Thread: Bra Padding, How Much Can You Pad?

Ok, received a costume a while back and the bra is far too big, supposed to be a B/C but more of a D cup, not bought on Bhuz

Also have another costume where the bra is far too big, just wanting to know how much you could possibly pad a bra? Would it look not right if it was too padded?
Does it depend on the design, if it's a regular bra shape or one of the designer bra's which are less bra and more cleavage, if you know what i mean

Any suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated, all else fails then they will be up for sale.

Thanks.

Have you seen Victoria's Secrets new Bombshell Bra? 2 cup sizes, easy.

As for belly Dance Costumes, I have a friend who is a charter member of the Itty bitty Titty Committee and she pads to a D. Now, this might not work well with Sahars, so yes, I do believe that the shape and the of the bra and the amount of coverage provided has a lot to do with it.

But, I also hang out with drag queens. They have told me all their secrets!

{{{HUGS}}}

I was a nearly-nonexistent-A several years ago, and I could easily pad up enough to fit into my full-C Bella and still have it look convincing.

You can pad a costume bra completely full if necessary. Take a tack stitch where you want your nipple to sit. Make the stitch through the padding anchored to the bra, to make a little indentation.

I velcro pads in. They don't budge a bit.

FYI - Once I got an old bra that had that green plant stryrofoam in a plastic bag sewn in to the lining. After dancing, i opened the bra up because that stuff hurt, it was stiff. It did do the trick...lol...since replaced with softer padding.

It looks best if you stay proportional. Depending on your body and the costume, padding up might make sense, or it might not. There are some costumers out there with some pretty strange ideas about how the average woman is built. A 30" belt and a 38DD bra make for a top-heavy costume. If you're dealing with that sort of size discrepancy between the top and bottom, and that's not reasonably close to your actual shape, then I'd probably pass on the costume, not try to make yourself fit into it. You want to wear the costume, not look like the costume is wearing you.

Humans are very good at reading subtle signs. If you do pad up, but you don't do so in an "aesthetically sensible" way, it can look like you've got a bra full of stuffing instead of flesh. The density of breast tissue and polyester fiberfill aren't the same. What works to boost up a little, often looks phony when you boost up a lot. There are all sorts of tricks for making a stuffed bra that hangs and moves naturally--search around and see what you can find on drag queen and mastectomy sites. I think it usually translates to having a stuffing component that has a little weight to it, like a silicone pad or small beanbag of doll pellets.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

It looks best if you stay proportional. Depending on your body and the costume, padding up might make sense, or it might not.

this.

Originally Posted by sabrinabellydancer

You can pad a costume bra completely full if necessary. Take a tack stitch where you want your nipple to sit. Make the stitch through the padding anchored to the bra, to make a little indentation.

not just full... i bought an old eman costume which was too big for me. my friend's old auntie who was a bellydancer and costumer helped me padded the bra. she padded the cups more than full! and it worked!

Originally Posted by tahiradancer

But, I also hang out with drag queens. They have told me all their secrets!

Please share some?

Thanks to all for your comments and suggestions, very helpful

Also didn't think about being in proportion with the rest of my body, that's something i will have to look at

I've also successfully sewn the cups of a bra closer together or even completely together on the bottom 2 or 3 inches... this along with the right padding can look convincing and be comfortable.

1-2 cup sizes up is very doable. My favorite thing to use is soft foam inside the lining. You can cut it to fit your particular needs. It's soft and squishy so it comforms to your body.

Originally Posted by petitefifidance

FYI - Once I got an old bra that had that green plant stryrofoam in a plastic bag sewn in to the lining. After dancing, i opened the bra up because that stuff hurt, it was stiff. It did do the trick...lol...

I just has a vision... a famous designer is strolling down the floral isle of his local craft store. He reaches in his pocket to pull out a ziplock bag of swatches. He lays the colorful cloth against some fake lilies, but frowns and pulls back. He goes to put the cloth back in it's home, but where is the zip lock bag? While turning over his shoulder in the corner of his eye he sees the bag encasing the green-plant-Styrofoam. He reaches out to pull the bag off, and notices a peculiar texture. His grin is the down fall to all women's comfort.

Spray foam insulation is great, but hard.

Make sure you don't pad so much that it pushes away from your body. You need to ensure that the bottom of the bra cups lay against your ribs.

Originally Posted by sabrinabellydancer

You can pad a costume bra completely full if necessary. Take a tack stitch where you want your nipple to sit. Make the stitch through the padding anchored to the bra, to make a little indentation.

FANTASTIC idea!!

proportion, as was said.
also think about the width of the bra on your ribcage, and how it looks there. i have a bra that is a perfect fit as far as the depth of the cups and hight of the bra, but it's obnoxiously too wide for me. i recently found a thread stating that the cup sizes are given for an "average 36" rib cage" so you have to adjust when you're buying costumes.....

Hanan in Egypt used 3 or 4 shoulder pads in EACH CUP when she adjusted costumes for me... and these were full on 80's style shoulder pads. I took a little out when I got home as it was a bit much for me, it was out of proportion, but you CAN pad a lot.
If you sew the lining to the cup where you want your nipple to stay- and pad only under that part (the bottom and outside edge of the cup), you create a "shelf" for the girls to sit on. So, when putting the bra on, "lift" up, so you get the bra band firmly around your rib cage... then "fluff" as necessary.

Thanks again for good advice.

It's good to know that i can pad a lot, also didn't know about only padding the bottom and edges so provides a shelve for them to sit on

3-4 shoulder pads, that is serious padding

If I didn't pad the crap out of my bras, the only one who would know if I did a chest lift or pop would be me

Even when I have custom costumes made, those Egyptian designers seem to insist on making the bustline of the costume much bigger than me. I guess that method of grabbing a big fistful of my breasts to "measure" them isn't as precise as the designers would like to think!

Here's a tip I got from Dawn Devine Brown, author of Costuming from the Hip:

Buy a normal lingerie bra in a style that fits you well and gives you cleavage. It's a good idea to choose one that is either the same color as your skin or the same color as your costume. You want it to lift you up from the bottom and push inward from the outside toward the center. If necessary, you can put pads in the bottom and on the outer sides to push you into the shape you want.

Once you have it adjusted, put the too-big costume bra or dress on over the top of it. Use safety pins to attach the top edge of your lingerie bra to whatever part of the costume makes sense. Put a whole row of pins in place across the entire top edge of the cup. You don't need to pin on the sides or bottom.

Now, hand-sew across the top of the cups where pinned.

Next, use your favorite type of padding to fill the gap between your lingerie bra and the costume fabric. This doesn't need to be rigid, just enough filler to prevent the costume from "collapsing" or "indenting". Position it in place while trying the costume and lingerie bra on, then take off the costume and use a few stitches to anchor all the layers together in place. You want to put enough stitches to ensure the padding won't fall out or creep out into sight.