Did Busts Boom?

By Kathie Klarreich

Inject me. Bleach me. Laser me. Just don't cut. A crucial lesson in the age of Botox is that a sizable group of women fit somewhere on the vanity scale between Eager Surgery Candidate and Making Do with What God and My Miracle Bra Gave Me. So last spring when a Florida plastic surgeon introduced a device to nonsurgically increase breast tissue using suction, not a few A- and B-cup bosoms heaved with hope. Makers of the Brava bra, which consists of two plastic shells linked by tubes to a suction device, promised an increase of up to one cup size after 10 hours a day of wear over 10 weeks. At about $2,500, and available only through doctors, Brava seemed like a device of interest to the highly motivated only. But a year later, it has won some fans. Its makers say the Brava has now been prescribed by 500 doctors and worn by 4,000 women, and will debut in Europe and Asia later this year. Does Brava work? The answer appears to be yes, but very modestly and not without considerable discomfort and inconvenience. The first batch of Brava bravers complained of rashes and started a now defunct website called Brav-Argh. (Brava says the rashes have been addressed with a new skin treatment.) A more typical experience seems to be that of Christina Ashe, whose job at Hooters in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., may explain why she wore her Brava faithfully for 17 weeks. "If you want that fake Pamela Anderson look, this isn't the right thing," says Ashe, who still wears her Brava occasionally for a short-term boost. "But I'm never going to have surgery, and I got a half-cup growth. How can you be disappointed?" --By Kathie Klarreich