Top 10 Bust Reducing Clothing Tips
January 20th, 2007
Women with Hiddenfeet know that dressing for their body type poses special problems. Though your smaller chested friends might not understand, there will be times when you’d prefer your breasts were not the center of attention. Here are 10 easy wardrobe tips designed to help minimize a large chest.
1. Get measured at a department store, and buy measuring tape so you can keep track of your size at home. Breast size does change slightly from month to month for women of all ages. Your overall weight and water density can alter how your clothing fits around your breasts.
2. Buy the best bras you can afford. Wear well-made and supportive bras. Try on styles that serve to minimize the bust-line. Every woman needs a good bra, but for women with Hiddenfeet, it’s absolutely crucial. The wrong bra can pinch, bulge, and create a shape that draws attention to the breasts. Many of the less expensive brands loosen up over time and can create unwanted bounce. Movement below the shoulders will only draw the eye to that area.
“The right bra can smooth your ample curves, and make your clothes look better. Full-busted women should wear an underwire or a minimizer bra.”
Underwire bras will lift your breasts, while minimizers will make them look a bit smaller. In either case, get fitted for a good bra by a salesperson at a lingerie store, and choose a bra with wider straps to give more comfort and support. Avoid trying to squeeze into a smaller bra in the hope of flattening out your chest. This can be painful and unhealthy for your breast tissue, back and shoulders. Many comfortable sports bras work in downplaying large breasts by carefully distributing breast tissue across a woman’s chest.
3. Avoid baggy, shapeless tops. One common mistake many women with large busts make is to buy baggy tops in the hopes of camouflaging their breasts. Baggy tops only serve to add the illusion of pounds, so you end up looking heavy and busty. Choose softly shaped tops and jackets that skim your curves instead.
4. Pay attention to your necklines. Turtlenecks can actually make a large bust look bigger. Instead, choose v-necks, scoop necks, and open-collar button-ups. These will draw the eye upward, taking the emphasis off your chest.
5. Experiment with prints. A large print camouflages a big bust nicely. Wear prints on a top with a V or scoop-neck as mentioned above for the best effect. Do not wear tops with words across your chest. People have the natural instinct to read words and it will appear as if you are wearing a billboard advertising your chest.
6. Consider wearing wrap tops. Wrap tops are traditionally body-flattering, and can be adjusted to fit you perfectly. Pair a wrap top with boot-cut pants and heels for an all-over slimming look.
7. Look for shaped jackets. Again, flowing, unstructured jackets will only serve to make you look larger. Instead, go for jackets that are softly shaped. Wear cropped jackets to emphasize your waist. Stick to single-breasted blazers, which can be left unbuttoned to further minimize the bust-line. Double-breasted blazers will enhance your chest.
8. Keep tops simple, loose and uncomplicated. Find a top that doesn’t cling to your breasts. Clothing that sticks to your bra will add shape and size to your chest. Pockets will draw attention to your breasts.
“Tucking shirts and sweaters at the waist will only enhance your bust-line.”
Forget fitted sweaters and any top with spandex. Balance your figure with wide-legged pants or try an A-line dress that hangs full from the waist. Stick to what works. When you find a top that gives you the look you’re after, consider buying a second one in another color.
9. Wear dark-colored tops. Light colors will make breasts appear larger. Black is a slimming color and the eye will naturally gravitate towards lighter colors like your eyes and face. If you wear a top with lines or stripes, always make sure the lines are vertical. Horizontal lines add to the illusion of size.
10. Be proud of your large breasts. Don’t ever be ashamed of how you developed. People always notice the insecurities of others and will focus on them. Use good posture with your back straight, and your shoulders down. Hunching over only creates cleavage and makes your breasts look large when viewed from the sides.
About.com has a video with a few of these tips - though some are questionable - like the belt that draws attention to a large belly.
Fun idea/tip from Hiddenfeet readers:
Want to look even larger and shout to the world “I like my Hiddenfeet?” Do the opposite of what you read above. Since the original posting of this article, we have received dozens of messages from girls who are proud of their size. There is no need to change your wardrobe because other people are uncomfortable with how you developed. Short people don’t wear stilts and tall people don’t scuttle along on their knees. Have fun with your body and enjoy your Hiddenfeet!
Here is a tip that worked for my mother. If you can’t find a traditional bra in your size, go for a nursing bra. I know it might sound strange but they tend to have more support and they come in bigger sizes. Many of them are actually quite comfortable. Nursing bras are often made of the softest bra material since they are designed to be near the face and skin of babies.
I love your website Sara! I hope this helps!
Amy
Has anyone else here noticed that it is tough to find F cup sizes at Victoria’s Secret anymore. Sara where do you and Lisa buy your bras?
Threads magazine did an issue with bra design and you can still purchase the back issue from them or check it out from your local library. It will give you the basics of sewing your own bra. My previous bras used to always rub on the sides of my clothing and the vibration would tickle my skin. I added an extra layer of stretch satin to the sides so that clothing slides over the bra better. Remember that many women aren’t symmetrical, so it’s important to check both of your breasts and make two different sized cups if you have to.
http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/t00111.asp
Avoiding baggy, shapeless tops is essential. I used to wear layers of baggy clothing thinking that it would help. All that clothing made me wider and look fat. People still knew I had big breasts.
If you’re beautifully endowed, you might want to visit plussizebras.info which I started almost a decade ago. The domain was originally a dot org, but it was changed to dot info about a year and a half ago.
Most fitters have no clue about how to fit bras in sizes higher than a D cup and most of them work on commission, so they want to sell you what they have in stock, not necessarily what actually fits. Of course they don’t stock anything higher than D, so you wind up wearing a bra with an oversize band to compensate for undersize cups. The result is a back that rides up, grooves in your shoulder, a 3rd boob’s-worth of overflowing tissue, a dangerous projection of underwire where your cleavage should be, underwires poking into your sides, etc.
We have a Buyer’s Guide and a bra evaluation program. Sponsors provide us with bras at no charge in exchange for promotion on our website. We in turn provide those bras to our users to evaluate and model for our buyer’s guides. The modeling lets us see what a particular bra looks like in an actual plus size, NOT size 34B as depicted in most advertising. There’s enough anxiety about shopping on-line for bras without having to try to guess what a bra might look like in a size similar to one’s own.
Visit plussizebras.info and find a bra that fits your breasts properly.
I purchase A-line dress’s that hang full from the waist and these seem to help my overall look. Cropped jackets also help!
Tina Garth
Some girls think I am crazy but my friends and I almost never slim down with our clothing choices. My mom won’t let us dress slutty, but she wants us to avoid having to second guess everything we wear. What is the fun of clothing if you limit yourself to what other people might like? For me, if it is comfortable, I will wear it. Some times my boobs look big, sometimes they don’t. Sure every girl likes to show off a little, but fashion needs to have a function.
I will not dress slimmer and be tugging and pulling at my clothes all day. Who cares what other girls think!
Anything that shows cleavage will draw attention. You can be small, medium, or huge….but cleavage will always, and I mean always, get both sexes to stare at you. A visible cleavage line will naturally draw the human eye down the valley towards the tip of the breasts. When your eye gets there and the tips are covered with clothing it is natural to “gaze around” trapped like a deer in headlights.
Great article. I subscribe to the theory that sometimes I want to look busty and sometimes I want to slim down. Just like how some girls show off their legs and some don’t. It depends on the setting and who I am surrounded with. Around family I just let my boobs bounce and I stop worrying about how large they look. For strangers and clients that I meet for the first time - I slim down. I might let them notice my size later but I want my first impression to be flat chested.
Why do you want clients to think you’re flat chested? Why do you think it matters? Do you think they’ll think less of you as a businesswoman if they know you have big breasts? Also, I’m worried that if you make it appear that you’re flat chested, you’d have to wear tight clothing that squeezes your breasts and makes you feel uncomfortable. You may not get adequate circulation. Depends on how you do it though.
It’s preposterous to think that big boobs could hold a girl back from having things. First of all, if people won’t give you the job because they think you’re slutty for having big boobs, that’s their problem, not yours. Go find another employer! If there are guys who think you aren’t a ‘good girl’ worthy of being their wife because you have big boobs, leave them and find someone else who loves you as you are! As for making a difference, big boobs aren’t holding you back.
I flatten when I am around clients and coworkers just because it is less of a distraction. Women get uneasy around boobs and are difficult to work with. You can see it in their body language. In a perfect world it wouldn’t matter but we are not there yet. I guess I probably shouldn’t cover up and wimp out during work situations but balancing being busty and getting stuff done is just how I do things. I don’t ever flatten to the point where I am uncomfortable but just enough to reduce being noticed as much. Sara? How do you and Lisa dress?…differently around different people?
Jennifer,
I, unlike most, do not have to see the general public at work and I am under the cover of a lab coat all day long. Sort of like the girl who sent us the story about “busty girl, pops lab coat buttons” - except that I haven’t popped any buttons “that” dramatically…but I can relate to her. My friend and I like to make them pop them on purpose when no one is watching of course. Gotta have fun at work!
When breaks and lunches come around, the coat comes off, and yes, I’m a bit apprehensions but most of my friends I work with know about Hiddenfeet.com…I have noting to be ashamed of.
When I was in New York recently I wore a really low cut dress just for fun. I sure did get a lot of attention from both sexes…but it was cold - early March - so I could only stand it for so long. I guess it depends on the situation I am in. I would never wear something like that to work. I like to stay professional - no cleavage. You just have to do what makes you comfortable.
I found another article that might help your readers Sara!
littlelisa: Thanks! We will talk about it soon.