[Curvycurly]

Hi everyone,
I'm hoping some of you can help me

First bras...I really want to wear some strapless dresses but I've never been able to find a good strapless bra with great support for larger chested ladies (I'm a 40DD)

Secondly, and possibly more frustrating...I'm having a real problem with pants/jeans. I have a very curvy shape with a big behind/hips/small waist and I can never find pants with will fit my butt/hips AND my waist. I really need new work pants and all the ones that I've tried on leave a huge gap in my waist but fit fine everywhere else. Same with my jeans. They are really unwearable bc of this.

I really need new work pants bc my current ones are getting way to big (yay!) but now they are baggy and I feel and look sloppy ( I work in banking). I'm happy to be losing the weight but now I'm frustrated bc I feel like nothing fits me right!

Please help

[LeilaJey]

Firstly for bras, are you sure you're wearing the right size? Measure yourself now to be sure http://www.bralessinbrasil.com/p/fin...-that-fit.html check that out and then your boobs can thank runningfromfat ha

Trousers: I have the same problem and it drives me crazy. Are you pear shaped? It seems that the best thing to do is get something that fits your legs and then get it taken it around the waist. I find that I have to buy higher waisted stuff or else I give everyone builders crack. I was trying stuff on yesterday and it's still tight on my thighs and it's huge around my belly.

You might also be a bit inbetween sizes, if you don't fully fit into the lower size try the lower size but a long version of it as they're slightly bigger usually. Then get them taken up at the bottom! I was living in a pair of 12L for a while.

Good luck

[Daki]

Dockers makes a curvy fit and they work pretty well for me =)

[Munchy]

I have a small waist and larger butt/hips and the Express Editor pants fit like a glove. I have them in almost every color/pattern/material that they make, even denim. Macy's sells INC jeans in curvy that fit me very well too.

If you don't want to spend that much while you're losing, I suggest wrap dresses to take you through a few sizes without looking sloppy at work. I did that when I was losing pregnancy weight.

Nordstrom sells great bras, strapless and otherwise right in the store. I'm a 32DDD so it can be hard for me to find bras in stores, but they have a huge selection and their staff are experts in finding the right fit for you.

[Thistleberry]

Thank you for the tip about Nordstrom, Munchy! I need a strapless bra for a wedding next month and was at a loss for where to begin my search.

[astrophe]

I really need new work pants and all the ones that I've tried on leave a huge gap in my waist but fit fine everywhere else. Same with my jeans. They are really unwearable bc of this.

Buy them so they fit well all over and then get the waist adjusted. It can be affordable if you find the right tailor person and take in a few pieces.

The other solution is wear more skirts/dresses to work.

A.

[chickadee32]

For jeans, I've had some luck with the Levi's Perfectly Slimming boot cut and the 529 Curvy boot cut. The former has a lot of stretch and are relatively high-waisted, which is a good thing if you have a substantial lower tummy as I do. The latter have less stretch and are mid-rise, and are super comfortable and flattering. I've found both at Sears and Macy's, sometimes with pretty decent sales.

They don't work for me because they're almost all low-waisted, but I've read that others have had luck with the Levi's Curve ID jeans.

[seagirl]

THE ALPHABET GOES ABOVE D!!!!

Ok, now that I've got that out, the key to a good strapless bra is making sure you are in the right size. Since most stores pretend that D is the last letter in the alphabet, and then just cram more Ds on the end, a lot of women are wearing too big of a band size to get themselves into a cup that fits.

So, first go to a place like Nordstrom (or a local specialty bra shop, One that has sizes ABOVE D) not Victoria's Secret. Get fitted. Then find the right strapless.

I was a "38DD" all my life and hated bras (because they didn't fit well) until I discovered that I'm actually a 36G or H. And my strapless bra is a 34I, the lady made me get a super tight band for more support. It's a great bra, a Freya or Fantasie brand, contains all of my breast tissue and gives me great support.

[runningfromfat]

Yes, PLEASE make sure you're in the correct size. My guess is that at your height/weight you're probably in a way too big band size, too small cup size. Since 80% of your support comes from the band this means a strapless bra is going to be a miserable failure in a too big back size!

Don't fret, though, because they DO have some amazing strapless bras in smaller back/larger cup sizes. First thing you need to do is measure your underbust and your bust and report back here. Your band size=underbust measurement (more or less) but DO NOT ADD INCHES TO IT. I can't emphasize that enough. There's good research out there that adding to your underbust puts you in ill fitting bras and this is that much more important in women in D+ cups: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/1...39.2011.647096

So start with taking your underbust=your band size and then your cup size you can estimate with this: http://www.bralessinbrasil.com/p/fin...-that-fit.html If you have any questions about that let me know, I'm happy to help!

I do what to emphasize, though, that this is just a starting place. You need to look for signs of proper fit too in bras and there IS variation in size by brand. Look for:
- a firm band (you can only put about two fingers underneath it, not an entire hand
- the band must be parallel to the floor, if it starts to rid up, the bra is doesn't fit
- the wires should fully enclose all of your breast tissue on the sides
- the center gore should sit flat against your sternum
- your breasts must be full enclosed by the cups i.e. no quadraboob. BUT you need to make sure to put on your bras correctly to check this! Bend forward and scoop all of your breast tissue into the cups. Doing this is very, very important as it can prevent underarm fat/back fat.


Only after you nail down your correct size (and actually it will be in one brand, like I said your size by brands can vary) can you find well fitting strapless bras.


I'm not trying to scare you, it's definitely possible to find well-fitting bras. There are a lot of great places ot order online for CHEAP (around $40/bra). I have a lot of links on my website http://www.bralessinbrasil.com/ and if you need any suggestions/help let me know!

[runningfromfat]

Re: back gaping. I just did a series on hip/pants fit etc and definitely address this issue. So far I have three posts out:

A Hip Situation: I talk about different hip distributions (difference between carrying more weight in your butt vs hips), fit problems etc

Back Gap: This one you'll probably be interested in the most but I talk about a lot of different ways to fix the back gap

Muffin tops: here I talk about the age old muffin top problem