Padded Bras & Push-Up Bras: What's the Difference?

What's the Difference Between Padded Bras and Push-Up Bras?

Padded and push-up features in bra cups began in the middle 1940’s. Today, padding in bras has become much more refined and strategic.

What Is a Padded or T-Shirt Bra?

Thin padding in bra cups is called contour cup padding or a t-shirt bra. Some will also call this a molded cup, but this is incorrect. A molded bra simply means the cups have been formed by a mold – not that padding is in the cups.

The original padded bra design that used thick padding throughout the cup to give women a bigger looking bustline have been off the market for years.They have been replaced by push-up bra styles.

What Is a Push-Up Bra?

Push-up bras today, take your existing breast tissue and push it up, and sometimes inward with various padding configurations in the cups. This gives a better illusion that breasts are larger because your upper breast tissue is more mounded andexposed – not covered as in the old fashioned padded bra design.

Types of Push-Up Bra Padding

Traditional Push-Up Bra Padding

Traditional push-up bras have a lens-shaped pad sitting in the bottom of each cup. At HerRoom, we carefully measure the thickness of all push-up padding. It generally starts at around a ¼” thick, then tapers to 1”. This padding lifts your breasts and adds bottom fullness making your breasts look larger and fuller. A great bra choice for women with semi-deflated breasts wanting to look fuller.

Here’s are two examples. This model is a 34B. here she is in a traditional bra, and here she is in a push-up bra.

This model is a 34D. Again, here she is in a traditional bra and then in a push-up bra.

Crescent-Shaped Push-Up Padding

Crescent-shaped padding in the cups is a fairly new padding design. The padding will cover both the bottom and outer side of the cups, thus lifting and pushing your breast tissue towards your center. All push-up bra styles at HerRoom include an inner cup image so you know what type of padding you will be purchasing.

Here again are our 34B and 34D models in regular, push-up and a push-up with crescent-shaped pads. You can see that crescent shaping gives you the largest breast look and a better cleavage line.

How to Get the Best Fit From a Push-Up Bra

2 important notes about push-up bras: First, you must place your breasts in them properly, and second, a push-up bra does not guarantee a center cleavage line.

Position Your Breast Tissue on Top of the Pads

Your breast tissue must be manually pulled in and placed on top of the pads in any push-up bra to achieve maximum effect. (shot of a model in a push-up bra and pulling her tissue inward and upward.)

Push-Up Bras and Cleavage

Ladies with cup sizes C or smaller will probably not achieve touching cleavage – there is just not enough breast tissue available. And, if you have wide-set breasts, this too could prevent touching cleavage if you are a D cup size or smaller. (Possibly the same shot with a 34B model adjusting herself and that’s as good as her cleavage line is going to get).

Removable Push-Up Pads for Uneven Breasts

Removable bump pads are designed into bras as well. Besides acting as a push-up bra, this added bra feature is perfect for women who have different sized breasts. The pad may be removed from the cup of your larger breast to give you an even look.

Push-Up Bra Size Ranges

Push-up bras generally come in band sizes 28-38 and cup sizes A to G or D4.