We’ve previously discussed uniboob and how to avoid it. Interestingly, there’s another phenomenon that involves pushing breast tissue together, except that this effect is often considered to be desirable and sought after: cleavage. Cleavage is the cleft or line formed at the top of the breasts when they’re pressed against each other; technically any space between the breasts counts as cleavage, but in seeking out this particular profile, most folks are specifically looking for the breasts to touch and close any gap between them. This draws attention to the chest, makes breasts look fuller, and creates a sultry look. The difference between uniboob and cleavage is mainly directional. With uniboob, tissue is pushed together, but also flattened and compressed inwards, towards the chest wall. Cleavage pushes breasts together, but projects them outwards, presented and forward-facing.

If you’d like to maximize cleavage in your bra choices, there are a couple of things to keep in mind first. A bra can help direct your tissue, but there are features of your own personal anatomy that come into play and are honestly bigger factors in the final aesthetic: breast spacing, volume, and projection. Some bodies have breasts that naturally touch. With a bit of lift, cleavage just happens automatically. Other individuals have variable amounts of open space on the sternum, between the breasts. The wider the gap, the more it takes to fill; a certain minimum amount of breast volume is necessary to do that successfully. Breast shape matters as well, specifically in the form of projection, or how far forward that tissue wants to come. Boobs that are wide and shallow, with the volume more distributed and closer to the chest, are a lot harder to push together. Lastly, cleavage is easier to accomplish with at least some top volume, as opposed to having the majority of your breast volume distributed towards the bottom.

Now, for the bra part of the equation. To bring those breasts together and allow them to touch, look for bra styles that have a lot of side structure and a low plunging center gore. Pair that with a low coverage cup style and a deep projected cup base for best effect. Let’s break that down a bit. It’s the firm sides of the bra cup that will provide the actual push. If you aren’t getting the look you want, you can even place bra inserts or padding in the cups, against those outer sides, to add more push. The plunge center will allow your breasts to touch. A tall and narrow gore might work as well, but a low gore is best for avoiding excess separation. The deep cup base prevents accidental compression and really puts your boobs up on a platter. Again, some “push-up” style padding in the base of the of the cups can augment this, but it really shouldn’t be necessary with the right cup shape. Lastly, a low coverage or demi cup styles will frame your neckline and display the cleavage you’ve achieved.

There are plenty of bras that can work in this way, depending on your size and other shape factors. A few are shown below: Antonina plunge from Ewa Michalak, Natori’s Cherry Blossom plunge, and the La Femme t-shirt bra from Wacoal. As fitters, we would always encourage you to consider overall fit before prioritizing a certain aesthetic, but if this is a look you’re after, we’d be happy to help guide you.