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[Tris Barsilai]

Genderqueer Mando here. I'm planning to commission a kit and finish/paint it myself, but I'm unsure of whether or not to get a female chest plate. I don't bind, but I'd be happier overall with a flatter look, or at least one that doesn't emphasize things too much. Can I get away with a standard/male plate, or would it be more comfortable in the long run to accommodate my bust in the shape? (If this is measurement dependent, I'm somewhere around a 32D, but the advent of bralettes etc has allowed me to ignore this for the past couple years.)

[Rilal Birom]

Hello!  While I cannot answer your question directly (as I'm NB, transfeminine), I wanted to say hello and suggest checking out The QMU. An LGBTQ+ Mando Group for support from other Mandos like us.  Welcome, and I hope you're able to get an answer to your question.

[jett drexel]

hello tris welcome aboard, if you look at the plates in the clone wars show or rebels they are all pretty flat some shaping regardless of breasts is required though to have them conform to your body ...... as long as you're comfortable and the plate edges aren't floating or sticking out then flatter plates should be fine.

[Tris Barsilai]

Hello!  While I cannot answer your question directly (as I'm NB, transfeminine), I wanted to say hello and suggest checking out The QMU. An LGBTQ+ Mando Group for support from other Mandos like us.  Welcome, and I hope you're able to get an answer to your question.

I appreciate the welcome, but it looks like that group is off-limits to me. Possibly for OM only? Still, this was very nice to see.

[Evren Jaira]

Hey Tris! First off, the QMU is on the 'social societies' part of the forums, and that's accessible if you're an OM or Auxiliary member - the Aux membership is, if I'm remembering correctly, $15 a year, and it'll give you access to the social societies and a few other things like brigades.
Secondly, while some form of shaping is required on all chest plates to get it to fit properly, 'boob' plates arent required. All that's required are plates that fit your body! I'm about a 36E in US sizes, and my chestplates are specifically 3d modelled to fit my bust, but there are absolutely ways to get a flatter look! Start off by using (and potentially doubling up on) a sports bra. It's comfier not to, but it'll get a flatter overall result. Then you can go for a thicker/stiffer flak vest to help with flattening out your torso. If some curve is still required, avoid a 'bust' look by trying to avoid having to curve too much around the sides of your chest and only over the front - legacy-style or wren-style plates are fantastic for this.
Finally, if there's not really a way around curving your plates to fit your bust and you want to present more 'masc' overall, use a jango/boba style cod plate and try emphasise the width of your shoulders, as well as using your vest to block/pad out any curve you have from your waist to your hips so your torso as a whole seems more square. Wrap-around thigh plates are also a great way of hiding hips.
As always, be careful if you do decide to bind/use a compression bra or double up. Make sure you can get out of your kit easily & fast (I suggest side-ties on the vest and a zipper on your flightsuit/shirt) in case of emergencies.

Good luck with your kit!

[OriKad]

Evren gave you the most comprehensive answer that could be asked for, so I'm throwing the weight of rank behind it.

Mandalorian culture is genderless, so the only concern is having plates that fit well and are comfortable.  At a 32D as you say, even binding or compressing, you'll still need to accommodate some curve in the shaping of plates, but you can certainly make that curve look like your plates follow the line of impressive pectoral muscles instead of breasts for a more masculine or androgynous look

[Rilal Birom]

I appreciate the welcome, but it looks like that group is off-limits to me. Possibly for OM only? Still, this was very nice to see.

I must apologize.  I didn't even think about access issues.  As Evran Jaira mentioned though, an Auxiliary membership is $15/yr, which is apparently why I am able to see the Social Societies threads since I'm not OM yet...not even close right now, lol. 

Hey Tris! First off, the QMU is on the 'social societies' part of the forums, and that's accessible if you're an OM or Auxiliary member - the Aux membership is, if I'm remembering correctly, $15 a year, and it'll give you access to the social societies and a few other things like brigades.
Secondly, while some form of shaping is required on all chest plates to get it to fit properly, 'boob' plates arent required. All that's required are plates that fit your body! I'm about a 36E in US sizes, and my chestplates are specifically 3d modelled to fit my bust, but there are absolutely ways to get a flatter look! Start off by using (and potentially doubling up on) a sports bra. It's comfier not to, but it'll get a flatter overall result. Then you can go for a thicker/stiffer flak vest to help with flattening out your torso. If some curve is still required, avoid a 'bust' look by trying to avoid having to curve too much around the sides of your chest and only over the front - legacy-style or wren-style plates are fantastic for this.
Finally, if there's not really a way around curving your plates to fit your bust and you want to present more 'masc' overall, use a jango/boba style cod plate and try emphasise the width of your shoulders, as well as using your vest to block/pad out any curve you have from your waist to your hips so your torso as a whole seems more square. Wrap-around thigh plates are also a great way of hiding hips.
As always, be careful if you do decide to bind/use a compression bra or double up. Make sure you can get out of your kit easily & fast (I suggest side-ties on the vest and a zipper on your flightsuit/shirt) in case of emergencies.

Good luck with your kit!

This is really great info!  If I see others asking about this in the future I'll refer them to this post for assistance!  Thanks for sharing!

[Evren Jaira]

Evren gave you the most comprehensive answer that could be asked for, so I'm throwing the weight of rank behind it.

I can get more comprehensive!
Just as a general on gender presentation in kit:
Wanting to present as 'feminine' in armor/emphasise certain assets? Purchase a push-up bra (or just generally a cupped bra - you can even get sports/'crop' style ones which'll help make a uniform bust!) and if needed pad it out with something like quilt batting, and shape a bust out of your plates around that - make sure you get the correct band size so it's as comfortable as possible, and doesnt cut in! As well, get a stiff flak vest in a 'female' style - with princess seams or darting - that's designed to accomodate bust, and build your padding into this to support your chest plates. Add hip padding in your flight suit (works best with two-part flightsuits, so you can tuck the shirt in to the pants), and use side-of-thigh holsters (e.g. Sabine-style). Use 'feminine' helms - e.g. a nite owl visor or cheeks - and a 'feminine' cod piece - multi-piece or 'bikini' cod (using a dance belt can help hide/shape your bulge if you have one!). Generally, try slimming your overall frame (shoulders - instead of boba shoulders, go for some rounded sabine ones!), and add curves to your body where there might not be, and use armor plates seen only seen in canon on 'female' characters. The keys here are mainly making sure you're 'proportionate' for your height & general frame, but in terms of safety make sure your bra is comfortable for long-term wear and not causing issues for your ribs. As well, the extra padding may cause you to get hotter than usual in kit (if you dont want to use the easy/cheap option of batting, I think you can actually get silicone hip pads/fake breasts, which'll definitely be cooler to wear), so make sure you stay hydrated! As a bonus, if you take your helmet off a lot, add some makeup to your kit! I personally have a cybernetic prosthetic that I wear with some eyeshadow & lipstick as an in-kit appearance.

Wanting to present as 'masculine' in armor? Broaden your shoulders (boba shoulders help!), 'flatten' the sides of your torso (hide any waist-to-hip curve), and try to compress your bust as much as is physically comfortable for you - remember that you'll be in kit for a while, and it might not be the easiest/fastest to get out of it! (This is one of the reasons I absolutely do not suggest full-on binding in kit). Use 'masculine' elements on your kit, like a boba/jango cod, and 'heavier' elements to your kit such as wrap-around thighs. Go for a stiff 'male' style flak vest to help with the overall framing of your torso, though you may need to get a 'female' vest that sits tight against you depending on how much bust you have left after sports/compression bra/s. Just generally try to bulk out your frame to be more square/rectangular. Use motorcycle/thick and armored gloves to have bulkier/'stronger' looking hands. As well, if you take your helmet off a lot, contour your jawline & cheekbones to be angular/stronger. For safety, make sure you have an 'easy out' from at least the top half of your kit - like I said, side ties and a zipper on your flight suit/shirt, so you dont have to raise your arms too much to get out of kit.

As well for both, you can get a voice modulator to try and up/down the pitch of your voice (and potentially add effects to it!).

Want to try present as a giant question mark? Mix and match! I cant assure your success because unfortunately people all interpret gender presentation differently, and most will go 'ah, there are more of X traits than Y that I can recognise, so I will label you X', but it's absolutely worth doing - it's your armor, and your physical presentation, you should be allowed and able to do whatever you want!

Hopefully this helps people! 

[Tris Barsilai]

Thanks everyone for all the support and suggestions! I'd prefer to avoid compression where possible just to minimize health risks, so I'd probably go with just a thicker flak vest if feasible, but I'm definitely going to take Evren's advice for the lower half. Design-wise, I'm pretty attached to the type of chest plate that has the diamond/ka'arta beskar, so I'm hoping I can make that work.