Times change, lingerie evolves, the ideal body is reinvented
I’ve just been reading an excellent post on Knickers: Why we can all wear lingerie — and feel fabulous. The gist is that all women can wear, and be beautiful in, gorgeous lingerie — and it’s barmy to think that lingerie’s-made-for-skinny-people.
As Knickers says, the assumption that there is a certain body shape that looks good in lingerie may be the result of brainwashing about the physical ideal.
The media re-writes the rule-book constantly: one minute the aspirational look is waif-like, the next it’s hour-glass. There’s no point in denying yourself body confidence if your shape doesn’t match. And, as Knickers says, there’s no reason to believe that, whatever your body type, looking and feeling good in lingerie is not for you.
SBBH agrees with Knickers’ mantra: “We consider ourselves lucky that we’re different shapes and sizes… it reinforces our individuality. That’s not to say we’re never envious of those petite frames who look amazing in skimpy scants, or of enviably curvy ladies. But with the knowledge that the grass is always greener, we embrace what we have.”
This will chime with many SBBH readers too — people who take a cup half-full view to being small-busted, women who love and celebrate their tiny curves. Ladies who make the effort to seek out small-bust lingerie specialists to answer their need for lingerie that’s sophisticated, stylish, fashionable and flirtatious.
Knickers asks the question: “Who is telling us what size we should be in order to look good and why are we listening to them? Is it the media, the designers, the government, or our peers?”
From a personal — and small-busted — perspective, I’d say it is the high-street lingerie retailers who are sending a message to little-breasted women that gorgeous lingerie is “not for you”. I’ve long-ago come to love my shape — and the media and my peers are not my problem. My issue is the lack of lingerie choice in most shops that denies small-busted women the chance to lap up the Wow Factor of standing in front of a fitting-room mirror and loving what they see.
Who can gasp in awe at the way a T-shirt bra makes them look and feel? Or feel anything but deflated at the sight of themselves in a teenage bra. It’s about time lingerie retailers and departments on every high street gave small-busted women all the lace, frills, silk and satin they can handle — so they can wear lingerie and feel fabulous too. What do you reckon?
If you agree with me, check out my Every Body Loves Lingerie campaign.
Bravo on this great website. I read occasionally, and followed your advice several months ago and ordered some bras from Lula Lu. They’re great bras, high quality, but they have the same problem all bras have for me.
I’m not petite, though my cup size is. I’m 6 feet tall, though kind of skinny. So, even when I buy the correct size band/cup, the straps are always too short, which makes bras ride up, or the straps dig into my shoulders.
The Lula Lu bras, while great in other respects, have this same problem. Any hints for tall ladies?
Here here! So pleased to have found your site. I’m quite fed up with shapewear that only comes in bra size C and above, and being denied delicate lace because I just don’t fill the S size. I do want to have the right foundations for my clothes too, and feel good and wear fabulous sexy lingerie.
I’d really like to hear any suggestions for where to buy superb and quality pieces in smaller sizes please
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Thank you so much for voicing what I rant each time I walk down the high street! I like a nice bra, not a baby bra. Marks and Sparks used to do them, in the olden days… I have noticed umpteen happy comments posted in respons to their recent (scant) additions of two or three reasonably nice AA cup size bras – the ladies clearly want them!
High street retailers obviously think that small busted women are not worthy of stylish or sexy underwear. There is plenty of attractive underwear aimed at obese women so why not small busted women. After all obesity is a lifestyle choice: bust size isn’t.
A few years ago when shopping in John Lewis during the school summer holidays an unhelpful assistant actually pointed me in the direction of the “back to school” display when I enquired about 34AA bras. I was already in my forties at the time. There are now more on line small lingerie specialists. However, we still need small bras to be routinely available in High Street stores where we can try them on.
i’m now facing problem finding A size nursing bras! do u by any chance know of any online retailers?