The latest trend in petite lingerie: bras that make you look two sizes larger. Victoria’s Secret went so far as to advertise their Miraculous mega-padded monster on TV with the “Hello, Bombshell” campaign, which is enough to make even the most confident small-busted woman feel inadequate.
And UK brand Panache now offers the 5946 Atlantis Solutions Ultimate Gel bra, which also claims to boost the bust by two cups. The original Panache Atlantis liquid-filled 1044 t-shirt style makes size AA breasts look at least one cup size larger — but apparently that’s just not enough anymore.
Am I tempted by these magical feats of bust-enhancing fakery? Sure. It’s fun to experiment with different looks from time to time. There’s still a part of me that longs for a voluptuous, dramatic hourglass figure like Marilyn Monroe’s (although, unlike most current designer lingerie models, she also had hips and thighs).
But my radical feminist side is telling me to beware: the heavier the padding in my bras, the more I will have to struggle to love my body.
