Why is it so hard to find a comfortable bra? Can any of you recommend one that doesn’t hurt? … After letting it all hang out under sweatshirts and such all winter, the fact must be faced - soon I am going to have to buy, and wear, a bra under my t-shirts. I go into a department store and am flummoxed by the hundreds and hundreds of choices. Whatever I bring home eventually hurts. I can’t draw a deep breath. I break out in a rash from the nylon or polyester. The straps fall down. …Really, I don’t know what to do. I HAVE to buy a bra, all I ask is that the thing not HURT. I know this topic has come up before. Any advice?
“100% cotton comfort for women designed by women.”
Can you afford a couple of custom-made bras?
Buy one that fits. And consider yourself lucky - I wear a bra to sleep in because being braless is far more painful than wearing a bar.
If you have a Nordstrom nearby visit your Nordstrom bra lady for a fitting. Also wear what is comfortable for you - if you can go braless under a sweatshirt, you don’t need underwire and probably won’t find it comfortable. You may find a sports bra more comfortable. Or a tank with a shelf bra. Or a soft cup bra.
But get one that fits. You shouldn’t have straps slipping and while the band should be snug, there is no reason it should be so tight you can’t draw a breath.
Yup, sounds like she’s got the wrong size. The band should fit well and not have to be on the largest hook setting. And yes, the straps should be adjusted. Get a professional fitting!
The only bra that I am happy to wear is a non-underwire soft-cup bra from Victoria’s Secret.
The only bra I am comfortable in is a padded underwire from Joe Boxer that is sold at K-Mart.
How about sports/jogging bras?
Let’s not be hasty.
You need to go to a store where you can be fitted by a professional. Somebody already mentioned Nordstrom.
If she comes up with something good, I’d recommend buying one bra. But her size & style recommendations will help you select cheaper ones, too.
I third getting fitted by a professional. Department stores have them, and lingerie shops, too. The sales lady you’d want is usually a middle aged. It may be a little awkward at first to walk up to such a saleslady and ask her to help you choose a bra, but it is their profession, and most are amazingly good at it.
So, you walk up to the lady, and tell her what you are looking for in a bra. Sport, under clothes, under a special dress, for comfort, lace-no lace, underwire or not? She will escort you to a fitting room. You’ll stay in the fitting room, and she she will first measure you around your ribcage and around your bust. Then she will bring you a selection of bra’s, see how they fit on you, adjust some straps, rub her chin and go: “Hmnn…”. 
and then she will leave and come back five minutes later with the perfect bra for you.
We’ve all done it, and I really, really recommend it.
Professional help is required. For so long…too long…I didn’t know this. Also the same bra you wear in your early twenties will not be the same bra you wear a few years later. You should get fitted every couple of years since your body will change.
Actually, the bra fitters I’ve gone to have said to have your bra on the largest/furthest out setting. That way as the bra ages and begins to stretch as the fabric gives a bit, you can then go to the hooks the next step in, and then again, to get more use out of your bra.
Sorry, that wasn’t worded well. IIRC the advice was to the effect of, “if you cannot hook your bra at all except on the last set of hooks, you may not be wearing the right size.”
I have the same problem. I recommend Jockey bras. Underwear, too.
Seconding/thirding/forty-fifthing “see a professional for a fitting”.
And seconding Mirror Image egamI rorriM’s recommendation to check out Decent Exposures. Their stuff ain’t glamorous and will never make the girls perky, but holy heavens above those bras are COMFY.
What’s the price range on Decent Exposures? I couldn’t find a price list. Would love some comfry bras and on-line shopping, but my funds are extremely limited. (Fortunately, other than hunting for my size on the rack, I don’t have much trouble finding a usable bra. It may not be one that lasts forever, or looks sexy, and the fit may not be perfect, but apparently I don’t have too odd a size.)
Try adding one to the cart; you can always delete it. To see what one cost, I just selected a traditional style, peach (non-organic - organic may cost more), 38C (not my real size), and it shows as 32 dollars.
Which is more than a Wal-Mart special but less than I’ve paid for good quality bras at a department store.
Ditto on getting a proper bra fitting. Most people don’t realise it’s a complimentary service, since you’re only paying for any bras you might decide to buy based on the fitter’s recommendations, but there’s really no obligation to buy.
The fitter won’t refuse to fit you for anything but the OMG-you-want-how-much-for-a-scrap-of-lace high-end bras, either - a good one will ask what you need the bra for, and what price range you’ve got in mind.
I know this because I worked in a lingerie store for a while, and did my share of bra fittings in that time.
Mind you, despite having been trained on how to fit bras and knowing what to look for on myself, I still can’t find a strapless bra that doesn’t feel like a medieval torture device. Sigh.
For Heaven’s sake, ladies! It’s March seventeenth, and no one has brought up the The Erin Go Bra.:smack: