Shopping
I’m a 28K & used to spill out everywhere – now I have tips for bras that fit
GROWING up busty was tough for one model with 28K breasts — but now she’s helping other women find their perfect fit.
Saterra St. Jean shared her top style tips for buying the most comfortable bras, including clear signs you’re in the wrong one.
St. Jean founded the lingerie brand Monsera Intimates and the YouTube channel Fullerbust Bestie.
Though she’s brimming with confidence now, she admitted she hated her breasts growing up.
“I didn’t have the right size and was spilling out everywhere,” she told The U.S. Sun.
“I thought my breasts were the issue so I hated them.”
Finding the right fit has made a world of difference.
She said the key factor to look out for when buying a bra is that your band is firm enough to keep you supported.
Speaking to The U.S. Sun, she shared other important tips for bra shopping when a trusted fitter isn’t around to help.
THE PERFECT FIT
St. Jean offers personalized virtual bra fittings and can tell a woman what’s wrong with the bras she’s currently wearing.
She said every woman’s breasts are different and hers are full and “very projected.”
Whether shopping for an everyday bra or a sports bra, it’s important to have a firm band.
“Eighty to 90% of the support of your bra comes from your under-band, so if that is too big, your bra is not doing anything for you,” she said.
“It’s weighing on your shoulders, and that’s why a lot of people complain about back and shoulder pain.
“If it’s uncomfortable and you can pull your back band out more than an inch and a half, or pull the center gore out far from away from your chest and it’s not totally flat, then it’s definitely too big.
“If you don’t already have spillage in your cups and then you do once you tighten up the band, then the cup is definitely too small.”
Any discomfort, she said — or straps that are too loose or stretchy — are other telltale signs your bra doesn’t fit.
I try to stay away from anything that’s too high neck just because I feel, even though I’m wearing a good bra, it makes me feel too boxy.
Saterra St Jean
“Sometimes when I was wearing the wrong bra, my straps would always fall down even though it was on the tightest strap,” she said.
“Your straps aren’t there for support, they are only there to keep the fabric laying flush to the skin.”
BUSTY BUYS
Curvy Kate, Sugar Candy, Freya, and Panache are among St. Jean’s favorite brands to wear.
“I prefer to steer towards full cups bras because it fully encapsulates all of it just because there’s just so much of it,” she said.
“I also love balcony styles when I want to wear square necklines because that gives a nice kind of lift and almost like a shelf.
“I do love plunge styles but sometimes they’re too shallow.
“If it’s gonna be a plunge style, they have to be a very deep cup to really fit my entire breast without feeling like I’m gonna fall out.”
MUST-HAVE BRAS
St. Jean said every woman should have a “wardrobe” of bras that they wear on rotation and only wash by hand.
The collection should include two or three everyday styles, a strapless bra for special occasions, a lacy or sexy style, a sports bra, and a wireless option.
Women tend to forget that your bra is kind of like a good pair of sneakers.
Saterra St Jean
She revealed that the staple styles can help to pull off any outfit regardless of breast size.
“I really like square necklines and plunge styles,” she said referring to outfits.
“I try to stay away from anything that’s too high neck just because I feel, even though I’m wearing a good bra, it makes me feel too boxy.
“There’s too much going on and on display.
“Whereas if there’s a neckline where I have a little bit of a deeper plunge or a nice square, it kind of takes it away from the breasts and puts it onto the clothes.”
CUP COSTS
Working toward launching her own brand has taught her a lot about bras.
Monsera Intimates is set to debut with help from her Australia-based co-founder Monique Hristovska early next year.
Saterra St. Jean’s bra wardrobe
Saterra St. Jean is the founder of the YouTube channel Fullerbust Bestie and co-founder of lingerie brand Monsera Intimates.
She told The U.S. Sun every woman should have five styles in their bra collection.
- Two or three everyday bras
- Sports bra
- Sexy lace bra
- Strapless bra
- Wireless bra
St. Jean said bras for fuller busts can be expensive because they’re hard to construct and require heavy-duty materials to hold the weight and size.
“I think that women tend to forget that your bra is kind of like a good pair of sneakers,” she said.
“You wear these things every single day, day in and day out.
“It’s great to invest in a good bra because, by the time you wear it out to the death, it’s only gonna cost you like a couple of cents a day when you put it into perspective.
“Investing in a good bra, even though it’s expensive is so, so worth it.”
LEARNING TO LOVE THEM
Previously, St. Jean recalled having negative feelings about her chest when she was younger.
“My confidence was impacted mostly because I was always told to cover up,” she said.
“Even though I was wearing the same tops as everybody else, when you’re a busty woman you get called out a little bit more.
“I couldn’t even look at them in the mirror, it was a really hard thing for a teenage girl to go through.
Read more on the Irish Sun
She begged her mom to let her get a breast reduction at 16, but is glad she was talked out of it.
“I’m so happy and so grateful that she did that because I’ve grown into loving my breasts,” she said.