Broomstick, any mid-range department store (Macy’s, Carson’s) will have bras in your size, in the $15-$30 range depending on whats on sale. If you are near an outlet mall (Michigan City?), try a L’eggs/Hanes/Bali store, they have good quality and good prices.
My sister is an avowed anti underwire person and is also your size, Broomstick. The two places she has had luck are Kohl’s and JCPenneys.
Personally, I can’t stand not wearing an underwire. I feel very hausfrau. I want my girls up where they belong.
However, most bras in my size (40D) have 3" wide straps, more hooks than a clumsy pirate conference, and give the look that I call “torpedo tits”. shudder I used to be able to shop at VS, but the last few times I’ve walked in the salespeople seemingly disappeared. The store near me has drawers upon drawers of “normal” (read up to 36C) sizes and had only one lone drawer with 40Ds. That lone drawer had 4 bras in it - 2 of which were misplaced.
Now if I want pretty and decently made I go to Frederick’s of Hollywood. Ignore the feather trimmed thongs and crotchless panties and you can find anything.
Got a Target around you? I bought two nice bras today, $10 each, and they had size As, Bs, Cs, Ds, even half-sizes, and enough non-underwires as well.
And I know you were BSing the salesperson, but I fly at least 4 times a year and have yet to have an underwire set off the metal detector. Maybe it’s the kind of bra I buy that makes the difference.
Kohl’s - barely there. They’re amazingly comfortable and some models are free of underwire.
You can thank me later.
I don’t mind underwires, but what I hate is “contour cups”. They’re everywhere! What happened to regular bras with fabric cups. I understand how smaller ladies would appreciate the extra shape, but why in the hell can’t it be an option, rather than the norm?!?
Nice tits!
Try Kohls, they have tons of bras that aren’t underwire, and in many different sizes. It’s the only place I can find a non-underwire bra for a 34 D. In fact, I am wearing one right now.
And like someone else said, I have the opposite problem. It seems like places always have A-C, but only have a few D’s. And trying to find a 34 D is especially hard because most women with D cups have a larger ribcage than that. Rarely have I found a comfortable bra in my size, even in Victoria’s Secret. And the pretty bras? Those are ONLY up to a C-cup. The big boobers have to go for granny bras.
Bra manufacturers do seem to think that if you have big boobs you should wear an underwire. I find them extremely uncomfortable, even if they do make the ta tas look better.
I found some LOVELY 38 Ds today from Bali.
It took me FOREVER. At first, I could only find the one pink one from JC Penny. At least, the only one in my size. And the sales women were NO help at all-the one was really irritable and snotty.
Soooo, I went to Macy’s and found the white one and the black one. Score!
And I LIKE underwire, dammit.
You want fun? Try finding not only a 38B, but a COTTON one! Let me know how it works out for you. I can’t wear polyester at all, and especially not over my tits and under my arms and all cotton bras seem to be pretty much nonexistent. I don’t like standard underwire much, but I did find one incredibly cool bra that’s not only cotton but the underwire is actually a single length of thin molded plastic–it puts the girls out like they were on a shelf but doesn’t cut under my arms, jab me in the ribs or rub blisters in my cleavage–and it’s cotton! Unfortunately I’ve worn the damned thing to rags and have had zero luck finding a replacement.
I used to just not bother with the damned things, but gravity is unkind to us…
Gah!!! Bra shopping sucks. I actually don’t mind the underwire, but I do hate those awful contour cups. And what’s the deal with padded and (not so)lightly-lined bras in my size? For crying out loud, who on earth ever thought a 38DD would need padding? or pushing up?
I just want cute, not granny looking bras in my size that support me properly and are comfortable. I also want quality, so the fabric isn’t all stretched out in a couple of months. Bleah!!! Is is too much to ask?
SmartAleq, Bali makes an all cotton, no underwire bra that works for me. Model is 3036, name is something like “double support cotton”. Make sure you get the one with cotton in the name, it has a twin which is made of nylon. The bali website lists 38b as one of the sizes.
I really wish I could find the link, but in an earlier thread about bra shopping, someone provided a link to a place that not only told you the usual about a bra (size, color, etc.), but they also took actual measurements and told you that this particular one tended to run large in the cup, or that one ran small in the band, that manufacturer tends to fit like thus, that one fits like this, and so on and so forth. They even had a chart showing underwire sizes, and how the same size is used for multiple bra sizes. And of course, I didn’t bookmark it thinking I’d have no problems finding it later… argh!
Anyways, back to bra shopping. I’ve found the best selection at Dillard’s (link should go directly to their lingerie offerings) and at amazingly good prices. Last weekend I found a really nice wireless wrap-top style bra there for $7.50, and another equally nice (and pretty!) underwire bra for $14, both on the clearance rack.
The best part of shopping there? They have pretty and supportive stuff for those over a C cup, and I even saw large cup sizes for small bands (and vice versa).
The worst part of bra shopping for me is that it is just like shopping for clothing: the size on the label and the actual size of the garment may have little to no relation to each other. I’ve tried on a 36DD that felt more like a 34 B. (I looked like a pair of McDonald’s arches from the side!) I’ve tried on a 38D that felt more like a 40DD. And, just like regular clothing, the style of the cup affects the fit enough to necessitate going up or down a size or two from my standard. Gah. I for once would love to be able to go into a store, grab something off of the rack, check the size, pay for the item and walk out, and have it fit properly when I get home.
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I only opened this thread because, by sheer coincidence, I was alerted earlier today to a sinister health threat posed by underwire bras.
A seasoned health professional is sounding the alarm.
“This is the problem: The UnderWires in the UnderWire Bra fall directly onto two very important NeuroLymphatic Reflexes (AKA Chapman’s Reflexes). The one under the right breast goes to the Liver and Gall Bladder. The one under the left breast goes to the Stomach…These reflexes, like all AcuPoints, follow the Law of Stimulation…It’s a mechanical thing. If a woman keeps the metal UnderWires on top of those reflex points, over time that WILL mess up the functioning of the associated circuits - Liver, Gall Bladder, and Stomach – along with the specific muscles associated with those circuits, which will in turn adversely effect structural biomechanics. While there IS the matter of biochemical individuality, all women who wear UnderWires will be affected to some extent. Bottom Line: It will likely make the wearer sick . . . slowly and quietly.”
Now this might sound like utter, hilarious quackery to some…but I would remind you that this man is both a Doctor of Chiropractic and a Doctor of Naturopathy. He’s a double Doctor! And it is high time that the health profession paid more attention to ladies’ undergarments, as this subject has been neglected for far too long. :dubious:
After my epiphany that I am a B cup and not an A cup, it’s been easier. I used to have a ton of cheapie 38As (which were a bitch to find), but I dumped them all in favor of a half dozen or so nice bras from Victoria’s Secret. I shop online, so I spare myself the trauma of combing countless bra racks and pinchy, cold-fingered saleswomen and all the other hazards of lingerie shopping.
The IPEX line (now wire-free) in particular does good things for my chest. I am no longer a human thermometer.
JC Penney’s has a good selection. I avoid the underwire bras because they would set off the security thingys at the airports.
At last, a pit thread worth watching. I’d like to see how it develops.
What kind of underwire is it that would set off security alarms at the airports??? Especially current machines.
I only use underwire bras, and only once, in a very very regional and old decrepit airport has the alarm gone off at the security checkpoint. Since it was a small airport, moving aside to get a thorough checking wasn’t a big hassle.
Heck, they haven’t even gone off when I go to other airports in other countries (England, France, Spain, Peru, St. Lucia, Brasil).
The one and only time in my many airport travels I had my bra set off the alarms was simply a case of someone setting the sensitivity way too high. After setting off the gate-style detector, I stood to the side so a lady security guard could wave the wand over me. As the wand went over my chest: BEEEEEP! At this point she sighed, flicked over to the other side of my chest: BEEEEP! Then she flicked it over her own chest: BEEEEP! At this point she just rolled her eyes and waved me along: this was well before 9/11 however.
Oh, and while I’m thinking about it: if anyone can find the link I mentioned in my earlier post, I’d be very grateful! All I remember is that the site had a very large selection of hard to find sizes, did comparison measurements of the actual bras, gave you a lot more details about how the particular bras fit, had a generic torso they put the bras on and overlays so you could see how the bra would look under different types of tops, and had a chart that showed how the same underwire was used for different sizes. It would have been mentioned in the last great bra thread we had, either in IMHO or MPSIMS, but I don’t want to tax the hamsters by trying to search for the thread.
Well, I wasn’t bullshitting about spending a lot of time in airports - I do. When times are good I fly weekly.
The BS comes in about the security thing - since I don’t fly with the airlines I don’t, actually, get the sort of security inspection that can result in strip searches.
I think some underwires are metal and some are some sort of synthetic. It’s the ones with real metal that set off the metal detectors.
Well, if you bookmark it, it’ll make a handy reference for matching female Dopers with bra sizes.
Until they get around to updating the vBulletin software to where bra size is displayed right below Join Date, Posts, and Location.