Matronly boobs

[PeaceLoveAndCandy]

I've always been tiny from the waist up, size 8, flat chested. Then sort of curvaceous from the wait down, size 10, big bum and thighs, so quite typical pear shaped. I am only 5.1.

I have recently turned 50 and apart from the gradual weight increase (I am working extremely hard on it but the weight loss is painfully slow), what I have noticed is that I never feel I look nice when I look in the mirror, and one of the main reasons is my boobs. They're larger than they've ever been and they don't suit me. I need to make peace with them even though I sometimes feel like they're a pair of aliens that have taken over my body.

I am thinking, would a minimised bra help me at all and what would be the best way to measure myself? I think I am a 34C but now sure.

You're no 34 if you're a size 8. Check out Boob or Bust measuring.

Guaranteed you're wearing the wrong size bra. They'll look a lot neater in a properly fitted bra, even if the cupsize sounds enormous.

If you are a size 8 you are most probably a 30. So you are probably a 30DD. That’s the equivalent size. For every inch you go down you go up a cup size. Get a well fitted - preferably balconette bra- personally I think the most flattering shape bra. You will feel amazing. I am a 30FF and I don’t feel matronly at all.

Ps a minimizer WILL make your boobs look frumpy.

Yes steer clear from minimisers. They flatten and spread your boobs out and make you look even more matronly. Properly fitting, lifting and separating bra is much more flattering.

Sorry I think I explained myself spectacularly badly in my OP.

What I was trying to say is that I've always been a size 8 from the waist up and had tiny boobs, which felt right for me, I liked it because I'm short. I always felt groomed and well put together.

Now in middle age, I have gone up to a size 10 and 12, but because I am short and my boobs are bigger, I feel frumpy and matronly.

So no, I am not a size 8, I wish, I have been working hard to get back down to a comfortable size 10 but often a 12 fits better if I can stop being in denial.

So back to my boobs, I feel they look particularly out of place because I am not used to them. I don't like my wide upper body. Funnily enough it is now more proportioned to the bottom half, but I just don't recognise myself and I don't know how to make myself look good.

And I blame my boobs

34C is actually quite a small cup size though. And while it’s not hard science, at a size 12 you are more likely to be a 32 than a 34. I get that they feel alien to you, but if you get them in the right size of bra (which will almost def be bigger than a C cup) you will look/feel much better. Have a go with Boob or Bust and see what it advises. I don’t find it completely accurate but it gives a really good starting point for looking at sizes.

Once you have them in the right size bra, there are all sorts of visual tricks you can do with clothing and accessories. Don’t despair!

Okay thank you, I will measure with boob or bust. Is there a brand of bras I should go for? I am only going to buy just one in several sizes and see which fits best.

Better bras. You need something that lifts and separates rather than giving a monoboob. No way are you a 34 back size. I'm a 32 and I'm size 14.

@PeaceLoveAndCandy

Okay thank you, I will measure with boob or bust. Is there a brand of bras I should go for? I am only going to buy just one in several sizes and see which fits best.

I’d see what size you are first then come back. Then I’d phone the bravissimo helpline and they will offer some suggestions. It varies enormously with how your boobs actually sit on your body and where the volume is. When I was a K, I always wore Panache tango, but post-reduction I’m now an F (yes, I know!) and Panache doesn’t fit well in the smaller size and I now fit much better in a Fantasie Fusion. You also need to scope anybreast tissue that’s lurking by your side or under your armpit into the cup to get a good fit.

Scoop, not scope 🙄

Panache, fantasie and Freya are all good. I like fantasie best.