If you are a boob man you had a bonanza today if you read the New York Times, they had two features in one issue on boobs and bras.

When I first started reading the Gray Lady, those words were verboten.

My how times have changed, but it is encouraging to read some positive news when most businesses are down and the bra business is up with or without under wire support or a bra bailout.

However, I thought the stories were some what in conflict with each other.

The story out of New York says that most women wear the wrong size bra.  And that’s where Linda the Bra Lady comes in.

She, Linda Becker, says the wrong size bra is very uncomfortable and says its like wearing the wrong size shoes.  I guess I never thought of it that way, although I have had tight shoes, but never a tight bra.

I didn’t know until I read these stories that the industry changed the sizes of bras six years ago.

Linda told the Times that her current bra size was a 34F.  She said six years ago she was a 36D. In the interim she put on 40 pounds, noting that she put on a lot of weight in her breasts.

She also said she was 60, but humbly said she looks 40.

Today as the article reported the most popular size is an H cup and the largest size sold is a 54N.

I don’t exactly know how to envision this.

She says she sells 4,000 bras a week with the most expensive bra being $129 and the least expensive $29.

She does all of this in 370 square feet and is running out of space, for she has bras from floor to ceiling.  Business is so good she hands out those round discs that restaurants give to customers that buzz when it’s your turn for a personal fitting to get the right size.

Apparently there is a lot of feeling going on in the fitting process of the bra business, because she says throughout a female’s life breasts are changing.

I’m surprised there aren’t more men in this field.

Linda says, “Some people gain a lot of weight in their breasts, which I do.  All through life your breasts change.  You work out, you have babies, you have a condition, you lose weight, you gain weight, you’re lifting weights, your back gets biggger.  Sometimes you do none of these things and your breasts change.”

She went on to say in the Times piece, “I always say breasts have a mind of their own.  They’re like two bad kids.  If you don’t control them, they’re out of control.”

I just never thought of them in that light.

A new approach for men might be, ‘are the kid’s behaving?’

Now the juxtaposition on this piece appeared on the Style page and it was featuring another niche on the West Coast where Ellen Shing, the owner of Lula Lu a boutique in San Mateo, Calif., caters to small boobs AAA-to A cup sizes. She says some come in her shop looking for padded bras, but says the majority “don’t want to supersize themselves.”

Shing says she isn’t sure if the small-and loving-it attitude she has noticed is “about pride or more like being O.K. with who they are.”  But she says its fueling sales.

However, it was noted in this article that it was not uncommon for women with modest boobs to flaunt what little they’ve got with a deep V-neck cut or halter top.

It was noted that in the past the ironing board flat chested women were often told that they couldn’ t be helped or they were referred to the children’s department for training bras.

I guess there’s some good news for little boobs.  On the positive side women do not experience pain from running or dancing, they can sleep on their stomachs and best of all sagging is minimal.  And today they can go to Lula Lu and get a bra to enhance their cleavage allowing them to wear clothes that are more sexy.

Neither of these stories appeared on the business page of the Times, nevertheless the niche in the booming bosom business whether uplifting or flat is a boon to these boutiques in a flat economic environment.