Spandex
I used to think that fitting a bra was easy. You just measure and then buy the indicated size. Then I started wearing one. Nothing fit. I joined this site and began to learn. It seems obvious to me now after reading numerous adventures and looking at numerous pics that if you measure 100 women, no two will be exactly alike. Just taking a random number, a certain bra might fit 10 of those women, and another bra might fit another 10 with maybe some overlap and maybe not. Among others, I follow wendybien because she knows everything. There is no sarcasm in that statement, just pure admiration for her wealth of knowledge about body issues, bras, and fitting. There are a few others such as Ereshiy and Jillsas who also are extremely knowledgeable and who have helped me through their general comments and pics. It is tough being on a site where there are so many women with large boobs when you are a 40B/C, but the info is there if you look for it. I am wondering about something though. I have found that there is a touch of spandex in the cups of almost all the bras that fit me. And that got me to thinking about many of the pics I have seen. It seems that a lot of you are buying bras that appear to be made of cast iron with a thin layer of foam inside the cups. Obviously, such bras will only fit perfectly if you conform exactly to the measurements because the bra itself can not conform to the breast. Wouldn't it be better to look for bras that are a little more malleable? I get that a large, heavy breast needs a lot of support. But I just wonder if a tradeoff of a little of that support for a little "give" wouldn't be a good thing sometimes, giving you more of that "fit" we are all searching for. Or are such bras even available in large cup sizes? What do you think?
Filed under Bra sizing and fit
13 comments
LOL bras made of cast iron - I love that! I have recently made my husband feel the pressure under the underwires on my bras - its a force to be reckoned with (at a 32J)
I once made a comment that I thought the molded foam bras were less forgiving for size difference (like having one breast a cup size bigger than the other) and someone voted me down. It wasnt until I wondered why I was voted down that she explained that she found molded bras to be MORE forgiving - because she puts pads in them to make them fit. Of course, I dont think that means the bra is forgiving, it just means there are things you can do to work with it.
for years, I've worn non-structured but sized bras (Decent Exposures) and wore mostly lined cotton-lycra bras (the two layers face a different direction to give more support. I really have liked those bras. Very comfortable.
But - I have always wanted to find a 'real' bra that would actually hold my boobs up so they dont fold over. And to do that, I need cast iron (LOL).
Actually, I have an envy which has stretch lace panels - that is great for my different-sized boobs. But overall, the bra doesnt fit as well as some others, but I manage to do ok with band adjustments. I dont think I could get decent support from a lycra bra even with a wire, but having the top panel stretchy would really be nice.
I am tremendously gratified that someone finally recognizes that I KNOW EVERYTHING. I shall refer my husband to you the next time he has the audacity to disagree with me!
I also lol'd at cast iron. Yes, you are correct, the more rigid the (foam) cup, the less leeway there is for it to mold to the user's shape, and the fewer people will be able to find a really good match for their anatomy in that particular bra. It also seems to be difficult for manufacturers to mold a single piece of foam into a deep cup shape, so seamless "foam dome" bras tend to be shallow, which is why there is not a single UK padded bra that fit me when I was bigger and more projected. The Polish brands use seams in their foam bras so this helps them create a deeper cup.
One important thing to remember from the get-go is that underwired bras have a baseline rigidity due to the wire. I don't know if you wear nonwired bras but if you do, you will know what I mean just by contrast--without a wire, the only thing that braces against your body is the underbust band (if there is one!) whereas with a wire, you have a whole vertical and horizontal structure that is bracing the cup against your body.
The "is this worth it?" tradeoff between cup rigidity and cup malleability in an underwire bra is therefore balanced differently in different size ranges. In your size range (larger band and smaller cup) rigidity in the cup itself has very little value and malleability has tremendous value, because the wire in a 40 B/C is already providing a very firm and stable foundation for the cup (think of a wired 40C cup as a pyramid or cone, more or less: as pyramids go, it has a nice wide base and doesn't project out too far, so there is little chance of the bra cup fabric collapsing under the weight of that projected mass of boob). Knowing this, most of your support and comfort concerns will relate to the cup's ability to mold to your shape.
However, consider now the situation of a person in the small band large cup territory. Say 32J or 30K. In an underwire bra, the wired foundation of the "boob pyramid" is narrow, and it has a very projected mass sticking out that needs support. In this size range, even the boob itself does not hold its shape when the person is upright! A stretchy bra cup therefore can't mold to anything except downward slump, pretty much, so it has no hope of keeping that amount of tissue supported just by bracing it against this little wire foundation. More architectural support features are needed. If you look at vintage bras in larger cup volumes, you will see that it used to be customary (and still is, in a few select brands) to use very rigid fabrics (lace is actually a very robust and nonstretchy fabric in many cases), multiple seams, multiple layers of interfacing and lining, in-cup support slings, even underboob panels! Nowadays these features are considered unfashionable, not just because of the bra's "built" appearance but also because these features support the breast tissue up but also out and away from the body (cf. numerous user tirades about "pointy boobs" "madonna boobs" and their insistence that the bosom must look rounded and centered in order to be aesthetically pleasing).
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