Brassiere types

full cup - a full-cup bra covers the whole of the breast. Available for all breast sizes, but will be the best (and often only) choice for women over a D cup as they offer a lot of support. For those of whose SO is well-endowed (D and over) you've probably heard occasional long rants about how difficult it is to find bras. Well, sorry to break it to you, but it is. There is good stuff out there that is very beautiful indeed, but it's expensive. A-D cups are easily catered for by the majority of clothing stores and labels, but above a D cup are specific labels.

half cup - a half-cup bra usually offers nearly the same support as a full-cup, but only covers half the breast; again, available for all breast sizes. The advantage of a half-cup over a full-cup is that she will be able to wear lower-cut tops with it, and it looks and feels just a little more sexy because more of the breast is exposed. For this, she is only sacrificing a little of the complete support that a full-cup provides her.

balconette - a balconette bra is as it sounds; a balcony for the breasts. It's a half cup bra with wide-spaced straps, but it also pushes the breasts up to create cleavage. Not recommended for anyone over a D cup (unless manufactured by a company that specialises in +DD bras, and even then be careful).

plunge bra - a plunge bra is merely a bra where the band that connects the cups is a thin strip below the line of the nipples, allowing the woman to wear very low-cut tops. Plunge bras can usually be found up to quite large sizes.

push-up bra - a push-up bra pushes the breasts up and in, making them look fuller and creating a lot of cleavage. The Wonderbra is a type of push-up bra. Often a push-up bra will be combined with a plunge bra making a...

cleavage bra - a cleavage bra is the kind of thing that haunts men's dreams. Depending on the manufacturer, you can get these made up to an F cup (Wonderbra only goes to C or D at most).

triangle - a triangle bra is strictly for pert C cups and under only. Offer practically no support (as they usually aren't underwired), and are pretty much there for decoration... which is why they can be so very luxurious.