Icing on the Cake: Lingerie Accessories ~ Part 6: Bridal Garter Belts

With impending nuptials, what is more fun for a bride than dressing up for the big day? Part of the fun is wearing clothes that you've only dreamed about or that you secretly know are under your gown. A luxuriously sultry, sweet, or sassy garter belt can make you feel sexy and put a little twinkle in your eye as you walk down the isle or dance all night.

There are many garter belts (or "suspender belts" as they're known in Europe) to choose with four or six clasps and prices ranging from around $15 to over $300. Only you knows what works best for you. Lingeristas who have worn six clasps garters for a while tend to find them awkward at first, but end up liking them best based upon comfort and the added ability to hold stockings in place.

A garter priced around $15 is more affordable, but more expensive belts will have additional embellishments and supple material. If you order online, be sure to read the comments that previous users have left about the product, they can be an invaluable source of advice since you are unable to see the product in person.

Garter belts are recommended for A-Line, Empire Waists, Babydoll, Basque Waist, Natural Waist and Princess gowns. Be cautious about wearing a garter belt with Sheath, Biased-Cut, Trumpet, and Mermaid gowns. You may be able to get away with a garter on some of those styles if the garter lacks embellishment, the material is virtually seamless, or where lace doesn't pucker from the garter. To get a better idea on the type of gowns above, log into http://www.theknot.com/ and click on their gown section so that you can see wedding dress styles.

It's your day. Dress how you want and in what makes you feel good about yourself. If having a garter belt makes you feel fabulous than go for it! It may just be something that you want to incorporate in your everyday life after the wedding. Rest assured your future husband will enjoy that too!

Garter Belts images and links on this post can be found online at Faire Frou Frou, Figleaves, Lingerie Diva and Miodestino.

My dear Bridal Lingeristas, have a wonderful wedding and Celebrate Your Inner Eve!

Bra Inserts: Instant Breast Enhancement without Surgery

By Cassandra Haley

Some women may feel uncomfortable with their breast size - especially when they seem a bit smaller to be sexy. There are ladies would want to go under the knife to add a cup size or two to their breasts. A bit expensive? Probably. Not to mention painful.

But did you know that there is another way to increase your bust size without actually having to undergo operation? It's fast, cost-effective, painless and gives you instant results - the bra inserts.

Bra inserts are made to be placed inside your bra. They give you the instant push-up you want, and creates a deeper cleavage in seconds. All you have to do is position them inside your bra, under your breasts, and let them do magic for you.

Bra inserts may come in various types. Most common are the silicone bra inserts. Many women buy silicone bra inserts because they feel natural against your skin. They also follow the breasts' shape so the inserts aren't noticeable. Other bra inserts also have air or water inside, which also follows the natural shape of the breast.

Hot in the market right now are waterproof bra inserts. These breast enhancers may also be made of silicone. Many women prefer this kind of inserts because they can wear them under their swimsuits. See, even in bikinis you can get the push-up and deeper cleavage you want, thanks to these swimwear inserts.

There are also those bra inserts that have nipples shaped onto them. It makes your breasts look perkier and, at the same time, adds a cup size to your busts. Many women like this kind of bra insert because they feel that it looks more natural than the common silicone inserts.

Bra inserts are the best solution for women who are insecure of their breast size, yet are afraid to undergo operation for breast augmentation. The results are instant and definitely painless. And because they're made to give you a natural-looking lift, no one will notice you're wearing one underneath.

LaurenSilva.com has a variety of bra inserts that you can wear under your everyday bra or even in your bikini. We also carry regular and plus size bras and lingerie for different occasions. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cassandra_Haley

A Note from Eve's Apples: Many swimsuits already come with push up padding already in place, such as the Fifi Chachnil bikini in the image above. However, many still do not. If you're going swimming and want to enhance your shape, the Braza Swim Shaper Silicone Dolly Push up Pads is a great alternative to surgery!

Bridal Lingerie: What to Wear Under There

You've found it! It's the gown of your dreams. But what do you wear down there? Isn't all lingerie the same? My darling Lingeristas, "No," not all bridal lingerie is equal. The style and material of your dress will determine the lingerie you need to wear beneath your gown.

We'll address specific gown styles and material and the recommended lingerie for them. Before we do, Eve's Apples would like to thank Bedtime Flirt for offering information and quotes on this post.

Strapless: The last thing you want to do with a strapless gown is go without a bra! It's highly recommended to go with "bridal corset or lace bustier." Both will give the greatest support.

Strapless with Crepe or Chiffon: This material is most likely too lightweight to wear a corset. It's recommended to go with a strapless bra (in a soft, comfortable material like microfiber) without embellishment to maintain a sleek look on the outside. Bedtime Flirt specifically recommends "underwire cups that sit flush against the ribs and strong elastic across the top."

Either the Bridal Bustier (with removable straps) and Donna Karan strapless bra (without seams and with underwire) below will work on the above images. Note that this strapless bra is also excellent for sheath and bias-cut gowns since it is seamless.

Empire Waist: An empire waist did a lot for Josephine and is complimentary and comfortable on many figures. Since the waist hits under the bust, you can play a little more with lingerie options. You can go with the standard strapless bra, corset, or bustier. Your other fun option is to have a teddy with underwires. Lace is also an option with this style and a heavier material like satin.

Empire Waist with Crepe or Chiffon: The above recommendations on Empire Waist work here too. However, you'll want to look at the cut of the dress and how the material falls next to the body to see if you can wear lace lingerie or not.

Sheath & Bias-Cut: Both of these styles "cling to the body" and require a seamless bra set or body piece in a nude color--whatever is closest to your skin tone. The objective is to give you support and look like you aren't wearing anything underneath. A thong or Commando panty (in buck naked) is the best to pull off this look.

Halter: Choose a strapless bra or a convertible bra. If the gown is low in the back, you can use backless bras that adhere to your breasts at the sides for support.

Low Necklines & Backless: These popular styles require more function than fashion up top. Lingerie tape or a backless bra that adhere to your skin are good options. "For a truly plunging backline you can use a bra adjuster so that your straps wrap over the shoulder then around the waist."

Panties & Heavy Bridal Material: You can wear thongs, bikinis, briefs, boy shorts, tap pants, tanga and lace. Your only limited by your imagination as long as it doesn't create rogue lines under your gown.

Panties & Delicate Material: This material, like chiffon, georgette, silk, and crepe is going to show lines, especially if the cut of the gown is close to the body. In this case, it's recommended to wear a seamless thong or Commando panty.

Tip for D Cup+: Bedtime Flirt recommends that you "have the dress fitter tack the bra inside the dress to keep lift at maximum height. If your your happy to go braless but still want to keep your modesty intact use lingerie tape a favourite amongst celebrities for those red carpet moments."

Tip for AA & A cups: Look for strapless or convertible bras with silicon, air or water inserts. This will boost up your breasts and create cleavage.

No matter what you choose to wear underneath your bridal gown, make sure that you're comfortable and feel good about yourself! That's one of the best ways to ensure you enjoy your day and Celebrate Your Inner Eve!

Boutique of the Month: Rigby & Peller

This was the single, best experience I've ever had in a lingerie store! You don't have to be the Queen of England or royalty to get the royal treatment here. Rigby & Peller does a fabulous job ensuring each customer feels at home, comfortable, and confident.

With stores located in Chelsea, Knightsbridge, Mayfair, Brent Cross and Bluewater, Rigby & Peller has been catering to lingerie customers for over 40 years. The fact that Tanya, my fitter, was able to tell my size and customize it based upon my breast shape still amazes me. To this day, the bras she had me try on were a better fit than any I've had after getting tape measured. For more on my personal fitting experience, click on Breast Shape Affects Bra Size.

Customer Service: Since Queen Elizabeth's Royal Corestiere has been here for decades, you can be assured that the service is top notch. Kind, pleasant, and knowledgeable sums up all of the fitters I met. The words "customer service" doesn't do justice to the one-of-a-kind experience you'll get when having a personal fitting here.

Store: It's an upscale, classic look, simply and cleanly merchandised, making it easy to shop swimsuits on the floor. In terms of lingerie, at first I was intimidated since most of the lingerie is tucked away in wooden drawers lining the walls. However, Rigby & Peller staff are friendly and unassuming, welcoming visitors and encouraging fittings. That way you're ensured of leaving with a style you love and in a size that fits.

Website: Easy to use. Rigby & Peller has a strong foundation in helping customers and giving good advice. Their website is no different. The following is advice provided on their website:

• Bra Sizing
• Bra Fitting
• Mastectomy Advice
• Lingerie Care
• Bra Alterations
• Advice for Men
• Bridal Advice
• Maternity Advice

Brands: They carry good quality, high end brands. If you don't live in London or nearby, you can check their website at Rigby & Peller Brands for their stock. The following are only some of the luxurious lingerie that they carry:

• Aubade
• Huit
• Elixir (sizes 30DD - 38G)
• Lejaby
• Rigby & Peller

Services: They specialize in fitting and don't use the standard tape measure method that has swept the country in the last couple of years. Instead they look at the customer bare breasted to determine how each person's body type and breast shape affect the bra size.

Overall: I wish there were Rigby & Peller boutiques in the United States! This is the creme de la creme of customer service, enhanced with beautiful lingerie. I can't recommend visiting Rigby & Peller enough when you're in town. It's worth the trip!

To show you how much fun I had at Rigby & Peller, the lingerie images in this post are the bra and panty sets that I bought while visiting the store. A visit to Rigby & Peller is a sure fire way to make you feel like you've Celebrated Your Inner Eve!

Donate Old Bras to Charity!

Is your bra past its prime? Tired of looking at that same old style and color? Is it just taking up space in your lingerie drawer?

Donate your bra to Breast Talk ~ Bra Appeal!

At Breast Talk ~ Bra Appeal, they give bras new life by donating them to charities in the United Kingdom and oversees. These charities distribute bras to women who are desperately in need of a one. Most of the women receiving these bras are homeless or below the poverty line while raising a family. When a woman wonders whether to buy a bra or put food on the table, the choice becomes a simple one. Like most mothers she'll go without, sacrificing pain and back problems, in order to see her family fed.

As Breast Talk puts it, "Imagine being a 34DD or 36FF and not having a bra to support your breasts or wearing the wrong sized bra day in day out" such as one "well endowed woman" who had no option but to ineffectively squeeze into a training bra.

What kind of bras do they need?

• Any Style - not too sexy or see through
• Any Size - especially large or small sizes. US or European sizes work well
• Maternity or Nursing Bras
• Bras in Working Order - please check to ensure straps and claps work and that material is free from rips or tears

Many Eve's Apple readers are in the United States and can still help. By getting a flat rate box at the post office, you can ship it anywhere in the world for under $8. Instead of throwing away your used bras, gather them up and ask your family and friends for their bras too. In a flat rate box, you should be able to fit around 20 bras.

Post your Bras to: BreastTalk.co.uk - Bra Appeal / PO Box 71 CRAVEN / ARMSSY7 )WZ / ENGLAND

IMPORTANT: Please note...

• All bras need to go to the address above in a small ziplock bag or box
• YOU MUST wash all bras before you post them
• Please attach a small piece of paper to each bra with the size. Use a paper clip and attach to one of the straps
• If you are sending new bras please let Breast Appeal know they are new
• At this time, they'll only equipped to handle small donations, not large ones from companies

For more information on BreastTalk.co.uk ~ Bra Appeal, click on Donate Unwanted Bras to Charity.

Sometimes Celebrating Your Inner Eve is Helping Others Celebrate!

Sex & The City Contests!

The countdown has begun! It's less than two weeks until the May 30th premiere of Sex & The City: The Movie in the United States. We'll find out if Carrie and Big live happily ever after or if she's determined to be the little old woman who lived in her Manolo Blahniks. To kick off the festivities, several websites are hosting contests with some fabulous prizes.

Who doesn't love the cute lingerie Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda wore over the years and the upcoming line from Cosabella? With some of the prizes including DVDs and $500 Visa card, you can relive those great screen moments and revamp your lingerie closet!

To date, Eve's Apples has found the following contests at The Budget Fashionista, Miss Megan and The Shoe Bag to get you in the mood for a little Sex & The City:


The Budget Fashionista brings to you "(A) grand prize trip to New York City, including round trip airfare for you and three of your best girlfriends and two nights hotel accommodations, courtesy of NYC & Company (the official marketing and tourism organization for NYC, so you know it’ll be fab). That’s not it -- a first prize winner will get a $500 VISA Cash Card to help you update that Carrie-inspired shoe collection."

Click on Sex & The City: The Budget Fashionista Contest to enter.


As every Lingerista knows, a great pair of sassy, comfortable shoes can make or break an outfit. In Miss Meghan's Sex & The City contest she asks readers, "Did you ever have a favorite pair of shoes ruined?" By posting your comment, you'll be automatically entered to win! The best response will win a pair of Eileen Shield's and comfort pack from Dr. Scholls.

Click on Sex & The City: Miss Meghan Contest to enter.

At The Shoe Bag, you can win "one of FOUR fabulous SATC Goodie Bags which includes the following:

Sex and the City DVD essentials (5 titles – 3 episodes each) provided by HBO SHOP in NYC at 42nd & 6th.

The Official SATC Movie Soundtrack featuring brand new songs from Fergie, Jennifer Hudson, Jem and more! In stores May 27th.

SATC Coffee Table Book - The must-have book for every devoted fan, Sex and the City takes a unique look behind-the-scenes of the most anticipated movie of the spring. In Stores May 30th. Each goodie bag has a $75 value."

Click on Sex & The City: The Shoe Bag Contest to enter.

Best wishes, my dear Lingeristas, on the contests. Whether you win or not, have a cosmopolitan, enjoy life to the fullest and Celebrate Your Inner Eve while you're at it!

Lingerie Body: Swimsuit Season

Swimsuit Season is Upon Us

Lingerie in the privacy of your own boudoir is one thing, and it's quite another to put on an itsy-bity bikini in public. Maybe you've been tirelessly working out since the crack of dawn the day after New Years, or maybe you're like many others who strive to reach a balance between work, play, and getting in shape. In any case, here are some quick tips to get yourself looking and feeling gorgous before you put on that bikini:

• Drink a Lot of Water. Water flushes out your body of toxins and keeps it hydrated. Water makes your skin look radiant, and not much is more beautiful than a natural looking woman with glowing skin who is comfortable and confident about herself
• Get Moving. There are a lot of ways to get exercise beyond running five miles or swimming for an hour. By making simple choices, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, doing sit ups and push ups after you wake up or stretching into some simple yoga poses, you'll notice you're body start toning and feeling stronger
• Treat Yourself to a Wax. For some, the idea of waxng your bikini area sounds more like a torture than a treat. For those of you who have given birth to children, I say, "What's a little wax?" For others, it's great having smooth skin and not shaving for an entire month
• Try Your Swimsuit on One Month Before Hitting the Beach. This is usually my incentive to up my swimming sessions
• Buy a Swimsuit that You Love and Loves Your Body. This can be used as another incentive to work out, eat healthy or as a reward once you achieve a goal

To be completely frank, it's not about having the perfect body. What's most important is being healthy, feeling comfortable about yourself and being happy with who you are today. All of the above tips are small changes that can make a large difference over time. After all, living healthy is a lifestyle, not a crash course in dieting and exercise. What is most important is that you're happy with who you are regardless of your shape and size. When you're comfortable and confident in your own skin, it doesn't matter what size you are, it's infectious and others will view you the same way.

Above are swimsuits from Malia Mills, a company that embraces women of all shapes and sizes and whose mottos is to "Love thy differences." You'll notice the women in all the images have a vast array of body shapes and breast sizes. The company specifically has "...(S)tyles for sizes 30A to 40DD and 2 to 16...(W)e’re passionate about celebrating women and articulating an inclusive and inspiring voice on the subject of women and beauty...."

With all that is available for women today, no matter what your size, go hit that beach and Celebrate Your Inner Eve!

Poll Results: What is the Most Comfortable Thong-Inspired Panty

In our Eve's Apples poll asking which thong-inspired panty that our readers found most comfortable, you're torn between the traditional thong, Brazilian cut and thinking thongs are like a visit to the dentist.

Below are the final results:

Traditional Thong ~ 33%

Brazilian Cut ~ 33%

It's all dental floss to me ~ 33%

T~Back ~ 0%

I'd rather go au natural ~ 0%

Tips for a comfortable thong fit:

• Try a size larger. It will help keep from giving you the "dental floss effect"


• Go for a comfortable fabric that has stretch like microfiber or supima cotton


• Try on several styles to see which cut works best with your body type. People's body types greatly affect whether or not a fit is comfortable or rides up so high you have to send out search and rescue


• Try Hanky Panky panties. They've won several awards for their style and comfort

Virtues of Putting on a Bra Properly

The Virtues:

1. Gives your girls cleavage
2. Utter support
3. Clear comfort all day
4. Keeps rogue straps in place
5. Looks amazing under and out of clothes

Our friends at Rigby & Peller recently advised me how to put on a bra properly to achieve the best results. (For more posts on Rigby & Peller, click on Breast Shape Affects Bra Size.) The directions are as follows:

1. Bend over and let breasts fall into cups
2. Hook bra in back
3. Ensure straps aren't twisted
4. With one hand hold down the base of the bra cradle (near the far edge of the cup). With the other hand scoop the outer edge of your breast up, gently pulling breast up and filling out the cup
5. Repeat on the other side
6. Check. Repeat any step if needed

Voila! You're finished and you're breasts have never looked better!

Below are a couple videos on "How to Put on a Bra"...

Video One: Night Club or Church is sponsored by Playtex and demonstrates a couple of the above steps, but misses Step 4.



Video Two is how to put your bra on Jane Bond Style.







As you can see from the videos above, putting on your bra can not only be functional but also fun. However you choose to put your bra on, make sure that you Celebrate Your Inner Eve!

Happy Mother's Day

A Tribute to Mothers

For my mother and all mothers on Mother's Day. Below are 10 quotes that embody the joys and love we share with our mothers and being mothers ourselves.

• "A woman has two smiles that an angel might envy, the smile that accepts a lover before words are uttered, and the smile that lights on the first born babe, and assures it of a mother's love." ~ Thomas C. Haliburton
• "What are Raphael's Madonnas but the shadow of a mother's love, fixed in permanent outline forever?" ~Thomas Wentworth Higginson
• "I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine - she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights." ~Adabella Radici


• "I miss thee, my Mother! Thy image is still the deepest impressed on my heart." ~Eliza Cook
• "A daughter is a mother's gender partner, her closest ally in the family confederacy, an extension of her self. And mothers are their daughters' role model, their biological and emotional road map, the arbiter of all their relationships." ~Victoria Secunda
• "All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother." ~Abraham Lincoln
• "My mother had a slender, small body, but a large heart - a heart so large that everybody's joys found welcome in it, and hospitable accommodation." ~Mark Twain



• "A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path." ~ Agatha Christie
• "I really learned it all from mothers." ~ Dr. Benjamin Spock
• "My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her." ~ George Washington (1732-1799)

Special thanks to Chrissie 2003's Photosteam for her petal art images, reminescent of Georgia O'Keefe.

Glamorizing the Ultra-Thin

By Lingerie Diva

This article was recently posted on Lingerie Diva's website about the French Parliament passing a bill to "glamorize the ultra-thin." According to Lingerie Diva the bill "(W)ill attack Web sites that tell anorexics how to starve and could also target the fashion industry. The crack down would include fines of up to $71,000 and three-year prison sentences for offenders who encourage 'extreme thinness.' In the next few weeks this bill will go to the Senate.

This bill follows the 2006 anorexia-linked death of Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston, which prompted efforts throughout the fashion industry to address the health problems of ultra-thin models..."

For the full article, click on Glamorizing the Ultra-Thin.

Thank you to Lingerie Diva with posting this article. Eve's Apples couldn't agree with you more. As long as the media continues to promote unhealthy and sickly images of women as the ideal beauty and photo shop normal sized women down to waifs, impressionable girls and women will continue sacrificing their health and well-being to achieve this unrealistic image.

Celebrating Your Inner Eve is all about embracing who you are physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Until we can love and accept ourselves as we are no one else will either.

Mama Say! Mama Sa! Mamakossa! ~ Mother's Day Gift Guide

By Daily Candy

One of my favorite stops in my day is to Daily Candy where I can get updates on what is happening locally for the week and and weekend. Eve's Apples first saw this Mother's Days gift update on Faire Frou Frou's blog. With Mother's Day quickly approaching, Daily Candy has some great gift ideas. Once you're done looking that over you can see what is hip and happening this Mother's Day weekend.

Mummy Dearest

"Get Mumsy’s party started right with a darling box of Valerie Confections’s new pansy petit fours and a tea gift box from Lamill. A Donna Wilson cozy will keep things nice and toasty."

Yo Momma

"Help keep her guard up with a Gloria apron from the new Henry Road boutique, but watch Ma melt for Francois Payard’s new Chocolate Epiphany."

Mama Jamma

"Let Madre lounge in her Undrest robe while awaiting delivery of Blue Plate’s Breakfast in Bed care package with yogurt, fruit and granola or bagels, O.J., champers, and fixings for four (1415 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica; 310-260-8877)..."

For their complete gift list and other local events this weekend, click on Daily Candy.

Breast Shape Affects Bra Size

Traditional Bra Measuring May Not Tell Your Correct Cup Size!

Why does breast shape affect your cup size?

Let me tell you a little story about a special lingerie boutique called Rigby & Peller which holds a Royal Warrant by the Queen of England (June Kenton is the Royal Corsetiere there).


Curious about what I would find behind Rigby & Peller's wall to wall wooden drawers housing luxurious lingerie, I asked what they had for someone who wears a 36A. "Love, you could never be a 36A."

"I was recently measured. I am a 36A," I said, knowing that I had been measured by a sales person at that pink lingerie store taking over the planet one mall at a time.

"I'm certain your frame is much smaller than a 36. Have you been fitted here before?"

"No."

"Would you like to be?"

Smaller than a 36... If Queen Elizabeth trusts them with her jewels, then there must be something to it. "Yes. I'd love to."

Instead of tape measuring, Tanya, my personal fitter at the Knightsbridge shop, looked at me bare breasted and announced that I was a 32C. Which of course, made me giddy with laughter. You see, there is no way I could be a 32 "C" because my breasts are, quite frankly, too small. A "C" cup belongs to a woman with large breasts.

How could a woman with small breasts wear a "C" cup?

Tanya explained to me that, like many women, the shape of my breasts are wider. It's common for many small breasted women to go up a cup size or two to get the correct fit. Through time, our breasts change due to weight loss, pregnancy, the birth control pill, age, sports and other factors. All of this affects our cup size.

I had to stay and find out if Tanya was right about me. She proceeded to bring me in the most beautiful, girlie bras that I've ever seen in 32C. Guess what? They fit!

All I could do was hug her.

Not only did Tanya make me feel completely comfortable in my new gorgeous, cleavage enhancing bras, but also she gave me the best lingerie experience ever! After all, who goes into a store thinking they're a 36A and walks out a 32C?

How could I have such discrepancies in my measurements?

1. The sales person at the "nameless" pink lingerie establishment measured me in clothes--which could have made my band size larger
2. I'd lost five pounds between fittings--which will make the band size smaller. For this reason, Rigby & Peller recommends getting fitted (or measured) every six months
3. Tanya, the fitter at Rigby & Peller, took into account my breast shape (which called for a wider cup size, even if my breasts don't look like a typical full "C")

What does all of this mean?

I consider myself small breasted. To look at me, you'd think that I could never in a million years fill out a "C" cup. But what I learned at Rigby & Peller is that the shape of a woman's breast is just as important and the band size.

Rigby & Peller has established that of the women who go into its store "...approximately 80% of women are wearing the wrong bra size. The most common mistake is wearing a bra too large in the back (band size) and too small in the cup which causes all sorts of unsightly problems."

What will wearing a band size that is too big and a cup size that is too small do?

1. The band will ride up the back. Look at yourself in the mirror sideways. Instead of your breasts being level with your band, your breasts are lower than the band in back. Your band size is too big. The band should fit snug, but not cut into your skin, producing back cleavage
2. The cups will gap at times, giving the impression that you aren't filling out your cup. This is not true, the cup size is too small
3. You will see material crease on the sides of your bra, signaling that the band is too big
4. You may feel the need to adjust or pull down your bra in front or back as it rides up

If this is happening to you, do the following:

1. Figure out your band size. Get a tape measure. Measure it snugly around your back and under your chest. If the number is even, add 4 to get your band size. If the number is odd, add 5 to get your band size. For example: If you wrote down 32, add 4 and your band size will be 36. Voila!
2. Go shopping. At a store, try on bras in your band size with cups 1-2 sizes larger than your original cup size. For example, if you normally wear an "A" cup, try on "B" and "C" cups. More than likely, you'll find that due to your breast shape a larger cup size will flatter your breasts and enhance your cleavage

* Keep in mind, when shopping, try on several brands. Each brand will cut bras a little differently. You'll find there are a couple brands that work best with your breast shape.

It's highly recommended that if you've measured your bra size (cup and band) with a tape measure and you're are still having trouble, try getting fitted the old fashioned way like Queen Elizabeth. Get personally fitted at Rigby & Peller in London. If you can't go there, then you can get the royal results by doing it yourself. Either way, you'll feel good about yourself and look confident no matter what the tape measure says about your cup size!

Sex & The City Shopping Spree

With Sex & The City: The Movie premiering in London (not New York), Paramount Comedy 1 (a TV Channel in the UK) is offering a £5,000 shopping spree at Selfridges & Co., NARS goodies, and Sex & The City DVD box sets to winners of their Top 10 Contest. To enter, contestants need to vote for their "Top 10" favorite episodes and on June 1st the favorite episodes will be revealed.

According to Selfridges, "One lucky voter will get the chance to bag armfuls of fabulous new outfits with the help of their very own personal shopper, plus one night's accommodation in a city hotel and travel for you and your best friend...

...So, strap on your Manolo Blahniks and register your vote before 24 May for your chance to win these glamorous prizes!"

Click on Sex & The City Top 10 Contest to enter.