bra shopping - a vent

the film 'beaches' has a great song about the first 'over the shoulder boulder holder' which was designed by a man for a performer with big boobs and how it was nicked by philipe de brazier which is how come they are now called braziers! absolutely brilliant song. i never saw it on the film, but it was on the soundtrack cd!

One of my old work pals told me that her idea of a good bras was to buy a pair of men's suspenders (braces for you UK gals) clip one end on your nips and throw them over your shoulders, and hook them up to your pants like usual

I just love your emoticons:mexican:

I know exactly what you mean. I've found that one bra at M&S before, that's everything you want, but they only ever have one of it.

I have found Yours Clothing to be quite good though. They're online and have shops all over central and eastern england. I've found quite a few bras there that I love. They support at the sides properly, the straps are that little bit wider so they don't dig in, and... they're pretty! My M&S days are over!

Check out snaresofvenus.com. One of my breasts is about a cup size larger than the other plus I am very fat. I have found that stores think all big girls have big breasts and I don't. At snares I get my bras custom made just for me. They are pricey but just to have one that fits and I can get made just for me and the way I want it. To me it's worth every penny.

I have found Fantasie bras to work well. They are very supportive. They can be a bit expensive though. After looking online and doing some research on ones that looked comfortable. I went to Ebay and typed in the type of bra I was looking for. I was able to find the bra (new) at 50% the cost of one in the store. I'm between sizes so that makes it difficult.

I'm not sure who bra companies make bras for because it seems to be for someone who doesn't exist. I'm a 32DD/34D...it is impossible to actually find in town. NOBODY here has a 32DD in stock...occasional 34D, but it's always the plain 'artillery shell' type, I guess because no one beyond mythical faeries actually wears my size...

Argg, Bra-shopping a vent.....here it comes. I just spent half the day shopping for bras last week and ended up splurging on what was supposedly a well-made, expensive bra. Wore it yesterday, and the hook/ring holding the strap in the front broke. I called the store, no problem to return it. But please, please, PLEASE, don't make me go back there. I don't know if I can do through all that trying on business again. Uhg.

just for fun I did some checking on making a bra and found some links:

http://www.foundationsrevealed.com/bra-making
http://www.ehow.com/how_8722471_make-bra-mold.html
http://www.pattern-making.com/draft-bra-pattern/

http://www.baur.de/content/tunk/categories/fashion-trends/the-bra-an-inside-look.html
http://sewing.about.com/library/sewnews/library/aafashbra.htm
http://ndlnookfab.blogspot.com/2008/01/queen-bra-elite.html

So sorry Fresia!!!

Someone has the same size as me yay!

32 DD and a 34D may have the same cup size but not the same band size. If I try to wear a 34 the band rides up in back and my boobs try to make a break for it out of the bottom of the cup. I buy all my bras from clearance on amazon.com or from nordstrom rack. Got a pushup padded guaranteed to make you two sizes bigger bra (in size 32DD) there for 18 bux. Now I look like I have cantaloupes for boobs hahaha. Most of the time stores only stock size 32 in cup sizes like AA up to maybe a B. But then I see loads of 42 DDD. Thin people do have boobs sometimes...

I'm a 46DD. Actually smaller now because I've been losing weight and the bras I have are loose, even on their tightest adjustments. I'll need to go bra shopping soon.

Why do manufacturers assume anyone my size wants an underwire? I HATE those doggone things!

And the fashion industry rips women off as a matter of routine. If men wore bras, they wouldn't be near so expensive. Compare ordinary men's Fruit of the Looms underpants with women's panties of the same brand, in the same price range. Notice how much better quality of fabric the men's is made from, the better stitching, and the stronger waistband. How much longer will the men's underwear last compared to the women's?

I have the hardest time buying bras too... recently the strap on my nude leotard snapped, so I have to look for something I can have on under my class leotard.

I went to VS and said I'm looking for specific requirements: nude color, either clear or nude straps, and a low back. Basically unobtrusive, I mentioned it's for ballet. The bra they say will be perfect for me? A "Gorgeous" push-up bra in a 34C that's padded so much it will add two whole cup sizes on me. And they were right, of all their stock that was still the best bra they had... *sigh* You would think a whole store almost entirely designed to sell bras would have some simple, practically ones, right?

You know I have had a horrible weekend, was bored, lonely and generally feeling sorry for myself...then saw this thread pop up again..it's the thread that never dies because the torture of bra shopping never wanes..thank you for giving me a chuckle

I understand this - I wear a 36G, and believe me most bras out there in my size look like I could go to battle in them!

My problem is that i a a B cup but i have a very broad back and need a 38 to 40 for the wide back. Anything above a 36, automatically jumps ot a C cup and i am way to small for those. I understand the frustrations. I have to buy extenders for the bras and each bra is so varied in width at the hooks that I would need to by a specific extender for each type of bra, and that is not easy either.

I have found that the Wacoal brand fits very well. I'm a 34F. Was a 36G. There is one store around here that carries them. I go to the store try them on, find the one that fits the best, write down all the info, then go home and search for it on Ebay. I just got a $58 bra for $20 and its the most comfortable bra, yet. And doesn't look like I could go to battle.

In my social circle lately, everyone from a very large 5x to a very petite size A is wearing these bras:

http://www.geniebra.com/?gclid=CJD1y...FULAKgod3DzklA

I've tried them, and really like them. No chafing, no seams. Support isn't as good as a dedicated sports bra or an underwire bra, but it's not bad either.

Anne

I actually went bra shopping this past week, since I was having a breast biopsy and needed some "support ones." I had my boobs measured, and was not surprised to find that I was going to buy the wrong size. I was going to get a 38-B and actually needed a 36-C!

Boy, bras sure can be expensive!

Yes, expensive, and confusing. Every bra shop should have a personal fitter to help the customers.

I hate bra shopping too, it's SO much harder than it should be! And somehow every time you find one that looks like it would be comfortable, support the stuff it needs to support, and actually fit you right... Everybody wearing the same size bra as you already bought them all!!!! And then you feel like killing people.
And does it really matter if your wearing the "wrong" bra size??? As long as it fits, and it's comfortable, and it does the things it's supposed to do, who cares?!?! Bra shopping is hard enough as it is!!!

Yeah, I wasn't very bothered about having the wrong size. I like my bras big. But when I went for a medical procedure, the nurses laughed at me for wearing such a big one. And I do need the right, supportive size now that I've had the breast problem!

so i know it annoys some ppl when i complain about bras
but it needs t be said...
why the f*%#& do they not make a size between D and DD!?!?!?
i am a 36DD to a 38D,
((it realy just depends on how stressed i've been when it comes to weight and boob size)))
but it drives me nuts when i try on two of the same exact bras in a D and a DD and one is way too small and the other is just enough too big to be uncomfy!

okay now ending this empty rant

I'm even more "compact" (the word I choose to use) than that. Thin, but not, like someone else pointed out, the auto assumption of 32 band. Seriously, am I the only adult built like this? Probably not. (Heh, and I had to put in the word for this end of the scale, as this issue is one I never hear discussed.) People apparently assume that someone like me doesn't want a "real" bra. Throw on a sports one and be done with it, right? Um, yeah, and take what little I have and squish it into nothing. Great. Nonetheless, I did that for years, because I could not bear the exercise in futility the other was. Others will say, "why bother with any?". Well, I have the exact same torso I did as a teen, which, among other things, means there's no gravity effect. I'd really like to keep it that way! At my age, (49) apparently this is kind of a rare commodity(??) (Only really garnered from what little conversation I've had on the subject, and since I'm not at all, a "girl talk" kind of person, that is limited. I'm making an extremely rare exception here.) It's the one thing I feel really good about in this zone. That and the assurance that I will never be described as matronly. (Which is not meant badly for anyone else, it's just that I've got to put a positive spin on whatever I can possibly can about this, you know?)
I don't really have issues with my compactness, but it feels like the rest of the world does. I don't exist, you know? Or at best (?!), that I'm not an adult or a "real" woman. That's what makes me feel so down on the experience. I have to be in a really solid place to even attempt it.

Haha, I can't even believe I'm posting this. I'm so not one for lady talk(!) Here goes...

Or at least use 'em for a slingshot!