I’ve been ashamed of my breasts since I was 11. Boys laughed at me, I love them
Having big breasts can bring big problems, as Jackie Adedeji knows all too well.
The 30-year-old broadcaster, who grew up in Luton, Bedfordshire but now lives in London, has a bust size of 36K and admits a big problem is finding clothes that are stylish, trendy and flatter her bust.
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She told us: “I want to take risks and have fun with my clothes, but popular fashion is always aimed at women with smaller breasts. You don’t fit into fashion trends because they aren’t made for you.”
And this is where Fabulous steps in to help: we are going to create our own clothing line, especially for women with large breasts.
We need YOUR help in designing the pieces, from which style is best to the colors, patterns and materials used. You will be there every step of the way.
Once it’s designed, a group of Fabulous readers even get the chance to model the collection and help with fitting – to make sure you really like it.
When everything is ready to go, you will have the chance to pre-order your designs, with the chance to have items named after you.
Clothing FOR women with large breasts, designed BY women with large breasts – does this sound like something you would be interested in?
Complete the short quiz below to get started…
Jackie developed size 30FF breasts at the age of 11 and says she has been sexualized because of her bust all her life.
She says: “They literally grew overnight and I noticed I was being treated differently. I started getting messages from friends and family asking if I could cover up more and dress more modestly.
“When it came to sports at school, I felt like I couldn’t participate. Boys at school would make fun of me when I played netball or ran as big as my boobs.
‘At that age, boys and girls, you changed clothes together in class.
I want to take risks and have fun with my clothes, but popular fashion is always aimed at women with smaller breasts
Jackie Adedeji
“My teacher said to me one day, ‘Jacqueline, I’m really sorry, but you can’t change here because you’re way too developed,’ so I had to change in the cloakroom.
“I always felt like I was a provocative, promiscuous, unruly child who distracted everyone with her breasts.”
After this, Jackie decided that covering her chest was the best option – even choosing to wear her dad’s baggy hoodies in the summer.
As her breasts continued to grow, she realized she couldn’t wear what her friends were wearing.
She says: “My mum took me to Marks & Spencer to get a bra and it was a horrible cone-shaped underwire bra, the lady had cold hands and I burst into tears.”
But after years of covering herself up when she was 16, Jackie discovered that having big breasts wasn’t a bad thing anymore.
She says: “Boys liked them, they weren’t funny anymore, I became popular and I liked the attention.
“However, I started to realize that people were talking to my chest and not my face.
Boys at school would make fun of me when I played netball or ran as big as my boobs
Jackie Adedeji
“So I dressed with my breasts out quite a lot, because I thought, this is all I am, this is what I’m worth – I can use this to my advantage.”
And while Jackie may have enjoyed the new attention her breasts brought, it was a turning point in realizing she had to love them too.
She says, “How am I going to make this work? Should I have them reduced? Should I have them removed? Will I just be okay with them? How can I bring about peace?
“I realized I was letting people define who I was. I was ‘Jackie big tits’, the funny girl at school, so I had to figure out how to get my power back.”
Clothing was an issue, with Jackie often feeling like she couldn’t wear something because of her chest.
She says: ‘I realized that a lot of my feelings about myself came from what other people said to me: ‘Oh, your breasts are so big,’ ‘Can you dress a little nicer?’
Especially since my parents had highly respected jobs, my father was a minister and my mother was a magistrate, I felt like I was embarrassing them for existing.
“And you internalize those messages and think you’re the problem and the distraction.
“If you take all that away and you think: what do I actually think about myself? I realized that I didn’t feel so bad about who I was.
“My breasts don’t define me. They are special because they are mine. I taught myself to fall in love with myself.”
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When Jackie went to college at age 18, she had a different view of her breasts.
She says, “I could rebrand and show who I am. I decided to reclaim the term ‘big boobs’ myself, and then no one would let me make the joke because I laughed first.”
But of course, not everyone is as confident in talking about breasts as Jackie is.
She says: “Someone once said to me that if I talked about having big breasts it would ruin my career.”
She has since become a successful presenter and podcaster, with her own award-winning Channel 4 documentary My Big Boobs –
She says: “It’s so easy for women with larger breasts to be sexualized, even when we’re not trying to look sexy.
“And that’s their problem, not mine. You blame me for being seductive when I haven’t done anything, that’s your business.
“When I was 14, a man stopped me on the street and asked how old I was. He then told me that I couldn’t be that old because of how big my breasts were. I was shocked.”
Boys liked them, they weren’t funny anymore, I became popular and I liked the attention
Jackie Adedeji
But what does she think about dressing her chest?
“It all starts with wearing the right bra. More often than not, people wear the wrong bra, which means you can’t dress for your body because your shape looks out of place.”
She adds: “I would love to wear triangle bikinis, but they don’t even cover a nipple. A bandeau top would be great to just throw on, but I can’t just pick things up and carry them like that.
“Even if we had the base that fit our bust, that would be great because we could build a wardrobe around ourselves that makes us look and feel good.”
“I think it’s absolutely fantastic. Fabulous makes a collection with a fuller bust. It’s time for women with big breasts to feel included and seen. It’s exciting that many women can finally enjoy dressing up and feel like queens!”
And what does she think about her breasts now?
“I love them, the relationship you have with yourself is the longest and most important relationship you will ever have.”
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