Why Do Designers Banish the Bust?

As seen in this Dallas Morning News Shopping Blog entry, designer clothing rarely has enough room in the bust for women with large breasts.

And one of our more famous clients who covers the fashion industry states, "Most designers find breasts annoying complications, from a fabric-engineering standpoint."

The majority of clothing is cut for a woman who is two to three inches wider in the hips than in the bust. This pattern, from the 1940's has a 32" bust and 35" hip.

Being an hourglass (*not* one of those pretty latin or italian types), this explains why my Mom always made my clothes for really important occasions, and why we were always adding darts to, and raising necklines of ready to wear.

This is also the reason we do what we do: manufacture tailored, woven shirts for women with large breasts. If an hourglass body has a hard time finding blouses and dresses, what about the triangle body, whose bust is larger than her hips?

After all, jeans are available in curvy, straight, wide-leg, boyfriend, etc., which acknowledges that hips come in different sizes of fullness. And now, so are chic tops. Because busts come in different sizes too, and in our world that means big (well endowed) and bigger (really endowed)!

Having been to the women's wear apparel tradeshows, I know that fashion is not kind to women of a certain cup size, specifically D+. At least not if full bust women want to wear shirts other than knits.

But enough of my gospel, what do you think?

Your Breasts in their Clothes

I had the pleasure of fitting a 60+ year woman for her first well fitting bra. While it did remind me of fitting my mom several years ago, this lady had it going on: 32G. She considered reduction because the weight of her breasts was hurting her back. This is what happens when a well-endowed woman puts on the correctly fitting, snug back band - AAHH, they breath a sigh of relief. No longer is there pressure on their back, or breasts hanging low on the abdomen. They immediately sit up taller as the hardware - BRA - does its job.

This particular client looked absolutely gorgeous in her new bra, yes the bra was beautiful, but it fit her like a dream, which made her waist look much smaller in comparison.

Then, she put on her shirt. And we lost it. We totally lost her pretty well-endowed figure by putting on the button-down shirt she wore into the store. I couldn't handle it, I had to grab all the extra fabric between her prominent bust-line and her smaller waistline (she's a Medium, size 8-10) and cinch it. At the very least she needed a dart. Bust & waist darts are your friends.

Do you look better in your bra than in your clothes? If so, look for clothes that give direction to the neckline (V), have a defined center front, and nip in at your waist. Really, shop Bratique Helene and you'll look and feel better than you ever have.