Thanks for the link nyctea scandiaca! They had some sizes/styles I’ve been looking for.
As for underwires? One of the worse days I ever had was while wearing an underwire bra that had a front closure. Why? I worked at a drawing board and every damn time I bend over to do something the front unhooked. Over and over and over and over and over all day. Finally, since I was planning to burn the thing when I got home, I took some bigass paperclips into the bathroom with me and wired it shut. If that hadn’t worked my back-up plan was to use the stapler.
Calvin Klein has some really nice non-underwire bras that should be available in your size Broomstick. I’m not sure where you can find CK in the states, and I’m not sure if they have a location near you, but I have a variety of CK bras which are super comfortable, even with underwires - if you see them somewhere, you could give them a try.
My parents were planning a vacation last year, and my only requirement was to visit a place that had a Lane Bryant and a Torrid (oh, it sucks being a Canadian. Penningtons and Addition-Elle SUCK.) Well, I found this wonderful bra from Lane Bryant, and found out there was a 2 for $40 sale. I grabbed one that looked exactly the same but in a different colour off the rack.
Later in the day, when we got to a hotel hours away, I realized the second bra was underwire. Mom took the underwire out, but I still haven’t tried it, I’m still too crushed. I need to have that extra bit of fabric under the cup, but underwires don’t have it. Otherwise the cups slip up under my boobs.
I checked out Nordstrom’s website, and nope, they’re not the one I was thinking of. And there aren’t any in my area according to the store locater. (Which is too bad: as I remember their Rack stores having some real gems for good prices hidden in them.)
Many different brands, all different styles and sizes. I highly recommend the Bali Double Support, no wires and the cups aren’t padded or pointy. It also comes in cotton. They say the bras are seconds but I’ve never seen anything wrong with them. The prices are great too!
I’ll admit I’ve never had a real problem finding bras that fit properly (I’m a 36-38 C) but I like Victoria’s Secret and have been buying all my bras there forever. I wash my bras in the machine in a Woolite “lingerie bag” and let them air-dry; they last for years. I used to handwash them but I haven’t noticed any difference in the life of the bra since I bought the lingerie bags vs handwashing.
Plus the bras dry a lot quicker out of the machine than the old “roll up in a towel” handwashing method.
What’s with all the hatred for underwires? Again, maybe I just got lucky, but I like underwires and have never found them remotely uncomfortable. I like the support, and I like a lined bra too because I think visible nipples are kinda tacky, and I like the smooth shape under close-fitting T-shirts.
Maybe I’m in the minority but my vote is for underwires and Victoria’s Secret.
Can I add a pitting for sports bras that you are supposed to pull over your head or that have racerbacks? Any time I try to pull those sports bras over my head they get all curled up and I can barely get them untangled. Racerbacks just plain annoy the crap out of me, I can’t stand the feeling of something criss-crossing my back. The majority of sports bras are racer-backs that you have to pull over your head, the worst of both worlds.
I am NOT offended at the good advice - I AM bitching in the Pit about my bad day. I am also bitching about how I “should” have done this or not.
I was 500 miles from home and my bra was literally unravelling, the elastic was completely shot, there was no internet access where I was (so forget shopping on line) even if I could wait a few days for shipping to a location I don’t live at anyhow, and what I needed was something RIGHT NOW with minimum fuss and bother because I was taking care of a seriously ill old woman and a pack of hysterical relatives. Who the fuck cares if it last years and years? Give me cheap and quick now and WHEN I have more time to purchase thoughtfully I’ll do it. Maybe I wasn’t entirely clear on the situation in the OP, but chalk it up to stress.
And I will NOT wear an underwire. I find them hideous and painful, even after a professional fitting I thought it was completely horrible.
What I am bitching MOST about was that I couldn’t just go out to a store and buy a bra with the same ease as, say, socks or panties or t-shirts. I did not have oodles of time to search multiple stores, have measurements taken, try on 40 bazillion bras, and so on. What I was looking for was a quick in-and-out to get what I want, just like I can do for 99% of the other stuff I need to buy in my life. Holy fuck, a 36C is NOT a bizarre or unusual size! It should not be this difficult to get a decent bra, and it boggles my mind that so many women have been conditioned to accept this aggravation as somehow normal and appropriate.
When I was thin and a 34 B, it seemed like every 34B bra would fit me. Now that I am significantly fatter, with boobs to match; shopping for bras is a nightmare.
Well, cheap and quick just for the time being-that’s fine. I thought you meant you would buy that for always.
I’m totally with Audrey Levins. I NEED underwire, dammit. It doesn’t bother me at all. What I hate is when the underwire comes out (the edges tear), and then it pokes and if you remove it, the bra is useless.
That is so funny. I have been trapped in one of those things before to the point of needing to cut it off but I couldn’t because the only scissors were in the public part of the house. (ditto on the racing back swim suits)
I was thisclose to cutting myself out of one once, too. My boyfriend was over but he was in the other room and I didn’t want to ask him for help because he would take the opportunity to play with my boobs and I was not in the mood for that. So I kept working at it until I managed to untangle it.
So I went shopping for sports bras with hook and eye closures that don’t have racerbacks. They are a rare and elusive beast in my size.
I’m 32C, I rarely found any bras in my size except at VS and they were always underwires. I put on some weight and realized I could wear 34C and they were easier to find in any store at first. Now I rarely find those. I tried a couple 36 Cs but even on the tightest closure they are still a little loose. Last time I went shopping I noticed that even the 36C’s were getting sparse. I am thinking of trying out that new VS bra with no wires. Even if more expensive, I know VS stuff lasts longer. I only wear VS cotton bikinis, they are the only panties that fit me right and they last a long time.
Broomstick, I feel your pain. Now my sports bras are starting to give out and I am not sure what I’ll do. I won’t wear an underwire–I forgot to put in that I have been fitted at Field’s (back when it existed) as well as VS. It doesn’t matter-they are not for me.
I don’t mind the racerbacks, but I essentially grew up in a swimsuit (competitve swimming for 14 years) so maybe that’s why.
Let us hope that we all find proper support at decent prices, someday.
Move over, ladies!* 40-I* in the thread now! Bazooooooms, indeed!
I love the contour bras. Took me 10 years to try one on, and it changed my life. No more nipplage, no more uniboob, no more quadboob, and I can wear them for several days and they still have support in them instead of getting all stretched out of shape. Surprisingly, they don’t make me look any bigger, just more shapely.
Underwires rule my world. See above re: uniboob & quadboob. This may not be an issue for you if the girls have some breathing room in the middle, but my bras need to be of the “divide and conquer” variety.
I think I might have my daughter measure me and then try a Vanity Fair, no wire, contour bra. It sure would be nice to feel comfortable in a “real” bra (I can’t wear sports bras forever). I’ve bookmarked that site–thanks!
They still tell you to add 5" to your underbust measurement, though. If I did that, I’d have a bra that was wayyyy too large in the band. Maybe that works for some people, but I know it doesn’t work for me. A couple of inches? Sure. But 5? No way.
I worked at VS, and the “cheater’s” way to do it (i.e. if you’re not sure, you can double check this way) is to measure just above the breasts instead of adding inches to the underbust measurement. If I was tired or just didn’t feel like doing the math, I’d do it this way and get a slightly more accurate measurement than the underbust method. It measured me and others pretty accurately, so it’s worth a try.
Mom took the underwire out, but I still haven’t tried it, I’m still too crushed. I need to have that extra bit of fabric under the cup, but underwires don’t have it. Otherwise the cups slip up under my boobs.