My GYN just told me that my painful breast lumps are most likely glandular tissue irritated by underwire bras. My “prescription” is to stop using underwires. I’m a 38-40 D to DD, and I want my breasts to appear separate from each other and from my abdomen. I have some nursing tanks that are comfy, but I look like a sack of potatoes when I wear them.
I don’t need nursing bras these days, so that should make things easier. But I haven’t bought anything but nursing bras for the past 7 years, so I have no clue where to start.
Or, depending on how big you are, Lane Bryant. They do have band sizes as small as 36, but their bras tend to have better architecture and support than Victoria’s Secret (which are leaps and bounds above the bras you’d buy at Target). Their prices are slightly lower than Victoria’s Secret too.
If you can hold out till after Christmas, everybody will be having big sales. That’s the time to buy bras.
I dunno about your GYN’s assessment. I rarely wear an underwire, and instead opt for cotton non-underwire or a cotton sports bra when working out. Because I have shitty skin, I am prone to lots of sebaceous cysts under my boobs.
Do you wear cotton underwires? If not, have you tried cotton? Have you tried something like Vagasil powder under your boobs? I think we’ve had a discussion before about under-boob nastiness and someone mentioned some sort of disposable paper that helps keep the girls dry during the day.
I don’t see how an underwire can affect the skin. Fabric or sweat, yes. But not the wire.
It’s not my skin, it’s the active lactation tissue inside my breast, up against my ribs, right where underwires sit. I am still nursing 1-3 times a day, so my boobs are different from non-lactating ones. From my experience of nursing and knowledge of breast anatomy, what she said makes sense to me. As a matter of fact, I’ve heard umpteen times at LLL meetings to be careful with underwire bras as they can cause plugged ducts. I never had that, but it’s certainly possible the active glands in that area are pissed at being jabbed with wire.
It does look like VS and LB each have at least one bra that might work. The Body by Victoria wireless with plunge front looks promising - that plunge might avoid the uniboob look that usually develops without a wire.
Dunno if it’s helpful but I’ve found this site to be pretty useful for seeing what styles are in production right now (and I love the all-views photos that they take). Never actually ordered from them but when I ask “Hmm, I wonder if anyone makes a nude T-back full-figure sports bra” that’s where I look.
I’ve got a couple of seriously ugly (yet very comfortable) bras from Decent Exposures (decentexposures.com) - they don’t give you the same support and shaping that an underwire does, but I find them acceptable under a lot of shirts. They do keep you from the uniboob or sack of potatoes look, IMHO. I’m only a C cup, though.
I’ve been wearing the Lane Bryant Cacique cotton no-wire bra for years - I love it. Breathes well, comfortable, provides good support, and it fits nicely.
They have them at most stores and also for a lot cheaper from Hanes outlet stores or Hanes online. They give a two breasted look but the middle area doesn’t touch the skin like an underwire.
Ditto the Bali Double Support; however, they have a plastic thing on the outside of each boob that I find uncomfortable. So, I cut them out. Just cut a tiny slit at the top of the plastic and slide it out. Looks kind of like an extra long collar stay, if you’re old enough to know what the heck that is. The bras are knitted so they don’t come apart where they’re cut. Very comfy and no uniboob.
Here’s the thing, if you like the fit of the underwire, but don’t like the wire, like me, it turns out it’s mighty simple to actually just remove the wire. Use a sharp pair of scissors and make a small nick, and wiggle out the wire, couldn’t be easier. The fit I’m looking for, comfort, and no wire!
This is what I have always done (although I use an exacto knife). I don’t even know how other women tolerate underwires. I’ve tried, but I’ve never been able to wear one for more than a day without giving up and cutting out the wire.
Ooh, I like the idea of pulling out the wire. Easy and cheap! I will eventually be checking out some of the shopping suggestions, but this is a good stopgap, and a good solution if real non-underwire bras don’t work out.
For instance, today I’m wearing a Bravado non-underwire that looks like it has shaped cups, but when I wear it, the center suspends between my boobs and the cups don’t so much support as squash, and it’s just as bad as the worst sports bra you can imagine.
(BTW, does anyone else have this additional problem with uniboob? My seat belt slides over to rest over my right nipple and it bugs the shit out of me. With a good bra, the shoulder belt should be able to rest between the girls!)
Lane Bryant’s Cacique line is definitely better than Victoria’s Secret.
Has anyone tried the http://ahhbra.com/ advertised in infomercials? It might be just what the OP is looking for. I’m intrigued by it, but haven’t had much luck with clothing purchased from infomercials.
My guess is that different women have differently shaped breasts and ribcages. My mom, who is about an A cup, can’t stand underwires. No matter what sizes she tries, they dig into her very painfully.
I’m a G, and I love underwires. They are not uncomfortable for me at all. Unless my bra doesn’t fit properly, there’s no digging, poking, etc. And if my bra doesn’t fit properly, that also means it’s not supporting as it should (so I wouldn’t just take the underwires out of them).
I wish I could help but the brand I swear by is Le Mystere which almost always has an underwire.
I just wanted to caution against Victoria’s Secrets bras. IMO, Victoria’s secret bras are the worst if you have large breasts. They make pretty bras but not functioning bras. When I last looked, it was impossible to find one that was not a push up or seriously padded bra. I am a D - I don’t want or need more. I did try one, but the cut of the bra is so that the push up padding pushes my breasts out of the cup. Not attractive at all. In addition, the straps quite often dig into my shoulders.
Report: removing underwires in my current bras is a failure. The result is slightly better than a sports bra, but definitely not satisfactory. The experiment is making me think only some kind of extreme molded cup is going to be remotely flattering. I would hit Lane Bryant this weekend, but I’d rather jump into a swimming pool filled with double edged razor blades than go near the mall this time of year.