18-02-2025
This Admittedly Expensive T-Shirt Designed for Ample Bosoms May Just Be Worth the Splurge
The thing about a T-shirt is that it's supposed to convey effortless cool. But for a busty, top-heavy gal like myself, finding a tee that accommodates my big boobs in a comfortable, stylish, and flattering way can be downright difficult.
Think about it: When a garment is literally named after its right-angled contours, it's only natural that it can look a little boxy. When your own silhouette, in contrast, is primarily defined by a full, curvy rack, it's almost like trying to fit a round peg (or, you know, two of 'em) into a square hole.
Tees that are too skimpy across the chest pull and stretch, showcasing my boobs in a way I don't want them showcased and making me feel straitjacketed. Meanwhile, tees that are roomy enough for my top half often hang shapelessly below the bustline, resembling a tent more than a shirt.
So when Instagram started feeding me content for PerfectDD, a brand offering tops and dresses designed for folks with DD cups and larger who want to feel 'sexy, not self-conscious,' I was intrigued.
This Supima cotton top employs nifty design tricks that work to downplay the visual prominence of a bigger bust while feeling comfortable and giving off a stylish, casual vibe.
This is the same shirt as the Krista Tulip Sleeve Scoop, except with a V-shaped neckline.
On its website, PerfectDD (pronounced 'perfected') makes a series of tempting claims about how its apparel works with and for all kinds of large busts, saying that its styles fit 'A to M cups.' PerfectDD's full line includes bodysuits, bodycon dresses, turtlenecks, shirt dresses, hoodies, corsets, jumpsuits, and button-ups.
As a work-from-home, middle-aged, suburban mom with few occasions to dress up, I was most drawn to the T-shirts. (PerfectDD founder Alice Kim also told me in a Zoom interview that the T-shirts are their best sellers.) Many of the tees I live in have been incorporated into my wardrobe by default—meaning, I may not love them, but at least I don't hate them. Maybe they're slouchy, but at least they're not restrictive. Sure, they fall short of fabulous, but I can live with them. The only difference between the two T-shirts I tested is the neckline. The Krista Tulip Sleeve Scoop (left) has a U-shaped neckline, while the Amy Tulip Sleeve Tee (right) has a V-shaped neckline. Marki Williams/NYT Wirecutter
For a big-chested person willing to pay an admittedly pretty penny—the two PerfectDD tees I tested for several weeks, the Krista Tulip Sleeve Scoop and Amy Tulip Sleeve Tee, cost $105 apiece—was this finally a Goldilocks solution? Was this a top that worked with my body type, not against or in spite of it?
To my surprise, I think so.
When my PerfectDD tops first arrived for testing, I was so eager to try them that I put one on right in the Wirecutter office restroom. I honestly can't recall which I wore first, because the Krista and Amy shirts are nearly identical, except that the Krista features a U-shaped scoop neck, while the Amy shirt's neckline is V-shaped.
Based on my colleagues' reactions, as well as the several 'cute top!' compliments I received throughout testing, the first detail people notice about these shirts is their signature tulip sleeves. While a basic T-shirt sleeve is typically cut from a single piece of fabric, tulip sleeves are made from two curved, overlapping pieces. PerfectDD's tulip sleeves also feature shirred pleats to create a puff effect—which, I found, increases their visual interest while helping to accent the shoulders and counterbalance the prominence of a bigger bust. A few friends even asked to touch them—the sleeves, not my boobs. The shirts' tulip sleeves, made with two overlapping pieces of fabric, may be the cutest part of the whole garment. Marki Williams/NYT Wirecutter
(If you just don't like puffy sleeves, PerfectDD recently introduced another T-shirt design, the Perfect Rolled Sleeve Tee, which we have not tested.)
On that first day, the shirt felt slightly tight on me and made me a little self-conscious, even though I'd followed the brand's sizing guidelines. (T-shirts are sold in sizes XS to XL; your size is determined by your bra size.) But by the second wear, both tees had loosened just a bit into a shape that skimmed and draped in all the right places.
The PerfectDD shirts make my chest look like just a part of me, not the whole show.
These tees give me a lengthy, hourglass torso instead of a blah, chunky one. (Kim confirmed to me that the shirts' side seams are curved rather than straight.) The tulip shaping along the sleeves also lend a nice shape to my upper arms, which have always been on the thick and matronly side. And the necklines, as promised, hit in a 'just right' spot below the collarbone that helps take away visually from the heft of my bust without showing cleavage or making me feel like the girls are spilling out. Perhaps best of all, I didn't see those telltale tension lines that you might get from putting on a too-small tee. Going clockwise from top left: That's me in the PerfectDD Krista Tulip Sleeve Scoop size XL, the Amy Tulip Sleeve size XL, the Amy Tulip Sleeve size L, and the Krista Tulip Sleeve Scoop size L. In these pics, I think the brand-new XL shirts look better because they elongate and balance out my frame a bit more, but after one or two wears, the L shirts seemed to fit me better in the long run. Marki Williams/NYT Wirecutter
'A V-neck shape like this tends to be flattering because it breaks up the width of the body by directing the eye to the center,' said senior staff writer Zoe Vanderweide, who wrote our women's T-shirt guide. 'This has the effect of enhancing an hourglass shape.' The puffy tulip sleeves, she added, 'create this upward lift that visually slims the arms [and] gives a heart shape to the upper body.'
I also compared the Amy and Krista tops with one of Wirecutter's favorite women's T-shirts, the Mott & Bow Fitted V-Neck Marcy Tee—specifically because, as we note in that T-shirt guide, 'fuller-busted testers were especially smitten and found the style [of the Marcy Tee] flattering without being too tight or revealing.'
The Marcy Tee is a great T-shirt (and, at about $40, much more affordable than the PerfectDD tees), and I agree with many of our testers' positive comments: It's a super-soft garment with a slightly tapered torso and short-ish sleeves that don't add visual bulk to my upper body.
For me, the biggest difference between the Mott & Bow and PerfectDD shirts is that the latter makes my breasts look less pronounced—I dare say, perhaps even smaller than they really are. The Mott & Bow's V-neck is shallower (as Zoe told me, 'a too-high V will just emphasize the width of a larger chest') and its bottom hem hits me just a tad higher on the waist, making me look more squat and feel more like I'm just a wall of boob coming at ya.
To put it another way, the PerfectDD shirts make my chest look like just a part of me, not the whole show. When I wear them, I feel good overall, rather than self-conscious about one specific thing.
With such a steep price, though, I wanted proof that PerfectDD's T-shirts were delivering more than just visual trickery, so I took them to Larissa Shirley King, a New York City–based intimate apparel designer and assistant professor of fashion design at Fashion Institute of Technology. FIT instructor Larissa Shirley King helped me take my PerfectDD shirt for a test drive. Hannah Rimm/NYT Wirecutter
She was as unexpectedly impressed as I was, and identified a few more components that contribute to them not only looking good, but feeling surprisingly comfortable:
Armholes that don't bunch or pull. The PerfectDD armholes, King pointed out, aren't as straight as a typical T-shirt's. Because of this, the shirts offer an impressive range of arm motion without causing the whole garment to pull forward or ride up. 'Very often, when you're wearing a basic T-shirt, you get extra fabric in the armpit because there's no shaping in there,' she explained. 'When somebody is fuller busted, you need to take away from the armhole.' A regular T-shirt's boxier sleeve (left) is typically made from a single piece of fabric and may bunch up in the underarm area. The PerfectDD tulip sleeve (right) and specially designed armhole allow for arms to move more freely. Hannah Rimm/NYT Wirecutter
Sustainable textiles. PerfectDD's Sustainability and Social Responsibility commitments, as listed on its website, include the use of 100% Supima cotton in the manufacturing of all Krista and Amy shirts (except the heather grey color, which is made from dead stock). 'I'm a Supima fangirl," King said. 'It's grown in the US, and it's known as an extra-long-staple fiber, which means it's strong and durable and lasts a long time.' Those extra-long fibers also result in a 'finer, silkier' textile, she added, which elevates the look and feel of the garment.
Extra space in the boob area. When the shirts were laid flat on a table, King noticed circles in the garment's chest area where the fabric was roomier. 'It really looks like they molded it the same way you'd mold a seamless cup bra, heat-setting the fabric with a metal mold,' she said. Supima cotton excels at conforming to a person's contours—so much so that my boobs literally gave this PerfectDD tee the 'impression' of having boobs of its own. Hannah Rimm/NYT Wirecutter
However, Kim told me there's no molding in the manufacturing process; instead, that's just prewashed Supima cotton doing its thing. 'There's a natural stretch to it, which is why it felt a little tight the first time you put it on,' she said, 'but then it almost molds to your body and becomes a custom piece.'
I prefer to leave the house not looking like a disheveled hag, but I often don't have the time or energy to curate an easy-breezy, put-together outfit. The Krista and Amy shirts have offered me a quick shortcut to an upgraded, more sophisticated look when I want it without having to invest in other clothing to get it.
When I had to attend back-to-school night at my kid's middle school, I had all of 90 seconds to change out of my shlubby daytime garb. I threw on a PerfectDD tee with a pair of mall-brand, trouser-cut jeans I've had for years and a comfy flat, and I felt like Lily van der Woodsen.
This was also a key difference compared with the Mott & Bow Marcy Tee, which gave off an athletic-wear vibe. If you can appreciate the difference: I wouldn't think twice about going for pizza in the Marcy Tee, but I wouldn't necessarily want to go to dinner in it.
Per our editorial guidelines, I have not kept the shirts—but what I've realized since trying them is that a dressy tee is a key piece that had been missing from my wardrobe. Even if the brand didn't claim to design a shirt that catered to the curves of bigger boobs, I might splash out three figures on the Amy or Krista just for this reason.
Look good or bust? I no longer have to choose.
This article was edited by Hannah Rimm and Maxine Builder.
What I Cover
Rose Maura Lorre is a senior staff writer. Her byline has appeared in The New York Times, Esquire, Salon, Business Insider, HGTV Magazine, and many more. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, and lots and lots of houseplants.
