It's been 27 years since I worked as an editor of what were politely called "men's sophisticate" magazines. They were porn mags, and the magazine that was my primary source of income and that I facetiously referred to as a "cash cow" was D-Cup, a publication dedicated to large-breasted women. D-Cup spawned a multitude of other breast mags that I also edited, including Knockers and Bra Busters. There existed a lucrative market for this kind of material.
One of the phenomena I explore in my book Beaver Street is a change that occurred in this market in the late 1980s: Enormous silicone breasts came into vogue, and models started competing with one another to have the biggest bust. Some models were having two, three, even four operations in an attempt to stay a cup size ahead of the competition. Thus was born a tribe of porn stars whose names included Wendy Whoppers, Tiffany Towers, Candy Cantaloupes, Kimberly Kupps, Busty Dusty, Pandora Peaks, Deena Duo, and, Traci Topps.
By the early 90s, virtually every working porn model was having at least one breast augmentation and some had gone as far as to have a few ribs removed to enhance their shape. Anything to stay competitive.
I bring this up now because it's come to my attention that, in 2026, the large-breast trend has gone in the opposite direction. An article titled "Breast Strokes," by Elizabeth Siegel, in the January issue of Graydon Carter's newsletter, Airmail (subscription required), says that small implants are now in vogue, "exotic dancers" are getting them, and the trend has given rise to a new surgical procedure called Preservé.
According to Dr. Kamakshi R. Zeidler, a Silicon(!) Valley plastic surgeon quoted in the story, women today want implants that are "undetectable—cute little breasts that have very soft cleavage and a nice shape when there's no bra there."
These "tasteful" breast sizes are known as "fashion implants," "yoga boobs," and "ballerina breasts," and they fit "neatly into the current wellness culture and the clothes that go along with it." As another surgeon suggested, if you're looking for augmentations with "an east coast aesthetic, more sotto voce and not screaming through a megaphone," then New York is the place to get them.
As a former breast editor, I'd have to conclude that gone are the days of Wendy Whoppers and company, and we've arrived at a time when women want breasts that are "proportionate, sustainable," and "refined."
It says so in Airmail, so I guess it's true.
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