Guide to Vanity Fair Bra Styles, Sizing and Fit

Below is a mostly-comprehensive list of Vanity Fair bras, including their style names and style numbers, with notations on whether each is suitable for shallow or projected breasts and wide or narrow roots. The list prioritizes bras currently available, but many discontinued styles are included for reference, as Vanity Fair has a long history of beloved, comfort-oriented designs that remain popular.

Notes on Fit and Breast Shape

Shallow vs. Projected: Shallow breasts have less forward projection and a wider base, needing wider, less deep cups to avoid gaping or empty space at the top. Projected breasts extend farther out, requiring deeper cups with immediate projection at the wire.

Vanity Fair bras are predominantly molded, seamless, or full-coverage with shallow to average cup shapes, making them ideal for shallow profiles that benefit from smoothing and light lift, but often too shallow for projected shapes, leading to quad-boob, compression, or overflow. Full-coverage styles provide better encapsulation for moderately projected breasts, while minimizers can compress projection slightly.

Wide vs. Narrow Roots: Wide roots span a broader chest area, needing wider wires for comfort and to prevent digging into breast tissue; narrow roots are more compact, needing narrower wires to ensure the gore tacks fully. Vanity Fair wires are generally average to wide, suiting wide roots well but often too broad on narrow roots, causing gaping or poor centering.

How to Use This List

Identify Your Shape: Use Vanity Fair’s Find Your Fit Quiz on their website or r/ABraThatFits resources to confirm if you’re shallow or projected and your root width.

Match Bra Style: For shallow breasts, prioritize molded, seamless, or minimizer bras (e.g., Beauty Back Smoothing, One Smooth U). For projected breasts, choose full-coverage or lightly lined styles if available (limited options; consider sister sizing up for depth).

Check Root Width: Ensure wire width aligns with your root—Vanity Fair’s average-to-wide wires favor wide roots, but low-gore plunges work for average to narrow.

Additional Notes

Shape-Specific Collections: Vanity Fair’s Beauty Back line (e.g., 76380, 71380) excels for shallow breasts with wide roots, offering full-coverage smoothing and back panels for even, minimized profiles under clothing. The Illumination series (e.g., 76322) provides versatile low-gore options for narrower roots and moderate projection. Effortless Simple Sizing (76150) simplifies fitting for shallow, everyday wear. For projected shapes, full-coverage like 75316 (discontinued) offers slightly deeper cups with zoned support, but unlined styles are rare—most are molded and shallow. 

Some wearers critique Vanity Fair molded bras (e.g., 76280, 76090) for exacerbating issues on projected FOT breasts, causing overflow or migration, so sister size up a cup for depth, or seek seamed alternatives like Lace Piquant (discontinued). Minimizers and full-coverage are lauded for wide roots and pendulous shallow shapes but can gap on narrow or highly projected profiles due to average depth. Bands often run snug (small), requiring extenders; cups are generous (big) in US sizing.

Wire Width: Vanity Fair bras typically have average to wide wires, suiting wide roots but challenging very narrow ones (e.g., Illumination plunges for closer fits).

Discontinued Styles: Icons like Beauty Back Strapless (74380), Gel Touch (76090), and Lace Piquant (75-164) remain popular for their comfort and versatility; check for rebranded Bestform UK equivalents. 

Fit Variability: Cup depth and wire width vary by size (e.g., smaller cups shallower). For projected shapes, sister size up in cup (e.g., 34D vs. 36C) if too shallow; for shallow, down a cup to avoid gapping. Vanity Fair uses traditional +4/+5 sizing—often underestimating cups. Always scoop and swoop, and use their Fit Quiz, but expect shallower profiles overall; rotate bras every 6-12 months for longevity.