The struggle to buttress what is naturally low-lying has produced its own mythology. When filming his movie “The Outlaws” it was widely reported that the well known recluse, Howard Hughes, used burgeoning airplane technology to design the “cone bra” — the perfect support to give star Jane Russell those amazingly pointy breasts.
However, this myth was dispelled by Miss Russell herself in her 1985 autobiography, where she wrote that the “ridiculous” contraption caused her so much discomfort, she secretly shucked it for her own bra and after tightening the shoulder straps slipped back onto the set and filmed the remainder of the movie without it.
Still the myth persisted and that so-called first push-up bra is still on display in a Hollywood museum. So just how busty was Jane Russel? According to Wikipedia,
…Russell personified the sensuously contoured sweater girl look… with measurements of 38D-24-36… Besides the thousands of quips from radio comedians, including Bob Hope once introducing her as “the two and only Jane Russell,” the photo of her on a haystack glowering with sulking beauty and youthful sensuality as her breasts push forcefully against her bodice was a popular pin-up with Service men during World War II.
Jane Russell image courtesy of Care2
Despite a never ending stream of hype, mass media exploitation and unrealistic portrayals of women with breasts that “naturally” stand to attention on command (via a little help from augmentation, that is), the actual fact of the matter is, sagging breasts are quite natural.
More and more females, especially those with naturally plus-size breasts are becoming increasingly obsessed with obtaining perky, perfect boobs, yet in actual fact, the breast was never designed by nature to stand at attention.
Why the breast is shaped the way it is
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As I mentioned in a recent post about where to ask other real women questions about plus-size bras, there is an active forum at BustingOut. There you can ask questions about where to find the right plus size bra for you, or simply share experiences. I got a chuckle out of this post written by a woman who works in a retail store as a bra fitter:
Customer: “My daughter is looking for a bra with a lot of support. She’s having trouble with backaches and she’s very active.”
Me: “Ok. To start with, I think she’s wearing the wrong size. I would suggest going down a band size and up a cup size, see how that feels, and then try something in the xxxx or xxxxx line. If she’s anything larger than a DD, I would recommend xxxxx brand, which unfortunately, you can’t get here, but has always been great for me. They’re not terribly pretty, but the extra support will help with her backaches and cut down on bouncing.”
Customer: “How do YOU know she’s wearing the wrong size. She’s wearing a sweatshirt!”
Me: “Well, because this *points to self* is what it looks like when you have a proper-fitting bra with excellent support. Now, I have to special order these online because you can’t get double-Fs anywhere in Connecticut, but this particular brand is definitely worth it, and I would suggest–”
Customer: “DOUBLE F? But… you look so–normal.”