Wide Set
Separated
Round or Augmented
Pendulous
Swooping
Soft or Deflated
Full and Large
Uneven or Asymetrical
Teardrop
Close Set
Breasts that are touching are full and round, and are usually characteristic of a larger breast type. Touching breasts leave little to no space between them, making it more difficult to find a bra in which the center wires lie flat against the sternum and separate the breasts properly.
Best Styles
Bras that work best for touching
breasts, are often
full coverage and full support styles with strong
underwires that will separate the breasts.
Plunge bras
and
balconette bras
often work well too. Because the center wires are lower, the short
wires can lie flat between the breasts, while revealing sexy, yet
well-controlled cleavage.
Best Brands: Panache, Sculptresse, Elomi, Empreinte, Ewa Michalak
Wide Set
Wide set breasts can be either full and round or small and shallow. This breast type is characterized by a prominent space between the breasts. For a woman with large breasts, this can make finding a bra with a wide enough underwire to encompass the breast difficult. For a smaller breast, this can make cleavage difficult to achieve!
Best Styles
Bras that work best for large, wide
set breasts are those with wide frames that are designed to
encapsulate each breast. Typically, the underwires in these bras
extend farther under the arm than a regular bra style. For a small,
wide set breast a bra that has a wide frame is also recommended; but
if cleavage is desired, then a good ultra
push-up bra
will do the trick!
Best Brands: Goddess, PrimaDonna, Twist by PrimaDonna
Seperated
Breasts with natural separation usually have about 1/2" to 1" of space between the breasts and are not touching or wide set. This breast is in-between the previous two, contrasting breast types.
Best Styles
Most bra styles work
best with a separated breast, because the natural space accommodates
both strong underwires and deep cups, or flexible underwires and
shallow cups. So the good news is, you have lots of options!
Best Brands: Any!
Round or Augmented
Round breasts can be natural or augmented. Naturally round breasts are usually very firm and because of their fullness, they are often close-set or touching. Augmented breast types are full and can vary from firm to quite solid, depending on whether the implant was placed over or under the pectoral muscles.
Best Styles
For
naturally round breasts, a bra with deep cups and a
strong underwire will provide the support and separation that is
needed. For augmented breasts, depending on the
firmness, a
cut-and-sewn
bra with strong underwires, a
plunge, or a
balconette
style is usually best. A full-coverage t-shirt bra or a bra with
shallow cups is usually not a very good option for a round or
augmented breast, simply because the stiff foam does not conform well
to a firm, round breast tissue. However, a plunging t-shirt bra or a
flexible, moulded spacer foam can work well.
Best Brands: Panache, Sculptresse, Elomi, Ewa Michalak, Freya
Pendulous
Pendulous breast types are characterized by soft breast tissue and sometimes deflated breast tissue – often with the nipple pointing downwards. Deflated or soft tissue can sometimes be caused by having nursed children, if you have gained or lost a significant amount of weight or if you are in your wiser years. This breast type is called "pendulous" because the shape of the breast is typically longer in shape and they sit a little lower on the body.
Best Styles
Bra styles that work well with a
pendulous breast type are usually those that are considered as "full support" or "cut-and-sewn". These styles of bras are constructed to have
deeper cups. A bra that is made of a firm fabric on the bottom of the
cup and a stretch lace along the top is ideal for this breast type.
Best Brands: Panache, Sculptresse, Elomi, Ewa Michalak, Freya
Swooping
Swooping breast types are those that are full on the bottom and not very full on the top. Typically, the swooping breast descends until the areola (nipple), and becomes fuller below the areola. The swooping breast can be either firm or soft, but is most often characterized by a combination of soft tissue on the top and firmer, fuller tissue on the bottom of the breast.
Best Styles
Bra styles that work best for a
swooping breast typically are
shallow cups with a less round shape. Most seamless
bras work well for a swooping breast, but keep in mind that soft cups
and spacer foam are better suited to a soft breast tissue than a
stiff, moulded foam cup.
Best Brands: Fantasie, Chantelle, Montelle, Ewa Michalak
Soft or Deflated
Breasts that have lost their fullness over time, or after nursing or weight fluctuations, are referred to as soft or "deflated" breast types. This type of breast tissue is usually not as round or full as the used to be; they are usually either pendulous or swooping.
Best Styles
Bras that
have stretch in the cup are usually better suited to
a breast that has lost fullness. This is because breast tissue that
has softened is often not full enough to completely fill out a deep,
round cup and a stiff bra construction can emphasize areas that are
not completely filled out. A stretchier cup forms to the breast
smoothly, eliminating any puckering in the fabric that might result
from lost fullness.
Best Brands: Chantelle, PrimaDonna, Empreinte
Full and Large
Large breast types are usually G cups and above, but large breasts may also be E, F, and FF cups with 38 band sizes and above. Full breasts are usually large and rounded on top, as well as at the base of the breast. They can be of either soft or firm breast tissue.
Best Styles
Bras that work best for full or
large breast types are those that are
deep in the cup and have a strong underwire for
separation.
Cut-and-sewn, or "seamed" bras, provide the best fit and support for a larger
breast, which is why seamless bras are rarely made in larger cup
sizes.
Best Brands: Elomi, Sculptresse, Goddess, Panache, Freya
Asymetrical or Uneven
When a woman has one breast that is slightly larger than the other (which is more common than one may think), her breasts are said to be "uneven". If the level of size difference is low, it may not affect bra options at all; however, if the difference between breasts is a cup size or more then it may influence choices.
Best Styles
A woman with uneven breasts should
always fit her bras to the larger breast. If the bra
is fit to the smaller breast, the larger may put pressure on the bra's
construction, causing underwires to bend or break, and fabric/seams to
wear more quickly. To de-emphasize any difference in size, she can
either insert a little foam/silicone pad
to fill any space in the cup on the smaller side, or she can go with a
bra that has some stretch in the cup to form to each unique breast.
Best Brands: PrimaDonna, Fantasie, Ewa Michalak, Sculptresse, Panache
Teardrop
Teardrop shaped breasts are an ideal breast shape in terms of bra fitting, because they are usually very easy to fit! This breast type is normally firm and fairly round, but they are not as full on top as a true round and full breast.
Best Styles
Women with these breast types can
wear most styles of bras without much issue.
Cut-and-sewn bras, moulded, seamless, plunge, balconette... are all
suitable for this breast type, as long as the breast tissue is fairly
firm. If you have teardrop shaped breasts... lucky you!
Best Brands:
Wacoal,
Passionata,
Freya,
Parfait,
Fantasie
Still have questions? Send us an email at customercare@foreveryourslingerie.ca
