Boobs, I mean, Bras, and the eternal frustration

friends and i were talking abt this on sunday at the lake and how we all preferred the look of the "70s boob" but how very few bras these days shared our aesthetic interest

70s boob?

pre-wonderbra, with a tiniest bit of droop?

yknow not pointing straight out but curving naturally, sometimes up, but obv that has to do maybe more with one's anatomy than with bras. but it's possible for certain bras to help facilitate this
xpost
yeah i think sorta like that

i need to go bra shopping too. i am all paranoid that i'm wearing the wrong size and want to get measured by a professional!

Sad state of bra merchandisers aside, I have to say that as a Canadian, I loved my one single visit to Victoria's Secret and my uber-padded water bra!

I would like 50s' cone bras to kick back into style and give us girly torpedo boobs!

i totally know what rrrobyn is talking about; think 1970s playboy and oui magazine

Wacoal is my favorite bra brand...they definitely make unpadded bras--in every size, i think.

my favorite bras are from bhs in the uk. they're pretty basic-looking, but they wear like iron and give a modified (ie, not ridiculous and pointy) torpedo silhouette with a ton of support.

my friend catherine has those 70s breasts, colloquially referred to as "swoop titties" because of the upward-turned nipple. maybe "pouting" is a good descriptor?

wasn't the 70's look totally braless?

my favorite bras are from bhs in the uk. they're pretty basic-looking, but they wear like iron and give a modified (ie, not ridiculous and pointy) torpedo silhouette with a ton of support.

Really? Hmmmm. What's the name of the bra? Might have to check it out next time am in Engerland.

q.v. shadow weaver, from she-ra:

http://www.premiereprops.com/images/images_big/product_cel5004.jpg

lol

oooh yes i need like 10 new bras right now. one i am currently wearing is not *quite* supportive enough and i am afraid it lets the girls hang a bit too much (thinking of the future here).

hmm how do i justfiy a trip to england for bra shopping?

i'm not sure, e. i got them so long ago that i can't remember what the box said. m&s bras are really good, too. one of the only things i miss about the uk.

i can't even imagine wearing a water bra

this is the basic Wacoal bra:

http://www.wacoal-america.com/catalogimages/85121.jpg

not the prettiest bra, but not ugly. it definitely doesn't create an unnatural shape. and it's supportive.

10 bras!
i only own like 3 bras. i think the last one i bought over was over 2 years ago. i am a dirtbag heeh

"water" "bra"? huh?

I have some m&s underwear but no bras. I need new bras too but don't even know where to start looking. I hate victoria's secret bras. They've never fit me right.

Tza don't worry - I have 4 bras and they're all the same make in either black or nude and def at least two years old. I have a couple lace ones that I haven't worn in years so they don't count.

10 may have been an exaggeration, bell. actually i have very, very few right now... i feel like i need to make up for a deficit.

Also can I just say how much I hate bras? The first thing I do when I get home is take mine off. If it weren't for erm possible nipple prominence and shape enhancement I'd never wear them. OK, I'm gonna go home now and take off my bra.

yeah i've heard good things about walcoal but yknow fuckit i'm just gonna have to come down to the states and do some shopping re: bras & shoes b/c canada is just not cutting it right now it wld seem. then again, i haven't been trying too hard. but like, why should bra shopping be some elite shopping activity where you have to know the secret spots to shop or soemthing? but i guess also that going to a specialty bra boutique run by an older french lady might be teh way to go (tho the $$ way...)

oops - I guess my other post was to Bell not Tza. That's what I get for speed reading.

I. Hate. Padding.

Hate it. Will not buy it. AND DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO FIND UNPADDED BRAS RIGHT NOW??? DO YOU?? Bras I don't hate start around $80 and go up.

All the companies that serve the department store market (in the $25-40 range) have to minimize their production expenses by following whatever is most popular, so right now they're all making padded and/or push-up bras. (Calvin Klein, DKNY, and others used to be great for basic underwire w/o padding but now they're harder to find and less likely to survive to get to the sale rack, which is where I look).

I'm sort of at a standstill -- I check to see what's on sale at figleaves.com very couple of months. Difficult, though.

that is exactly why i'm so frustrated!

it is so hard to find non padded bras for my size (little). everyone thinks i want to be bigger.

and often ones without padding look good on the rack (lol) but not on the/my body

i am kind of partial to those tank tops/undershirts with the built in the shelf support but srsly now they don't offer a lot of support even tho they are fairly comfortable

I like Chantelle, I like the Elle McPherson line (the unpadded ones, anyway). I just looked up Calvin Klein on figleaves and out of 25 results only one had no padding. Fuckers.

Chantelle makes beautiful stuff.

There is this Eberjey "bralet" I guess but I don't know how much support it has, and it's $50 which is affordable, I guess, but kind of steep for one item of underwear.

I REALLY like Chantelle but no way can I afford it. Well I mean I could stop drinking or smoking and save money that way, but it's a sad world in which I have to choose between bras and beer.

yeah, no, Chantelle is the aspirational bra brand i look at but don't buy.

Elmo, I think a water bra is a bra with little pouches of water inside to make the breasts appear larger w/o a stiff padded look. Correct me if I'm wrong, ladies.

oh i like that bralet, but yeah, $50.

at this point i will pay $50

i love this thread title, btw, it sounds like part of a mystery series.

I am all about the online shopping and found these excellent underwires at Title Nine when I was looking for a workout bra that had a back closure. They fit great, lots of stretchy, firm support, comfiest underwire I've worn in awhile, no padding, and the straps are inset at the back so they don't slip down. Not too dear either. Much more serviceable than cute though.

The only unpadded CK bra on figleaves.

I support Title 9 but I don't need anywhere near that level of support, is the thing. I could wear a scrap of lace as long as it had an underwire and straps that would stay the fuck up. AND NO PADDING. They're just much less common these days.

that is pretty
don't really like the title nine bra tho as i am v v picky when it comes to lace and usually don't want it anywhere on the bra. for everyday wear, i just want smooth, seamless bras. hell, they can be hot pink, i don't care, as long as they fit, have support (i like underwire when it's done well), don't have seams, and don't cover half my freakin chest and torso (unless they are tank top style, obv)

Rrrob, Victoria's Secret does make a cotton jersey bra w/ wires and no padding, and it's v affordable at for $40.

Trying to link to it just now didn't work, though.

Yeah, it's weird, even in my no-way-do-you-need-padding-out size, most of them have some. And so much, uh - forward thrust? Fie on fashion.

Sorry, TWO for $40. It's the unlined demi-bra in cotton. They also make an unlined racer-back, apparently.

this one's ugly, but it has no lace and is supposed to be as supportive as one with underwire:

http://images.figleaves.com/product/220x308/r282300-p282301-front.jpg

Here's a DKNY mesh lace for only $30 -- I know you don't like lace but this would give you the shape you want, I think...?

Hanro makes a couple of plain unpadded bras in microfiber and fabrics that I'm sure feel 100% amazing on your skin but also start around $80.

i used to have the bra that horseshoe pictures...that was back when i was wearing the wrong size though. i wore a too-small cup size for years and years.

i hate hate hate that padding is the trend for bras now. padding looks ridiculous on me and those bras are uncomfortable without fail. i don't think that's exclusive to padding, of course.

the only bra style that i like is no longer made of course, so i bought a bunch of them at a yahoo store a few months ago. one of them is wearing out already. shit. delicate cycle, air-drying, lingerie bags...doesn't seem to matter.

i was all excited to go into VS in san francisco the other weekend, for the first time... and there was maybe one bra i found that wasn't hugely padded!! i like a really lightly lined bra, for shape and support and also nipple-invisibility, but anything with up-lift padding just makes me look ridiculous and causes me to fall out the top because of the way my boobs are shaped. gah.

Julia - I just rinse my bras in woolite in the sink. Washing machines are evil!

I love how everyone hates padded bras. Everytime I try to find a bra I am always wondering who is buying all the padded bras. They look so horrible.

I used to like them when I was 13 and it was a slight improvement over papertowels/socks

i wld never in 5 million years wear that giant bra, horseshoe
unless it is meant for jogging/sports? in which case maybe but just for that purpose

dkny bra is pretty :)

haha rrrobyn. it's apparently a "soft cup" bra. i actually don't think it's meant for sports. but yeah, it looks crazy.

Another vote for Wacoal here, but mine are diff than the pic above--much plainer, like a very smooth "t shirt" bra. No padding, medium support (neither push-uppy nor droop-inducing). The only problem is that because they have a molded cup they are kind of a pain in the ass to wash. I'll try to find a pic. If they ever stop making them I will have a double masectomy, I swear.

wow super xpost but a water bra just has little inserts made of plastic & water instead of fabric & stuffing... it's just squishier and I guess sort of encourages the tops of my breasts to bounce a little more than they may otherwise do? Nothing special.

haha i do not need the tops of my breasts to bounce MORE!
at least not for everyday going-abt-my-business purposes
maybe i am just being too demure. but no not really.

the walcoal bra yr describing sounds good, q!

I used to buy molded-cup bras for office-wear but I always had to dry them over a couple of soup-cans or else the foam would get flat spots and funny shapes in it! I consider "molded up" padding these days, just can't deal anymore.

oh i skimmed over the molded cup part... yeah i don't want that either really.
sigh

i will say though that of the padded variety of bra, which is good for winter and even some spring/fall/summer wear, there is a maidenform style that is very lightly padded and not hueg so as to be more 'thick' than padded really, that i like. but again, i still like the free & real but supported look/feel. leave it to me to turn bras into ideology.

ah i have been looking a bit online and yeah padded bras remain the norm even if they are not fully padded - they're called "lightly lined" or "molded cups" - gaah. i guess that one day soon enough gravity will come for me and i will be all about these bras.

a friend was telling me that urban outfitters had some bras that might be what i'm looking for but i have my doubts. but i will go there and see.

Yessssss not all padded bras are "push-up" bras but I am objecting to any kind of padding at all, even light kinds. I don't mind nipping out a bit, but then I don't tend to be a person who feels cold in office environs (and/or I just put a jacket on).

But without some foam padding what good is a bra? My primary purpose is just to not let my nipples poke out all day. Gravity thwarting is nice too, but for me it's all about pretending I don't have nipples! I had a lot of Barbies as a kid.

Uh. Support of the central mass of breast? Keeping them from bobbing around quite as much when you walk? That's about it, for me.

Maybe mine aren't of the pokey variety.

haha yeah well to each her own! i srsly didn't even think abt this until abt 8 years ago when a co-worker told me she wore nothing but padded bras b/c of nippyness. but i guess this is part of why i wear the maidenform 'lightly lined/padded' bras in winter - plus they are an extra layer of warmth!
i think nipples are awesome
xposts

guys, i know you hate victoria secret but their uplift ipex bra is pretty freakin amazing

haha that bra's name makes me think of glass elevators going up snow-covered mountains
for some reason

There is this place here called FACTORY 2 U which is like the factory outlet store that takes all the stuff the other factory outlet stores couldn't sell. (Like at Halloween last year they were selling Star Trek: TNG kid-size costumes!) Anyway, I discovered they have WICKED CHEAP bras of all kind, most in A & B cups and 32 or 34 band but I did manage to find a few 36 Cs (my size), and they're bra/undie sets for only $4. OMG I now, for the first time in my life, own more than three bras. It is fucking sweet.

VS used to have one called 'push-up without padding' that i liked bc it was just a v light pad in the bottom corner of the bra and the rest was a nice lace. i think somehow, through pos manufacturing changes and bodily shifts for me, their bras do not fit me nearly as well as they used to, though :(

that is insanely cheap and i am envious, abbott!

An ibex bra? For this guy?

http://www.biosphere-expeditions.org/images/stories/altai/ibex2.jpg

No one likes my ibex. u_u

i do! and i find it weird that somewhere in my subconscious i knew what an ibex was or at least that mountains were involved

I was pretty sure that was the case when I GISed him. :)

where can i buy an old-fashioned slip? or do i need a girdle or something?

and is girdle the least sexxy word ever?

macy's, probably.

Am I the only girl on the big side who likes padded bras for support?

I was also thinking of slips recently. Has anyone worn Spanx?

2nd-hand places always have slips, in my experience - some of them are bad, but if you cross your fingers and pray real hard, you can find a silk one!

i haven't tried spanx. they frighten me.

omg Susan who are you?? why do i love your username?

Miss Misery. Uh, maybe b/c it's my real name? Glad to be lovable.

I have tried the Spanx bra (I think Le Lechera tried one too), and it was both ugly and awful. They have a good return policy though, so less risk if you want to try one yourself.

oh you're back! missed ya :D

I loves me some Spanx power panties. Never tried other Spanx products, though.

Am I the only girl on the big side who likes padded bras for support?

No. I'm not big big, but I'm not small.

I wear slips and half slips all the time.

I've always had the polyester slips, half ones, mostly. But I got a stretchy microfiber one recently, with no defined waistband, and I really like it. It's not poufy at all, and if I'd bought one size smaller it would probably do a little holding in, too.

Deptartment store in Michigan, though, so not convenient for NY.

In any case, girdles and slips don't really do the same thing, so it depends on what you wanted it for. Frankly if I'm going to wear a girdle I figure it might as well have garters attached because there's no point in only being HALFway uncomfortable.

i basically just want something to smooth over my gut, i got a new dress that clings to it in a particularly unflattering way. maybe i should look into spanx but they just seem so uncomfortable!

i got a bra from victoria's secret yesterday that isn't so bad - it's wireless and pretty comfy. it did have a stupid bow on it that i have already snipped off though.

a slip isn't going to do that, bell. it's just going to add another layer. if you want smoothing, you need some kind of bodyshaper.

hm yeah. maybe something like this would work http://www.barenecessities.com/SPANX_product_SPANX060_,size,.htm
i wish it didn't cost more than the dress itself, though

some brands (bali, miraclesuit, etc) are cheaper than that, although i haven't seen much for under $50. still, you should be able to do better than $72.

Anybody noticing too much VPL with spanx?

A slip doesn't hold you in, strictly speaking, but it keeps outer layers from sticking to you, so that clothes slip over the parts you would like people not to notice. Slips are like...lubricant -- motor oil -- in keeping parts from wearing on each other. It can make a surprising difference. But for compression, yeah, you need a shaper.

I have one girdle-ish thing which I occasionally wear and it's tight but you know what? With the girdle smoothing my waist out, I don't even feel the waistband of my skirt, which would otherwise feel like it was cutting into me all day. The girdle keeps all of me tucked in and not being pinched.

Spanx are the anti-VPL weapon of choice, MW! Have you somehow experienced otherwise???

so i went to target yesterday, on the recommendation of my MIL, to bra-shop. i have to say, for $9-13 the gilligan/o'malley (i think that's the brand name?) bras are really great (altho not sure how long they'll last - MIL says they don't stretch out too much). they're t-shirt bras, so they're lightly lined but not padded, which is what i like.

this was my first time bra shopping in the US, and not knowing my US bra size, i tried a few on... kind of shocked to discover i'm a D, when i'm only a B/C in NZ. but i am turning into a bit of a fatty now that i haven't worked in 2.5 months, so that could be why.

still, my boobs really aren't big at all. maybe you just have better sizing gradation here.

i finally bought really great new underwear (calvin klein) last week :) but tho i tried on several dif bras, all of them were dumb and ill-fitting despite being my size. which is confusing. i will try again, but i did buy two ck camisole/undershirt things made out of lycra whatever and they act like bras and i really like them. i even bought one in 'nude' which i have never done before even tho i understand the point of having 'nude' undergarments. i just think they're kind of ugly, despite being the perfect colour to wear under white or light-coloured clothes. i mean but it's not exactly a sexy colour. despite its name.

No, it's terrible. It's the color of plastic. And old '80s pantyhose. I hate "warm" tan shades. BUT you can probably go with a peachy pinky color instead, if you are the offspring of lots of pale people like I am.

yeah, this is more pink than tan, which is good, as i am more pink than tan

still weird tho

i have a spanx strapless slip and a camisole. they are pretty awesome.

i bought a new bra, finally! it is kind of exactly what i wanted too - whoa. even though there is some lace on it, but it is nice looking lace and only around the band, the rest is smooth but not nec shiny. anyway - triumph brand, no padding (yaay). not quite 70s boob but in its spirit. also, triumph website: pretty lol

(i also bought the bra at the Bay (department store) where the lingerie section is so huge it's like walking through a cornfield except the corn is made of bras and panties

i love department stores tho

haha awesome:

http://www.amazon.com/70s-jiggling-boob-movies/lm/28WXA0X9L0OM3

lol proof that this descriptor is real!

i can't believe it took me 2.5 months to buy one bra

You should probably have bought three of them, while you were there.

awwww I love the Bay!

I bought a couple of bras at La Senza a few weeks ago by Lola and Coco or something like that - and they have this little loop/hook thing that allows you to turn a "regular" strap bra into a racerback (is that the term? joined in the centre of the back?) and it's been such a refreshing change. My bra straps slide no more!

i need a better sports bra. recommendations?

btw i support that 70s boob, as a look

"support"

VERY HELPFUL THANKS GUYS

duct tape

oops wrong thread

i support boobs of all decades

i support boobs of the 19(.)(.)s

Thz, check websites of Title 9 or Athleta (Title 9 prob cheaper) for good sports bras and explanations of levels of, erm...support.

thank you, laurel. that was very helpful :)

tehresa, Title 9 has stores in Seattle and Portland, if you want to check fabric and such. Also, if you buy stuff in Portland - no sales tax!

lolflashvid aside, is this a legit product?

http://www.shockabsorber.co.uk/bounceometer/shock.html

amazing... it's interesting that in heavy exercise, nipples move all around the boob, but the boob tends to stay in the same place. i had no idea that's how it was.

suggest bra

has anyone used the shock absorber bras?

i was just looking at those at bare necessities. i like the one that looks like a normal sports bra instead of a Very Complicated piece of boob engineering that goes up to your neck. a lot of the beyond-c-cup sports bras are kind of alarming looking.

tho i was coming on the thread to curse wacoal. i found a bra that seems like the best useful-everyday style evah, and they don't go up to the size i need. fucking hell.

there's a panache bra that i have high hopes for, though.

normal-looking shock absorber bra:

http://www.barenecessities.com/Shock-Absorber-Level-4-Max-No-Wire-Sports-Bra_product_ShockAbsorberB4490_,search,.htm

btw, if anyone's eyeing bare necessities lately, they've had great cust support for me, and i have a coupon code: 15thanks for 15% off til 9/15 (excluding a few brands, but fuck wacoal anyway)

ooooh thanks!

this is the shock absorber i was looking at: http://www.figleaves.com/us/product.asp?product_id=BB-109&mci=&size=&colour=&image=r574155-p390320-front

cheap!

i am in desperate need of something more supportive. as i age, i am getting more and more paranoid about the sag and then adding to it by bouncing up and down at the gym is making me really frightened.

I think I am in sag denial ... on a vaguely related subject, one of the actresses in Synecdoche, New York was sporting side boobs. I realized that I don't really have side boobs.

you don't want them, believe me.

they do go to the side, but because of their, er, width, there isn't a major gap between them.

my eternal frustration continues, and i just made my FOURTH order with bare necessities in, uh, a month? i now, however, have one bra that fits me better than any bra has fit me before. everything else is being returned, ffs.

i like their customer service. i called them at 3 am and left a msg about adding something to my order if they could and call me back but NOT before 10 in the morning because before then i might kill someone, but after then i have to be awake anyway. i don't think i told them all that.

they called me at five after 10. and now my order is straightened out.

i got the shock absorber bra i linked to upthread, so if it fits, i will come back to this thread and rejoice.

a big annoyance with bra manufacturers:

in british/european brands (panache, wacoal, fantasie, etc.) my band size is a size larger than my measurements. ok, whatever, i don't like things too tight on me. so i figured that was my band size for bras, full stop.

then today i tried out a bunch of vanity fair/lily/american less-expensive bras, and i'm swimming in the same damn band size. i can see cup sizes being variable according to style. so it goes. but fucking band size?

the ribcage measures x inches. the band size should be x inches.

the shock absorber bra, though: fits! hurrah! i really like it.

how did you go about finding the right size for the shock absorber?

and does it really hold things down well?

grrrrrr can't find the wacoal bra I like and can't read the labeling inside (worn right off) so I cannot search the internets for the exact same one!

Out of laundry & wearing something today that is basically like not wearing a bra. Useless.

also, stupid felina changed the undies I like; I stocked up on a bunch before realizing the banding was different and now have to deal with riding-up-the ass new model!

I hate that ...riding-up-the-ass undies are horrible.

i found these super cheap no-riding-up-the-ass undies at target - they're like $7 for 6 pairs. sure, they look hideous, but they feel GREAT.

do you go to the Target in El Cerrito? That's a seriously fancy Target.

hmm i dunno - it's the huge one right off the freeway. i never pay attention when my chauffeur is driving me around.

I guess it's technically Albany, but yeah that's the one ... huge!

every time we go there to buy one thing (usu undies/bras) we end up coming out with a cart-full of stuff. that place just sucks me in!

tehresa, i ordered the same size in shock absorber as i do in wacoal, and it seemed to fit well. i seem to need a different size in european bras than in american ones--i'm 34 in ribcage with american ones, and 36 is more comfortable in european. so i go up a band size, down a cup size when i consider european bras. though tbh i've kind of given up on american bras. i'm sick of bra shopping, and now at least i have a couple that fit.

i ended up returning the shock absorber bra, tho, because there are two fasteners at the back, with a big space in between. if that makes sense. that's great for support, but it also meant that i had to wrestle to get the fucking thing on. for that price, it seemed ridic.

i have no idea what my wacoal size is. i think i'm gonna go to title 9 on wed and just pay for an expensive bra and get it fit right and then order online from then on.

i finally went to title 9 and now i have an awesome bra. it is by moving comfort. they were v helpful! i went for a mini run tonight and it was a completely different experience :)

ok so this is for those of you who aren't too comfortable with having a stranger fit you for a bra: http://fortnightlingerie.com/find-your-size/

If you aren't comfortable w getting professionally fitted for a bra, you probably should get over it, tbh (With the caveat that I wouldn't be comfortable w a man doing it, but I've never been anywhere that had men as, er...fitters. Does that even exist?). But I guess if you can't get to a place with that service an online guide and some general pointers will still be an improvement.

I think smaller women can get away w a poor fit a lot more than women that need shape + support just for daily comfort/function.

justine's link is good, though. that's the way to measure yourself. there's a lot of confusing sizing info online, even at major lingerie sites. any bra sizing guide that tells you to add numbers to your ribcage measurement or bust measurement before calculating cup size is outdated and inaccurate. you can come up with really comical measurements--i measured as a 36A with one of those guides once. i am nowhere near that size.

it would be best, of course, to go to a lingerie store where someone could feel you up and determine not only your size but the styles and brands that would fit you best, but some of us aren't going to be able to do that. you can figure out bras just fine with persistence and your own (correctly done) measurements. i had a hell of a ridiculous bra quest, but i managed it.

when you get the well-made, supportive stuff for larger busts, that shit gets really expensive, though. i could afford bras so much more easily when i was wearing the wrong size.

has anyone tried these before:

invisible demi bra

invisible pushup bra

my wedding dress has a low back, so i'm trying to figure out my options. i like the idea of these^^ but i'm wondering about how well they actually work. also, i'm worried about the 'pushup' aspect of them, as i don't want to actually be falling out the front of my wedding dress.

also considering one of these convertible bras because they have that really low back, but the straps look like they might bulge through the fabric of my dress.

i had a friend who used those invisible bras for special occasions. her opinion of them was that they were great for c cups and under.

i love convertible bras, myself. i had a great backless one when i was maid of honor in my sister's wedding.

what's the fabric of yr dress like?

Why not a low-back bustier thing?

There's even this one, which is all microfiber, seamless, and wireless. Might be more comfortable for all-day, esp in that soft & flowing dress?

On second thought, I don't think the center plunge is low enough on that one, but then I don't think the VS invisibles were low enough either.

yeah, that bustier is really nice but probably not low enough in the back or the front. i was playing round with the dress last night, different ways to wear it, and the way i really want to wear it means that the whole back is exposed, and the neckline is is really low. so i'm thinking i will only be able to wear those adhesive things (the ones that are separate, not joined at the cleavage).

the dress comes with a matching bandeau for more coverage, which could work well in the front, but i think it looks really unsightly in the back, even wearing the dress differently.

the fabric of the dress is modal jersey, self-lined.

maybe these?

OMG that link. I am wearing nowhere NEAR the correct size and haven't done for years.

Though I'm confused as to the adding numbers to get from the inches around your back to the "band size" thing. Trying to work out if I'm a 40F or a 44D but either way that's nowhere near what I'm currently wearing (which is actually vastly uncomfortable.)

I'll go to M&S tomorrow and try some bigger boob cup sizes and see if it helps.

that link i posted: i'm a about 3 cup sizes bigger using their method than i am using VS's fit guide or bare necessities. so take with a grain of salt.

really like this, but this site doesn't have 360 degree pics, so i can't see the front.

Well, I've been wearing a C cup since I was 18, just increasing the back size. I can no longer squish myself into a C cup, so I might try either a D or something larger.

just1n3, even the product's website doesn't have a front view, but you can see how low cut the front of Miley Cyrus's dress is when she's wearing one.

i just found a place that stocks them, out near where we're headed today, so i'm gonna see if i can try one out. fingers crossed!

i was trying on the bandeau again, and even with that on i still can't wear a bra with a back strap bc it shows right through the thin material.

http://jezebel.com/5500379/the-marketing-woes-of-36dd

In the past decade the median bra size in America increased from 36C to 36DD.

really?!?! i guess i shouldn't be surprised, but wow i gotta say that had no idea
(i am barely a b)

i blame oprah. i remember when she went on this big kick about going down a band size and up in the cup. all my friends went and got new comically sized bras.

i was thinking that bras had the inverse of the women's clothing sizing problem (ie sizes were artificially small even though clothes kept getting bigger) -- bra sizes keep getting bigger to make women feel that they have big boobies but the boobs themselves aren't growing

?

if i went up in cup i would be floating (or not) in space

If I went down a band size, you'd find me slumped over my computer, unable to operate my legs because no blood was circulating to my lower body.

i seriously need new bras right now but i am so scared of attempting to find the correct size :\

k ILS, i have to ask.. what to wear underneath white/light-colored tops and tshirts and such?! you're supposed to wear nude-colored bras with them obvs but i am several shades paler than most "nude" colors i can find. not sure where to look. and man.. 36dd?! i barely wear an a. dnw pushups/lots of padding either, prefer no wires even. this is driving me crazy.

(annoyed with self for having purchased & not returned this white summer top from apc last year, under which you might have to wear a tank because even with a lining it's semi-sheer.. but wtf, it's for summer when it's too hot for extra layers)

I don't care about color showing through as much as I hate lumpiness and lines. Wd rather wear a black bra under a white shirt and have it be smooth and well-shaped then a white bra that bunches or has seams that show.

I generally go the "nude"-colored route, but yeah, it's an enormous pain to find something like your skin. Buying bras is a nightmare if you pay any attention to the details.

If you don't need the support and it HAS a nominal lining already, why not use a sticky shaper thing to make sure no nip shows through, and let the rest vaya con dios?

i find that even if the nude color is not the same as my skin (which is like ghostly white), it generally looks fine under white. however, i wear white shirts once in a blue moon, so ymmv. also pale pink can work sometimes.

i always just wear a thin cotton tank. in fact, it is the same thin cotton tank i have been wearing for a shockingly long time. i'm gross.

in fact, i am wearing it today!

this whole nude bra under white shirts is a revelation for me. I just have a coupla black bras and a coupla white ones.

OK, that was insane. I went to M&S and tried on a dozen bras. I am a 40DD. (I think a 42D would have done as well but couldn't find any.)

Where the HELL did all that breast come from? Please tell me bra sizes have just been pushed up to make women think they have bigger boobs.

Apparently the place to go in the UK for a fantastic fit is Rigby and Peller. They do the Queen's. But then I guess you have to buy one of their Queen-priced bras.

i've found that a certain shade of pink works well under white tshirts, or lavender. i'm medium pale.

as for bra size, i'm baffled by the articles about how there are such higher averages, and vanity sizing, and all of that. when i was in high school, i measured myself according to the bali guide i had, and measured as a 36D. i interpreted this as a horrific mistake of some kind, and stuffed myself into c cups for years and years to follow. it was the simple (and for me, accurate) way of measurement--ribcage size, bust size, subract to find cup size. no added numbers or further complication.

now my size is different. in my experience, american bras fit better if i get them in my measured size or near that size--a 34 band is a 34. (maybe vanity sizing varies depending on your size range? i haven't found vanity sizing in american bras at all. and i would probably be horrified if i had to try on something a cup size larger than my actual size. i have issues.)

american companies don't make anything remotely supportive for my size, tho. fuckers. european sizes seem to almost uniformly run small, so i go up a band size and down a cup size. but they're wonderful and supportive and they actually fit me. i find the common styles that fit me decently, and then look for them on ebay, because i hate the idea of spending $60 for one bra.

it's all far too complicated and annoying.

Why are strapless bras so much more w/the insane bouncing around than their strapful kin?

I can't really work out the physics. Caek to thread.

omg. I just went to Victoria's Secret. I'd had a quick scoot round a week ago and liked that all the bras seemed to be good seamless T-shirt type styles in lots of lovely colours (I only wear t-shirt style ones cos I hate lines). So what I hadn't realised is that 90% of them have INSANE LUMPS OF PADDING AND/OR GEL! With like this tiny space for your actual breast to go in. I literally had to go round giving them all a good feel. The craziest ones were on the plastic mannequins and looked so weird because they were stuck out from the fake boobs.

So I stalked towards the 'nakeds' ones which were unbelievably light but didn't have them in A-cups (turns out that's too small anyway but I was fed up of knocking bras off hangers by the time I realised). Is half of America walking round with huge wads of memory foam in their bras?

NB I am only used to Marks & Spencers so this was a revelation for me...

Haha you came to the right place to bitch about it, because the answer is YES. And the difficulty of finding a seamed, contoured bra without any padding for under a hundred bucks is one of the banes of my existence. Every mid-level, department-store brand bra IN THE WORLD, apparently, is padded and/or push-up.

I have this problem even in the UK. Those bras with the rigid shape and masses of padding just seem like they would be so uncomfortable. But I don't like lace ones either, and there is no in-between any more.

Got a good compromise from Debenhams a year or so ago but they must have discontinued that style as I couldn't find anything remotely similar when I went back. And the other styles I tried on didn't fit at all even though they were the same size and same brand as I was already wearing.

It's not the thin, all-over padding that's everywhere in the UK (I actually don't mind that if it's done well). There are pockets of foam or gel stuff literally as big as my fist. They claim to add two cup sizes, if that's any indication.

Someone should put a few diagrams online about what's actually in these things. BTW H&M used to be OK for "normal" bras, although I haven't looked there recently.

guys i think the new 'bombshell' line at VS, which claims to add 2 cup sizes, is the one with all the gel and shit.

i actually bought this perfect push up from VS last week that fit super well and held everything up just right but when i actually wore it for real i was horrified to realize it SQUEAKS. well, its more a squeaky creaky noise like loose floorboards or something coming from where the wire goes up toward my right armpit. another return.

Also any recommendations on size reduction bras? I use sportsbras a size or two too small but the straps are all chunky so it does work for dresses etc

Try Title Nine or Athleta, sunny. They have the widest selection of sports bras and movement-reduction bras I've ever seen, and a good rating systems for testing their strengths, levels of support.

Athleta is a bit on the luxury-yoga-wear tip, but skip past that and go directly to "Support My Boobage"*.

*Sadly, not the actual chapter heading in the table of contents.

will rep for title nine for all time

all my go-to bras just wore out at once, i think (and i threw out almost all the other ones during my apartment overhaul this week). i need to consult a Support My Boobage (tm)(lol) expert, but one who specializes in non-puffed-up bras that actually look good and maybe come in teal and a really nice shade of pink and almost-white pink and also cherry red. again, i feel like i'm asking for the impossible. but i will BELIEVE.

one of my bra straps randomly broke today. had to do some covert tucking and pulling, ohdear.
now i need to go buy a new bra :/

ubiquitous bra things that make me irrationally angry: when the cleavage-side of the cups kind of curls outwards after one wear bc the bra is a stupid stiff thing from VS. It is doing it today and I have these weird lumps under my shirt.

Got a good compromise from Debenhams a year or so ago but they must have discontinued that style as I couldn't find anything remotely similar when I went back. And the other styles I tried on didn't fit at all even though they were the same size and same brand as I was already wearing.

Aaahh Debenhams did this to me AGAIN, I finally find a new bra that fits and go back a month later and not only do they not have any more but the ones with the same style and size on the label don't fit.

And I can't just buy them six at a time because often I think they fit ok in the fitting room but when I actually wear them for a few hours of normal activity I find they dig in or stick out or something, or just find that the underwiring bursts through the fabric after like 4 wears.

(I don't really know what size I am any more but I am now way too fat to let a stranger measure me, sigh)

yes, that bit of fabric turning up and causing a line to appear in clothing is nagl. i try to avoid by only buying bras made of thin fabric in layers, but that can be hard to find. there are so many BAD BRAS out there! it's so wrong. and the really nice ones are so $$. i found a couple of decent calvin klein ones the other day but the size i took into the fitting room didn't fit right i and didn't have time to let the lady measure me (which i think is fine - it's their job!), so i will have to go back to the store...

I'm running out of bras. Baaad news, bears. Am I gonna have to go to one of those places where they measure you and tell you you've been buying the wrong size all your life? I'm not sure I can afford their advice!

i have zero decent bras right now - they either make my boobs like bad or they're highly uncomfortable. i always buy super cheap bras because... i'm super cheap and never think ahead. BUT i thought i was 'splurging' when i bought a $45 bra at VS. it was so great and nice and comfy for the first month. now it's useless. i bought a couple of sale bras online, none of which are any good.

ugh. i hate even thinking about buying new bras.

the eternal frustration remains eternal

I'm running out of bras. Baaad news, bears. Am I gonna have to go to one of those places where they measure you and tell you you've been buying the wrong size all your life? I'm not sure I can afford their advice!

Don't they measure you with your clothes on, though? Sounds useless to me.

Nope - they usually measure you in whatever bra you come in wearing iirc.

Which sounds to me like trying to measure someone for gloves while they're wearing mittens. I'm assuming that you can't get anyone to measure you when you're topless, but will they at least let you take the bra off and leave your shirt on?

Oh I don't mind the measuring. I just can't afford $80 bras.

I know, I was just talking in general terms again.

I would measure people shirtless/braless in the dressing room when I used to measure ppl for bras (for a job not for fun). Apparently I was DOING IT WRONG.

All of my bras look and feel like shit and are obvious through my clothes. Thus has it always been and ever shall it be.

I can't wear anything other than t-backs because anything else falls off of my shoulders. My last t-back bra fell apart a few months ago, so I'm wearing an old normal one. *cringe*

how do they fall off your shoulders? can't you just adjust the straps?

i went to a bra store once because my bras were too big. i asked the lady to measure me. she did so over my clothes and the bra i had on and told me i should wear the exact size of the bra that was too big. *facepalm*

i am still wearing that bra because i haven't gone bra shopping since! it's kind of hilarious because the cups are so off. but srsly all my bras are total garbage right now and i don't know what to do!

i think bra straps have a mind of their own!
xpost

I've been measured 3 times, I think, and each time it was topless, but I am in the UK and haven't done so for several years.

My bra straps have been really untameable lately, no matter how much or little I tighten them they slide off. I'd look for t-backs but it's already too hard to find bras. (I think the answer to both of these problems is probably "lose weight, fattey" but, yeah, I'd love to, but it just doesn't seem to happen...)

how do they fall off your shoulders? can't you just adjust the straps?

You can be petite and not have very broad shoulders! Mine fall off every time I pick up something or reach my arm out or w/e.

what does an average bra cost? how long are they expected to last? how many does one need to own to get from wash to wash?

Um. Cheap ones are like $20? Well-made ones probably start at $45 and go up to about...$80? $90? P much anything over $80 is where I consider it a luxury item.

How long they last depends on how you take care of them, and also how good they are. And whether you sweat.

and whether they are a prerequisite for breakfast?

Also depends on yr bra needs/size. Some sizes are more difficult to fit than others.

I only buy anything on sale, so my prices are not the normal prices. I covet beautiful lingerie, but when I see the price tags, it's just ridic.

My favorite bra is $15 from Target. It's the best I've ever owned.

I wanted to get a new bra, but when I went to Target they were all out of my size :(

Not that I know what it is really.

yeah i think i'm gonna go back to target bras - e, which one/s do you like?

yes, please tell.
why bc i need a new bra like, asap and i do not have money or time to find a $$ good perfectly-fit one.

i don't know about e, but i have one by that gillian whateversurname line that is usually $12.99 or 2 for $16.99
generic looking, inoffensive, don't notice it poking me, everyday bra without horrible lines

so i had these victoria's secret biofit(?) bras that i really liked except after about 2 months they became TOO BIG - this happened to my sister as well, so it was not just a direct result of some weight loss then. anyway, i found a gillian o'malley target version that was v similar and they are horrible! even worse than the vs ones, but not bc they got loose. the materials just dig into you. v uncomfortable.

so E, what about that target bra?

Lately my left nipple has been making a break for it in all of my bras! Bras in which this was never before a problem! What is going on here???

On a related note, wtf with all of these bras that are cut so that nipples are barely covered or are downright exposed???

Making a break for it… how? Is your left boob getting bigger?

Ha, I've got huge boobs so all of my bras are like full coverage to the chin. My nips go nowhere.

My left nipple is making its way *out* of the bra to hang out all by itself. I would prefer that it stay tucked inside the bra like it damn well should!

That's weird! Maybe your left boob is shrinking or your bra cup is stretched out so there's more wiggle room, so to speak?

I've all but decided to give up on underwire and just wear these cotton, no wire Lane Bryant bras all the time. Maybe save a couple of high and tight, suspension bridge bras for special occasions. I'm not convinced there's enough aesthetic benefit in the high and tight silhouette to justify the discomfort, and the LB bras are not unflattering. Plus who decides what boob shape is fashionable and do those people even have to wear bras??? I bet not.

I have two friends who swear by the LB bras!

also this is the gillian o'surname bra i was talking about
thinly padded but not pushup or pillows
http://img3.targetimg3.com/wcsstore/TargetSAS//img/p/13/57/13573020.jpg

Yeah I like a full coverage bra too - not those demi cup styles. Think I might stop by target tonight and try some on.

As a Canadian (no Target til 2012), this "o'surname" thing is killing me! First mention, I was certain the poster had just forgotten the real surname!

haha i was about to say! i lolled and raised an eyebrow too

It sounds like a fake name they'd make up on The Simpsons.

at first i couldn't remember the name, but then it seemed like a better name than the real name so i didn't change it

Aww damn. I wanted an O'Surname bra.

you can, and it will cost you $12.99

i've bought like 7 of them over the years

O'Malley

I spent months and $$$ last year trying to find a wirefree bra that worked for me. Because I seriously dislike going to stores, I bought a dozen or more styles online - fruitless and disheartening. But eventually I got some from Decent Exposures and they are wonderfully comfy. I wore and washed all these others, wanting to give them a decent trial, but now I've got a pile to, idk, donate?

On a related note, wtf with all of these bras that are cut so that nipples are barely covered or are downright exposed???

Maybe the barely covered ones are for wearing with lowcut U-shaped necklines? And all of the bras I've ever seen with totally exposed nipples were for bedroom wear.

I think I am wearing an O'Surname bra right now.

omg i bought two bras today!!
really nice ones! from a proper bra shoppe with european brands! and an older greek lady who makes it her concern to get you what you need.
one is dark grey lace+mesh and the brand is, i am serious here, princesse tam tam (ilx lols!) - sooo pretty. not the cheapest brand but def lots of really classy, cute styles and options for those of us who don't want padding (i still hate most padding).
and the other is just a light beige seamless bra for wearing under tight t-shirts and sweater, but it is so comfortable and the underwire doesn't dig in - amazing. brand of that one is Gemma, from Spain.

AND all their swimwear was on sale! so i bought an army-green halter top bikini from an Aus company called Seafolly. because.

Princesse Tam Tam! Incredible. Enjoy!

I have a pair of princesse tam tam pyjamas that are indestructible, which bodes well for a bra.

I went to one of those stores that look at you topless and then tell you your size. It was totally different than what two people at Macy's who measured me told me. Then they made me try on about 30 bras. The ones I bought were drastically different than anything I had bought before from Target or VS. The bands are super stiff and heavy, so the support is awesome.

http://www.nataliedee.com/101911/fucking-bra-racket.jpg

YES.

Very OTM. And fuck the "just hand wash it" brigade. How about they make a bra that can take a machine washing instead of me having to do laundry like my goddamn great grandmother?

JENNY I TRIED TO SEND YOU A CARTOON TODAY BUT YOU LEFT THE INTERNET

Where did that thread where you asked about buying a suit go?

Good grief, it took me about 20 minutes to figure out you were talking about Facebook. I was like "Left the internet? Why didn't she just send it to me and I could look at it again when I was back online?"

Isn't the suit stuff in the No Boys Allowed thread?

BTW wore the zebra print jacket/black wool pencil skirt ensemble to another job interview today.

One day me and that jacket are going to walk into an interview and the interviewer is going to be like "I NEED THE WOMAN WHO WEARS THIS JACKET TO WORK HERE AND ALSO I WILL PAY HER A LOT OF MONEY."

Sarahel the bras I like from target are made by vanity fair, I think. They are great but I am a B cup - I don't know how they would work for the larger bobbed ladies.

I just had a Transforming Bra Experience that has shifted my entire Boob Identity.

Fed up with the escaping left nipple, tonight I went into Nordstrom and requested a proper bra fitting. A no-nonsense, knows-her-shit bra lady came into a large dressing room with me, had me take off my shirt, and immediately said: "Wacoal iBra, totally wrong size."

Already I am impressed that she identified the make and model with no cues. The size is a 34C.

Knows-her-shit bra lady then proceeds to measure my rib cage sizes up my boobs.

She disappears onto the showroom floor and returns within a minute with eight or so bras (Natoris and Wacoals) that she helps me in to. All but two fit me really well and are decent looking to boot.

The size of these wonder bras?

32DDD. That's right, down a band size and up four cup sizes.

I purchased four new 32DDD bras, two nude and two black. As knows-her-shit bra lady wrapped them up (dispensing intersting info like how best to wash, which hooks to start on, the importance of rotating, all this shit I had never heard before), she made me promise that I would immediately dispose of all of my 34Cs.

And thus I subscribe to a New Bra Paradigm in 2012.

dang

This makes me feel like I don't know anything anymore. I mean, I've been living with these boobs for a long time. How could I not realize I was way off base on their casings?

That's astonishing.

I need to do this but I'm afraid they'll tell me the size I'm wearing is too big and I need to go down.

I think one thing that had me so out of whack is that I grew up hearing/thinking that double Ds were "big boobies." Big meaning bigger than mine. Now I think it is finally dawning on me that when I think of big boobies (I have a couple of close friends who are WAY bigger than me), they aren't double Ds--they are like Fs. Knows-her-shit bra lady said Norstrom carries up through Ks!

LOL. Yeah see in my mind double d's are basically huge knockers. Maybe I'm wrong! Anyway I am glad you've found good bras. I literally only have one I like right now. I need to find a good knows-her-shit bra lady and get some new ones.

what is the difference between adding letters (dddddd) and going up a letter (to single e or whatever)?

are the sizes at all consistent across brands?

x-post - TBH I didn't even know bras came in Ks!

Come to DC, we will buy all the awesome bras!

My boobs definitely don't qualify as huge knockers--I kinda want all of the ladies of ILX to see my boobs in the raw, in the old 34C, and in the new 32DDD. It is a revelation!

I am so, so, so much more comfortable in this new bra. What have I been doing with my life etc. etc.

Bra lady said that depending on the brand, a DDD may translate as an E or an F. Which then makes a K entirely possible for truly huge knockered ladies.

I was gonna ask - the smaller band doesn't feel uncomfortably tight?

I sort of hate bras in general though so I dread being told I need to go down a band size and then being uncomfortable. If I can get away without wearing one (like under a sweater) then I go without. I hate them that much.

It doesn't feel uncomfortably tight, but it does feel like it is the weight-bearing part of the bra--with my old (larger-banded) bras, if felt like the shoulders were doing more support. This smaller band also actually stays straight around my chest and doesn't ride up like the larger band. I think it was the ride-up of the larger band that allowed the smaller cups to hold my boobs, but in such a way that nipple escape happened.

xpost

I kinda feel like I have found a new calling.

lol

Interesting! I have the band riding up problem. It sucks.

Spent all day dragging the straps back onto my shoulders and hooking the back down to do some supporting instead of crawling up to my neck under my clothes. HELLLLLP MEEEEEE

Yeah, it might be worth a shot going down a band size? I was forever fiddling with the strap adjustment, thinking that if I kept lenghthening the straps, it would help with the ride-up. . . but no dice.

xpost to E. Laurel, that sucks!

Hahah that bra is terrible, I'd throw it out but it's my last one in black. Time to drag my boobs to Macy's and do some shopping.

I need to do this but I'm afraid they'll tell me the size I'm wearing is too big and I need to go down.

This.

I don't understand why that would matter if the bra fit.

I can understand thinking that going down would be more binding/uncomfortable, but the riding up thing is really uncomfortable as well!

Bra lady also explained to me how the underwire should lie--again, a revelation.

xps

I kinda feel like I have found a new calling.

yay! another bra evangelist. i can go on and on and ON about fit, because having the right size made an incredible diff in comfort, and how i looked, too. i gained an inch in my bust measurement because i'd been squashed down!

laurel--the back riding up means your band size might be too big. that might help yr strap problem too. http://www.breakoutbras.com/sizing

(when trying on bras, keep going up a cup size, until you find a cup that's too big. the size under that is your size, even if it seems like a crazy size.)

(isn't it crazy how the underwire should lie? and having it flat in the middle--did not know that was POSSIBLE.)

also, those crazy alphabet cup sizes? they're not what you think. this is from thinandcurvy.com, showing the diff in band sizes and how they change her profile:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CKU61X3PimM/TdwMi0xYIPI/AAAAAAAABcQ/QylXzgfBRyg/s640/bra_band_size_compare_30GG_28H_26HH.jpg

Mine always lay flat in the middle but I don't think they go as far back into the armpit as the ones in the proper pics do? That's it. I'm getting fitted this weekend.

Oh I know, the band is on the smallest hooks already and it's so worn out it doesn't hold anything, basically. I just hate to throw bras out before the fabric actually splits apart.

erica, if you hate bras and don't have huge knockers or shape issues, what about doing the underwire-less bra? those look way more comfy than reg bras.

i NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED to get sized bc i haven't own a comfortable bra in many many many years, but i just can't stomach flashing my boobs at some strange lady (i know i know i'm such a sissy, i need to harden up etc.)

what is the difference between adding letters (dddddd) and going up a letter (to single e or whatever)?

are the sizes at all consistent across brands?

― mookieproof, Wednesday, January 11, 2012 6:38 PM (55 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

To answer your second question, not even close. There are size charts linked from this page that demonstrate this and answer your first question.

http://www.herroom.com/find-the-right-bra-size,940,30.html

^^^that is kind of insane!

it seems like there should be money to be made in doing this stuff properly, like sizes that make sense and everything?

otoh maybe women's attire is a cartel, as it seems (in my v. limited experience) that many things 'for women' are mysteriously more expensive than 'unisex' or 'male' things

Women's clothing sizes aren't standardized in the US Mooks so a size 10 from one store might be totally different than that from another. It's ridiculous and maddening tbh.

Although tbh the variety of sizing and the different fit models does allow women a slightly greater chance of choosing a brand/fit model that most resembles their actual bodies. It takes a lot of doing, though. And it means that the numbers in sizes are almost completely meaningless, except to distinguish one garment from another.

inevitably if i shop for jeans there will be exactly one pair in the store that fits me, at best, but i guess the sizes are at least supposed to correspond to waist/inseam inches in theory. and presumably the number in (american) bra sizes is inches, right?

the idea of 'dress sizes' as even numbers is just madness tho. there must be a better way?

anyway, sorry -- i am clueless and don't mean to hijack or anything, god bless us every one

Don't apologize! The eternal frustration of finding clothes that make us happy knows no gender.

E, I now realize that the underwire (if any, but even wire-free bra's have some sort of, er, cup-shaping-boob-stabilizing fabric construction where a wire would be) should lie down the vertical midline of your armpit and have no direct contact whatsoever with anything resembling boob flesh! It belongs further under your armpit than that!

wow I should go to bed before my writing gets any worse

But I will continue. . .

Justine, I would like to think that ladies would quickly get over any discomfort about having boobs hanging out if I were their bra expert. Like, with my lady, it was "sure I can take off my shirt." But it did feel a little weird to then take off my bra and have my boobs all hanging out with this person I just met like 23 seconds beforehand, but her very knowlegable and efficient manner made it feel A-OK in just moments, really.

i'm so happy about your boob/bra revelation!
i've had fittings and currently have two really great bras right now, but need a few more, so will go back to a couple of boutiques where knowledgeable ladies work. yaay well-fitting bras!

xp i know, i just can't quite work up the courage :/ so lame

The boob revelation has also helped me come to a conclusion about a "Weight Watchers vs. New Pants" thing that I have given more thought to than I really should have. I almost wrote about it in the sandbox on the no boys thread or whatever thread it was that we were talking about body image stuff, but I held off. . .

Anyway, FUCK THIS SHIT, I am buying new pants. DEAL WITH IT.

Justine, in my imaginary bra shop, I would be uber-sensitive to ladies who did not feel comfortable stripping down--that's not lame, it's just where they are! You work with people where they are!

So if stripping down didn't feel right, I would help you find a great bra by having you go into a dressing room and take off your top and bra, then don a button-down oxford, and I'd do measurements over the shirt. When it came time to try bras, I'd have you put them on privately and then put a thin, stretchy white T-shirt over it, and I could have a look (without seeing bare skin) at the bras under it and go from there.

Yeah it is so hard to find trousers that fit and are comfortable, whatever size you are. I seriously have to take off any trousers as soon as I get home, apart from my 'fat jeans' which are just jeans that are from Old Navy and therefore fit terribly.

Thing is, I can spend money, time, energy, and mental strife on losing 8-10 lbs to fit into my pants, or I can buy new pants.

Buying new pants for me is a bit of a committment, because my job requires business attire; new pants basically means I need new *suits*. These are pricey and a pain in the ass to find for a chick who is almost six feet tall, and they *always* require tailoring, which is more cash.

But I am going to use common goddamn sense (along with embracing the "Body Acceptance 2012" motto) and just buy new clothes rather than trying to fit my (not overweight) body into my old clothes.

Can I get a "hell yeah" from the crowd?

Hell yeah!

HEEELL YEAH!

p.s. hurry up and open your bra boutique already, i really need some bras

sure!

Thank you for the votes of "wtf is wrong with you, just buy bigger pants!"

It is frightening to me that I was really thinking that the "correct" answer was to lose weight to fit into my old pants.

ILXchixors have been a really great influence on me, and I thank you.

Meanwhile, problem with bra boutique would be sourcing great, high-quality bras that ANY lady could afford. I realize I am lucky and exceptional in that I could go to Nordstrom and drop, er, upwards of 200 bucks on 4 bras. Note that I did have some x-mas returns that offset that. But c'mon, 50-60 bucks per bra is not part of my hypothetical bra boutique plan.

hell yeah!

xp
lol the four bras i have right now that fit me properly and look good are two $50+ bras i bought at a montreal boutique and two $12 bras i bought last fall at a walmart in southern ontario. though the latter aren't going to hold up for much longer, i'm feeling.

and they are all the same size! 36C!

Anyway, FUCK THIS SHIT, I am buying new pants. DEAL WITH IT.

― quincie, Wednesday, January 11, 2012 11:21 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

hell yeah!

another vote for Hell yeah!

I checked this morning and the cups def don't go back far enough under my arms. Total boob flesh contact! >:O I think I'll wait until next month when I have $$ again because I want to get some nice ones but I'm v excited now to see what happens.

I like Natori bra styles, but they're definitely $50-70 each. And that's not that expensive--other bras I like are 80$-100, not that I've ever bought one in that range.

When I was in college I worked in a clothing store on Fire Island where I met this lady (friends with the owner) who owned a really fancy shmancy lingerie store in the city that I always wanted to go to. It used to be in magazines and stuff. Pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to afford anything there but I'm sure it was all amazing.

Oh I just remembered that it was on University Pl. This is is: http://nymag.com/listings/stores/la_petite_coquette/

Wish I could go there to check it out.

ENBB, I was looking at night gowns on their website and thinking well, those might be what I'm looking for, oh hang on $325?? For cotton??

lol, yeah

IIRC the shop used to be by appointment only at one point. The lady was European and nuts but she sure knew her stuff about lingerie. If I knew then what I know now I'd totally have tried to score some free (or heavily heavily discounted) loot.

And another hell yeah here.

I had a couple of bra fitting sessions when I was young and thin(ner) and I was nervous but both times I got awesome matronly ladies in their late 50s or early 60s which was just fine.

But now my town's department store lingerie dept is staffed entirely by super-skinny, super-made-up teenagers, who I imagine spending their breaks going "oh my goddddd, I know, right" about their more unreasonable or whale-like customers, and, oh, the thought of baring this much flesh, and asking them to probe its saggier folds... (shudder)

I suppose I have been lucky that my GP's practice nurse has always been older than me by enough to feel only slightly terrible about smear tests etc, but it's getting increasingly untenable to hope to be measured or felt or scraped only by people at least a decade older than me. ho hum

For some reason GYN appointments and bra fittings (I've done it before just years ago) have never bothered me at all even though I'm pretty modest body-wise in most situations. I just remind myself that they've seen it all before and that's it's their job. They're not even looking at your really - just going through the motions of the task at hand. That's always helped me a lot.

I think that assisting with/being present for gyn appointments drove this point home even more for me when I realized that I had just seen a total strangers most intimate parts but that I really hadn't even noticed or registered it as strange at the time.

if you're getting fitted in a dept store, best to go somewhere that they have a wide range of sizes. once i got fitted at von maur (midwestern suburban store) and they put me in a size that they carried rather than my actual size. much easier to sell me lots if they have a variety of choices in my size, i suppose. it was a bigger size than i'd been wearing, but still wrong!

i've heard that this is common. victoria's secret is known for sizing like this, but other places too. (so it's good to measure yourself in addition to having it professionally done, to have an idea)

Space Cadet, I would not want a tittering youngster to size me for a bra, either.

Lane Bryant will TOTALLY lie about your bra size to sell you their shitty bras*. One aggressive sales person was pushing their bras during a BOGO sale. When. Told her they didn't carry my size, she insisted that my size was wrong and that I should try on some 42DD bullshit.

God I hate that store.

*I think I've mentioned this, but on days when I can't mentally deal with strapping into a proper underwire, or when I don't care what my "silhouette" looks like, I wear LB cotton no underwire bras. They are not the correct size but they're comfortable and close enough.

I think that assisting with/being present for gyn appointments drove this point home even more for me when I realized that I had just seen a total strangers most intimate parts but that I really hadn't even noticed or registered it as strange at the time.

I just this morning put my finger in an older gentlemans butt and it was the most w/e situation

Heeeellll yeah, Quincie. Also: which Nordstrom? Friendship Heights? I am the :-( silhouette in the illustration above.

i have never even considered doing this, but you guys have me almost convinced. why do i want to do this (have my boobs measured by a pro) again? i'm not averse to the actual measuring, i just don't feel like going out of my way to do it.

Well, if you're not having any problems with bras fitting or clothes fitting over them, then maybe there's not much reason!

Since the professional guidelines advise most people to go down like 4 band sizes, I'm wondering if that could solve my strap-losing probs, which haps to me every 10 minutes and is a quality of life issue. A smaller band should have straps spaced closer together and less likely to slip?

yeah, i guess i don't have any of those problems tbh

Also I have some bras that the wires dig painfully into my soft tissues, which I realize now isn't because I gained weight or something*, it's because the wires are supposed to be like 3" further back under my arms.

*I like how I immediately thought of a reason that clothes not fitting would be my own fault. o_O

Laurel you might also shop for bras with a "leotard back," in which the straps are attached closer to the middle of the band.

Why am I only now noticing that "leotard" looks like an insult aimed at intellectually challenged leopards?

I have a lot of requirements for bras, enough that being limited to racer-back ones (is that the same thing? I have to google "leotard back") would probably mean there was only 1 in the world that worked for me.

Not racer back. Herroom.com has a leotard back explanation. It's a regular bra, just with the straps set closer together.

This tends to be available in more utilitarian styles.

lol "leotard"
lol gbx's proper doctory nonchalance about buttholes - med school works!

I think I need to up a cup size. :/

So I got fitted yesterday but I think she did it incorrectly!!

She measured me right under my arms and across my sternum instead of under the boobs where the band goes. I have seen some ppl do it like that online but I don't think that it would be accurate for me because I have a sort of pronounced sternum so that that measurement is def bigger than where the band actually goes. At the time tho I was like - you're the expert - and listened to her as she recommended that I go up both a cup and band size. I walked out with two bras in said size and while I really like the way the cups fit, I think the band is too big. It's sort of riding up on the tightest hooks. That's not right. I'm frustrated!!

she did it incorrectly, definitely. that sucks.

can you return the bras?

I'm definitely going to try. I left the tags on the other one so that shouldn't be a problem. It's not a huge deal but I'm bummed because I went out of my way to go to that particular store and everything.

I think she was right about needing bigger cups but I'm going back to my old band size. Question - when new they should fit on the loosest hooks so that as the elastic stretches you can tighten them, right?

YES! That is what my lady told me and it makes total sense!

Yep. And so the fact that I'm wearing this brand new on on the tightest hooks and have to keep tugging it down is definitely not right. Boo!

eesh that is annoying! wtf "experts". i guess not all fancy lingerie stores are alike...

During my brief flirtation with pregnancy, I switched to using a couple of my sister's old maternity bras, no underwire. I'm having trouble switching back. My bras just feel so uncomfortable, even though they look like a perfect fit, don't move around, and are flattering.

Someone should invent bras that support without making you feel trussed up.

Strange. I've never been uncomfortable in underwires, unless the wires were poking out though the fabric.

It's not painful, just this awareness of something tight and rigid around my chest I really do not like. Anything loose or soft enough that I don't feel it round me, clearly doesn't fit, i.e. boob flesh does not sit in the cup, straps fall down etc.

I can't help but suspect there is a better way.

Been enjoying maternity bras for sure. Have one breast feeding bra and love it as well. I may never switch back...breast feeding trap door can be sexy, teehee

Right so went back and asked for my old band size but they said that meant I needed to go up a cup size and now somehow I have three D size bras which is just insane since I've thought I was a B my entire adult life. Ds! Wut?

Love the bras though.

E THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I JUST WENT THROUGH!!!!

Loving my smaller band/bigger-cup bras, btw. It is like the secret of life, for realz.

Also not to be crepey but from WDYLL photos I would not have said "ENBB have small boobies!" So now that I know that my not-large boobies are DD or DDD, the fact that you are tall but thin and small-framed and yet have been pronouced D is like total affirmation.

YA'LL EVERYONE GO GET BIGGER CUPS/SMALLER BANDS!

Which store did you do this at again? Was it up at Friendship Heights? Would go and get myself measured but would like to stick in cowardly fashion to the store you can already vouch for.

I went to the Nordstrom at Montgomery/Westfield Mall on Democracy near the intersection of Old Georgetown (there's no Norstrom at Friendship Heights, sadly). It is a car destination, but I am totally on board with gathering you up for a road trip, lj!

boob/bra revelation road trip! this would be awesome.

It shall be so!

"boob/bra revelation road trip!" sounds like a poorly translated frat comedy movie title, tbh

Bridesmaids 2

LOL Q! It is the weirdest thing. I am so glad you went and posted about it though because I prob never have gotten fittted and just kept wearing the same wrong size. :)

ok so with this thread in mind, i went into target to try on a few different sizes. i think i usually buy like 36C. the best fitting size was a 34DD, but there was literally only ONE bra in the entire store in that size. a 36DD was too loose in the band (even on the tightest hooks), and a 34DD still feels too small in the cups, so i think i need to go to nordstrom and try a 34DDD (none in that size at all at target). thanks for all the bra tips, ladies! i might just get a bra that actually fits, one of these days.

some of the brands at nordstrom may fit you differently--tho i've never tried a target bra, american brands like maidenform and bali tend to have looser bands than the nicer (european, wider size-range) brands iirc. which further complicates things. so it might be worth even trying a few band sizes in that range at nordstrom. sometimes they'll be labeled e and f instead of dd and ddd.

and stuff will be pricey, $60 and up around that size. if that's too daunting, take note of brands and styles/sizes that fit you well and you can look around ebay. i've gotten some nice bras on ebay for half priceish.

it can seem like a ridiculous quest for elusive overpriced bras but it's so worth it. i go on and on and ON about this stuff sometimes but it's because it made such a massive difference for me.

yeah i bought a couple of v v cheap bras at target that didn't fit completely right, but will do in the interim - the two bras are i currently own are just ridiculously ill-fitting, and i'm tired of being so uncomfortable ALL OF THE TIME. maybe i'll make a special trip out to nordstrom's next weekend.

ill-fitting bras suck, and once you start to get an idea of what fits better, they seem even more torturous. :(

but then you get a better size and angels sing and you're more comfortable and you stare at your chest every time you see a mirror for a while because WHOA you look better.

In London, found myself near Rigby and Peller. Thought of this thread. Stepped in a 34B, came out a 32D with a much lighter wallet. And the shapes address my... size disparity.

Oh OH I bought a new bra and I like it a lot and I have been meaning to post about it here:

http://www.herroom.com/elomi-8120-hermione-underwire-bandless-molded-bra.shtml

Great things about this bra:
It's lined, but it's also soft, so it feels like a garment and not a scaffolding.
So far, nothing is poking or jabbing or digging into me.
It's called the "Hermione" and I am a huge dork.
It's not massively cleavage inducing so I can wear it with a scoop/v-neck shirt and not worry that I'll look like, I don't know, Jennifer Love Hewitt while trying to teach undergrads (some people don't like this).

Drawbacks:
Probably could use a little more lining, but I'll take the comfort compromise.
It only comes in gray and fawn. HELLO? Black???

Summary: if you have large breasts and would like a lined bra that does not feel like you are strapping an actual building around your chest, this is a really good one.

The grey is nice, though!

It is! It's pretty in person, too. I just like black underthings best.

Stepped in a 34B, came out a 32D
impressive!
i need to go lingerie shopping again, i do believe...

Yeah I went in a 38B and came out a 36D. NUTS.

Where do I have to go to walk in 32B and leave with bigger boobs?

http://www.google.com/search?q=dr.+beverly+hills&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#hl=en&client=safari&q=cheap+boob+job+chicago&oq=cheap+boob+job+chicago&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=12&gs_upl=22391l37481l0l38751l33l31l4l10l10l0l422l3391l1.7.5.2.1l17l0&mvs=0&bav=cf.osb&fp=fb41dc15b06004eb&biw=320&bih=416

:(
all you guys have to do is go to a store and poof! surprise D cups.

So guess what, for the past few weeks my regular bras (same design) have been feeling a little uncomfortable and I partly blame this thread for making me realise they don't fit too well. I went into VS (I know...) an ill-fitting 34A, probably 34B and came out a 32C. I'm sure the sizing is messed up because the Bs fit me worse (too small --> quadroboob) than my current A's which are mainly ok just a bit off.

In my new bras, certain shirts are too small. However, I'm also piling on sugar-binge-too-tired-not-to-spike-blood-sugar weight so it might be that.

BTW never underestimate Victoria's Secret's capacity for sticking the word "sexy!" on everything. There was a t-shirt for sleeping in, in the changing room', which had a sticker on specifiying the size as "one size sexy!".

this thread is like a magical portal to having bigger boobs, i just know it

lol Lech - I'm pretty sure it's just that everything we've ever been taught about bra sizing is wrong and also that it may have changed over time. Honestly there's not way I have Ds in the sense that I've always imagined D sized boobs to look like. Wait - that doens't make sense. I mean - I think in my case it's partly beucase I'm tall so they don't look big on my frame? I think that someone who was smaller all around but wore the same size would have way bigger actual boobs. idk. It's very strange indeed.

My bra today is safety-pinned and dress-taped into place to make the band about 3" smaller than the smallest hook.

Honestly there's not way I have Ds in the sense that I've always imagined D sized boobs to look like.

I feel the same way. Well, about my Ds, not yours.

lol

A friend of mine has truly big boobs and recently went through her own proper bra fitting revelation. She has the kind of boobs I would have said were Ds and had been wearing a 40 D for years. She went into the store a 40D and came out a 38 K! I honestly didn't even know they made K sized bras.

Back in the years when I cleaned hotel rooms as a summer job, I saw some bras drying in bathrooms that were...prodigious. Like it seemed misshapen to 15-yo me to even be that big.

15-yo me was kind of a jerk.

Come on, Amanda. Let's go to Isabel one of these days after work and see if we can't get you some tig ole bitties.

My bras are big enough that I can wear them as hats. And not yarmulkes. Like... full coverage hats. I know this because sometimes when I am folding laundry I put my bra on my head for lols.

My bras would definitely have frightened/horrified 15-year-old Laurel.

To be fair, and to crossover w that "things your mom said forever" thread, one thing my mom said forever was, "You're so much more...voluptuous than I ever was."

I was not at all sure whether that was supposed to be a good thing.

lol my mom always said I got my paternal grandmother and aunt's small boobs. I didn't really get boobs until i was in my 20s though which was sort of strange.

Lord, yes, my mom was always pointing out how I got my boobs from my grandmother, who is one of six sisters, five of whom were built like brick houses (the sixth was built more like an igloo).

lollll

I didn't really get boobs until i was in my 20s though which was sort of strange.

me too - i had always yearned for bigger boobs, then when i got them i realised they were really not worth the trouble.

To be fair, and to crossover w that "things your mom said forever" thread, one thing my mom said forever was, "You're so much more...voluptuous than I ever was."
laurel your mom is obsessed with talking about bodies, my GOD!

I didn't get "real" boobs until my twenties. I thought I was done at 18 but I grew an inch in height between the my 19th and 20th year, also had to start shaving under my arms. Previously there was nothing there. I went from went from a 34B to a 38C between my 21-26 years old despite losing what my mother called baby fat everywhere else. This is why I don't think young girls should get breast implants as high school or college graduation gifts. You are still growing and changing sometimes until you are 25 or so.

As you may have noticed, LL, my mom is obsessed with TALKING. Lots of things have been said over the years, many of them repeatedly!

My bra feels great today, btw, being 3" smaller!!! I can't believe I've been wearing it so loose for months and months.

Question to all: How long do you keep a bra, on average, before throwing it out & replacing? Usually my answer is "under the underwires stab me in the soft tissues" but this whole band-size thing is making me revise that estimate downward.

*Until the underwires stab me

^^

Yeah. I mean - until the other week I literally had ONE BRA that I would just wash every couple or night or so and it had been that way for at least a couple years. It was a dire situation.

It is said that if your bra has the correct band size, the underwires will stab you less because they are held snugly against the body in the right place. Also the friction of wearing a too-big band won't erode the underwire casings.

Per my email, I bought my last round of bras on July 19, 2010 and since I don't really have any plans to replace them any time soon, I'll go ahead and say two, two and a half years. I have four, wear two each week, and wash them in the god damn washing machine like the good lord intended (but I don't put them in the dryer).

Although thinking about it, I bought those bras because the underwires were popping out of my last set. I lost an underwire from one of these bras but I just sewed it back in.

When the underwires stab me, it's because they've worked their way out of the casing by breaking through the lining fabric after like 3 years of ownership or more, so that's probably way past the time when I should have jettisoned them for other fit/quality reasons.

You all sound v sensible, I will assume that proper fit would prolong the wearability and proceed accordingly.

Wait, I forgot to add my conclusion sentence:

Therefore, I replace my bras every two, two and a half years, but that's about when the underwires start springing out of them like springs from snake nut can.

I was somewhere relatively public, like a doctor's office waiting room or restaurant or the bus, and my underwire had wormed its way out of the casing and was poking up out of my shirt right in the middle of my cleavage. I actually poked myself in the chin when I looked down to see what the hell was happening to my boobs.

Real laffs in office.

Then I had no choice but to just pull it all the way out and I was stuck running around at half-mast with one boob up and one boob down until I could get home and address the problem.

I felt like a chick lit heroine.

my bra situation has been dire for years and years and years. once upon a time i found these amazing t-shirt bras, i forget the brand (it was in nz), but they were a perfect mix of underwire/lightly-lined/not-stiff, and they provided that nice kind of relaxed-boob-70s-style kind of shape AND they were really comfy. but they were cheap and would stretch out like crazy after a few weeks and be totally useless.

while the target bras i got the other day are still not entirely the right fit, i was amazed by how bad my old bras feel in comparison.

how do we feel about bralettes? i might get some for summer since i don't think i am going to the magic bra/boob store anytime soon.

(although i would like to go with you, jenny, i don't know where that store is or if it's downtown, but that's a two hour roundtrip journey for me, and therefore so not gonna happen)

It's off the Sedgewick Brown Line. I don't know why I said after work. I don't care when we go if you want to go.

I had my 'current' ones for a good 4 years or more, good old Marks & Spencers. They've held up well, just me that's changed. I am pretty desperate to get back to M&S actually.

M&S online all the way

M&S are great. I also like getting Freya and Fantasie from Debenhams (sale only cos I go through bras very quickly).

I have several cup sizes on my mother, who more than once has shamed me in public by asking if I'm wearing a bra. Gave me a complex for years.

I've been buying my bras from Debenhams but every time I find one that fits they discontinue it and then (optionally) bring out ones in the same range which look similar but fit completely differently i.e. not at all, so next time I'm going to M&S, where I may also be able to find a lingerie assistant over the age of 19 to measure me.

Hate it when the underwiring pops out, I bought a bra last year which fitted and I liked but the underwiring squeezed out after about 3 wears and would not stay back in. I was v cross.

i did it! went to nordstrom's and spent $180 on... 2 bras. so poor right now :(

but i got this one, which is my absolute favourite bra style.

chantelle bras are gorgeous

they are, but goddamn, i never even spent HALF of that on 2 bras before. AND i'm gonna have to hand-wash and line-dry them!

oooh sooo nice! i want and must have

found a bra i decently liked at target and went back to buy another in a different shade and it looks like they are discontinuing it! noo.. picked up two in weird colors for $8.50 each, but couldn't get one in a neutral color that can be worn under white :(

i really wish i didn't wait till 32 to figure out my actual size start wearing really quality bras

this bra is amazing. but now i'm looking at the chantelle bras on sale on the nordstrom site and thinking "hmmm $51-55 isn't THAT much for a bra..." since i just spent $90. plus i got 2 black bras, and i mean, come on, i REALLY need a white one and a nude one, AT THE VERY LEAST.

the target t-shirt bras? i got one a few months back - super comfy and fairly flattering!

White bras are actually amazingly un-useful! I think bras shd only come in nude and black. And comedy patterns/colors, obv but like where utility is concerned....

I mean because you can see the outline of a white bra through white clothing, because--shockingly!--your skin is less white than the fabric.

That brings you down to only needing 1 nude one, and that's only $50. Nbd.

but i need a white one to wear under a red and white summer dress! because i don't like nude straps showing

Oh well then I can no longer help you justify buying 2 more bras.

are there bras that come in comedy patterns? what would be a comedy pattern for a bra?

like a recursive bra, patterned with bra-adorned boobs, wearing bra-patterned bras? that would be funny

There's this pinkish-red bra I really like (but $$$ - red version of one of the Rigby and Peller ones) but if I get it, damned if I'm also getting the knickers, which are just ridiculously priced. But I'm never going to find cheapo knickers that really match. I wish I could convince myself that black knickers and red bra is ok, but I can't.

seen elsewhere:

<i>I was at Nordstrom Rack today and they are having their bi yearly clearance sales (up to 75% off in some cases). In the lingerie section, I noticed that they actually had a range of sizes!</i>

I don't own any bras in "colors" or patterns, so I kind of meant comedy to be any color tbh! I sometimes look at figtree.com longingly for the prettily beribboned and patterened specimens but I never buy them. Too impractical.

Same. The ones I bought last month were very pretty but in a very basic practical way. Two black and one nude with a little lace/detailing but pretty no nonsense. They were all 30% off and all under $40 a piece. I get fancy lingerie for special occasions but have never been all that into it. If you're doing it right it's just gonna end up on the floor sooner rather than later anyway.

for pale skin, some shades of pink or lavender blend under a thin white tee the same as a beigy-nude bra. i used to have a lavender bra that was better than any beige bra i'd tried.

i love the idea of pretty bras but always end up going with practical.

haha "comedy bras"
it's funny cause it's true

i like nude bras under white and light-coloured t-shirts bc they really do make you seem nude! except with gravity-free boobs

imo brightly-coloured bras with thin straps are really good for wearing under spaghetti-strapped tops - it looks more classy than a regular black/white/nude bra strap, esp in a contrasting colour.

i'm mostly a black bra kinda girl tho, but if there's ever (so rare) a dark purple or dark blue or dark green version, i will go for that in a heartbeat instead. but, yes, rare to find...
and i don't often wear white or really light-coloured t-shirts anyway

comedy bras to me are bras with patterns of colour and texture so that you can therefore only wear them under, i don't know, sweaters?

i think on another ils thread we were briefly talking about the ubiquity of the "fancy t-shirt" and how this is what i and many of us wear rather than blouses (i know you wear blouses though, Laurel!) and other types of tops (what are these tho i do not know. dresses i guess. or something.) anyway, the comedy bra is only a friend to the fancy t-shirt when it matches the fancy t-shirt in colour.

xp! :)

I have a turquoise blue leopard print bra which believe qualifies as a comedy pattern. Also my bra with Eiffel Towers on the straps.

omg!!!

If you're going to have a little sparkly thingy perched somewhere, which so many bras do, it might as well be the Eiffel Tower imo.

If you're doing it right it's just gonna end up on the floor sooner rather than later anyway.

haha, this is why my underwear are all basic solid colored cotton briefs

See rosemary knows what I'm saying.

I think all my underpants are comedy patterns.

http://m.chicagoreader.com/chicago/chicagoan-stepahnie-kuhr-retro-lingerie-maker/Content?oid=5546520

A first-person account from off the beaten track, as told to Anne Ford.

"Bras are way more complex to sew than one would think. Every 16th of an inch can make a big difference. It's a feat of engineering, because you're going against gravity, trying to hold up this appendage that's sticking out. A lot of overseas factories have stopped making them, because they're one of the harder and less profitable things to make.

"Bullet bras came about because they didn't have the same fabrics we do now. It was an engineering thing. They couldn't make a rounded boob. It was the best shape they could get out of their fabric, and then it became a fad, so they exaggerated it and made it fashionable. I was talking to an older gentleman in the industry, and he said that when he was growing up he honestly thought that's the shape boobs were.

"Last summer was the last time I was in a Victoria's Secret. I'm too busty for them, but I thought I'd try it, because I loved it when I was an adolescent. I went in there, and I was like, 'I wear a 32DD. What do you have in that?' The lady kind of looked at me funny. She gave me a 36D, because that was all they had, and sent me in the dressing room. I put it on, and I literally laughed out loud. It was trying to add three sizes, which I don't need, and then there was extra tissue spilling out everywhere.

"They get away with a lot of fit problems by making them really low-cut, so they're not fitting in as much tissue. And then they have those molded foam cups, and those you don't have to have a great fit with either, because they sit on their own; you don't really need to know what's going on underneath there. People get used to having this uncomfortable bra feeling, and they don't know any better.

"A lot of women will have one breast bigger than the other. That's an easy fix for custom work. You can add a little bit of padding to one side, or use a special cup to deemphasize it. A lot of the women that I've talked to, especially on the west coast, have had breast augmentation and ended up larger than they originally anticipated. They think they're getting a DD and all of a sudden they're an H cup. Then they become really flustered and don't understand why the bras don't fit.

"The vintage look has become more mainstream because of shows like Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire. That high-waisted panty is a lot more common now. That's how fashion works—they got as low and scanty as they could, and it started to get a little trashy, and people got sick of it. So they went in the opposite direction. Most of the high-waisted panties I make are very sheer, so it's not like your grandma's panties. Or if they are, your grandma's very naughty.

tissue

that's what it's called

semantic saturation/satiation

If, hypothetically, you had a bunch of tried-on-never-worn-but-tags-off bras, would you donate them to Goodwill or someplace or just throw them away?

donate!

Thx! It's become an untenable drawer space situation.

I always thought bullet bras were really cool. I used to go out of my way to buy them! I don't know if I'd wear them now though.....certainly not to the office!

Did someone say bullet bra?

This website is bookmarked on my computer because I keep thinking that one day I will have money to purchase all my wonderful underthings here at one time:
http://www.secretsinlace.com/product/346/Bullet_Bras
But they have bullet bras, although, they seem like they might have some 70's droop or curve to them.
Here's another wishful bookmark that will probably never happen:
http://www.whatkatiedid.us.com/index.php?a_aid=dabmkt&;a_bid=2f4c1d5d&fes_lst_id=

Did someone say bullet bra?

This website is bookmarked on my computer because I keep thinking that one day I will have money to purchase all my wonderful underthings here at one time:
http://www.secretsinlace.com/product/346/Bullet_Bras
But they have bullet bras, although, they seem like they might have some 70's droop or curve to them.
Here's another wishful bookmark that will probably never happen:
http://www.whatkatiedid.us.com/index.php?a_aid=dabmkt&a_bid=2f4c1d5d&fes_lst_id=

I am going braless for laundry day and I thought 'there's my 28-year-old breasts' when I looked in the mirror, god bless 'em. But THEN I thought, the breasts didn't show up until I was 14, does that mean my breasts are 28-14=14 years old?

*tera - damn you - now i know of the leopard print bullet bra's existence - and want one badly.

I love Secrets in Lace! That's where I was going to buy the tap pants from, but never did.

I think if I loaded up my knockers into a bullet bra, I would actually be able to kill somebody with them.

Abbottt-yes, actually, never thought of it quite that way before. My nipples and I are the same age but my breast are younger than I am.

Guess I better celebrate the last time in my life that my breasts are half of my age (unless we're counting the nine months I was in the womb as my age, in which case I'm 29).

attn small chested ppl:

i just got a hanes comfort flex w/ no wires or padding and it's just about perfect
comfortable, inexpensive, actually fits me, as close to natural 70s boob as you're going to get if you also want a little support

recommended!

http://img2.targetimg2.com/wcsstore/TargetSAS//img/p/13/82/13828447.jpg

intentionally chose photo without human to illustrate the utilitarian nature of this fine undergarment

My next boobs/bra frontier: "sports" bra.

(I don't play sports, but could use something extra supportive for outdoorsy stuff like gardening, hiking, biking, etc.)

I have a couple of leads from sporty friends (albeit not ones with DDDs) and will report back on my findings!

quincie, you might want to check out Title Nine. They've got a great selection. The one called something like "our lace bra" is my go-to.

Today, my (newish) bra is doing that squeaky thing in the underwire and it is driving me nuts!
That is all.

Any tips on how to pick out a sports bra?

Sort of. I guess the first question to ask is how much support do you want. Like, are you just looking for something you can move in comfortably, like for yoga, or do you need to keep your boobs immobile for high impact sports? Also, your cup size is key, too.

Do you give a shit about "uniboob"? How do you feel about underwire?

I just want something I can run (literally) around in, don't really care about looking HOTTT while doing it. So "immobilizing" is what I'm looking for, I guess. Cup size DD.

I don't think I've bought a sports bra since I was in eighth grade and hadn't even developed breasts yet.

http://www.herroom.com/sports,support-c-,bras,50,912,001,25.html

I used to have an Enell bra and nothing, I mean nothing, moved while wearing that. I loved it. Goddess and Anita are pretty reliable, quality bras for big boobs.

http://www.herroom.com/glamorise-1006-seamless-soft-cup-sports-bra.shtml

I've had my eye on this one, too.

you know that wireless/paddingless bra i mentioned upthread? i went back to buy a couple more because i was wearing that one every day and it was only like $11. i was trying to find my size and this older lady came up to the rack and said "is good?" and i said "yes, no wires, very comfortable, natural, pretty enough, and inexpensive" and she was like "yes, yes, glad i saw you! thank you!" and she bought one too.

Yea, you are as a prophet in the wilderness.

It's a minefield of discomfort out there.

Title Nine catalogue mysteriously appeared in the mail. Tempted.

Bra talk from a knitting designer.

Getting rid of some old bras today.

I made a beeline for M&S this week. Waited an hour for my fitting - the previous lady nearly had the fitter in tears because she tried on EVERYTHING and nothing fit her and the few that did, she didn't like... er anyway I am now a D, apparently, which is the most insane thing ever. Even tried a 30 DD. I really need to chuck out my old A's...

Thanks to Title IX and their awesome LIVE CHAT WITH BRA EXPERT feature, I scored a great (though pricey) sports bra that I am really happy with! Tried to google stalk the same bra at lower price, only to learn OH NOES SHIT IS DISCONTINUED so I loaded up on three more at pricey point. I think I will be happy I did this, because the sports bra search was huge fucking pain in the ass.

Oh and xpost to kinder, the whole "your boobs are a bigger cup size and your rib cage is a smaller band size" thing seems to be evidence of some huge boob conspiracy that I want very much to expose!

Oh, it has to be. I just don't get it. I still contend that there's no way I have D size boobs even though that's what these tags say. That said, a couple of the ones I got a few months back are getting a little loose in the cups because I am slowly losing some weight and it always (rather unfairly might I add) goes from my tits first.

lol "huge boob conspiracy"

I did very careful measurements and by any knowlegable standard (see the "thin and curvy" blog) I truly am three cup sizes bigger and a band size smaller than I had been wearing.

You know when public schools (private too I hope) do the whole learning about menstruation thing? This is exactly the point at which HERE'S HOW BRAS SHOULD FIT should be part of the curriculum!

x-post LOL rrobyn, totally unintended!

If I went down a band size, I don't think I would be able to breathe.

Going down a band size made me so much more comfortable--no more "riding up," and my shoulder straps don't slip off like they used to (and I have fairly square shoulders to begin with).

Yeah I got one a while ago that felt tight when I put it on but 5 secs later I don't feel it, and there's no more shifting around.

still hangin tough with my training bra over here

you have inspired me, ll.

it's really really comfortable! i have three now. no wires, no padding, just the little support i need. it almost feels like a rebellious act considering how many bras make everyone's boobs look like identical hostess dingdongs.

sorry, snoballs
http://bestuff.com/images/images_of_stuff/210x600/hostess-snoballs-25189.jpg?1173378961

hahahaa i hope i never live in a world where dingdong boobs somehow become a trend

http://www.metafilter.com/116513/finding-the-right-bra-size-and-best-fit

If you're spilling you need a bigger cup. If the cup is baggy, you need a smaller one.

I have both :(

I have been reading a lot of bra blogs recently. They are all pretty literate and awesome! Really into boobs these days. Like, Mr. Quincie has been on a "we should get an old porche" kick (note: this is not going to happen why b/c $$$, duh). And I down with that fantasy, but only if it is one of the years where the porches were really, really curvy, with big boob headlights.

quincie, I was going to say that if I had off on one of the days you are in NY, we could go yarn shopping, but maybe we should go bra shopping!

Been bra shopping today, nearly brought me to tears of frustration - plain black tshirt bras almost impossible to find in my (obviously very common) size unless it,s in one of m&s's many many two-packs with a white one >:-(

you are searching for the dream bra and you must therefore embody the dreamer on this quest

it will happen; just believe!

I believe

I bought some new ones today. I went down a band size. But some of the Ds and DDs made me look flat chested! Not cool.

Not bras, underpants (is there an underpants thread?) but:

I wish any underwear company would sell packs of cotton underpants in all black or all beige. Like ten to a pack. None of this "one black pair, and two other pairs with stupid bows and shit on them." Just a pack of black and a pack of beige. That's all I want. (And make a a pack of brown, too, since "beige" is not a neutral color on everybody.) I would be lifetime loyal to that brand.

o
t
m

2nd'ed

Marks and Spencer. Get yourselves to London.

(mail order also available but shipping...)

Yeah, M&S do all-black or all-white five-packs which are fairly cheap (in the UK!) but still reasonable quality. They do have an annoying habit of bringing out multicoloured packs of underpants or socks which I buy one of and then think "I like these, I'll buy more" only to find they've been discontinued. But that is the way of underwear.

I finally got measured (also in M&S - I mentioned my fear of the lingerie dept staff at my town's other department store) and it went p. well considering, but also it turned out the size I'd arrived at by guesswork and lots of trying on was more or less right and they're still not quite comfortable.

Also what is with buying the exact same bra in two colours and finding they aren't the same fit? Like, I bought the white/beige bra set which was suggested when I got measured, but they didn't have a black one in, so I went back a week later and tried the exact same one in black and had to go up a cup size and it still seems smaller. And I have a green Debenham's one which fits great, and I found an identical black one in the same size lurking in the back of my underwear drawer and was all like "oh wow, why haven't I been wearing this?" and an hour later I knew the answer was because the underwire spears my armpit every time I move. Grr.

I bought a strapless bra yesterday and I'm wearing today even though my top isn't strapless and OMG REVELATION: NO STRAPS TO FALL DOWN, EVER.

I might wear one of these every single day of my LYFE.

It's this one.

and it's staying up and not doing any weird fold-under stuff??

Yeah! It makes a little divot/line where the top edge sinks in a little, it's not completely perfect. But it has hidden underwires, and side-stays to keep it lying flat, and a wider band than normal (3 hooks in back) for extra security.

It makes a little divot/line where the top edge sinks in a little

I don't feel this is the problem you think it is......

i actually have a strapless dress on right with a built-in "bra" which i put in scare quotes bc built-in shelf bras only really work for boobs smaller than a small b. it's sort of working for me, but i think only bc the dress is black and therefore somewhat minimizing in that area
xps
hm! that sounds good!

I tried to get a smaller band size like everyone says, and I did end up with a D or something, but I still can't go smaller than 34 if I want to breathe. Also the store still only had two bras within the 3-4 size ranges I checked that weren't the foam cup kind. I bought both of them.

i want one

I'm definitely going to buy more, maybe not this exact model (then again, maybe so!) but more strapless bras in general.

this is prob better for another thread but i hardly ever wear strapless tops/dresses because of the too-sexy factor. which is partly in my imagination but partly not! like i don't think i want to leave the house in this dress even though it is nice and flattering and not formal or anything, but i feel like i'm all legs and boobs and bare skin. i have it on bc the friend who is the designer is having a soiree this evening and i am trying to decide which of her designs to wear. i mean, i don't really want to go out for coffee in this dress. but i know that some people totally would!