Small bust, big heart

An SBBH reader asks: “I’ve had a double mastectomy and reconstruction. My consultant told me I could wear a bra, but not one with an underwire. I have a couple of non-wired bras that are okay, but I can usually only find black or white. I would like to know if you could suggest any nice designs in other colours ideally.”

The reader in question is a 34B cup size, which you’d think would mean she had access to a wide range of bra styles (well, more than those of us who are A-cup and less anyway). But, as she’s experienced, many of the more glamorous bra styles on the market are underwired. And she’s totally right to seek out something that makes her feel as special as she deserves.

Luckily, SBBH is well-connected — I’ve asked some of my favourite lingerie experts to suggest the bras they recommend for my reader:

Saxaphone bra, $139, A Little Something Fit

A Little Something Fit: The Wundervoll Keta bra, $125, and Saxaphone bra, $139, are non-traditional designs with formed cups and a very stylish look, which smacks of strong and self-confident femininity. We stock these in A-cup sizes (but B-cups can be found at other Wundervoll retailers).

We also offer a couple of soft cup, non-structured and sexy halter style bras from Wundervoll: the Overtone bra, $109, and the Tambourine bra, $125, which are available in small, medium and large.

Firebird bra, $68, Lailides

Lailides: I recommend our La Sylphide bra, $72, which certainly fits the bill for this reader.  It’s wireless, comes in some beautiful colors and our size 3 (or possibly size 4) should fit a 34B cup.

For a little fun, I also suggest our Firebird bra, $68. It has the same fit and styling as the La Sylphide, but with a gorgeous peacock pattern. Both bras are designed to be very comfortable — like a second skin.

Rosa bra, £29.99, Dainty Lady

Dainty Lady: We are pleased to say that we make a lot of bras without wires. And, like all our customers, your reader is very welcome to try any of our styles with no obligation to buy.

May we suggest our Fleur non-wired bra, £13, which is made in soft stretch lace and comes in a variety of pretty colours including ivory/pale blue, ivory/mint and ivory/peach. Our Rosa non-wired bra, £29.99, is another great option. Made from stretch satin, colours include aqua/cream and peach/cream. We offer AAA-cup, AA-cup, A-cup and B-cup sizes in all our designs.

Biatta bralette, $28, Lula Lu

Lula Lu Petite Lingerie: I suggest the Biatta Molded Cup Bralette , $28, as it has no underwire and has light foam cups, which offer some coverage. Plus, it comes in some fun colour combinations. This is a great T-shirt bra or, because it comes with pretty lace trim, you can also wear it to be seen as it looks like the top of a camisole. Each size — small, medium and large — fits AA, A and B cups as there is a lot of stretch.

Bralette, $42, Itty Bitty Bra

Itty Bitty Bra: We have many customers who are in the same situation as your reader. I recommend our bralette, $42, available in small, medium and large in nude and black. It’s a simple, lace-trimmed style — with no underwire, no padding and no hooks. It looks really great under sheer tops.

Tags: 34B, A-cup, AA-cup, AAA-cup, B-cup, bralette, mastectomy bra, non-wired bra, T-shirt bra

Large cup-size specialist Fantasie says "Big is beautiful" -- but small is gorgeous too, right?

Marks and Spencer caused a stir in 2007 when they extended their bra sizing to a J-cup. Now, Selfridges is selling K-cup bras by big bust specialist Fantasie. The gargantuan cups are enough to make us small-busted women feel like Alice in Wonderland after swigging some shrinking potion: each of them measure half a foot at their widest part.

Helen Attwood, Selfridges’ Lingerie Buying Manager, said in the Daily Mail that “We are seeing more demand for the larger sizes and especially for fashionable, sexy bras in bigger sizes.” It’s small wonder that Selfridges is coming up with the goods — big boobs mean big business, as sales of D-G cups have risen 50 per cent year on year since 2005. And the most popular bra size in the UK is now a 36D, compared to 34B a decade ago.

On the face of it, the arrival of the K-cup on the high street seems like bad news for the small-busted… with bigger bras increasingly in demand, there may be even less incentive for retailers to stock a good choice of grown-up, sophisticated styles in AAA-cup, AA-cup and A-cup sizes. Itty bitty cups deliver an itty bitty return on investment, I guess is their thinking.

But it’s not all bad news, we can save our shoe leather by shopping online, where there is a decent number of specialists recognising the wants of those with a small cup size.

In fact, I’ve just discovered a new one, Perfectly Petite Lingerie, which launched in 2009. It’s a very welcome addition to the ranks of AA-cup and A-cup experts, which include Dainty Lady, Know Knockers, Little Women and Small Wonder in the UK; and Lula Lu Petite Lingerie, Itsy Bitsy Bra Bar, Lailides, Eve’s Apples and The Little Bra Company accross the pond. For British small-cup shoppers, there are also AA-cup styles to be found on Amazonand at Figleaves and Marks and Spencer.

While I applaud the great service these specialist suppliers are doing, I can’t help but feel a bit jilted by the high street, where it’s still like searching for a needle in a haystack to find a fashionable AA-cup bra. Marks and Spencer DO them, but can I ever FIND one in my local branch. That’ll be a no.

I haven’t had a chance to check out Selfridges, but when I do I hope I find that AA-cup is represented just like the K-cup — then they could lay claim to the title: World’s First Truly Democratic Lingerie Department.

What do you think?

Tags: AA-cup, AAA-cup, small cup size, small-busted