Boobs, I mean, Bras, and the eternal frustration

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