# What bras do **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 22, 2009, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bras-do/497291 "2009-05-22T12:02:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![hawksgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed655f/32.png) [@hawksgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawksgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bras-do/497291/41 "2009-05-28T21:44:03Z")
I’m still baffled that you think bras are a fashion accessory. Clearly, you (Alex0 have never experienced a sweaty rash underneath your breasts. I doubt we women are truly so obsessed with all breasts being equal. ---
**Author:** ![Cleo-la-chatte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Cleo-la-chatte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleo-la-chatte)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bras-do/497291/42 "2009-05-29T08:10:56Z")
> [@Minnie\_Luna](#): > > As far as the not wearing the right size bra, I fit into that camp. > > My true bra size is a 30C, but they are impossible to find, so I wear a 32B. For those in Europe After discovering [Bravissimo](http://www.bravissimo.com/) I now wear 32E and am comfortable in nothing else. In college I wore 34D because it was all I could find. Bravissimo carries sizes cup sizes from D to K and band sizes from 28 to 40 ! [Fit](http://www.bravissimo.com/perfectfit/wrong-size-bra/default.aspx): It’s true about a snug band saving your shoulders–you get used to it and having the weight off the shoulders is a big boon. To save money, eBayer [Curves Lingerie by Chamousey](http://stores.shop.ebay.fr/Curves-Lingerie-by-Chamousey) carries their bras. But of course not all styles and sizes. I have bought several from her (I live in France) and the service is impecc. (You could try a [28 D](http://stores.shop.ebay.fr/Curves-Lingerie-by-Chamousey_Band-size-28-Lingerie_W0QQ_fsubZ883230018QQ_sidZ167254878?_nkw=28D&submit=Rechercher) just to see…) -Cléo ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bras-do/497291/43 "2009-06-06T17:42:21Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > There are no suspensory muscles. Two structures support the breasts: > > 1. The skin brassiere; and > > 2. Cooper’s ligaments, which > > The bra-usage-actually-makes-breasts-sag theory has its advocates, but there is little careful science behind it, and certainly none that actually shows muscles atrophying. This is interesting. I haven’t watched National Geographics, and don’t know what other factors might cause women from less-developed countries who never wear bras to develop extreme saggy breasts. However, I have had the (medical laymans) impression that any part of the body that’s supported for a certain length of time, the tissues and muscles and ligaments will atrophy and be unable to do their job once the support is removed. Examples of this I know: The Giraffe legs of the Southasian women, where metal rings hold the head high, but the neck muscles atrophy Same reason doctors have stopped prescribing those foam neck holders for accident victims of rear-ending, because they found they did more damage than healing, even for short-terms like a couple of weeks. In the 80s, orthopedists prescribed special inlays against feet problems; today, common wisdom is instead that by helping the foot carry the load, the feet muscles atrophy, and instead to do muscle training. Therefore, it seemed plausible to me that supporting the breasts with a bra would weaken the supporting structures that are there. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bras-do/497291/44 "2009-06-06T18:01:08Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > This is interesting. I haven’t watched National Geographics, and don’t know what other factors might cause women from less-developed countries who never wear bras to develop extreme saggy breasts. I don’t know either, but some possiblities include: 1. A lot more sun exposure. 2. Multiple pregnancy. Recent research indicates that nursing a baby isn’t an independent factor in ptosis, but lactation and weight change during and after pregnancy sure are. This might be more dramatic in these women because of nutritional factors. 3. Genetics. Note, this is sheer speculation on my part. It could be other stuff. But it can’t be muscles because there aren’t any. 😉 > [@](#): > > Therefore, it seemed plausible to me that supporting the breasts with a bra would weaken the supporting structures that are there. It \*is \*plausible. And as I said, it’s not like nobody has advanced this theory. There’s just no evidence either way. But what’s known about breast anatomy and physiology contradicts the notion that it’s atrophy of \*suspensory muscles \*that is the culprit. As you can see, the only muscles involved are below the breast structure and not implicated in support of the breast tissue. [http://www.purebreastherbs.com/main/img\_1230718486\_14883\_1230727176.gif](http://www.purebreastherbs.com/main/img_1230718486_14883_1230727176.gif) [http://healthforself.today.com/files/2009/03/breast\_anatomy2.jpg](http://healthforself.today.com/files/2009/03/breast_anatomy2.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bras-do/497291/46 "2009-06-07T16:39:11Z")
Hmmm…that sounds oddly familiar… ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bras-do/497291/47 "2009-06-08T19:57:12Z")
> [@Curious.me](#): > > I have to say that I don’t really know if bras do prevent ‘sagging’…but as I’m what most people might suppose is ‘well endowed’ - I think in USA sizing, im about a 38-40 E, NZ 10E - I have spent most of my life looking for that perfect bra. Up until very rescently, the selection of good brands available where I live was of the ‘chest-plate’ variatey. However, that has changed… I still have to spent $50-60 NZ, $20-30 USA? per bra if I want something that will last, and not end up around my waist in about 2 months. That’s actually pretty amazingly affordable. I’m of a similar build, and spend 60ish dollars (US) on better-quality bras at a department store. I haven’t had as much luck with the cheaper ones (though I do have a couple, which are all-cotton and nicer in hot weather). However, I’m finding those 60+ dollar bras are surprisingly comfortable AND durable. A careful fitting is really the key. Before I had that done, I assumed that underwire bras are ALL awful. But a correct-fitting one… is quite tolerable. ---
**Author:** ![InterestedObserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@InterestedObserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InterestedObserver)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bras-do/497291/48 "2009-06-10T19:20:15Z")
Well, of course a good fitting bra prevents sagging while WORN, no question, but I doubt seriously it has much to do with sagging while OFF or long-term. I also knew a woman who wore a bra even while sleeping due to this idea, and sorry, but it would just not be worth it to me. My girls need to breath free from time to time. 😃 That said, I recently bought a few new bras, one of them ended up being a “minimizer” (Curvations brand…cheap) but I got it because it FIT and was comfortable and looked natural on me. I LOVE IT! Doesn’t actually minimize me all that much, but gives that extra little bit of support and cleavage control that allows me to wear certain things better. As for working out, while I DO lose weight in my breasts when I lose weight all over and while those musles supporting them do respond to exercise, even when I was cycling 60 miles a week and rail thin and doing targeted exercises, I STILL needed/wanted a bra. (if you are ANYTHING beyond an A cup, it tends to get sweaty/too bouncy) Yes, a lot is genetics. (I guess I can thank my father’s side of the family, (Scottish/English) since it certainly didn’t come from anyone I know on the maternal side!) ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bras-do/497291/49 "2009-07-16T21:08:31Z")
I don’t understand why those who seem to doubt that it helps prevent sag (including but not limited to Cecil) don’t feel compelled to address the common sense reason to think it does help. The idea is simple. Sagging consists of stretched skin. Anything that causes skin to stretch will cause sagging. Having the skin be a primary supporter of the tissue would seem to cause stretching. Having some of the weight of the tissue be supported by a bra would lessen the strain on the skin, and decrease stretching/sagging. People’s skin naturally stretches when they get older, so some amount of sag is inevitable, but constant gravitational pressure in all likelihood makes it worse, I would have to think. (Similarly, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and weight gain in general would cause sagging, since they stretch the skin for extended periods of time.) I’m not saying this is conclusive. But ISTM that this should be the “null hypothesis”, and the absence of any studies showing one way or the other would tend to leave this as the most likely alternative. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bras-do/497291/50 "2009-07-18T19:15:16Z")
Obladi oblada what de bra do? Obla what de bra can do! ---
**Author:** ![drb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@drb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drb)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bras-do/497291/51 "2009-07-19T19:48:07Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Genetics and luck. I had always been taught, like DSYoungEsq says, that it is mostly genetics. The reason that the women in National Geographics show sagging at a young age is that as a group, they are genetically presupposed to sag. Some groups of people are presupposed to have wider hips, some taller, some are more likely to have sagging breasts. The argument, I was taught, that bras played a major roll in breast sagging is like arguing that wearing a hat will prevent balding. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-bras-do/497291.md?page=2)