Honey, if you are really a DD, you don't want cheap bras. You need to spend some bucks to support those girls, and they are worth it. You don't have to get a lot of bras; two good ones that you take care of will be fine for the moment. (You are hand-washing them in gentle dishwashing liquid and hang-drying them, my darling, aren't you? Although I have on occasion deliberately used a ho washer-dryer to shrink a cotton-mix bra down to a better size, especially as they tend to stretch over time.)
First, make sure you are really the size you think you are. If straps or bands or cups are cutting or shifting or falling down or riding up, you are either not wearing the right size or right style. Don't trust those teenage assistants and their pretend measuring tapes in Victoria's Secret. They don't really care what size you are, and often they don't have a clue about fitting, they just need to get you into some bra to earn their pay. I see way too many young ladies who are not wearing the right size bra or one that's not supportive enough, and I blame VS to a large extent. Even their MODELS are not wearing the right size, for God's sake. You are not supposed to be squishing up out of your cups in your everyday bra. (Middle aged lady rant -- but people can tell, believe me. In the right bra, an FF lady can look perkier than a C.) You can also use this website to self-diagnose if you don't want to be fitted:
Bravissimo.
Go to a Kohls or other department store that has a wide range of sizes and styles, and try at least one cup and band size up and down from 36DD. (Even better if you actually go to a department store where someone will fit you, ideally an older lady who looks like she's been around the block a bit.) Lane Bryant is also good for larger cups, and their bras have a lot of spandex in them, so some of their 36s are actually equivalent to a 34 when they're new. I'm wearing one right now! They always have something on clearance or buy this get this free. I'm not crazy about the Target bras because they're clearly originally engineered for a B-cup and then sized up; the material is too flimsy and they rarely have more than 2 hooks in the back. I do buy their sports bras, but for lying around the house days rather than sports.
When you try the bra on, get the one that fits properly hooked at its widest extent; then as the materials wears and stretches with time you can make it tighter. Jump up and down, wave your arms, toe touches, some jogging around in the fitting room; if anything moves significantly, something is not right. (Needing to do a few manual adjustments and forward bends to get the girls to settle properly into the cups is fine and normal for C+ girls when first putting on the bra, however. Comedienne Brett Butler used to do a wonderful demonstration of this.)
Bali and Olga are also good "cheap" bras for boobalicious ladies; once you get the right size you can get them in Kohls at buy 2-get-1-free deals, outlet malls, and also TJ Maxx.
Love,
Your 34 DD (formerly 38 FF before the reduction) friend,
BronzeAger