Busty women - what clothes have you bought in 'normal' shops??

[Hermano]

Copying a thread title from 2013 in the hope of getting some fresh input!

I'm 5ft 5", size 12ish, 32JJ boobs. I look frumpy in everything except a few bravissimo dresses and jeans+vest+cardie. However I'm almost 40 and just want to look chic!
Not on a highly restricted budget, but not able to buy unlimited whistles etc

Ideally I'd like to look a bit retro / edgy but nice is more important than anything else!

Cheers for any wisdom you can share

Boden is good for bustier women but you need to read the reviews to work out which tops / dresses these are. They tend to be true to size, again read the reviews for each item. There is a 50% sale going on at the moment so a good time to try.

34JJ/K, size 16, 5ft 10
I wear Dorothy Perkins (usually tall range), asos, seasalt, joules, boden, a lot of long tall sally, lady v London, Collectif (fits me like a dream!)

Sea salt is great - good cut and material

If you take the advice to shop at Boden and Seasalt you’ll possibly feel even frumpier. I’m a 34FF size 14/16 and shop in lots of regular high street shops, H&M, Gap, Next, Warehouse. It’s what you choose to wear that makes the difference. Yes, I agree big boobs make me feel frumpy, I don’t love them but with a bit of careful choice and styling I can feel ok in my clothes. Look up styling boards in your body shape on Pinterest.

5’7, size 12-ish 32K. I actually don’t find bravissimo suits me at all. I wear Boden, Hush, Whistles, John Lewis partnership, sometimes Sosander although they are a bit polyester at times, &OtherStories. Mastering the half-tuck has actually really helped with how stuff looks on me, and breaks up the sense of being all front.

Poetry and Wrap London are other places I’ve had some success.

I think it comes down to style more than brand. Fabric too. Drapey soft fabrics work better - anything too thick/stiff create a shelf while if it drapes (cashmere, silk on expensive end or some polyester mixes on the cheap end). Ditto, anything v-neck, a cross-over style/wrap etc. I find I always feel at my most stylish wearing something appropriately soft, in a v neck/wrap style with a fitted jacket (one that's properly tucked in at waist). V Neck dresses or wrap dresses work well but often require me to wear a vest or something underneath.

Am size 16, 5ft 6

Have you tried Dressippi? I've found it quite good when I actually had money to spend on clothes!

@BlingLoving is right it's the fabric mostly that makes the difference. Soft with a bit of stretch is where it's at. Nothing stiff or boxy unless you want to look like a cube

@fringe - i tried on the linen shift dresses from Next in every single colour/pattern because the style was right but the fabric was mostly too stiff. For whatever reason, the dark blue one was a softer fabric (I assume it had to do with the dye) and looks fab. The others all gave me a shelf across the breasts!

Oh yes, those linen shift dresses. Navy was the only one I could wear initially as well, although I ended up accidentally keeping the blue tulip one, and it improved vastly after a couple of washes and hot irons, the linen became very soft.

@ilovecherries - yes, the navy one worked for me too!