Boobs, I mean, Bras, and the eternal frustration

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!

Kate, I def recommend going somewhere to be fitted, when it’s possible again. I REALLY thought I’d read all the articles, done all the measurements, and knew my bra size - I was quite wrong! Shape is really important too. When I finally got fitted last year, I tried on like 100 bras in the same size and only a handful really worked for me.

I prefer a lightly lined cup too, I have piercings that are just for me, not the whole world to see.

Also, I went to small local boutique that is openly trans-friendly and fat-friendly, which made me feel a lot more comfortable. Hopefully there’s somewhere like that near you.

well, if i can't find a trans-friendly and fat-friendly clothing boutique in portland oregon i will be sad :(

Haven’t worn a bra since the last day I was at work three weeks ago. Unsure how I can ever go back. Been freeboobing through multiple videocalls; the angle doesn’t reach the nipples so I’m not concerned that I’ve been “exposed”

i bought a new brand of bra (new for me) online & it arrived and it FITS

that never happens! it barely happens in person ffs lol

i feel like i should get an award!

I'd classify that as an actual miracle tbh! I have happily gone 100% stretchy Bali no wire elasto-squooshers.

yay both of you! seriously, with covid/work from home, putting on an underwire bra is like "an event" the way putting on a cocktail dress and doing fancy eye makeup used to be. Needless to say ... I don't think I've worn a cocktail dress and done fancy eye makeup in almost 11 months?

i was just feeling like my saggy supportless boobs needed some help

wacoal awareness was the one i got. no frills, v supportive but not like matronly

ooooh good to know!

I think I’ve found the holy grail bra?????

I saw a fat fashion blogger raving about this bra, but it’s pricey as fuck so I put it on the wishlist for my mother in law (she’s the best - she demands a wishlist for Xmas/birthday) and she ended up buying me one.

https://evelynbobbie.com/products/defy-bra

Its:
Wireless
Seamless
Has amazing lift (as much lift as my wired Elomi bra)
Is insanely comfortable

I was dubious at first bc I could barely get it down over my shoulders then chest, but once it was on - it’s so weird bc it feels supportive but somehow there’s no tightness or pressure anywhere??? It’s fucking magic. I was kinda worried about sizing since it’s not adjustable anywhere but I’m a 38G/GG and I got the 2XL and it’s perfect.

Worth every penny but they also have a 20% discount on first orders if you sign up for the newsletter. I’m gonna but at least two more. I don’t know if I can wear any other bra again.

After a traumatic go with a similar Spanx bra, I've actively avoided styles like this, but I'm interested to try this one after reading how it's working for you! I see they offer one with hardware for back and straps too, if needed. Do you find the lower edge rolling up at all?

Yeah the band does roll a little - I emailed them to ask if that meant I needed a different size and she replied that it wasn’t an issue they’d encountered during testing but they’d received similar reports

“We have heard feedback from customers who experience the band rolling, and our designer is aware of the issue. Some women find that after wearing it and "breaking it in" the band is more malleable and flips up less. We believe it has to do with length of torso, and also ribcage projection.”

I have a really short waist so I think that might be the issue

If clothing rolls, it will always roll on me.

I'm also short-waisted, so maybe that's why it seems to happen.

I'm giving a tentative thumbs up to the most recent Torrid wire-free bras -- I'm a D so idk how they work for larger sizes, though they definitely carry them -- also on sale

The only thing is: As a non-binary person, I *like* the bolted-on feeling that underwires give me.