For what it’s worth, my husband is turned on by sexy lingerie, so for him a nice bra is actually part of the sexual experience (e.g., he finds a woman in her bra sexier than a woman out of her bra, provided it’s a sexy bra). By the comments here, it sounds like he’s in the minority. I guess it’s lucky for us that a woman who loves wearing her bra and a man who loves seeing a woman in a bra found each other!
Small chested, didn’t start wearing a bra regular till I was into my forties. Big mistake! Those things are hard to get accustomed to! Now I wear one when I go out and whip it off as soon as I return. Never to bed. Never when having sex.
Also, when I say bra, I mean ‘barely even a bra’, lighter fabric, and less of it, than a sports bra, no closures or strap adjustments what so ever. It’s still annoying!
I don’t wear a bra when having sex (unless we got into it so quickly I didn’t have time to take it off). I also don’t wear it to sleep.
I do keep it on around the house unless I’m sleeping or showering. I’m a DD, so tend to bounce a TON if I don’t have one on. And honestly, my kids notice of my boobs are swinging in the wind and I’d rather not have my five year old and nine year old point that out for me.
One thing that confounds the hell of me is the contention that “your bra should never see its first birthday.” I’m thinking that the person who sold that line of crap either never had to buy one or is trying really hard to sell them. I’ve also heard that you should never wear a bra twice in a row without washing it. Bras are freaking expensive and I only manage to get to my laundry once a week - outfitting myself for the year would cost a buttload. Or a boob-load, depending on how you look at it.
Bras for work, ladies run free at home, sports bra for weekend errands or chores, or of course the gym
Large breasted here. I wear an underwire bra all day. It doesn’t dig, drag, or hurt my back. It shouldn’t if you’ve bought the right size. If yours is tight and uncomfortable or you’re getting muffin top boobies, time to go try them on. To me it’s more comfortable to have on a bra and have everything “in place” than sagging and swinging. Another who is FAR too old to be perky and FAR too young to go with the swinging at the waist level. There’s a woman in my complex who does that. shudder NOT my style.
I don’t sleep in one. Sports bras are incredibly difficult to get on and off. HATE 'em. But I wear them for exercise.
Now that the change of life is in my rear view mirror, I have this horrific fear of the post-menopausal pouter pigeon chest thing that some older women sport. I wear my lift-and-separate bra and hope it’ll perform as advertised. It does come off when I am home for the night, though. Shoes first, panty hose next, bra third.
I, too, hate sports bras because I’m pretty well endowed and they are not designed for that type of figure. But just try playing golf braless when you aren’t tethered, so to speak. It’s…well…interesting, but not something you want to repeat. Same with running. Don’t want to knock myself out with a hard left to the chin, doncha know.
So there you go - y’all know far more about me than you ever wanted to. lol
Trying really hard to sell them. Cause bras are expensive. And I definitely don’t wash mine after one wear, unless I sweat a lot, because then the repeated washings wear them out sooner.
I do throw out my bras periodically, but I don’t have an automatic expiration date in my head.
Shit, sometimes mine comes off in the car on the way home. I really only wear one outside the house because I don’t want people staring at my tits thinking “omg, is she not wearing a bra?” 36c.
“DD” means nothing without the number attached. Cup size is relative to band size. I’m also a DD, but I wear a 32 band, so I’m not that top-heavy. I don’t wear a bra at home, definitely don’t wear one to sleep, and have a lot of garments that I actually can’t wear any kind of bra under, because it would poke out all over.
Whether I wear a sports bra when exercising depends on what kind of exercise I’m doing and the ambient temperature. Jiggling is a foregone conclusion when you work with giant hula hoops, but technically wearing a sports bra is slightly more naked than wearing a leotard or camisole, so I often use one as a token attempt at a shirt when it’s hot out.
I do try to wear a bra when I’m going out in respectable clothes. I have a number of underwires, some of them push-up plunges. It helps sell the illusion that I am a Real Adult Lady, and I enjoy stopping traffic. 
If you’re a size that’s difficult to find in the US (including, like me, small band + larger cup), I wholeheartedly recommend Rose & Thorne. They’re based in New Zealand, but now ship worldwide, and are surprisingly inexpensive.
I thought it was just the opposite: the number stands for the circumference around your back and breasts and the cup is the actual, er, volume of the breasts themselves(?) So for instance, I have a wide rib cage / muscular back so I’m a 38 but the actual girls are a B cup. Is that not right? That would sure explain why my bras fit wonky :smack:
Yeah, instead of making the cups and band size independent of one another they’re dependent on one another. This graphic explains a lot. Basically, they assume that women get larger everywhere, so the “easiest” method was to make everything get bigger at the same time.
And the takeaway is even if you “know” you’re a certain size (some people think they “can’t” be a DD because that’s “slutty” or they “can’t” be a large because that’s “fat”), if the clothing doesn’t fit…it doesn’t fit. If you’re uncomfortable in your clothes, try a different size on.
God, it’s exhausting just looking at that graphic. It’s like calculus.
38D. I don’t sleep in one or have sex in one (or bathe in one), otherwise, I do wear them all day. It’s more comfortable than not, mostly for sweating reasons.
In the last year, though, I’ve lost my tolerance for underwires. I’m switching to the all-elastic soft variety. They don’t create such impressive perk, but whatever. I have too many other things going on to worry about that.
I hook my bra in the front, and then turn it around and pull up the straps. Always have.
I’m also size 38DD, which isn’t as impressive as most people would think. I HATE underwires, so if I find a bra in the size without one, I buy it (and yes, I always try my bras on first because like other clothing, the sizes are less standardized than one would think).
It really does help, though, in finding the correct size. Most American bra manufacturers, especially at the lower end, just don’t make enough sizes. So women who should be wearing a 32DDD end up wearing a 36D. Same cup size, but not nearly enough support from the band. And you start out on the tightest hook because the band’s too big, and have nowhere to go from there once it stretches, forcing you to go buy another ill-fitted bra.
I cannot wait until my breast reduction surgery. I will happily fling my new bras off upon entering the house.
Same here ! I can remember going a doctor to see if I could have surgery to hear better and the first the Doc asked me if I had a bra on. I was :eek: !
I did not have one on I told my b/f and he said I should of had asked the doc if he had a jockstrap on. I took all my clothes during sex including my hearing aids.
Well, it’s really not as bad as all that. The cup size is the delta between the breast measurement and the chest measurement. So if you measure around your chest and get a 36, and around your bust and get a 36.5, then <1" delta = A cup.
so
<1" = A
1" = B
2" = C
3" = D
But a woman with a broader 40" chest will have correspondingly broad breasts, so even though 40" chest and 40.5" breasts = A cup, the second one will have more overall volume.
The real problems occur when you get past a D cup. Some manufacturers then go to DD and then DDD before skipping up to F. Others go D, DD, E, EE, G. Still others will go D, DD, DDD, E, EE, EEE, F, G and their EE will be equal to the other guys’ H.
There’s a good chart here if you scroll down a bit.
And to answer the OP: I wear a soft bra or tight t-shirt to bed if the girls are swollen or achy. So about six out of thirty days. 
I would never walk outside my own room without something to keep them in control. Too painful/inconvenient/distracting. But yeah, the moment I’m alone and in for the night, off it comes!
For those of you having trouble finding something comfortable, I highly recommend decentexposures.com. They make bras that are basically a super thick t-shirt with gathers and elastic in all the right places, and they’ll work with you to achieve a custom fit.
These are not push up bras by any stretch, but they give good support and never pinch, bind or bruise. Especially if you are wearing one to bed, these are the ones to have.
I wear a sports bra when exercising but otherwise don’t wear a bra on a daily basis. I stopped wearing a bra in college and since then I find them uncomfortable. I wear scrubs which are thick material and not form fitting so I can get a way with going braless at work. I do wear a bra when I have a meeting or something that requires I dress like an adult and care what people think of my appearance. There is no way I would wear a bra to sleep in.
That’s my guess as well, and gratz on the reduction.
I sleep in pajamas and panties, no bra. The idea of keeping the twins covered during sex is… confusing. I’m more likely to complain that my partner is focusing too much on specific areas than the opposite, keeping the bra on restricts the playground.
44DD and that baby comes off the minute I walk through the door at night. I definitely do not go out without one on and am hesitant to even answer the door without it. I’ve tried sports bras for the weekends but unless it’s the kind with hooks, it’s too much trouble getting in and out of it.