I'd be happy to try a different type of Champion, but the shops I've been in don't seem to carry anything except the pullover-type "squish" bra. I live in Portland, Oregon, home of Nike, and I suppose their style influences everything around here. There's a big running culture, and those girls tend to be pretty flat as well as thin, so I suppose the "squisher" works well for them. I have yet to see the encapsulation type anywhere here. I also get a lot of skepticism and incredulity-- the salespeople can't seem to wrap their minds around the idea that bigger women exercise. A lot.
Hi,
Title 9 has had a store in Portland for maybe a year or so now. I highly recommend you go down there and check it out -- I pretty much won't shop for bras anywhere else now. It's on NW Kearney at 14th, right near REI.
Tisha, Enell can custom-make their bra (up to a 60" bust measurement) for people who aren't in the range of their off-the-shelf sizes. Here's the link: http://www.enell.com/custom.html. (I haven't tried this service, so this is not a personal recommendation.)
If you do go this route, could you please report back?
I just bought a Fiona High Impact Bra today in a 40 DD. I actually wear a DDD, but this fits great. It is SO AWESOME and super comfy. It is a uniboob bra, but I swear to the Boobie Goddess, I bounced up and down, did jumping jacks, ran in place, etc, and there was no painful jigglage! No jigglage at all, and for big boobies like mine, that's somewhat of an accomplishment! It was about $40, but worth every single penny. A++++.
Thanks for the tip about the Title 9 store! We went to REI today in Portland, and I remembered that the Title 9 store was nearby. We found it, and the salesperson was very helpful. I'm looking forward to trying out my new sports bra on Saturday--the days of soggy bras are over!
My husband bought me two factory defect Enell bra's off ebay and I have never ever ever been so happy with a bra before! These bra's are incredible. I'm a 36DDD and there is no bounce, no jiggle. It's amazing! As soon as I put the bra on, I got an instant 4" lift, no joke. Can't say enough about these bra's!
BTW, the factory defect bra's had a tiny tiny snag in each of them that I could barely even see and I got a good deal!
I'm a 38D and found that Victoria's Secret Shock Absorber sports bras work well for me. I don't run, but I ride a stationary bike, and it does the job for that.
I got the factory-defect Enells off eBay, too. Size 3 based on my measurements. (The defects were a couple of small snags each and there is a small pen mark on one of them but the defects themselves didn't bother me.)
I was disappointed with it. I tried it on and kept it on for about 90 minutes. Yes, it took a lot of maneuvering to get into and settle myself in. I kept it on as long as I did thinking I just needed to get used to it but it was so tight that the bottom band dug into my skin and the whole thing made me feel so uncomfortable that I was actually feeling nauseous and light-headed. I felt like my outsides were squooshing down upon my insides. Not so great on the back either. I also gave it the bounce test, jumped around and jogged...and the girls did bounce. Granted, it was less and in a restricted space but from the reviews I had hoped for better.
Last edited by trekkiegirl; 02-26-2007 at 06:44 PM.
I'm a 42 or 44 ddd.... and the enell, while it's better than the ones I've already tried, still dosen't work so well for me. I still bounce, it makes my back so itchy, and it just isn't really that comfortable. Sigh.
I don't think anyone has mentioned the Champion Action Shape bra - I love it! I think the largest size is a 42-44 D/DD. It provides a lot of support and compresses just enough.
You can find it for about $18 at Champion outlets, but it retails for about $38.
Cindy
The best that I've found is the Natori Sport, you can see an image of it at the Natori website, although you can't order it there as they don't even sell the bra thru their site, just a picture showing the difference between it and the standard uniboob squashsport bras.
I just checked Nordstrom's and Amazon and the largest it comes in is a 40DDD/E, but a little suggestion here:
If you have not been professionally fitted for a bra, do so. I've been wearing 38B (uncomfortably I might add) for a long time and was fitted a month ago...turns out I'm a 36D. The new bras have virtually eliminated back pain I was having, my bra straps no longer slip off my shoulders all the time and the back strap no longer rides high up on my back. In addition it makes me LOOK better.
Pros: Good support. Good wicking. Racerback (hard to find in my size range). Cons: Straps don't adjust enough (I'm of average height, and they don't go short enough for me). Ridiculously difficult to get into.
I wear around a 34F/32FF (narrow back, big breasts) and I'm a runner.
Title 9 in Portland
Can't say enough about these bra's!
