large breasts showing cleavage

How to Stop People Staring at Your Breasts

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“My face is up here!” How many times do you find yourself wanting to say that to the person who can’t seem to stop gazing at your chest? If you feel your breasts are drawing attention, then the following tips will help you balance your figure and draw the eye away from your bust.

You can take back the attention of people staring at your breasts with the type of clothes you wear. Furthermore, your lifestyle habits including exercise routines can help you in making your boobs appear less prominent. 

Read on to learn more about the details of these proven ways on how to take back the attention from plus size boobs.

Accentuate your Physical Attributes 

To minimize attention from the bust, be strategic with your physical appearance, and accentuate the other features of your body. For instance, you can draw attention to your hip area. You can wear horizontally striped skirts or pants to make the hip area appear wider compared to the chest area. A bright, full, or circle skirt can add volume to the lower half and make your silhouette look more even. Furthermore, a dress showing off your legs with either a slit or short hemline can draw the eye away from the chest.

Look for V-neck and Scoop Neck Shirts

Believe it or not, some v-neck and scoop neck shirts can divert the attention towards the collarbone. They can visually break up the chest and flatter your figure. Cardigans can also create the illusion of a smaller boob by creating a slimming visual line down you front. By breaking up the bust, you can create a more tailored look to your outfit and draw the eyes downward and away from the bust area.

Add a Jacket

A jacket that hits the lower or mid hip can break up the bust-line, enhance your figure while drawing the eye downward. A jacket with a contrasting color to the shirt can have a slimming effect. If you will be wearing a blazer, wear it open or button only the buttons below the breasts. Avoid zipping or buttoning all the way up. Remember, lapels or double-breasted jackets can make the chest look wide. 

Opt for Darker Clothes

Universally, black is known as one of the most slimming colors. And just like wearing solid dark colored colors will slim the look of your body, they can also minimize the impact of your breasts. They can help slim down the chest and hide any shadows that might be created by the breasts. If you want to break the monotony of dark shades, you should consider a bright-colored bottom. 

Wear Eye-catching Accessories

A gorgeous pair of drop earrings, chandelier, or hoops will draw attention to the face. Also, you can put on layering bangles that can draw the eye from the bust. You should also consider a big chucky necklace that hangs half-inch above the neckline bringing the attention to your collar-bone areas and create an impression of smaller breasts.

Choose the Right Bra Style

The wrong bra style might make the breasts appear saggy, or worse, cause pain. Even bra spillage can be a problem, as we previously discussed. There are different bra types, and you will need to find the one that works for you:

Try a multi-cup bra – these cups come in two or more pieces of fabric that offer excellent support. They can center the breast tissue and in turn, slenderize your silhouette.

Try a long-line bra – this will relieve stress on the back and shoulder. Its band is extended down the waist and hence distributes the weight of the breast more evenly. It can also serve as shapewear to give you a smooth line under the clothes.

The bra band – ensure that your bra band is parallel to the lower or ground. The band offers most of the support and the lower it is on the back, the more support it will provide.

Get the Right Bra Size 

African-american woman with large breasts.

According to a study, over 80% of women are wearing the wrong bra size because they never get measured and have incorrect measurements. For instance, with the wrong straps, you may have the dreaded “double boob” where the bra cuts into your breast.

Here is how you should measure for the right bra size:

The band size – wrap the tape measure around the chest beneath the breasts. That is your band size. Example: 41”

Bust size – wrap the tape around the breast’s fullest part. That is your bust size. Example: 46”

Cup size – subtract the band size from the bust size. Example: 46”- 41” = 5” Then find this final number in the chart below to get your cup size. Example: 5”= DD cup

1″ = A cup
2″ = B cup

3″ = C cup

4″ = D cup

5″ = DD cup

6″ = DDD cup

7″ = F cup

8″ = G cup

9″ = H cup

10″ = I cup

11″ = J cup

12″ = K cup

Furthermore, having a professional fitting can get you a personalized fitting. The correct bra can offer you the support that you need and relieve pressure on the shoulders and back. This will not only make you comfortable and lower breast pain, but will also make the breast appear smaller.

Improve Posture and Don’t Slouch

Bad posture can have an impact on the visual size of the breasts and can make them sag and hang. Contrary to what most people think, slouching or trying to hide them doesn’t make the chest appear smaller, but larger. That’s because when you slouch, it calls attention to what you are trying to hide. 

The ideal way to deal with this is to stand up straight and lift the chest up (and not out). This will cause the tissue to be more stretched and taut, and hence visually reduce its outward shape. In this position, you may feel like your breasts are stuck out, but since the good posture elongates the torso, the bust area appears more proportionate to the rest of the body. 

Essential note – if you have difficulties standing straight, you can find back braces, posture correctors, and posture bras to remind you to pose correctly and do not slouch. 

Physically Reducing Your Bust

You can use the following tips to reduce your bust physically: 

Use special bras – there are various bras that can help. To make the chest look smaller avoid those with excessive paddings or ones that push the boobs together. You can opt for:

  • Minimizers – these are designed to lift and redistribute the breast tissue. The bra cup reshapes the look of the breast by flattening the chest and reducing the projections of the bust. Besides, if you love button-up shirts and find that the boobs are leaving gaps between the buttons, a minimizer will push them back. 
  • Sports bra – the bra can squish the breasts down and make them look physically smaller. But, beware of incorrectly sized sports bra as it can be too tight and cause discomfort or pain. 
  • Binder bra – binders can offer extreme compression of the busts. Typically, they are worn by the transgender persons to create an illusion of a flat chest. They can also be worn by anyone who wants to reduce the appearance of the breasts. But, ensure you use them under eight hours a day and take it off when sleeping.

Use shapers – shapers are shirts or vests that are made of tight elastic. You can then wear a normal top over the shaper. 

Use boob tape – you probably haven’t heard of this concept and it might surely sound incredibly weird. But, you can use a tighter material to bind down your breasts. However, this isn’t a thing for everyday and you should know when to tape. Situations that can be ideal for taping include when wearing low cut dresses, specific tops, and during high intensity workouts. 

Essential tip – do not use elastic or ace bandages and duct tape as these materials can cause shortness of breath, torn skin, back pain, damage to the breast tissue. 

Focus on Certain Exercises 

While this isn’t exactly a quick fix, exercising can be an excellent way to make the breasts look smaller and firmer in the long-run. 

  • Cardio and high-intensity exercises – besides being beneficial to the heart and lung capacity, cardio can help tone the bust area. Since breasts consist of mostly fatty tissues, high-intensity exercises including burpees, squats, and planks will naturally lower the fat there. 
  • Aerobic exercises – routines like running or swimming can help you burn calories and fat. Emphasizing on specific pectoral moves like wall press can target the chest to tone and shrink its size. Also, cycling, power walking, Zumba dances, and stair climbing can also burn fat in your chest. 
  • Strength training – this is essential when you want to tone certain parts of the body. Exercises such as curl-ups and pushups among others can tone the chest and change the appearance of your boobs. 

Essential Tip – you do not need to go to the gym for hours. Exercising at least 30 minutes every day can speed up metabolism and eventually help you lose fat tissues in the bust. 

Plus Size Boobs Don’ts

Avoid baggy clothes – you could be feeling self-conscious about your boobs and want to hide in a baggy shirt. Or you are frustrated trying to find something fitting that you simply want to settle for a big shirt. However, baggy clothing does not make your boobs look smaller but they can make you appear bigger all over. 

Tip – Try finding shirts that are fitted in the torso and have extra space in the breast area. Also fitted t-shirts can have extra length that can off the desired fit. 

Skip turtlenecks – turtlenecks, particularly bulky ones will only make the chest appear bigger. Tight ones may make the breast appear bigger while the thicker ones will add bulk, achieving the same effect. 

Avoid natural and empire waist clothes – natural waist tops draw the waistline up while empire waist tops can create the cinch of the waist just below the breast line to make the bust look bigger.

Avoid overemphasis on the bust area – Avoid details such as buttons above the bust line, sequins, writing, frills, lace, or pockets, which can bring the focus back to the bust. Also, avoid sweetheart, low-cut Square, or punching necklines that can overemphasize too much on the cleavage. Long necklaces that sits in the cleavage or hang off the chest and a big no for plus sized boobs since they will swing and draw attention.

Skip horizontal stripes – top horizontal stripes can make the chest look wider. Rather, choose narrow vertical stripes that will draw the eye upward. It also tricks the eye into thinking the two sides of the body are closer together and hence make the chest look smaller. 

Avoid pushups and padded bras– these can add bulk to the cup size and make the breast look larger than they actually are. So check the thickness of the cups and the placement and amount of the padding. 

Related questions 

Will a breast massage work? You can take moisturizer, coconut, or olive oil and gently massage your breast in circular motions. The oils, which are rich in vitamins, can hydrate the skin. Regular massage can also help reduce the deposited fat in the breast tissues. Wash off the oil and splash cold water on the breast. This will tighten the tissues of the breasts and prevent them from being saggy. The cold water will also stimulate circulation of blood and improve cellular exchange. 

What about surgery? – If you are struggling with your breast size, you can consider a breast reduction surgery. While it is expensive, a 2012 survey showed that over 95 percent of people who had the surgery were satisfied with the results. The procedure removes tissue, skin, and face to reduce the size of the breast.

Final Note

Remember that your body is beautiful and perfect just as it is. Many people have parts of their bodies they’d want to change- from asymmetrical boobs to stretch marks. So, regardless of your bra size, always take a moment to enjoy self-love and appreciate what your body actually has. Don’t forget to check out our top picks.


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