Bras are so fucking complicated, and I personally get ill if they are too tight and I wear them for more than a couple of hours. Why? Why does this happen? That's not specifically what this thread is about, it's about where the hell y'all find your bras, how you know if they fit, and how much of her soul does a fat girl need to sell to get a sports bra that both works and lets blood actually fucking circulate? (Asking for a friend. The friend is me. I just want my tits out my face while doing yoga man...) Someone help me I am a disaster. Other people have got to be wondering things about bra magic too so feel free to chime in with more questions.
there's some site recommendations in this thread? but otherwise I'm not very knowledgeable about chest prisons
I need help too. I have four ancient regular bras that were discontinued but I love them so much and no one makes a similar type, a sports bra that is too small, and a strapless bra that I wear maybe once a year. Most stores don't carry my size because of course they don't, and my boobs are weirdly spaced (very far apart on chest) so buying bras online without a test run usually turns out bad. How do thing and get good bras while not spending 1.6 million dollars?
Oh, I looked all through general advice but not the gender weird subforum, thanks! I'll look at the links. c:
anecdote, one of my large-boobed friends once told me that a problem with sports bras is that they squish, so while they might somewhat keep The Boob contained, the entire squished boob mass does still move up and down when exercising. they said that bras with lots of support were far more comfortable and useful to them than sports bras
... I accidentally deleted a post sorry Basically, there's guides online for measuring. Also If your boobs do the thing where they get really flat when you lay. You have to adjust the measurements by taking the average of boob when laying and boob when standing
I've heard of wearing multiple sports bras, though I can't remember why that would help. might not be the best if you're having a circulation problem, but maybe a looser one on top?
Most lingerie stores do free fittings, AFAIK, and they tend to do a pretty damn accurate job. I got myself fitted at a local one, and later my mom got herself fitted at the same place, and our tiddies have been way happier ever since. As for fat girl sports bras, I'll definitely ask my girlfriend--she's both heavyset and very well-endowed, and she knows her way around Bra Shit pretty well.
Additionally, depending on your size, there's a chance you'll have better luck shopping online--though of course, you should definitely know your size first. This is especially true if you have a large cup size (somewhat true with large band size, but not quite to the same degree, I don't think)--I'm a 38C, so it's not hard for me to find bras, but my girlfriend is something like a 40G or something ridiculous like that, and she has to shop online to find bras that fit!
I make the salespeople measure me every time, then have them come into the fitting room while I am wearing the merchandise to check the fit. It's not foolproof, but it helps.
I've resorted to buying the majority of my bras online and waiting for sales. Now That's Lingerie is the site where I get mine - it's a Canadian company, and I've had really good luck with getting stuff from them (although all my shipping's in-country; I think they do ship to the US and elsewhere, but I admit I'm not completely sure).
The idea is one of added support. The stacking cloth makes it so the bras, and thus the breasts, are held in place more securely than it would be with just one inadequate bra. The result can be quite hot from my understanding. @Beldaran, a female friend of mine recommends consulting A Bra That Fits, which is a particular Reddit centered around these kinds of questions.
http://www.epbot.com/2013/04/everything-you-never-knew-you-needed-to.html That's the post I use as a guide sometimes but I think it just has lots of links to the reddit page mentioned above. Some things for fitting: make sure you're not spilling out anywhere (at your armpits/over the top/etc), the cups are lying flat on the top of your breast and the gore (centre front of the bra) is tacking (lying flat with your chest), the band should be straight across your back not curved and if possible it should fit while being on the last row of hooks so it lasts the longest because it's gonna stretch. If you're in a physical store don't get too hung up on being a certain size. Like everything different brands and styles will fit differently, there's equivalent sizes so a 8E=10DD=12D and you may have a warped/wishful thinking perception of your size (idk if that's something other people have but just speaking from experience) Otherwise in store fittings are awkward but can help give you some idea (although I've encountered some not very good salespeople so you have to take note of whether the bra is actually comfortable etc.) I have a small band size and a relatively large cup size so it's really hard to find in most shops but I don't trust buying online in terms of fit. What I usually do is get maternity bras when they're on special because they have the right sizes and aren't all horrible looking. Hopefully that's a little bit helpful. However, when you find the secret to getting a half decent sports bra that doesn't cost an arm and a leg please let me know
I get my bras from Torrid. They have sports bras, too. And they're constructed not to give you uniboob squish but to keep them contained. Also it's probably worth taking your own measurements before you go into a store - there are guides online, and it'll help a lot because you'll know right away if they're trying to sell you something they carry or something that fits. Not fitting is going to compress your ribs and just be horrifying - makes it harder to breathe, probably also causes nausea. Also, despite being a fat girl myself, I don't have that much in the way of boob, so I tend to wear bralettes - especially in winter when I'm wearing like 8 layers anyway. Keeps them in place adequately so I'm not That Free-Boobing Hippie, but minimal structure and still super cute.
I like sports bras because my birth control makes my boobs constantly tender and a medium or low support sports bra (not the ones I use for lifting) holds them in place so they're not so tender all the time. I don't have a huge amount of boob, so ymmv. Most bras I buy in department stores aren't true to size, which is annoying. If you have small to average boobs, H&M is your buddy - if you measure right it fits perfectly and they're fairly cheap. I got like three bras that actually fit for under sixty bucks, and they hold up well if you take care of them. They also have up to a 38F in bras, but for obvious reasons I can't test how those fit.
Thanks for the input about H&M, maybe they'll have my size! I have kind of an... odd question? Maybe it's not. But basically, I lost a bunch of weight when I was hospitalized and taking steroids altered how I store fat, so my boobs are not the same shape/size they once were. I don't know if they'll go back to normal when I finally stop steroids, or if they'll stay how they are, or what might happen. Does anyone have any experience with fluctuating breast sizes and dealing with it, like recommendations for bra types or whatnot?
RAISES HAND. Hello greetings fellow boob fluctuation due to medical shenanigans person! If you can tolerate em, wireless soft cup/sportsbra wannabe type bras (eg ones that have the eye/hook fasteners but are built like sports bras) are going to be your friend in the interim. If the boobs re-expand, the material'll give 'em the room to do that without cup spillage. Generally speaking, wireless bras are going to give you less form than you might be used to, but when you're changing sizes and haven't settled they're a godsend.
