Just as the right clothes help you look and feel your best, the right bra could be the missing puzzle piece to perfecting your outfit. That’s why when online lingerie outlet HerRoom released the infographic below—the best bras for your breast type (!)—we were hooked.
Especially because, according to Tomima Edmark, HerRoom’s founder and a bra-fitting expert, women aren’t as great at finding bras that fit their breasts as they are at choosing clothes that fit their bodies.
“The most common mistake women make is buying a bra where the band is too large and the cups are too small,” Tomima says. “My goal was to look at the subtle differences in bras and find out what works for which breasts. You’ll be a better consumer if you know what to look for.”
So, here you have the eight different breast types, according to Tomima—and the best bra for each. (Percentages are based on the results of 400,000 women who went through the Know Your Breast Bra Finder.)
1. Shallow: About 10 percent of women. Picture a ski slope: You start at the top and go down to the nipple. You can be born with breasts like this, or they can turn this way after breast-feeding.
The best bra: If you want fullness, you want a push-up with crescent-shaped padding, which will push the lower breast tissue up, bringing your breasts together.
2. Semi-supported: About 30 percent of women. You don’t quite have the fullness of a 16-year-old girl who just got her breasts in, but it’s a nice look.
The best bra: All bras will look great.
3. Self-supported: Sixteen percent of women. This would be a code word for implants. Anyone with augmentation would fall into this category. With or without a bra, breasts are supported.
The best bra: All types—the reason for the bra here is to simply create whatever look you want.
4. Conical: About 6 to 7 percent of women. Generally, a woman who is a C-cup or smaller. The breasts are cone shaped rather than round.
The best bra: Look fuller with padded bras. If you push the apex in, you get more of a natural breast shape.
5. Uneven: Forty-two percent of women. This is when one breast is larger than the other. Most women have uneven breasts simply because if you’re right-handed, that muscle makes the breast on your right side smaller.
The best bra: Always fit your bra to your largest breast. Look for bras that are contour-cupped. A bra cup with a thin layer of foam can act as a nice filler to mold the smallness of your other breast.
6. Settled: Twenty-seven percent of women. This is a nicer way of saying that your breasts are deflated or hanging. You need support and you need to pull those girls up! As you age, breasts are not as firm, but they are malleable, so you can form them into any shape you want.
The best bra: A well-structured, multi-part bra that has cup has seams in it. Seams give your breasts great structure and a nice shape.
7. Thin: About 5 percent of women. If you look in medical journals, this shape is referred to as “tubular breasts.” What that means your breasts are not as wide as the traditional underwire of bras.
The best bra: Bandeau bras. By “smooshing” the breasts together, you make them less “long,” if you will. A contour cup will also work.
8. Splayed: Twenty-seven percent of women. Splayed means your breasts go east-west, so you want to bring ‘em in toward the center.
The best bra: Demi bras will show more of your upper breast. Look at the center panel of a bra and see how the cups are attached. You want to look for a triangular piece in between where the wires meet, and side support panels in the cups will help push breasts center too.
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