Hidden Buxom
Big-breasted girls with shy personalities and/or a history of being harassed for their "assets" by either lecherous men or jealous women (i.e., Type I and Type II in Big Breasts, Big Deal) may tend to hide them from view, either by wearing baggy clothes or by outright suppressing with bandages, tight bras, etc.
Not to be confused with Suppressed Mammaries.
Note: Not every convincing female crossdresser qualifies; possessing unambiguously large breasts is a requirement.
No real life examples, please; this is a trope about women who are either harassed or shy because of their measurements, so mentioning them here would just be rude.
Examples of Hidden Buxom include:
Anime and Manga
- Cosette Sara from Excel Saga is actually a child-sized adult with disproportionately sized breasts, which she somehow manages to keep hidden until late in the series. Too bad for the resident Lolicon, who until then had been lusting after her.
 |
Cosette: Actually, I'm... a G-Cup!! |
 |
- Bleach has Isane Kotetsu; she usually wears a shihakusho, so we never really had an idea about what her chest looked like, until the Beach Episode came around.
- Although there is nothing canonical to indicate that she is actually embarrassed by it, Hinata Hyuuga from Naruto hid her assets under a baggy jacket Pre-Time Skip. This could actually be said to be symbolic for her hiding herself from others, especially her crush Naruto. Her clothing in Shippuden better displays her growth.
- More accurately, after the Time Skip her breasts have grown so large that even her loose-fitting coats can't hide them very well.
- Meguru from Hatsukoi Limited is an excellent example of this. She wears a too-small bra, and actively avoids both her favorite pastime and the guy she likes because she's embarrassed by her large breasts.
- Tsukino Yukari from Ai Kora tries a similar approach, though she's quickly encouraged to not do anything that would interfere with her breathing and/or deform her breasts. Eventually, she gets more confident.
- Charlotte Dunois in Infinite Stratos.
- Shiemi Moriyama from Blue Exorcist apparently had her hidden in her kimono as seen when she changed into the school uniform.
- Ukyou Konji from Ranma ½ certainly qualifies. She managed to convince everyone she was a boy, and she definitely fills out the chest quality.
- Gundam Seed's Lacus Clyne may not look like much at first glance, but by the time Destiny rolls around she's either grown rapidly in two year gap between the two series or she's a more well endowed than she lets on if the post-commercial intro is any indication.
- Fubuki, the Ninja Maid in Kamen no Maid Guy, is revealed to be more endowed than she usually appears because her clothes have a slimming effect. Unfortunately, this makes her ineligible to help Naeka with her math.
- The World God Only Knows has Yui Goidou, who tends to wear rather form concealing clothes like kimonos and later boy's uniforms. During her capture arc, a bored Keima briefly (and nonsexually) plays with them while bathing. In chapter 158, the goddess Mars attempts to weaponize this, to Vulcan's dismay.
- In Genzo, crossdressing raised-as-a-boy Kiyone has this: to be specific, while disguised as Chiyomaru the disguise is flawless, but after The Reveal her breasts become much more noticeable.
- Class president/magical girl cosplayer Mai Ootsuka in School Rumble is said by the boys in her class to be concealing a gigantic bosom, but she does a good job of keeping it hidden.
- Mio Akayama from K-On!, more obviously in the manga than the anime. In the K-On! college [sic] collection, Ayame grabs Mio unannounced, then comments "She was hiding melons under that grandma shirt!" - much to Mio's embarrassment.
- Mii Konori from A Certain Scientific Railgun is shown as being somewhat larger than average around the chest - until the Beach Episode, where she's shown as being much larger than average and she complains that there's nothing large enough for her in the available selection of bikinis. See her in the background here (school uniform) and here (swimsuit).
Comic Books
- H.E.R.O. (a revival of the old DC comic Dial H for Hero) sees the male (originally) protagonist transform into a tall, busty female superhero. After some turmoil, he (she?) loses the costume for a larger, more concealing Batman sweatshirt.
Film
- Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
- Done in Mulan by the titular heroine to hide her true gender because women were not allowed in Ancient China's military. She only gets found out after already proving her worth, which becomes a plot point later due to the earned trust of her comrades.
Literature
- In The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, it turns out Kyra has a large chest and uses baggy clothing to disguise it, due to her belief that All Men Are Perverts. And then she flashes Donnie.
- And Brian Michael Bendis.
Live Action Television
- Cynthia of Malcolm in the Middle does this after hitting puberty and having a growth spurt in more ways than one, to avoid getting teased by her classmates. She wears a very heavy jumper. Malcolm, of course, finds out after Cynthia sets said jumper on fire by accident during an argument and has to get it off in a hurry. When Reese finds out, he takes the opportunity to take a squeeze, which results in him getting the living crap kicked out of him.
Video Games
- Charlotte Colde in Samurai Shodown actually has the same bust size as the infamously buxom Mai Shiranui; however she wears armor that hides that so you wouldn't know it. (Which makes Charlotte a surprising rare straight example of this trope in a Fighting Game.)
- Vice from King of Fighters. Her measurements seem to indicate that her assets are slightly bigger than those of Mai Shiranui. But it's not at all evident (and she looks fairly flat too) when she's fighting in her usual tight-fitting office outfits.
- Persona 4's Naoto is hinted at being this in addition to being a Bokukko. When Rise is reading a doctors chart she is shocked at Naoto's bust size but is quickly shut up before she can say what it is. Her Hot Springs Episode picture does show there is more there than she normally lets on. In any case, while she most likely isn't completely flat, Fanon takes it Up to Eleven.