Small bust, big heart

Angela bra, $52, The Little Bra Company

A parcel made its way to me from The Little Bra Company containing the company’s best selling T-shirt bra, Angela.

As I tore open the box, my excitement mounted: Angela was presented in a neat package of pink tissue paper, surrounded by extras like pin badges (with jaunty messages like “Make Mountains out of Molehills”) and a pretty, branded notepad.

Details, little details. They make all the difference — and I felt sure that the bra would be brilliant if it were equally attentive to the minutiae. What I saw looked like it fit the bill. A quality bra with a no-fuss design and clever moulded cups.

I tried it on immediately — and this is what I found…

Please vote for me:

Cosmopolitan, the magazine for fun, fearless females has launched the first ever Cosmopolitan Blog Awards — and it needs your votes.

If like what you’re reading on Small bust, big heart, please vote for it under the “Lifestyle” category. A place on the shortlist would give this blog a brighter future — and bring it to the attention of small busted women who haven’t yet discovered its mix of advice, news, interviews, reviews, competitions and offers — all wrapped up in a warm, fuzzy coat of positivity.

It’s quick, easy and painless to offer your support — and I for one would be really, really, really chuffed and honoured if you’d take the time. Thanks.

Tags: 32A, 32AA, 34A, A cup lingerie, A-cup bra, AA-cup bra, AA-cup lingerie, convertible strap bra, halterneck bra, moulded cup, racerback bra, small bust lingerie, T-shirt bra

Amanda Sage's blog declares that "Small is Sexy" and we have to agree

Having sung the praises of Amanda Sage’s small-cup expertise (what she doesn’t know about dressing an AA-cup body, you could write on a postage stamp), I’m thrilled that she’s written a guest blog post for SBBH.

Written in characteristic ballsy style, Sage gives very slim, small-busted women a question to mull: would you put on weight if the side-effect was bigger breasts?

Of course, not all small-busted women are skinny. But if you are I’d love to hear your thoughts: do you think there’s something to be said for this surgery-free route to increasing cup size? Let’s call it The Doughnut Plan.

Anyway, without further ado, here is Amanda’s post.

Let’s face facts, ladies: breast tissue is mostly fat. If you are very thin and small-busted, the safest and healthiest way to add a cup size to your bust may be to gain some weight.

In the United States, as reported by the New York Times, the most commonly purchased size from bra manufacturer Wacoal America in 2009 was a 36DD — up two cup sizes from a 36C in 2006.

I have to assume that this is due in part to more women getting breast augmentation surgery (implants), but it is probably no coincidence that obesity rates have reached epidemic proportions in this nation where I was born and raised.

I’ve worn a size 32AA bra ever since I first grew a pair at age 11. I was actually one of the first girls in my class to get boobs, but soon enough, everyone else caught up — and then some. By the time I was a freshman in high school (aged 14), I was considered flat-chested.

Fast-forward four years: I’m 18, in college and on medication that causes weight gain. Suddenly I’m busting out of my tiny bras, and to my utter shock I need  to buy new ones… in a size 32B.

I was never overweight; even in my 32B days, I weighed 118 pounds at just short of 5 feet 4 inches tall — hardly obese, and only about 12 pounds higher than my current weight. Yet here I am, back in my old 32AA bras.

I’m one of those few women who have a hard time keeping weight on, but if I was better about exercising and eating right I’d probably have more of an appetite. Then maybe I’d be able to fill out an A-cup bra, at least.

Note that my band size, 32, stayed the same even when I was at my curviest. Women tend to gain weight in their fattiest areas first: breasts, butt, hips, thighs, and tummy.

If you’re a skinny minnie like me, could you afford to put on a few pounds? If so, then as far as your bust size it might mean the difference between “slim” and “none.”

Tags: 32AA, A-cup, breast augmentation, flat chest, increasing cup size, small cup size