneasy about not having any straps, since it’s an unusual feeling.  I may opt to wear clear straps with my strapless bra for more dance-oriented occasions if I’m wearing a lower-cut dress, for example… we ladies must avoid these sorts of fashion mishaps, particularly public ones!  Also try to go for a strapless bra that has a wider bra back hook and eye closure, for extra support.  Most strapless bras in DD cups and higher usually do have a three-hook-width bra back closure, which entails a slightly wider back band, to help minimize unsightly bulges, slim out the torso and keep your girls up where they belong!

Stay tuned for more useful lingerie tips from your Bra Doctor!

Have a question for me about bra fitting?  E-mail me!

Sleek Simplicity collection by Bra Doctor Lingerie, available exclusively at Now That's Lingerie.com

Welcome back!

It’s sure been awhile, but many exciting things are happening at once.

It’s the first anniversary of the online launch of Bra Doctor Lingerie, so to celebrate, Now That’s Lingerie.com is offering 25% off all Bra Doctor styles!  So far, the feedback has been very positive, and we can’t wait to hear what you have to think about our collections… with even more new styles to come.

Enjoy browsing, and let me know what you think!

More news to come very soon…

Your Bra Doctor
bradoctor@nowthatslingerie.com

Let me start with one of the basic principles of bra fitting (you can see my other blogs on this by clicking here).  When your bra fits properly, the underwire should contour all of your breast tissue (from under your arms to where your cleavage resides) and lay flat against your breastbone in the front, without constraining your breasts or rubbing against your skin.

Dahlia bra and panty set by Valisère (Triumph). Size range: 34-40, D-DD cups. Available at Now That's Lingerie.com.

The purpose of an underwire is to contour the natural shape of your breast by encompassing the entirety of your breast tissue and giving it lift and a round shape.  When encased in those cups, your breasts will only be supported to the extent that the fabric of your cup covers your breasts.  For example, let me compare two distinct types of underwire bras.  If you’re wearing a padded push-up bra (most of which offer only minimal support), you are getting less support than if you were wearing a full cup minimizer (intended to deliver the utmost support).  But both bras have underwire.  So what determines this difference in support levels?

For any bra, the straps, elasticated back band, fabric, stitching, underwire and coverage all work together to play a crucial role in perfecting your comfort.  The majority of the support of a properly fitted bra lies in the elasticity (or firmness) of the fabric of your cups, plus the stitching (if any) on or along the cups.  (The reason I emphasize properly fitted is because, if your bra doesn’t fit, it doesn’t matter what style you’re wearing– you will not be get the support that the physics of your bra intended!  Click for more of my blogs on bra fitting.)  So, if your bra cups only cover half of your boobs (like in a demi-cup or demi-bust bra), then chances are, your bra won’t give you as much support as a full-coverage bra– regardless of whether there is or isn’t an underwire.  This also means that a bra with a stretchier fabric on the cups will support your breasts less than a bra made with a sturdier, less extensible fabric.

So that’s part of understanding what underwire can do for you.  Before I continue, I want to make something clear.  Just because you may prefer to wear non-underwire bras does NOT mean you are getting less support than a woman who wears underwire.  Many non-underwire bras are equipped with a supportive elasticated band around the torso and have seams that are stitched internally in such a way as to provide shape and support.  Full support bras DO exist without underwire and their support can be comparable to that of an underwire bra.  The major difference is that the shape of your breasts will sometimes be different in either type of bra.  You see, underwire works to envelop the entirety of your breast tissue, from beneath your arms and below your breast, bringing their weight closer to the front and slightly lifted upwards.  Some non-underwire bras may constrain the breast tissue nearer to your body, but this may make your breasts seem smaller, especially since your breasts will seem less separated from each other than if there was an underwire contouring each breast.

The Vintage Touch wire-free bra by Warner's offers a naturally rounded fit and unparallelled comfort. Available at Now That's Lingerie.com

So what have you learned?  Properly fitted, underwire bras help give you a more precise fit while supporting your breasts, but what more fully determines the support level are the fabric (and stitching) of your bra cups (more on this in a subsequent blog!).  All these aspects (and more, like the strap’s width) work together to provide support.  For women who do not like underwire bras and find them uncomfortable, don’t fret– there is still a wide range of non-underwired bras available for your comfort and convenience.

For all your bra fitting questions… contact me at celinethebradoctor@nowthatslingerie.com!  I hear from dozens of women every week with a wide range of bra fitting issues, and I respond to them personally.  So don’t hesitate or wait to feel comfortable in your bras.

See you next time!
Your Bra Doctor
bradoctor@nowthatslingerie.com

Welcome back!  Today I’d like to cover one of the most common questions asked by women I’ve personally fitted for bras: what do you do when your breasts are not the same size?

Well, believe it or not, most women have at least a slight size difference.  I have rarely seen women with two breasts that are exactly the same size.  As if bra fitting weren’t complicated enough, right?  Different women may have asymmetrical breast sizes for different reasons.  Unfortunately, most women don’t know what to do for this manageable issue, so end up wearing bras that are not the right size and are uncomfortable for them.  Here are some tips to help you achieve your most comfortable fit so you can look and feel great in your bras!

Bra cups are too small, & should NEVER constrain your breasts.

Over the course of her lifetime, a woman’s bra size can change more than five times.  For many developing women, this is also the time when one’s breasts may not grow at the exact same rate, sometimes leaving one side noticeably bigger than the other.  Factor in body changes resulting from pregnancy, breast feeding, weight gain or loss, medication, surgery and just age, and it’s easy to see how the shape of your breasts changes over time.  You should always make sure your bras fit you and are comfortable, because if they aren’t, then you definitely are not wearing the right size or style bra for your unique body shape.

This brings me to one of the most important rules of bra fitting: if your breasts are different sizes, your bra should fit comfortably over the larger (not smaller) breast.  The cup on the larger side should fit the entirety of your breast tissue without cutting into you.  Sure, there may be a gap or a pleat in the cup where the smaller breast resides, but you can fill the space with a bra pad.  This way, the underwire will not constrain your larger breast.  NEVER, EVER buy a bra that fits only the smaller side comfortably, while the larger breast spills over the fabric of the cup or is constrained in any way by underwire or elastics.

Bra cups too big. Fabric should lie flat against the breast tissue.

So what are some available solutions to making your breasts look naturally even?  For starters, wearing a bra that at least has a lined cup will go a long way in making both sides look more similar.  It won’t help to just wear a bra that is very padded (keep in mind this will also make both sides seem larger, but the size difference will remain the same).  You can try wearing a bra that has removable pads or removable cookies; by taking them out of the larger side and inserting them into the bra pockets in the smaller cup, you help even out the difference.  This is usually a perfect little trick if your breasts are just slightly uneven in size, but if there is still a noticeable discrepancy, you might want to try to use other pads in addition to the removable cookies.

Silicone or foam pads, when added to the smaller side of your bra, can fill out the remaining gaps or spaces in your bra cup.  But if this is your plan, it would be best to use them in a lined bra or padded bra (which exist both with or without underwire), so any slight demarcations of the pad inside your bra will be minimized.  If you have a more noticeable difference in the symmetry of your breasts (close to a cup size, for example), Add-A-Size bra pads are definitely worth a try, either in silicone (see Glam silicone pads) or fabric with foam (see Add-A-Size pads).  And if you’ve had a mastectomy, Add-A-Size pads will help fill out the difference as well.

Fashion Essentials Glam silicone enhancers, available at Now That's Lingerie.com

Wire-free lined bra by Triumph, available at Now That's Lingerie.com

A few more tips before you go!  If you decide to use silicone instead of foam, don’t use more than one silicone pad inside the cup on the smaller size, because it could look and feel heavier and bulkier than the other side (if you want to walk lopsided all day, be my guest!).  Also, after inserting your bra pads, don’t forget to re-adjust your bra straps and back closure to ensure both sides look equal and you feel comfy.

Lastly– if you want more bra fitting help, contact me.  I’ve fitted women of all sorts of shapes and sizes, and I can help you find out what best suits your personal needs.  DO let me know if you have any comments or suggestions.  I’d love to hear from all of you!

Sincerely, as always,

your Bra Doctor

Ever wonder how to get the perfect amount of cleavage for any occasion? No matter your size, here are some great tips to push up your girls without looking fake.

Bra Doctor Trick #1: Silicone inserts
Silicone is wonderful because it allows for a smooth look under even the tightest of clothes. Removable silicone pads allow you to augment your bust line however you want. For smaller busts, you can select an add-a-size insert to increase the size of your breasts by a full cup size. For larger busts, you can choose a flirty cleavage look or simply round out your shape. Just slide the insert into your bra, placing it along the bottom edge of the underwire (or, in the case of a non-underwire bra, along the bottom band of your bra) for a push-up towards the top, or along the side of the underwire for a push-up towards the centre. Lift up your breast in the cup and gently let it fall back into your bra to make sure the pad is snug between your skin and the bra.

Bra Doctor Trick #2: Push-up bras or demi-bust bras
Some bras come equipped with either removable or non-removable cookies (some are fabric pads, others are filled with air or water or even silicone) that help get a push-up look. The bonus of bras with removable cookies is that you can opt to insert or remove the pads, depending on the look you are trying to achieve, all in one bra! Demi-bust bras are not necessarily padded but do reveal slightly more cleavage since they come down lower in the middle between the breasts. Either way, these bras are comfortable enough and convenient enough to wear daily for a slight enhancement (or more, depending on whether you put pads inside or not).

Bra Doctor Trick #3: The seriously low neckline
Bras like the U-Bra by Arianne are specifically designed for shirts and dresses with a very low V-cut in the front. Since a regular bra will be visible underneath, bras like the U-bra fall much lower in the front while offering an extra push-up towards the centre, creating cleavage that’s irresistible! To see an image, click here.

Bra Doctor Trick #4: Camisoles with integrated bras
Don’t like wearing a bra? Try a camisole with an integrated or shelf bra. Such garments are worn as clothing (outerwear) but because there is an integrated foam padding inside the bust, you get a light to medium support while still enhancing your bustline, without a bra and without pads. You can also wear these camisoles with a push-up bra to get an even more pronounced bustline.

Bra Doctor Trick #5: Convertible bras
A convertible bra allows for the straps to be crossed in the back or clasped behind the neck (halter). By crossing or adjusting the straps behind the neck, you can discreetly push your breasts toward the centre (ideal for a V-shaped shirt). Most convertible bras are slightly padded or lined, so they offer a seamless look while enhancing your cleavage.

I hope these fashion tips were helpful. To get more free fashion advice and updates on new lingerie and outerwear styles, subscribe to Now That’s Lingerie‘s weekly newsletter. See you next week!