EEEK! Bra help, please!
 

Ugh...I hate, hate, hate bra shopping! Do any of you have a suggestion for comfy bras? The last 15 years I've worn the Bali Double Support bras. I've never done well with underwires, and these are wireless and seamless. I was thinking underwires might be ok now because I've lost so much of my weight from the waist up.

I totally wanted to try the breezies underwires from QVC. I remember seeing some that almost had a little "cup" that went was separate from the wire....not a good explanation, but I'm not sure how to do it better! Anyway, none of the pics on the qvc website show that extra piece of fabric so I was just going to wing it and order one to try. Here's the second half of the problem....I pulled up qvc's instructions on how to measure for the perfect size. Band should be the smallest part right below your girls, plus 3-4 inches. OK, that puts me in a 40 (I measured 36) and that's what I've been wearing all along. Next, the cup (I measured 41) would be a DD according to my measurements! NO WAY!! My 40 D's that I've been wearing are a little looser around the band than I'm comfortable with, and the cups are actually wrinkly because of the extra fabric, and I should order a size larger than that?

HELP!

Every brand and style of bra could be different you are better off trying them on. I usually have diffent sizes in my drawer at the same time.

All my bras are different sizes too. I usually just go to the store, load up on about 10 at a time and try them all until I find one that fits. I jump around in them and make sure nothing comes out where it shouldn't LOL that's my test.

I've never had any luck finding one that fits without trying them on. Then I buy a bunch in that style! :)

It's possible that you are a DD. When I shrank out of a 38 D, I got measured and ended up being a 36 DD. So much for ditching DD bras for good. :p

My advice is to go to a department store, get measured if possible, and just try bras on. Once you have your proper size, then you may want to check into ordering something online.

Thanks, Zorak, that probably is the best solution! Now to find a department store that doesn't have a 16 year old twig measuring me!

JerseyGirl, do your breezies have that little extra pocket or whatever in them? If so, I'd love to know the item #!!

Thanks, gals!

I have found that if I buy a bra at Lane Bryant I can wear a cup size smaller then if I buy one at Kohls. So much for being able to order online. Good luck-Hope it works for you!

Thanks for the item #, Jerseygirl....I think I'll give it a try!

I've seen them on ebay, but I thought for the first one I should do QVC, that way I can keep returning it until I get the right size!! After that, ebay, here I come!

oprah reccomends
 

For brands that make comfortable bras in my size there was an oprah show recently and she recommended these ones:
Chantelle
Fantasie
Felina
Freya
Le Mystere
Natori

I LOVE fantasie but they're kinda expensive soi ordered some felina bras after the show but they haven't come yet, i'm hoping they're as good as she says as they were a bit cheaper than the others.

figleaves bras are a pretty good for my size i find but you'll pay a bit more than on ebay for them

I wish I had seen the Oprah show on bras, I heard it was informative. Thanks for the recommendation for figleaves :)

I got fitted at Nordstrom and it was a great experience itold her exactly what i needed it for and she kept trying them on my until it was perfect
I went from a 40C to a 38 D
chantelle is a beautiful thing
also Bali makes a nice underwire with extra support in the sides

I like Bali underwires. They have a lot of different styles. I have a lot of success with them, but I think it's because they fit me well. A lot of underwires are well padded these days. Unless you get some cheap "decorative" type bra, I don't think you should have too much trouble.

Lane Bryant bras are strange. I always feel like the wires are poking me in the armpits. I think they've gotten better in the last couple of years, but they're definitely "set" wider than other bras. I'm something like a 40 C, and my LB bras spread my breasts out so they're pointing out at angles. It's not necessarily bad, just different. It's almost like the back band is shorter and the cups are set further apart.

One thing I learned when I worked at Lane Bryant and fit women for bras was that the underwire should lay flat against your chest the whole way. Most women (even the ones who worked there) were wearing too small of a cup size and the wires would stick out between their breasts or at the arm pits. Not good! We practiced measuring each other and almost always came out with a smaller band and larger cup than what we were wearing (which seemed to be the trend on the Oprah show too).

It's always better to be measured by someone else. For some reason, we aren't reliable when we measure ourselves. I'm not sure about the whole "adding inches" thing either. Some places say add 3-4, some say add 5. If I follow the rule for 5, I end up in a 42 B. There's absolutely NO WAY. These things are not a B. I seem to have better luck with the add 3 or 4 rule. In any case, I just have to try them on. Every brand is different, and sizes even differ within brands.

I was recently shopping for a longline shaper thing to try on with wedding dresses and I was so angry. I picked up a 40 C in a bra and in a shaper from the same brand of similar design. The bra fit and I couldn't even HOPE to fasten the shaper. What the heck? Sometimes things are labeled wrong... but... And of course you're hard pressed to find a 40 in a normal store. There was only 1.

I agree with you on the LB bras They almost flatten you out and send you pointing in 2 different directions!

hehehe. i have a problem with my cup runneth over in the lane bryant bras. if the cup doesn't even cover my entire nipple - how can i possibly wear that?! ugh.

I read somewhere that for full figure sizes, you were not supposed to add any inches at all to your band size. No wonder we all have such a damn hard time!!!

I got a couple bras at Torrid. They measured me at a 44DDD :( I haven't worn an underwire bra since highschool... and I hate it. I gotta tell you though, it makes a difference in how I look. The girls are up where they belong, I look like I've lost weight... but man, it's nice to be comfortable too... I must have the wrong size because I am constantly fidgeting with it.

I hate, hate, hate underwires...feel like I'm crammed into a whalebone corset :stress: :headache: I found great Microsateen no-wire bras at LB that fit, and are super comfy, and put -- and hold -- everything where it belongs. But I also had the girl measure me there, and I'm a 46D -- eek. But they finally fit! Don't know if this is nationwide, but here LB is having a sale through the beginning of January for buy 2 Cacique bras, get 2 free, so you know I will be there RIGHT after Christmas. :carrot:

I second the bra fitting at Nordstrom. It is sort of assumed that you will buy a bra, so there is that but they are SUPER professional and it is worth it to have at least one good bra that you know fits like a glove. Don't be surprised when the lady comes in the little room with you and basically puts the bra on you though.

I'm in Canada, so it may the brands are different here-but what I can suggest above all else is to go to a shop that does it and get properly fitted for a bra. I thought FOREVER that I was a 38/40 D-turns out I am a 42 C. I bought one really nice, expensive bra and now I can go into Zellers or Wal-Mart, places like that and can buy inexpensive bras that fit great.

I never can get the right measurement using the traditional methods. With my current measurements, I usually get an A or AA measurement which is awfully wrong.

The easiest method for me is to go by how my current bra fits. My boobs have shrunk again and both the band and cup are too large. So going down a band and a one or two cup sizes I'm either a 34 DD or a 34 D.

Figleaves has a neat calculator that might help. Since it is a UK site, you can find a conversion table here.

There is also a page in their help section that demostrates what a proper fit looks like.