The weather outside is too gloomy for the pictures I wanted to take for today’s post, so what better filler than Claire Underwood’s amazing suit from Season 2, Episode 12 of House of Cards? I promise this won’t become the Claire Underwood Wardrobe Fan Club Blog–Mr. Campbell and I only have one episode left, and we’ll be all caught up.

claire underwood amazing suit

Features that make this a winner for full-busted women:

  1. Knit fabric with some give to accommodate a large bust. However, in order to avoid a squashed boob look, there would need to be darts or princess seams. I can’t get a close enough look from the video to see if there are any.
  2. Zippered front means no gappy buttons and the ability to adjust the neckline to your balance point. Of course, simply zipping over the chest isn’t enough–again, there would need to be darts or princess seams to avoid a squashed boob look.
  3. Narrow sleeves so no extra fabric to detract from the waist or add to the boobs.
  4. A subdued peplum for great hourglass hips  to balance the bust without looking faddish.

Finding a jacket like this on the busty ecommerce sites is still a dream, but I’m pretty impressed with some of the jackets they do carry. For instance, I love the back detail of this Aranna jacket from Saint Bustier.

arianna jacket

The shape of this Pepperberry jacket is pretty ordinary, but the denim is a nice way to sharpen an outfit without being overly formal, and the reviews on their website are super positive about the fit.

pepperberry lightweight denim jacket

For another casual option, check out Braless in Brasil’s recent Urkye blazer review. She includes links to other bloggers’ reviews as well.

Finally, since the title of this post is about suits, let’s end with DDAtelier’s mix-and-match option. It’s nowhere near as exciting as Claire’s, but it’s a basic that can be very versatile.

ddatelier mix and match blazer
Interestingly, each jacket I’ve shown today has a high stance–a word I’ve just learned from Already Pretty‘s excellent post about how to fit a blazer. A blazer’s stance is the highest point where it buttons. I relate to Sally’s observation that “Busty women may find that [a] low stance, single-button blazer will open up awkwardly at the chest while higher styles sit a bit quieter.”

This is why I dislike the Tempest de Corps jacket below. Yes,  I realize the model is pushing her chest out, but it’s a good illustration of what usually happens to me in a low stance jacket even when I’m not pushing my chest out.

low stance jacket

Sally refuses to give any hard and fast rules on this subject because she goes on to say, “On the other hand,  other busty women may find high stance blazers intolerable due to where the bustline falls.” For an example of a low stance blazer that works on a busty woman, you need look no further than June’s photo of herself in the Urkye blazer review that I link to above–the button fastens just below her chest without any strange folding at the lapel.

What kind of suit jackets do you dream about? And are most of them high stance or low stance?