Pepper Review: Is This The Best Bra for Small Busts??

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I’m not the type of person to write about bras since I know close to nothing about them. Case in point: Before discovering Pepper, I had been wearing the same Maidenform bra for the past three or so YEARS! That thing had long lost its wires and was peeling apart, but it trucked along, mostly because I don’t have a lot of boob to support, you know what I’m saying?

So when I came across Pepper, which touts itself as “the first brand to design products specifically for women with small boobs,” I was skeptical. What the heck was so special about their bras that they would fit my small boobs better? Couldn’t I just buy a bra at the local store?

But I got sucked down the rabbit hole of their excellent branding, and I had to admit, their bras DID SEEM better. Here’s the “special sauce” that they list on their site:

“Specially molded demi bra cups shallower in depth to eliminate annoying bra gaps.”
“Lightweight, thinly lined cups that give you the oomph without the oof.”
“High quality mesh overlay that lifts the cup from the bottom up for that boob-hugging, flattering fit.”
“Pepper cups are less deep than traditional cups.”<—YAY!

Finding the “Perfect” Fit With Pepper Bras

Pepper’s Band Size Chart

Pepper’s Cup Size Chart

Through the experience, I learned that I had been wearing bras wrong all my life. Let me explain.

My whole life, I thought I was a 34A. A cups were the smallest I’d ever found at stores, and even though they had the dreaded gap at the top of my boobs that showed when I wore fitted shirts and the padding was WAY over-the-top, that’s what I always went with.

But, as I tried to decide which size to order on the Pepper site, I learned a couple of things about bra sizing:

You are supposed to use the LAST (WIDEST) clasp on the back of the bra.

As the bra ages and stretches out, THAT’S when you start putting it on the tighter clasps. But when you first buy a bra, and when you try it on for size, you should use the last/widest clasp.

This is where you should hook your bra when you first try it on!

Cup sizes are not the same: A 34A is NOT the same cup size as a 36A.

To figure out your bra size, you’re supposed to measure your rib cage just under your boobs and then subtract that from your bust measurement (which is measured OVER your boobs). The result determines your band size. Well, that got confusing for me. I got a tape measure and for sure got a 32 bust size measurement. But for the rib cage measurement, I’d read conflicting info. Some say to exhale all your air and then measure. When I did that, I got 27.5. Others say to breathe in and keep the tape relaxed. When I did that, it was a 29.

Well, do the math, and a 32 (bust size) minus a 32 band size would give me 0! And if I did 32 minus 34, I’d get a -2! How could I have a negative bust size?

I decided to text the Pepper Support Team to get some answers:

What I Ordered: Pepper Bra Review!

All You Bra – 34A

I actually ordered a 34AA, 34A, 36AA, and 36A so that I could try them all on (Pepper recommends this, and they offer free returns!). It was weird because ALL of them felt like they fit. In the end, I was torn between the 34AA and the 34A. Thanks to the support rep’s advice, I went with the 34A and just tightened the strap on my right side where my smaller boob is.

Pros

What did I think of the Pepper All You Bra?

It fit great!
It didn’t have the over-the-top padding like my old bra
and it didn’t have the dreaded bra gap!

Cons

But, the ultimate test was when I wore it underneath a white fitted shirt. The bra outline DID show through. There’s a pretty thick hem at the top where the mesh is sewn over the cup, and that creates an unsightly line beneath my shirt that is noticeable. :/

That large hem/seam at the top causes issues when you wear this bra with a fitted shirt: you can see the seam.

It has wire, but it doesn’t need it. Okay, please explain to me why an A cup needs underwire?! I wish they’d go without it. In fact…I accidentally modified my All You Bra to be wirefree!

Here’s what happened: I was washing my All You Bra in a washing machine (I know, I know, you’re supposed to hand wash!), and when I took the laundry out of the dryer, I noticed a white metal wire sticking out of the lint filter. The underwire had come out of my All You Bra! So what I did was, I just dug out the other underwire—and ta-da! I had a WIREFREE All You Bra! It feels way better now and it still fits perfectly. Pepper, I beg you to make a wirefree All You Bra so we don’t have to do it ourselves. 🙂

This is a well-worn All You Bra—not a brand new one! This is where the underwire used to be, but I took it out to make it better. 🙂

Limitless Wirefree Bra – Small

Pros

This one is super comfortable—almost feels like a sports bra! In fact, I’ve worn it as such.
The material is silky smooth.
The mesh details are cute.

Cons

My one complaint about the Limitless Wirefree Bra is that it has darting on the center of the cups, so when you wear it beneath a fitted shirt, you can see the darting sticking out like nipples. It’s kind of embarrassing, so I have to be careful what kind of shirts I wear with this one.

Would I Recommend Pepper?

Yes! Okay, so the bras aren’t perfect, but I think the company is catering to an oft-forgotten market (small-chested women) and promoting body positivity—what’s not to love about that?

The bras are the best-fitting ones I’ve tried so far, and I appreciate that Pepper encourages women to embrace the bodies God gave them. 🙂

Give Pepper a try, and let me know what you think! And remember, they offer free returns.