Do you know what bra to wear to give you look you want ?

Monday, 15th October 2007

When you're lingerie shopping for a bra do you get confused about the many cup styles available, what kind of shape the bra will give and if it’s the right bra cup style for you. Intimate-Secrets.co.uk very own lingerie reviewer Katie takes a look.

From full cup to half cup, soft cup to minimiser there are so many bra styles these days it’s enough to confuse any woman, so I thought it was about time the differences were explained.

Half Cup
A half cup bra as the name suggests offers less breast coverage and is generally cut to 1" above the nipple.
Most Half cup bras are designed with a slight tilt to push the breasts towards the centre for enhanced cleavage and move breast tissue from under the arms, thus not surprisingly most push-up bras are half cup bra style to give an enhanced cleavage.
The underwires of a half cup bra are much shorter making the half cup bra great for petite women who have issues with the underwires of their bra cups poking in to them.

Balconette Cup
A balconette bra is similar to a half cup bra with a little less coverage, although some brands use this name on other styles that do not have a true balconette cup. A true balconette cup is cut horizontally just above the bust line and gives your boobs the look of fullness and uplift. A balconette cup bra can enhance bust size and look great on girls with large chests.

Contour cup
T-Shirt bras generally have contour cups as they hold their shape even when not worn. The cups are underwired with a fibrefill or foam lining moulded into a specific shape. A Contour cup bra is a perfect choice for any woman seeking a smooth look, as they offer a round and symmetrical breast shape. A contour bra can also add definition (not size) to the breast, a smooth shape, and elimination of nipple contours.
Contour Bras are the perfect choice for women that are in-between bra sizes, or a woman with uneven breasts.

Full Cup
A full cup bra offers greater coverage of the breast as well as greater support than a half cup bra. It also has the advantage of not cause a crease or indentation along the top of the breast due to the shape of the cup.

Lined Cups
Lined cups give additional support and added opaqueness to the cup with a smooth look and great shape under close fitting clothing.

Minimiser Cup
A minimizer cup gives the appearance of reducing the size of your breasts and is great if you want to wear front-button shirts and blouses without the dreaded gapping effect.
A minimizer cup works by pushes the breast flesh more towards the underarm and the centre front, but it’s important to note that no cup can actually reduce your volume of breast tissue.

Padded Cup
A padded cup bra has fibre-fillet in the cups and adds size and definition to the bust giving a well-proportioned look and is perfect for women with a smaller bust

Push-Up Cup
Push-up cups are designed to enhance a woman’s bust by creating cleavage and the look of fuller breasts. Designed primarily for women with a C cup and smaller, push-up cups are shaped like a half cup with padding or a gell pocket at the bottom of the cups which causes your breast tissue to be pushed up and inward. The cups are angled inward so that the breast tissue is pushed towards the centre creating a fantastic cleavage.

Most push-up bras also have wide-set straps which further assist in directing the breast tissue towards the centre to create more cleavage.

Soft Cup
A Soft cup bra is a bra with no under wiring or padding and this lack of structure makes it most popular with women with an A or B cup but can be found in some maternity bras offering comfort.

With so many variations of cup design there’s a sure to be a bra to give you the shape you want for what. Look at the clothes your going to wear and decide the shape and look to suit, you’ll feel fantastic and more importantly look fantastic as well.

Katie. xxx