Completely flat-chested... need implants?

Midnight48

New member
Hello everyone, happy holidays :)

I know belly dancing emphasizes how beautiful all body types can be, but lately I've run into a bit of a dilemma. I personally have no problem being flat-chested, I am a very tiny person and think I'm beautiful with or without breasts. But, I do have a problem with my chest being too small for costumes. Our troupe generally wears bra and belt sets for performances, and I always have to stuff my bra to the extreme. But, even after I put a lot of padding on the inside of the bra, there's still a "cloud" of space between the costume and my chest. So, you can basically see my breasts from a side view sometimes. It makes me really uncomfortable. Do you think I should get implants? Not talking unnatural-for-my-body-DD, maybe a B-cup so I don't have to stuff anymore.
 

Kashmir

New member
No, I don't think you should get implants. You need a bra that fits you. (Badly fitting bras are not just a problem for smaller women - I cannot buy off the shelf either).

You actually have an advantage. Creating a chest cover in two dimensions is pretty straightforward. The hard bit will be transfering the beading (the fringing, if any, should be on a cord which can be easily removed and sewn on you new costume.
 

Yame

New member
You need to get smaller, flatter bras so they aren't gapping. That may be impossible to find on off-the-rack costumes, so you're going to have to find a designer who can custom make a bra like that, or make them yourself.
 

Mosaic

Super Moderator
I agree with Kashmir re implants. Go to a bra specialist & be fitted for your everyday bra & for a costume bra, maybe contact someone like Belly Dance Forums - View Profile: eshta amar (an American designer costume maker) or L Rose designs Welcome to L. Rose Designs she may be able to help with a correctly fitting bra/top & then there is etsy lots of designer/dressmakers there who very likely can create something to fit you e.g: http://www.etsy.com/listing/106650305/bra-and-belt-belly-dance-costume-royal?ref=v1_other_1
White swarovski belly dance bra and belt by IndianSun on Etsy

Gold sequined turkish/egyptian style belly by HazelJaeDesigns

Just search for bellydance bra I am sure you'll find lots
Good hunting
~Mosaic
 
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DancingArabian

New member
"Need" implants? No. I think some custom work or perhaps someone really good at altering would do the trick.

Now if you WANT implants and are just trying to 'justify' them to yourself, that's a different story.
 

Bast

New member
Hello everyone, happy holidays :)

I know belly dancing emphasizes how beautiful all body types can be, but lately I've run into a bit of a dilemma. I personally have no problem being flat-chested, I am a very tiny person and think I'm beautiful with or without breasts. But, I do have a problem with my chest being too small for costumes. Our troupe generally wears bra and belt sets for performances, and I always have to stuff my bra to the extreme. But, even after I put a lot of padding on the inside of the bra, there's still a "cloud" of space between the costume and my chest. So, you can basically see my breasts from a side view sometimes. It makes me really uncomfortable. Do you think I should get implants? Not talking unnatural-for-my-body-DD, maybe a B-cup so I don't have to stuff anymore.

I know what you are talking about. Most of the costumes I buy end up being a cup size too big for me and I have to get very creative to avoid the gap.

Three things I have had success with.
1. Try putting padding more towards the armpit as this will push what you do have together.

2. Physio tape- the really strong sticky fabric tape. I use it to literally tape them together which gives them a more rounded shape so that they fill out the top of the cup better. If the band between the cups is thin I just cut a little triangle shape out of the tape so it doesn't show.

3. Adding a little strip of fabric just on inside rim of both cups. Can be same colour lycra as your costume or gathered chiffon, to cover the the space that sometimes opens up when you round your shoulders or bend forward.

I haven't done 3 myself but just recently saw it on a professional dancer and thought it was a great idea.

I understand the temptation for implants but for myself I am not keen to go down that path as I don't want multiple surgeries later on if there are issues. If they were set and forget I probably would!
 

Samsara

New member
My friend is flat chested but is the best dancer in my course, you don't need big chest for dancing well, you need only a good bra costume ;)
 

Roshanna

New member
I'm very small-chested, and I get on OK with costumes, usually. I am very picky about what bras I will buy, as not all of them can be made to look good with padding.
- Make sure the cups are not too wide for your ribcage
- Buy bras as close as possible to your actual size (in my case, even an A cup sometimes needs significant padding...), costume sellers will try to persuade you that you can pad more than 1 size up, but it's not a good idea.
- Avoid designs with space between the bra cups! My best fitting bras have a 'classic' cup shape rather than the 'dina-style' cups.
- If you are buying a costume for yourself, consider getting it custom made to your measurements, then it shouldn't need too much adjustment to fit.

Here are some tips for adjusting your costume bras:
- Make sure that the back straps and shoulder straps are short enough, by moving the hooks. I always shorten the straps as much as I can whilst still being able to breathe, as this lifts up the breasts and makes them look bigger. The shoulder straps should be as short as possible, and the back strap should be tight enough to stay flat against your body and not get pulled out of place by the shoulder straps.
- Make sure that your padding is firmly attached to your bra!
- For bras that only need a little bit of padding, I sew in the pads out of old lingerie bras.
- For bras that need a lot of padding, I use the type of stuffing that goes inside of teddy bears ;). If the bra lining is stretchy, I cut it open and put stuffing inside of the lining, at the bottom & outside of the cup. If the lining isn't stretchy, I make stretchy pouches (out of cut up socks) and stitch them to the lining, then fill them with stuffing.
- You can never have too much stuffing. When you think you have enough, put some more in.
- You may also need to use some fashion tape to stop your nipples from escaping from the cups. Some dancers also use medical tape to tape their breasts together to create the illusion of cleavage, but I haven't tried this myself!

Even dancers with larger breasts still have to adjust and pad their bras to get a good fit, so getting implants wouldn't mean you didn't have to do this. I have considered it myself in the past, but it's expensive, painful, and can go wrong, which seems worse than just having to choose costumes carefully and do a bit of extra sewing.
 

Greek Bonfire

Well-known member
All great advice. In my community, many dancers are more "blessed" than I am, plus many of the costumes for sale are for bigger chested women. I have finally learned how to alter my bras so that I no longer have to put padding in there, and I now my bras do show my girls off to the best advantage.

But implants? Girl, don't ever cut up your body solely for dancing purposes but for better reasons than just that. I have nothing against getting implants because if it's done safely and it makes you happy, go for it. But I know of many wonderful dancers who are almost flat chested and they get hired for events anyway.
 

khanjar

New member
Flat chested ?

Then you know how we feel, mind the moobs are coming on but they will never be anything like what women have and they are not exactly attractive bearing in mind many male dancers dance bare chested or at least chest exposed.

But there are ways to increase the bust size with herbal estrogens no less as there are many out there in common foods as well as there are herbal androgens also and I do understand there are various products available such as Mammorex and Bust fuel the latter receiving good reviews as it only targets breast tissue.
 

Midnight48

New member
Hello, sorry it's been a while, gone for the holidays :) Thank you all for the suggestions, I especially like the tape ideas and adding fabric to the top of the cups. I guess I should have specified, but because I'm in a troupe our leader orders all of the costumes according to our size and whichever color we'd like. But, although we have a say in which costumes we prefer, I am not able to get a completely custom size because they usually don't offer anything below an A cup, sometimes a B cup. And I'm usually a AAA or AA, so I always have to stuff. I was mainly worried about *ahem* my nipples showing because even if I stuff, I'm worried that while I'm shimmying they'll just pop out the top of the bra. But I guess maybe nude-colored petals would help ease my worries. I don't think I'll get implants, too expensive and definitely not worth it just for dance, but my doctor did suggest birth control for an attempt to gain weight. :dance:
 

Darshiva

Moderator
Don't stress it. The nude pasties will give you the security you desire. And in all likelihood age will take care of the weight gain for you. In the meantime, just enjoy the body you grew into & stop worrying about meeting other people's ideals. You can't please everyone so you might as well just stick to pleasing yourself. :)
 

DancingArabian

New member
Flat chested ?

Then you know how we feel, mind the moobs are coming on but they will never be anything like what women have and they are not exactly attractive bearing in mind many male dancers dance bare chested or at least chest exposed.

But there are ways to increase the bust size with herbal estrogens no less as there are many out there in common foods as well as there are herbal androgens also and I do understand there are various products available such as Mammorex and Bust fuel the latter receiving good reviews as it only targets breast tissue.

If these things actually worked they would be a LOT more popular. Just saying. :)
 

khanjar

New member
If these things actually worked they would be a LOT more popular. Just saying. :)

The other thing is everybody wants a quick fix, they want it yesterday and are not prepared to wait and why should they when there is a cosmetic surgery procedure for every part of us we see as a flaw.
 

AndreaSTL

New member
So glad you opted out of the surgery! As already stated, I'm not against all implants, but I don't think dance costumes are a good reason for getting them. Rest assured that there are costumes out there for you! I carry quite a few for smaller busted dancers, and I know I'm not the only one.

How does your troupe leader order costumes? Do you all wear the same costume or just the same color or style? If you are all wearing the same costume I'm guessing some if not all have to be custom made. Most designers keep less than 5, usually only 1 or 2, of a particular style. They have several designs, and it's just too expensive to keep a huge inventory. A designer who is making costumes from scratch should be able to do them in any size, so I'm not sure why you can't get one that fits. Personally, I haven't had great luck with custom orders (so frustrating!), and I quit offering that option to customers. I'm not trying to be disrespectful of other vendors; I just don't understand why you can't get something that fits or comes close to fitting.

Roshanna has given you some great advice, and her first item (make sure cups aren't too wide for your ribcage) is almost more important than cup size. You might be able to successfully pad a B cup to fit, but if those cups extend around your back forget it! You can also use toupe tape to keep the cups adhered to your chest so they don't shift and gap.
 

LadyLoba

New member
I am glad the original poster of this thread decided not to get implants. The only women who need implants are those who are so bothered by their chest size that it impacts their life in a negative way...and nothing else will do. If you are healthy and you like your figure...you don't need anything changed..no matter what anyone else has.

I understand the frustration though. I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum...very very large...and Ive thought of getting them reduced before...but it worked out better when I adjusted my clothing...better fitting, fuller coverage bras and crewneck tee shirts in solid cotton (no stretch or scoop necks to cause accidental flashing) were a lot less drastic and gave the support and coverage and all that.
 
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