Minimizer Bras 101

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: "Minimizer Bras 101" Length: 2:30

What is a minimizer bra?

What does a minimizer bra do?

Do I need a minimizer bra?

These are some of the questions my team and I are frequently asked.

The name is a little misleading. A minimizer bra does not actually reduce your breast size or bra size – you can never get rid of or reduce your breast tissue volume.

Instead, it can very effectively reduce your breast projection and thus your chest circumference by flattening your breasts and giving them a wider base to spread out your breast tissue in all directions – up, down, left and right.

This is achieved primarily with a wider and higher "under the arms" underwire shape.

Reducing your breast projection with a minimizer helps reduce and even eliminate that pulled look on a button-down blouse.

It can also eliminate that horizontal pull line on a form-fitting top.

A minimizer bra can have seams in the cups or be seamless.

They also come with and without underwires.

But, a minimizer bra does not have padding because women who want a minimizer do not want to add any size to their bustline.

If you want modesty with a minimizer, you will need to also wear a pair of nipple covers, or select a minimizer with seams in the cups, and then line up your apex so it rests on a seam.

A minimizer is also the one bra style where the center panel does not need to rest against your sternum to have a proper fit.

Additionally, a minimizer is not able to minimize a breast that has an implant.

Minimizers come in a fairly narrow size range.

They usually start around a C cup size and stop around a D5 cup size.

This is because larger breasts really cannot be effectively minimized in their projection.

Their vast breast tissue could fold “skin on skin” and thus create an area that holds moisture and be uncomfortable – especially in the underarm area and along the bottom of a bra’s cups.

Instead, most women larger than an D5 cup size would prefer their breast tissue to be positioned up and forward to give the appearance of a smaller waistline.

What size minimizer bra should you buy?

The answer is your normal bra size.

The manufacturers have already designed-in the minimizing effects, so no size change is needed.