[crinoline]

it was ME! I loooove retro swimwear, and those suits are fab!
Last summer I was lucky enough to score this one by Juicy Couture in Layercake, which is a baby pink. Mine also has a little bow between the cups, but other than that it's the same suit. It was on super clearance (because it was petite) so I got it for $33!! I love it!

[karategrrl]

SUMMER SWIMWEAR ALERT!

I forgot who it was here that liked retro swimwear, but here are some I just saw:

http://www.modcloth.com/store/ModCloth/Womens/Swimwear

Happy browsing/shopping!

[purplestain]

Loooooove those links. I swore to never again enter Urban Outfitters but ohhhh they have such nice backless/halter lacy things.

Q: What is awesome about being a small Bustie?
A: Being able to go inconspicuously (and painlessly) braless when it's too hot for words. Oh yes.

[karategrrl]

OMG crinoline, I need, I mean, WANT that backless tunic!!! Holy crap. And it's not crazy expensive. Makes me want to attack the backs of all my summer tops with scissors.

anna k, I feel for you with the "boobage at the gym" issue. Man, how crazy is it that whatever end of the spectrum you're on, there are clothing issues to contend with!

[strongirl]

Crinoline, that's some excellent fashion advice for smallies and those are awesome links. Nicely done.

[Aithinne]

crinoline, love those links! I definitley will have to find some super cute tops. The shirts I have now that aren't conspicuous without the bra are not very cute. So, time for shopping.

It feels like forever since I last logged on here. Our internet was not working the best since the snow gods decided to shart on us over here in Colorado- over 2 feet of snow, 4 ft in drifts!

[anarch]

crinoline & everybody who posts links to flattering tops dresses etc, thank you. I love love love looking at the stuff you find.

[crinoline]

those "talent" shows always grate on me with the smug, unqualified judges.

Aithinne - I actually go braless quite a lot. I do live on the Gulf Coast, so it's really hot down here. I don't ever feel that I look skanky or inappropriate, either. I don't go braless in sheer or clingy knit tops, that's too revealing for me. I like woven tops with a little structure and an interesting neckline. One of the best things about being small chested is that we can get away with more revealing looks than our larger sisters without looking inappropriate. For instance, backless looks are fab for smallies because we don't need support. If you go to a bar in a top that looks deceivingly demure from the front, then you turn around and it's all skin, I guarantee that men will notice you.
Examples of tops that look great sans bra:
structured cami
daring backless tunic
embellished tube
slinky backless top
pleated cami

pleats, ruffles, and other embellishments on the bust can also make your braless state a little less conspicuous, because they provide some nip coverage.

[angie_21]

Small-breasted hottie alert: Evan Rachel Wood has an allegedly smokin' (I haven't seen it yet) photo spread in GQ this month. She's like maybe an A+ cup? Her dress at the Academy Awards this year made her look totally flat...and totally hot.

That just made me think of another small hottie - my boyfriend absolutely loves Portia de Rossi (as Lindsay on Arrested Development. love that show!) and I had always thought her figure was kinda blah looking, probably because I was projecting my own feelings about my small boobs, and she is completely flat! I think he likes her silly attitude on the show more than anything (don't ask me why!), but that just goes to show the importance of personality!

I know anarch, I felt like that about myself, and it is show's like those that makes girls feel that way. It makes me so angry that people all flock to these shows and want to get on stage and have other people make them feel beautiful & important, and are willing to put up with the kind of abuse that Simon is famous for, all for their little 15 minutes. I hope this woman has a few more ticks up her sleeve - I think she knew she was being laughed at, I'm sure she had been before, and maybe it took that long for her to gain the courage to stand up there in spite of it. You could tell she wasn't one of the usual sad girls or boys that stand up there and act crazy and get made fun of - she knew what she could do. The thing is, she is not ugly - given the same salon treatment, make-up, personal trainer, and expensive clothing that most girls on the show apply to themselves, anyone can look glamorous. It just takes an inordinate amount of time, effort, and money, all dedicated to a single shallow purpose. It's sad that we've mixed up that kind of prettiness with beauty.

[anarch]

Youtube has audio of Susan Boyle singing Cry Me A River, in 1999

The Britain's Got Talent clip choked me up too. When she talked about "never been kissed" and said "That's not all I'm about!" while doing little hip-moving thing during the pre-song questions, that really struck a chord in me. All those years I spent feeling ugly and undesirable (haven't felt that way for about 10 years now, thanks be to cod and all the self-esteem work and surrounding myself with positive supportive people like you all here) and horny as hell at the same time. I hope she goes far and earns $$$ with her singing, and leaves the smug, bullying, eye-rolling, superficial asshats eating her dust. And that she finds true love with someone who's worthy and recognizes all the dimensions of beauty that she has.

[strongirl]

Small-breasted hottie alert: Evan Rachel Wood has an allegedly smokin' (I haven't seen it yet) photo spread in GQ this month. She's like maybe an A+ cup? Her dress at the Academy Awards this year made her look totally flat...and totally hot.

[Aithinne]

karategrrl, that gym girl makes me think of my annoyance with having D-cups and finding comfortable shirts to wear. If the neck is too high, it looks like a uniboob, like a shelf. If the V-neck dips when I bend over, I feel like I'm giving a cleavage show, and look like I'm trying to get attention. I usually wear a tank top under my shirt to keep my girls together and reduce cleavage sightings, but it can still feel annoying when bending over while using weights and trying not to let my breasts be noticeable. I can imagine those guys probably see her funny nipples and are looking at her like a spectacle, not "hot."

Reading Jezebel's post about "unPhotoshopped" actresses in French Elle, someone wrote in a comment, "Most of us are not gorgeous, and the gorgeous ones are the actresses and models." I don't think I'm gorgeous, more average-looking, but that smarted a little to read.

Of course, women who are gorgeous are only actresses and models, of course! No beautiful woman could ever be anything as mundane as a teacher, or doctor, or _______(insert normal job here).

From my research on men's opinions of boobs, I've found that the VAST majority of men prefer any size of natural boob over fake any day of the week. So, that chick was probably getting stares, but they may not have been appreciative stares. If you've got fake boobs and wear a completely see through shirt in public, people are going to think you're fake, since what you're showing off is totally fake.

[anna k]

karategrrl, that gym girl makes me think of my annoyance with having D-cups and finding comfortable shirts to wear. If the neck is too high, it looks like a uniboob, like a shelf. If the V-neck dips when I bend over, I feel like I'm giving a cleavage show, and look like I'm trying to get attention. I usually wear a tank top under my shirt to keep my girls together and reduce cleavage sightings, but it can still feel annoying when bending over while using weights and trying not to let my breasts be noticeable. I can imagine those guys probably see her funny nipples and are looking at her like a spectacle, not "hot."

Reading Jezebel's post about "unPhotoshopped" actresses in French Elle, someone wrote in a comment, "Most of us are not gorgeous, and the gorgeous ones are the actresses and models." I don't think I'm gorgeous, more average-looking, but that smarted a little to read.

[karategrrl]

I hate when people act so cheap and obvious like that. Even if I was "well endowed" with a C-cup or better I wouldn't do anything like that.

And just as cheap and obvious are the men who stare and buy into that cheapness. Lord, i used to see that all the time in the modeling world.

There was a girl who used to frequent the gym where I used to work. She had the boob job and would wear the thin white men's "wifebeater"-type tank tops. With NOTHING on underneath. Sad thing was, the boob job must have messed up her nips b/c one pointed North and the other, East. All the guys stared. Most of them must have thought it was hot, but maybe some of them just stared b/c it had that "car crash" effect--like, you know it's horrific but you're drawn to look anyway.


Glad you liked the Susan Boyle posts. Just goes to show, "ugly" people can be beautiful, and "beautiful" people ugly, given the chance to show their true selves. And I have to laughingly observe myself, I admit--when I awoke this morning to my radio alarm, they were playing a bit of her song. I was picturing the singer as young and pretty--like all the others they go nuts over on those shows. Then I saw someone at work watching her video and realized it was the same woman, and had to watch for myself. There I was, crying in my cubicle.

[angie_21]

Warning: rant. Sorry for being off topic.. but I will argue that this is relevant because it all goes back to the same shallowness that makes girls think they need boob jobs to look beautiful:

Wow. I hope that Simon one day feels like a great jackass for all the fake "talent" he had promoted over the last few years. American idol and all those shows are such a load of crap, the modern realization of everyone's 15 minutes of fame... and it usually stomps all over the truly talented people out there. I'm happy that just once a woman like her got to stand on stage and be applauded for her amazing talent, and show Simon & crew for the shallow, prejudiced, corporate shills that they are.

This stuff makes me so mad. It's so sad that our society has to judge so strongly on appearances. And it's all being sold to us by people who will make money from our insecurities. People want to look and feel as beautiful and successful as the people on these TV shows. They have to go out and buy the same cars, clothes, and bodies, even if it means going into debt to do it, instead of relying on their own natural abilities and beauty to get them through in the world. Meanwhile, I just heard on the news today that the number of personal bankruptcies in Alberta has gone up almost 75% since this time last year...

[Allison-Shine]

There was a girl with c-cups who used to show up at one of my classes like that and go up to talk to the professor every day before class with her nipples all out there, in front of 30 people... it was kinda creepy, and obvious that she was just trying to get better grades somehow.

I hate when people act so cheap and obvious like that. Even if I was "well endowed" with a C-cup or better I wouldn't do anything like that.

[karategrrl]

I just found this, too--very interesting comments about ugly women vs. ugly men. How true, how true.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/20...ent-susan-boyle

[Aithinne]

I know! I saw her and she was amazing! Before she started singing, she did that little dance, and I was like, oh no... But then she started singing and I was like, holy cow!

[karategrrl]

Okay, maybe this is a bit of a stretch, but have you guys seen the performance by Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent? I mean, we talk so much here about first impressions and what it means when people treat you a certain way based on their impressions of big breasts/small breasts/body type/big butt, etc.

Talk about first impressions being wrong. This woman has the voice of an angel. Here's a clip from the show if you haven't seen it.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/apr/1...ains-got-talent

[angie_21]

I don't, but mainly because I prefer to have the little lift in volume that lined bras give, not because of the nipple problem. My shirts fit better with a bra on just because of the extra half inch lined/padded bras provide. I do tend to feel self-conscious when I go out without one, but more because I can feel my boobs moving around a lot more and I notice that they are there, and imagine that other people must as well. I know that my bf loves that I don't wear a bra around the house. I love that feeling right when I get home and throw off the bra, and my boobies breathe a sigh of relief. So freeing.

Remember back in the day when it used to be a feminist statement not to wear a bra? Now its slutty. So weird. I say do whatever makes you happy. Though I still would never wear white shirt with no bra. There was a girl with c-cups who used to show up at one of my classes like that and go up to talk to the professor every day before class with her nipples all out there, in front of 30 people... it was kinda creepy, and obvious that she was just trying to get better grades somehow.