My year in review (aka story time) » All bra adventures

My year in review (aka story time)

This first part is lifted (and somewhat edited) from my Cleo Lily review in which I went back into time and went through my bra journey...

So, I co-admin a group on Facebook. We often allow the occasional off topic post and someone was asking about bras and that opened up the rabbit hole and *so* many people commented. I think that she was looking for places to buy and suggestions. The post had 302 comments. This was one year exactly from today.

Now at this point, I’d been in 32DD mostly, for a pretty long time, and feeling like I was pretty educated on bras and sizes and fits. Only a bunch of really smart and intelligent ladies piped up in the comments and brought up things like A Bra That Fits, this site, Polish bras (say whaat?), breast shape, and so on. Suddenly, I felt very very dumb about bras and boobs. Naturally, I wanted to know and understand more.

After reading a ton of the links and guides and getting totally lost and confused even further from figuring out my breasts lcl0706 came to my rescue. She helped me out and was soooooo instrumental in my learning and understanding what my breast shape was and what the characteristics were, as well as what I needed to look for in a bra that would fit. I’m hugely grateful for all her help answering my questions, often more than once. We determined that we were actually pretty close in size and shape.

She was getting ready to list her 30E Curvy Kate Ellace in crimson in January, and as the style was one of her favourites and she thought it might fit me as well, she offered it to me first. Being unsure about the sizing and all, I was hesitant, but she told me to grab my measuring tape and my best fitting bra at the time, and right then and there in Facebook messenger, she measured her bra while teaching me how to measure mine. Once we were done, she determined that the Ellace would likely fit...it might be a little small but she’d include an extender with it for the band and hoped that the cups worked. So I took the bait and bought the bra and awaited its arrival rather impatiently, but it was a gateway to all things Bratabase.

I joined the site and added a few bras to practice measuring while I waited and I made a few reviews to get some data going. I was still kinda nervous about my abilities at measuring, but I would go back to the pictures and conversations from that FB chat. I knew that once I had her bra, I was going to be able to measure it and match it up with her measurements, and see if I was getting the same measurements she had for the bra, and if they were different, I tried to figure out how she got them. I actually still use this method for all my bras from the listings. Sometimes I still stick with what I get, but I do try changing up how I am measuring to see if I can replicate the results.

My Ellace arrived, and I was overjoyed. My best friend said it was made for me. While I was able to close it on the loosest hooks, I was unable to wear it for long periods of time, so I made use of the extender, which was my first time using one. The colour was much better than I had expected, I had a great shape, narrow wires, and decent projection at the wire. The cups were also a tad small but covered well enough with the stretch lace.

Around the same time, I went to my local (at the time) specialist shop where I had wanted to try a Jasmine on again, even though I knew that I had not had luck with it in my previous attempts, but I thought maybe I would fit into it better now. I’d called them and had a bunch of 32DD/E and 30E styles set aside (because by this time I did have a 30E Lepel Lilly) however, when I arrived, I was offered a remeasure. Feeling confident that I was still a 32DD maybe 32E (based on the bras that I had tried on at Bravissimo in October 2016) and that the odd 30E would fit (because I still felt like I was more educated than their average customer), I still decided to go with a remeasure. And she measured me at 28F UK. SAY WHAT?! Come again? I was like, I can barely fit 30 bands, so how will I fit the 28F? But I humoured the fitter and said sure, I will try it. She brought me a 28F Envy because it was all she had in the 28F at the moment, and you know what? I could do it up. But it was really tight. I had a valley of squished fat at the back and the gore was pressing really hard against my sternum. I had tried a few 30Es which I found much more comfortable even though the fitter insisted that the 28F was the best technical fit. We talked a lot about the fits and shape and such. I learned that Jasmine and Envy and I were still not friends. By this point, I had already joined the FB groups and started doing fit checks and so I took a lot of pictures during this visit to the store. I didn’t end up with anything because I had some uncertainty over a few styles and sizes and had been curious about how a different size would fit. Nothing was really good. There were some that were better than others, but no clear bra epiphanies that day.

In my search to get more bras that fit better, I had a few sent to a friend in LA to arrive in time for my visit with enough time to still send back. I ended up sending both back as neither one was quite right. I did my first checks here too. All the while, I’m measuring and adding bras for data and knowledge.

At some point, lcl0706 convinced me that I really needed to try Polish bras instead of UK. So when she put her 30FF Curvy Kate Bardot up in the listings, she offered me her 65F Ewa Michalak MP Kleksik to try as it was pretty true size, only a discontinued style. I wasn’t sure if either one would fit, but in my chats with her, we determined that it (the Bardot) had a decent chance of fitting because it was small in the cup because it closed off quickly. It was a gamble.

Anyway, the Bardot did and did not fit. I was hugely torn about it. I eventually listed it but found a local buyer for it. You can see the review for it if you like, however, the EM bra was wonderful! I really didn’t want to send it back, but after testing it out for a few hours here and there, as well as measuring and reviewing it, I did send it back at the end of the week. But I was really happy to have tried it. It was also a gateway bra.

I played with a few more bras (including my 30F Marcie in navy) and finally used the data from the Ewa to make my first Ewa/Polish bra purchase. It took some time and I lost out on a few listings because I had been so nervous (but I got one of them after the buyer had listed it again for less). Part of the hesitation was that I was not really in love with the style, as it was very much out of my comfort zone. But as I wrote in my review for it, I bought it primarily for BRA SCIENCE. I bought it to see how it fit and and gain knowledge. It met the size measurements and the price was right. As it happens, I have actually grown to like it, especially after finding underwear locally that is a really great match! I got another Ewa in 70E which is actually one of my favourite ones at the moment, despite being a little bit too small from the start. I’d definitely love to try it out in a 70F (or 65FF) in it.

And I ended up getting my bradrobe refreshed by spring/early summer. During this time, I had noticed that my snug under bust measurement was now consistently lower than the 29.5” I had when I had my first measurements input here...I’d assumed the fitters at the specialty store were just rounding down because they thought it might be better, but then realized that I was having no problem getting it to 28” with and without a bra on. So maybe they were right? I had either been measuring too loosely or I was getting used to the tighter bands because I was using an extender with the Marcie and Ellace. My first Ewa actually felt a bit looser when I put it on, but it’s just because I had been used to the tighter fits...but after wearing it for a bit, it now felt really good.

I used all my data and decided to try a 60HH Comexim 3HC which was the sister size I had been told that I should be looking at, but it was used and it looked like the band was going to fit or be close. This is where the site had really helped me, because I wouldn’t have normally considered a 60 band, but I had learned what stretched band measurements were working for me and what cup depth to be looking for.

And then my shape and size began slowly changing, with the most significant changes occurring in the last 3-4 months. I noticed one day that I was filling out the top part of my Marcie better than I had been, and due to my regular measurements check that I do even though I know that I don’t have to, I could see that I was measuring about the same for snug under bust, but my over bust had changed. And my bras weren’t fitting as well anymore. Turns out that I have gained a little bit of weight, so it’s went to my boobs. But even my shape is a bit different. It’s a bit fuller all around. I shared some pics (from January, July, and the present) with a bra friend who said that if they had not seen the few pics from July when I was in transition, that she would have thought that I had gotten implants. Only I haven’t. A picture overlay was really interesting to see how I had changed. Anyway, that’s where I am at now, just trying to figure out the new size and such and to find bras that fit again. I’m slowly rebuilding the collection of what fits, though I have already lost 3 pounds again (without trying) and don’t know what is going to happen now. I was kinda hoping that I would/could maintain my size a bit, or at least not be in between sizes again. So I’m trying to figure out how I can lose the weight but not affect my volume. I gotta get my updated measurements in soon before I change too much again. I started the year as a 32DD and ended it with 28FF/G 30F/FF 32E/F (Polish for the 32s).

I recently got my first brand new Ewa, and it is also my first BM (yes a review is in the works and coming soon), I have a few bras that are being sent to me to tru for size, styles, and fit (Comexim plunge in 65HH/30G and Ewa Michalak CHP in 65FF). I have so many bras that I want to try and see how they fit and I want to add my data and information as well to help others in same size range. My journey continues.

I’ve had a stellar year with learning so much about bras, fitting, shape, Polish bras, and so on. I’ve met some really lovely people here along the way, and I am excited for the next year with my size sisters and friends I have made here. Thanks to everyone here for welcoming me to this community over the last year.

Filed under Bras ups and downs

Shared on Dec 24, 2018 Flag this