The Bra Fitter Diaries: To Pad, or Not to Pad

“My boobs are already too big, I don’t need any extra padding!”

“Why would anyone busty want a padded bra??”

“Why do you even carry these?”

Based on what I’m hearing around the store lately, the padded bra seems to be kind of controversial. You’re either Team Padded or Team Unpadded! But what if I told you that a padded bra isn’t always a padded bra? That padding isn’t always there for the reasons you might think? And in fact, it’s often not padding at all? Friends, follow me down the brabbit hole…

I don’t feel even a little bad about that pun.

Everything isn’t as it seems…

Sometimes a bra looks padded on the hanger, but in reality it’s just got some lining, or has molded cups as opposed to seamed cups. Molded cups are made by heat-forming a piece of foam over a generic “breast-shaped” form. (Since we know that not all breasts are the same shape, these can be a trickier fit.) Bras with molded cups also tend to look bigger on the hanger, since they retain their shape with or without boobs inside. For the most part, though, they really don’t make you look bigger.

There are lots of reasons someone might want a lined or molded cup: they provide nipple coverage, they’re smooth under t-shirts, they tend to offer a rounder shape…the list goes on, and it’s really all down to personal preference. A good example is the Bijou (right) by Elomi. It’s totally smooth under summer tees and keeps nipples hidden in the chilliest of A/C, thanks to molded cups. Without padding!

…but sometimes it is

Sometimes there is indeed padding, even in a full bust bra. Often it’s not there to create the illusion of bigger boobs at all. Instead, it’s there to create a specific shape. For example, a bra that has padding in the bottom of the cup is going to provide lift and cleavage that an unpadded bra couldn’t, particularly for breasts with softer tissue. If you’re looking for a smooth (seamless) bra with amazing lift, a bit of padding might be just what you need. And bras with removable pads are great for balancing breast asymmetry – just remove the pad on your fuller side! The Cappuccino (left) by Ewa Michalak, offers a little cleavage boost AND removable pads. (And pretty straps, but that’s neither here nor there.) However: some full bust bras are padded to give a size boost, because some fuller-busted folks want to look even fuller-busted. Which brings me to why we carry all of these types of bras…

Our clients are diverse, and so are their preferences. “Too big” or “too small” is the most subjective thing ever, and has way more to do with you than with the size of your boobs. There’s no “right” way to look, no “right” size to be, no “right” shape. The only right anything for you is the one that makes you feel good. This is the moral of the story: everyone’s personal taste and comfort level is different and, well, personal. Even two people with identical body and breast size and shape won’t necessarily want the same things! Except for pizza. We all want pizza.