Being Busty in Lolita: Strategies to Fit and Flatter!

As someone who’s got more than their fair share of bust, I have spent a *lot* of time figuring out how to fit myself into a fashion that is generally for smaller breasted bodies. I see a lot of people wearing things that aren’t a flattering fit just because the numbers say “it fits” and I’m here to tell you today-- wait, it can be so much better! If you’ve been struggling with how to manage your own overabundant bosom, this is the post you gotta read.

The single most important thing you can do for yourself in and out of lolita fashion is to get and wear a properly fitted bra. Signs you’re wearing the wrong size: you can pull your bra over your head without unhooking it, the center of bra floats off of your chest, the top edge of your cup makes an indent in your boob, the straps leave marks on your shoulders, the band rides up in the back, your bra fucking hurts-- among others. Now, you might say, “oh I got fitted at Victoria’s Secret/Aerie/Soma/etc, I know I’m in the right size”, but this is where you’re wrong. Big box bra brands like to carry the smallest possible selection of bras, so they have a weird incorrect fitting method that will get you *in* a bra, but not the best bra, because they don’t want to carry your bra size.

Take a minute and grab a measuring tape and plug your measurements into this calculator. You’re probably going to get a size that sounds totally freaky, do not panic. Take that size and select it on this grid. (Mildly NSFW for photos of people in bras without a top on.) I’ll bet that the people in it look pretty damn close to what your body looks like. Make sure you're comparing to ones that are not just the stock photo!

This is going to be the single greatest difference on whether or not any piece of clothing, lolita or not, flatters you. I recommend owning both a foam cup/t-shirt bra and a soft cup bra-- they’re both useful for different situations. Foam cups are really nice for an added bit of structure, but it can be harder to find a perfect fit, because they're somewhat less malleable than a soft cup. Soft bras are really handy for situations where the available boob space is shaped (think separate cups, or like empire style shelf bodices) in a specific way.

Victorian Maiden Lace Chiffon Doll OP - note the separated cups, which can be tricky!

The next thing we’re going to tackle is the dreaded boobloaf, and why it happens. Bodices are shaped with most of the volume in the top half, and less in the bottom where your waist starts. However, if you have more breast volume than fits in the bust portion, it flows into the waist area. To put it more plainly-- think of your boobs as water overflowing a glass. It’s going to go wherever it can if it fills up the available area. So, essentially, when we have more breast than a bodice is designed for, it flattens the whole area out, resulting in a loaf-like appearance. In high waisted dresses, this actually will cause large portions of your bust to fall below the waistline, and is generally regarded as an unflattering and undesirable look. At its core, lolita fashion is a feminine fashion, so when you lose the clear definition of the bust from the waist, it begins to look strange.

Often, people recommend using a binder or a compression sports bra to compress your bust so you can fit into a too small bodice. This is actually just forcing the same issue to happen. You can’t magically lose breast volume, it must go somewhere. So instead, we force the breasts to the sides and above and below, again forming that uniform loaf. The only time this *sort of* looks okay is in sack dresses where there essentially *is* no waistline. The flip side to that is, they’re often so voluminous that you probably don’t need to flatten to fit into it.

Angelic Pretty Holy Lantern OP - See how all of the volume starts immediately at the bottom of the yoke?

So, now that we know what a bad fit looks like, what do we do? Just wearing a well fitted bra will actually improve your fit in a lot of your previously borderline unwearable dresses. Why? Because your previous bra was probably doing very little to keep your boobs in well contained, attractive mounds. Your new bra will keep your boobs shapely and higher up, utilizing more of the bodice space intended for breasts, than if they were hanging low and unsupported.

 
The next thing we can do is simply to avoid cuts that are just going to be unflattering on people with larger busts. The number one offender, hands down, is high waisted dresses. Why? Because by raising the waist, it reduces the amount of room allocated specifically for boobs, either resulting in a large portion of your bust falling below the waistline, or forming one uniform loaf in the bodice. This can be partially mitigated by extending the straps, bringing the waist down lower and below the breasts-- either through a permanent alteration or using strap extenders if the straps are already detachable. However, extending your straps will only go so far. If you’re very blessed in the chest department, you won’t be able to get the waist below your bust without revealing most of the top of your chest.

Angelic Pretty Twinkle Muse JSK - This is quite highwaisted on the spectrum, AP does a lot of these ultra highwaisted cuts- which dramatically reduces the available bust volume.

Also generally problematic for larger busts are babydoll cuts. Similar to high waisted cuts, baby doll dresses have a reduced amount of total available breast space, and it tends to lead to the whole dress floating awkwardly over your bust, and riding up in strange ways.

Baby the Stars Shine Bright Tartan Check Babydoll JSK - Babydoll cuts are another variation of a highwaisted dress, and are supposed to be a bit floaty, but if you're larger it tends to just ride up.

The last trouble cut we’ll address are fully shirred bodices. I think a lot of busty people fall into this trap of, “oh I can get it on, so it fits”. A bodice fitting isn’t just about it physically fitting on your body, but also looking flattering. Fully shirred bodices are designed to have most of the shirring scrunched up for aesthetic reasons. Maxing out a fully shirred bodice instead results in a really strange puckered effect, and you again get a uniform loaf of a bust. I generally recommend avoiding these cuts altogether unless they were specifically cut and sewn with a large bust in mind, and a correspondingly larger amount of fabric used.

Baby the Stars Shine Bright Shirring Princess JSK - These can work well if you're more in the middle of the size range, but at the max extension you lose the cute gathers, and instead get rows of indents from stretched elastic.

Cuts that work really well for us? Drop waist dresses. Not the most common, but they tend to look really good on larger busted people. The more bust you have, the more of the length of a bodice is eaten up by the projection of your chest, which slightly raises the waistline of a dress. A drop waisted dress actually ends up balancing your proportions, and can bring everything into a more flattering ratio.

 

Alice and the Pirates Porte Bonheur JSK I - A fairly typical dropped waist cut, see how the smallest part of the bodice would hit like just above the hip, maybe at the belly button?

Just/natural waist cuts are also good, but can sometimes suffer from being too short. Shirred neckline OPs can be rather flattering as well! The gathering at the neckline and waist often leaves you plenty of room for your boobs to assume a natural looking shape. Moi-meme-Moitie has done quite a few of these styles and they’re quite bust friendly, despite their reputation as a small brand.

 

Innocent World Antique Cat Mid Waist JSK - A true just waist cut, on the fairly busty this can actually end up being highwaisted, and can be ideal for that highwaist look!

Moi-meme-Moitie Cross & Roses Print OP - The shirred neckline and shirred waist in this gives you plenty of room in the bust while still cinching it in at the waist in a flattering manner.

No-waist a-line dresses are also often really good. They super accentuate your waist as it comes to a point, and it helps to balance out the bustiness. These can be sort of tricky to find in sizes large enough, but Innocent World has an L size for most dresses that often goes up to ~99cm, which can be an option for some people.

Innocent World Palace Rose Flare JSK - No waist a-line dresses have such a dramatic shape that it tends to be flattering if you're larger on top.

Of particular note: Metamorphose has now started doing a plus and a plus plus size in some dresses and blouses! This is a fabulous option for busty people-- often they have corset lacing in the back, so if the waist is too large, you can simply take it in there. In general, Meta does dresses with more generous measurements than Angelic Pretty and Baby the Stars Shine Bright/Alice and the Pirates, and they have some really unique cuts. Also, totally underappreciated-- MAXICIMAM has dresses and blouses in their plus sized Lovely line, and can scratch that AP-style super sweet itch for many people. Atelier Pierrot has loads of fully shirred neckline OPs, and also many of their Corset OPs go as large as 100cm or more, and with the corset lacing, you can cinch any excess fabric at the waist.

Metamorphose Temps de Fille Queen of Witch Plus Size - With a max bust of 140cm and corset lacing in the back, this is great for people with a large difference between their bust and waist measurements.

MAXICIMAM Cotty the Chocolate Mint Bear's Sweet Wonderland JSK (Lovely Size) - MAXICIMAM has a lot in their Lovely line that hits that AP itch.

Atelier Pierrot Lace Corset OP - AtePie has done a million variations on this corset style, again a great fit for people with a large bust/waist difference. These are often slightly dropped waist which is also flattering.

Hopefully, you’ve learned a new strategy or two for finding a fit that flatters you!

Enfamil