New Year, 2018 » All bra adventures

New Year, 2018

Just an introductory blurb. Primarily with the aim to document the trip. So it is admittedly a bit SOC as a result although I am trying to make it more readable with edits before I run out of time to do so.

Spent two days trying on bras in the local Macy's after a week of discovering the world of Bras That Fit™ at the ripe old age of 43. When I have worn a bra during the past decade (rarely), I have been wearing Handful sports bras exclusively since discovering *them* in 2003/2004 thanks to requiring heavily padded bras to prevent nipple strike through. I _cannot_ stand strike through on myself. At all. Back in the day I could afford them new; now I have an ebay notification set for used.

Been clinically obese with only a few excursions into merely overweight category since 2006. I think I have finally accepted I am never going to not be after trying to get back to my "before" weight for 10+ years with zero long term success.

But from age and multiple trips up and down the same 40# (~170-210) for eleven years now my breasts are sad, saggy, rapidly more and more ptosic things now. So I decided I needed to figure out a bra that works ~month ago as the sports bra isn't cutting anything other than a horrible silhouette anymore. Hence the first sentence of this entry.

I did use the calculator to figure out what I should be wearing and it spit out 36 DD/E (UK) / sister sizing of 34 E/F. Those two days/six hours of Wacoal, Klein, Klum, Bali, Olga, Playtex (Kohl's), and Maidenform tells me...yeah, no. Not in those brands anywise. Not sure how after multiple measurements could be so far off but appear to be a 34 or 36 D depending on how tight I want the band. The D cup is sometimes gaping at the top, even in alleged-by-Macy's demis and balconettes.

Full coverage are right out. They look horrible aesthetically in addition to major/massive fit issues. Plunges/front closures gave me center quadboob of what little cleavage they generate out of me and mine due to the severe angle of the cup. Wacoal's except for b. Tempt'd line gores are too wide/high and overlap at the ends. Those that allegedly control armpit bulge don't come close to controlling mine. In fact, the amount of upper arm flub (front and back of shoulder/upper arm, all around the axilla, torso) putting on a real bra for the first time in eight years made me want to cry. This is not my body; it's the body of some soft and saggy middle aged fat lady. When did that happen??

The Wacoal listed is the one that looked the best with manageable/livable issues but didn't have in my size so managed to find a cracking deal online for a used 36D as my best guess of "will fit". Namely since the 36DD was too big in the upper cup, and the 34D too tight in the band which matches reports of this bra's band running small since the b. Tempt'd 34 felt fine. Plus the 34D cup seemed good with just a little gap on the smaller breast. Most interestingly...no noticeable nipple strike through when wearing a t-shirt (!!). How weird/cool is that, considering it is an unlined bra?!? The B. Tempt'd I've listed I also found used after researching (THANK YOU FOR EXISTING, BRATABASE) and so have ordered untried but am hopeful it'll have a the shorter, narrower, gore of its line siblings I did try on. That one I can return if it doesn't fit, and family has agreed to help me with return postage if needed, so we'll see. The local Goodwill didn't have anything but full coverage.

Honestly? I prefer to lurk when online but have joined because of the used/free bra listings. It's only fair that I contribute content if I am going to take advantage of such an incredibly wondrous and generous community program. Especially since at the moment, I can't contribute my own offerings in exchange (ETA: well, maybe I can, if I still have any old now-too-small Handful sports bras laying around; will now have to go through the boxes later this week to see if still have any). It's unfortunate that I am compelled to, but I can use all the help I can find as I am so far below the US poverty line it isn't funny as VA benefits are woefully inadequate. I die inside a little more every day I am reliant on them, but if it were not for family I would be not only unemployed but completely braless. In Greenland. [hah hah? Please tell me someone catches the reference]

Thanks of reading if you did. If things improve situationally for me, hopefully I can become a more productive (and relevant) member of the community.

Filed under Bras ups and downs

Shared on Jan 02, 2018 Flag this