Bra thread

[friendofdorothy]

For years I could never find bras with big enough cup sizes. Fortunately it was '80s and I was lesbian feminist afterall. Tits really have gone south. Theres a lot more choice now but I really hate bra shopping now as they all seem so uncomfortable.

My tits must weigh a ton, they weighed 7lbs total when I was young, slimish and only a DD - I'm a lot fatter HH now - why do they make so many big bras with thin straps? And why are straps always so far towards my armpits that they give me breast pain and restrict arm movement? I always have to alter the ones I buy to move the straps.
Since Fantasie discontinued the most comfortable style 5yrs ago, I hate all bras at the moment.

 

[bubblesmcgrath]

Up to a few years ago I only bought triumph Doreen...in white. Then i discovered Triumph Amourette and fell in love with the look and feel of them. Thet have been my favourite bra for the past few years. They're just very comfortable and I love the colour range. Over the past few years I've had the sets in black, white, cream, blue and cherry red....

 

[aqua]

I hate bras

I'm a D cup but that's more about width than volume and as such it's hard to find bras that fit such a wide frame

I literally have none that fit now. I wear a triumph one, but tbh it's not a good fit. I got some from bravissimo a while back but they just rolled on the side panel and made it dig. It depresses me so much.

I need to lose some weight really to get back into a C cup as D just isn't right at all.

All that said I fucking love my actual boobs they're relatively small, perky, haven't been affected by pregnancy or breastfeeding. It feels like I'm doing them a disservice not being able to have nice underwear for them.

 

[felixthecat]

yeah - panache bras draw blood in my armpits - such high wires... .

This this this in SPADES!! Particularly with Panache, but I've tried other brands which do the same. Why do I need underwires in my armpits?

 

[felixthecat]

I've got that rosebud CK one too spangles - its my favourite.

 

[wtfftw]

There's an M&S plunge push up many coloured large cup size bra which isn't the most expensive. I have a few. It's more comfortable than going without a bra.
Except when I'm premenstrual and then I wear a curvy kate plunge one where the straps are made of elastic. - it does give me under arm spots.

I suspect I'm generally hunched over as if it's not a plunge with the wires finishing low at the front I get gouged.

 

[weepiper]

Currently in an M&S boulder-holder type black one, can't remember the model but it's a 30E, I think I ought to be in a 30F really as I have to do a bit of surreptitious scooping quite a lot with this one

I hate bra shopping though, it always makes me feel like some bizarre-boobed freak because nothing ever seems to fit comfortably and give a nice shape my usual problem is that the wires are wrong as described above so that either I'm getting stabbed in the armpits or in the breastbone.

 

[Rebelda]

This is why I hate bra shopping It's impossible to get around the whole trying-on-loads-of-things malarky.

I would recommend a trip to Bravissimo love. Even if you buy nothing there and do it all online after. You don't completely avoid the trying-on-loads-of-things palaver, but they at least take a look at your tits and have a good idea of what will fit you and bring you things with half a chance.

It's amazing how different bras are for people. Or not really I suppose, when I think about it. People not being the homogeneous type I have that dotty bra spanglechick linked, and I like it for its retro 'bullet boobs' look under certain tops. Thing is my tits tend towards conical in shape anyway, so it's not always right on me. Plus in reality, with my aforementioned empty top full bottom shape, the bra tends to gape a bit at the top. For me 'Andorra' provides that shape, although no quite so fiercely 'bullet', without the gaping as it's stretchy lace.

I wonder if Panache/Cleo (same company) work for me because I'm so tall - almost 5'11" - and especially long-of-torso, so the high into armpits and up chest bone underwires really work for me.

Interestingly, although an out front but rounded shape is nicest on me, I find Curvy Kate bras too round on me. They squash my tits flat, and I find the straps painful and the band rolls up. *shrug*

Oh and I have a couple of M&S sports bras, one underwired one not. They're very comfy, for a few hours - any longer than that and I get horribly sweaty and under-boob eczema. I need a sports bra that keeps my tits separate like a regular bra.

 

[toggle]

Kinda like the 'Doreen' by triumph- it's as normcore as you can get and hard to get in black but it's like scaffolding! Gives me an amazing torpedo shape, but can not be worn with low cut tops.
Think matron! Or Hattie Jaques!

Also favour the Goddess the elomi and curvy kate. I sometimes buy nursing bras as I can get em in a JJ cup and in black plus him indoors is not very good at undoing them!

that looks like the kind of bra that i find most comfy. scaffolding is good, cause wired bras that are the right shape for me are few and far between.

best bras I have are the marks ones like that. found a very, very good fitter who chose me a bra by looking at me and asking for the size i had on.

 

[wiskey]

I hate underwired bra's. This causes some issue.

I keep meaning to go to Rigby & Pellar and get some nice stuff... But the money goes on other stuff.

 

[friendofdorothy]

Kinda like the 'Doreen' by triumph- it's as normcore as you can get and hard to get in black but it's like scaffolding! Gives me an amazing torpedo shape, but can not be worn with low cut tops.
Think matron! Or Hattie Jaques!

Also favour the Goddess the elomi and curvy kate. I sometimes buy nursing bras as I can get em in a JJ cup and in black plus him indoors is not very good at undoing them!

I hadn't heard of Elomi and hadn't seen any Goddess bras for years - I've just been looking at them on line - thank for the tip.

I always hated the Doreen - but I found it always looked lumpy and bumpy and wasn't even comfy on me.

 

[campanula]

Well, I am not immune to a colourful bit of glitz but reading these tales of armpit pricking and side scoops, I am beginning to feel that I have done well to ignore the underwear enticements (you should see my knickers) in favour of comfort. I am of a generation which joyfully dismissed the idea of corsetry (almost 60) and, after a lifetime, even during pregnancy and feeding, of being a non bra wearer, I think I have cast iron pecs since, although mine do a side to side swing, they have defied gravity. Of course, if I had to run for a bus or summat, it might be a different story...

Hats, though, are another thing altogether. For many years, I would not have stepped outside without hats and lippy. The lippy is as long gone as my teeth, but my love affair with head gear shows no sign of diminishing.

 

[spanglechick]

I just can't go without a bra - for half the month i have to hold my boobs with my hands during the period between bra off at night and on in the morning, because without a bra they are instantly agonised. The other half of the month it isn't so dramatic, but it certainly hurts. I don't yet wear a bra at night (because i don't wear anything) but the day might come.

 

[Cribynkle]

I'm more of an average size now but for most my life I've been a small 32A /AA and H&M have been a godsend, one of the only high street stores where I could find a variety of bras that fitted. I once couldn't find a single bra in Debenhams that was small enough for me which was thoroughly depressing, even Topshop and Miss Selfridge were too big. H&M cut small so I recommend them for the flatter of chest.

 

[Rebelda]

My friend who is a teeny 28AA (or something. I made that up, but as small as you can go) swears by Primark. She says they're the only bras small enough for her. Lucky thing, they're about a fiver!

 

[May Kasahara]

This may be a stupid question but why do people with very small tits need to wear bras? I would gladly go without if mine were small and perky enough. Even when they were a B cup they still ran into my armpits at every opportunity

My great-nanna was flat as pancake but insisted on my nanna dragging round every shop in Lewisham to find her a bra that fit. When nanna wearily asked if it was really worth it, she replied 'of course, I need it for warmth!'

 

[Cribynkle]

This may be a stupid question but why do people with very small tits need to wear bras? I would gladly go without if mine were small and perky enough. Even when they were a B cup they still ran into my armpits at every opportunity

My great-nanna was flat as pancake but insisted on my nanna dragging round every shop in Lewisham to find her a bra that fit. When nanna wearily asked if it was really worth it, she replied 'of course, I need it for warmth!'

I was really self conscious about being flat chested and always wore padded bras when I was smaller so for me it was so I looked like I had tits. Dresses and lots of tops aren't cut for flat chests, there are loads of clothes that you just can't wear without a bit of padding.

 

[kalidarkone]

I hate underwired bra's. This causes some issue.

I keep meaning to go to Rigby & Pellar and get some nice stuff... But the money goes on other stuff.

Try perfect fit in Keynsham -really good!

 

[toggle]

I was really self conscious about being flat chested and always wore padded bras when I was smaller so for me it was so I looked like I had tits. Dresses and lots of tops aren't cut for flat chests, there are loads of clothes that you just can't wear without a bit of padding.

all things considered, I do wonder exactly who a lot of clothes are cut for. cause sometimes it feels like all women are feeling it isn't for their shape.

 

[moonsi til]

I have been having bra issue for ages after needing new bras , getting measured at M&S, feeling a bit.. about their measurement but spending money anyway. Then I had bras that didn't fit,didn't have a clue what size I was & was just muddling along. Last week I found a Triumph bra in TK Maxx in my old size of 32c that M&S said I wasn't and I bought it & it fit like a dream. I did have some old 32c bras butthey had gone droopy. Should have bought the red one too.

 

[spanglechick]

I have been having bra issue for ages after needing new bras , getting measured at M&S, feeling a bit.. about their measurement but spending money anyway. Then I had bras that didn't fit,didn't have a clue what size I was & was just muddling along. Last week I found a Triumph bra in TK Maxx in my old size of 32c that M&S said I wasn't and I bought it & it fit like a dream. I did have some old 32c bras butthey had gone droopy. Should have bought the red one too.

what did M&S say you were?

 

[Thora]

I have been having bra issue for ages after needing new bras , getting measured at M&S, feeling a bit.. about their measurement but spending money anyway. Then I had bras that didn't fit,didn't have a clue what size I was & was just muddling along. Last week I found a Triumph bra in TK Maxx in my old size of 32c that M&S said I wasn't and I bought it & it fit like a dream. I did have some old 32c bras butthey had gone droopy. Should have bought the red one too.

M&S tend to do the old fashioned thing of adding 4/5" to your band size. So 32C (32" band and 35" across the nips) becomes a 36A or something

 

[moonsi til]

34b at M&S which gave no support at all and felt baggy. But still I bought them..

 

[Thora]

34b at M&S which gave no support at all and felt baggy. But still I bought them..

I wouldn't be surprised if something nearer a 30E fitted better You can try measuring yourself using the guide here - http://thebetterbracampaign.blogspot.co.uk/p/fitting-advice.html

 

[felixthecat]

Try perfect fit in Keynsham -really good!

Known to those of us who love the place as Perfect Tit

 

[kalidarkone]

This this this in SPADES!! Particularly with Panache, but I've tried other brands which do the same. Why do I need underwires in my armpits?

Yes I have a lovely red panache bra, perfect fit aside from the underwired in my arm pits, such a shit design!!! I might write to them, maybe if we all did we might get a free bra and they might reconsider that design if they have.not already!

 

[Greebo]

This may be a stupid question but why do people with very small tits need to wear bras? I would gladly go without if mine were small and perky enough. Even when they were a B cup they still ran into my armpits at every opportunity <snip>

Having spent most of my life since puberty as an A cup, it was less about support than about (in no particular order):
1) Adding a bit more definition to what shape there was - underwires were more of a help here than the type of padding which was around in the 80s (it wrinkled because it was more like quilting);
2) Even small tits still bounce if the activity is high enough impact;
3) You (in general) might feel comfortable with not only the contour but also the colour of your nipples showing through some tops when not trying to attract somebody, but I wasn't;
4) If you're female, using communal changing rooms, and you're the only one in neither bra, nor crop top, nor vest, you may often find yourself being treated as some sort of freak.

 

[aqua]

For me it's about shape under clothes. Specifically a consistent shape. They are still heavy even though they're small and it feels nicer to have them supported. And I really don't like my nips showing at work, other times fine but not at work

 

[Yu_Gi_Oh]

I wear what I think are called 'comfort bras'. They're basically crop tops. I generally get the ones from Peacocks or M&S. Like these:

I used to wear real bras, but I don't have significant breasts and find these a good compromise. Cleavage is not seen as a good thing in China so these avoid any inappropriate tit exposure in the summer and provide an extra layer in the winter.

 

[Greebo]

<snip>Dresses and lots of tops aren't cut for flat chests, there are loads of clothes that you just can't wear without a bit of padding.

Halter neck tops, unless cut for supermodels, tend to look ridiculous on a more or less flat chest, unless the top has a fairly high back. Also, bandeau tops and off the shoulder tops ended up being held up by faith (please God, let this stay up for 5 more minutes, until I can get away with hitching it back up), hope, and sheer cussedness.