My wife isn’t particularly busty (34b) but she is always complaining about crappy bras. We are poor college students so it seems like everything she buys is off the sale rack at Marshals.
For Christmas I’d like to get her something comfortable and wearable everyday. The one bra that gets worn first every wash cycle. It doesn’t have to be sexy - I’m talking comfort and quality here.
Any ideas? Amazon links would be helpful.
You can’t buy a bra online, she needs to be professionally fitted. I wear a 36D or a 34D (or a 36 C) depending on the manufacturer. Most women are wearing the incorrect bra size due to never properly measuring themselves (hard to do in the first place) or getting a bra fitting.
My best suggestion for the cheapest and best way to go about this is to go to an outlet store, Leggs/Hanes/Bali/Playtext has an all-in-one outlet store. Have her fitted - it’s free. There you’ll have the same merchandise discounted from retail. Try to google for coupons or buy the coupon booklets they have at the customer service center to see if there’s a deal. I believe I got 3 bras for $40 this past August, when each usually retails for $25-30 apiece.
Or, if you don’t have an outlet nearby, take her to Victoria’s Secret. Not now - not when any fool will pay the $45 retail tag on their bras. Take her in January when the Semi-Annual sale is going on and the bras are reduced to $22-27. I, however, have stopped buying VS bras (I used to purchase their Body By Victoria IPEX line, which had graduated thickness to the center so I didn’t “highbeam”, but not padding throughout, seeing as I’m a D cup and that would simply be obscene) due to poorer quality IMO. Lots of people still find quality there, however.
These are sale prices of quality bras. A decent bra is never going to run you less than $15. Just isn’t going to happen.
I suggest you get her two and you wash them in a mesh or satin laundry bag. Protect your investment. HANG DRY THEM. My bras typically last 2-3 years because I take care of them. Ideally you should hand-wash them, but who has the time for that.
I’ve floated the idea of a professional fitting and it didn’t go over well. I’m looking online for items that can be returned.
The satin laundry bag sounds like another good idea in general. We don’t have one and I suspect it might increase the longevity of her underthings.
I’m looking online and seeing Wacoal mentioned a lot. Any experience with their products?
It’s a great idea, but bra fits are as individual as shoe fits: Even if you know her size (or the size she thinks she wears,) one bra will fit well, while another will fit poorly, even from the same manufacturer. If she’s not willing to play along, you may need to go with a gift certificate, or change gears…
Title 9 has very high quality bras but you will need to know the shape of bra that she thinks fits her best.
Yep, time before last I went bra shopping and tried on forty bras over the course of two hours - to find TWO that fit comfortably and looked good - all in the same size.
Its a nice thought, but she’s going to want to try them on.
That said, I’m fond of Natori and Wacoal. Either are very good comfortable bras that hold up well. Both available online from Nordstrom. Which has a liberal return policy.
I cannot stress enough that a professional fitting is what needs to be done. Anything else is completely subpar and will result in chafing and her complaining. Perhaps she feels that “professional fitting” means a cost? It is free at most places, but the catch is that you need to be fitted per brand, as they vary slightly (as I mentioned previously).
I would search for another gift for her for Christmas, unless you can get thee to a physical store over your winter breaks. Remember, she’s gonna have these tata’s for the rest of her life. You want something that lifts and separates and keeps them perky. Anything short of that isn’t a good thing on your end either.
There’s no point in you wasting $ on a bra from Amazon. I buy my sports bras from Amazon - but only after I was properly fitted for the brand and type in a physical store.
<sigh> Thanks for the input. I think I’ll keep brainstorming other ideas.
Who would have thought boobs were so complicated?
What on earth could possibly be wrong with having a professional fitting? 
And definitely get her fitted at Nordstrom’s. Those ladies know what they’re doing. Not just in terms of finding the correct size, but in knowing which bras will fit best in terms of shape.
I second Dangerosa, I love Wacoal. But yeah, you can’t just buy someone a bra and magically know that it will fit.
Boobs aren’t, but bras are.
That’s too complicated!
The fit of a bra varies by brand, and by style (demi? balconette? plunge?), and not every brand/style looks good on every body. There are styles that look perfectly nice on the rack, but I can’t wear them because they squish me in weird places, or don’t support where I need it, or whatever. It will be impossible for her to get a comfortable, wearable-everyday bra without (at least) going in there and trying them on until she finds one that works. Although I agree with everyone else that getting a fitting is the proper first step; on the other hand, VS fitters consistently size me at a 36B, which I frankly find not to be snug enough around my ribcage, so I go with a 34C. So she may also want to try on a couple of “equivalent cup” sizes up and down after the fitter gives her recommendation.
Also of note, something I’ve gotten dinged on at least a couple of times (so I’ll remember it now), is that vast swathes of the VS Semi-Annual Sale are online only. You buy from the store, you pay full price. So go to the store, get fitted, try stuff on until you find the right bra, then write down the size and style and check the price online before you buy it.
I laughed when I read the OP. Silly man!
Ok- FWIW-
Don’t buy the bra.
This is about your wife not feeling able to justify spending money on herself to get a really nice bra.
Although I’m generally not in favour of giving money/vouchers- this is an exception. She HAS to try on the bras herself to get the right fit and to see which suits her best.
Give your wife “permission” to buy a great bra for herself, and , because bra shopping isn’t fun, make it into a treat day.
I’m thinking a voucher for a department store (Nordstroms, I’m guessing), complete with lunch and/or mani-pedi or another pampering treat she would enjoy- hells, just meet her afterwards for cocktails.
Don’t get her the bra- give her the means to get it for herself.
Ideally, of course, you give her the means to get two bras- because nobody wants to be the girl whose husband bought her a beige t-shirt bra for Xmas (and if you want versatile, wearable comfort- then that is what you’ll get).
Get her a $50 certificate to Victoria’s Secret, which is the best bra source for the small-busted. I find that the VS Angels demi bra is the very best… very well made, great shape and support. If she spends the certificate post-Christmas, the $50 will get her the bra plus 2-3 pairs of matching panties.
I agree with getting fitted at Nordstroms. There are lots of places where the fitters aren’t actually fitters, just a woman with a tape measure who follows the written rules of cup size based on two measurements. A real fitter will actually look at her breasts and see how they sit against her body before recommending styles that will work for her.
I have been eyeing some of the lingerie from Secrets in Lace, okay yes, the bullet bras. I bought one of the early Blandana Republican Joan Holloway dresses, before they released official Mad Men styles and were just ripping off the costumes. I want to check out how the dress looks with a real bullet bra.
According to lingerie forums they’re very good about returns and the quality is extremely high. Bonus, they make a variety of hard to find sizes if that’s an issue for your lady.
I took it upon myself one day while we were out to take my wife to a bra store, deposit her there and tell her to get herself fitted and buy some good bras. And then I left for an hour, taking the car with me.
And, rather than Nordstroms or VS or any other mall-type store, I took her to a standalone store that markets itself to mastectomy patients and other women with special needs. I guessed (correctly) that their fitters would really know their stuff.
