Boobs, I mean, Bras, and the eternal frustration

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.