What type/s of bra do you normally wear?

[Cloo]

So, women (and people of other genders who wear bras) what type do you usually wear?

I finally got measured again for the first time in about a decade but these days I do spend a lot of time wearing bamboo fibre crop tops and only when I started doing that (mid pandemic) did it strike me that when you're my size (32C/34B), since the invention of lycra you don't really need underwiring. I basically go between crop tops and strapless t-shirt bras, basically because I have such narrow, slopey shoulders that bra straps constantly slide down them so I've given up on bras with straps on the whole

 

[weepiper]

Used to always be underwired with straps as I have always been quite busty (3OF - 32E-ish) but in the last few months I can't bear underwires any longer (perimenopause related I think) so now soft cup non underwired with straps. Crop top type ones don't cut it and I dislike the feel of strapless ones, also these days it'd be round my waist proper multiple hook over shoulder boulder holder sports bra for when I'm mountain biking.

 

[Cloo]

This new strapless I'm wearing today is a bit uncomfortable, but it'll give a bit after a few wears.

 

[Aladdin]

Used wear underwire but stopped after reading that they were not good and could be dangerous.
I need full support bras. So nothing strapless.

 

[Epona]

I've voted "any sodding bra I can find in my size", I have a large back measurement but small tits, and everything seems geared towards if you have a large back measurement then probably bigger tits and if you're below a C cup then you're out of luck - er no.
M&S have been my go to for decades because they manage to handle this scenario in an affordable (and even sometimes multipack!) manner

 

[Looby]

Pretty much always underwired with straps. I do have a few crop top/bralettes but only for slabbing round the house but I mostly just take my bra off if I’m not WFH and not going out.

 

[ouirdeaux]

I've voted "any sodding bra I can find in my size", I have a large back measurement but small tits, and everything seems geared towards if you have a large back measurement then probably bigger tits and if you're below a C cup then you're out of luck - er no.
M&S have been my go to for decades because they manage to handle this scenario in an affordable (and even sometimes multipack!) manner

M&S used to be that for me, but lately I can't find anything in my size in real shops -- it was always hit and miss, depending how much time I was willing to spend searching, given that they never seem to be in much of an order. I know one other woman with the same bra size as mine -- 38A -- who said that it wasn't a bra size, it was a theoretical construct. I'm inclined to agree.

I could, I suppose, buy them online, but I hate the idea of not being able to feel an item of clothing I'm buying. Though I may have to.

 

[Epona]

ouirdeaux -and some people try to "helpfully" suggest that you can probably get away without having any support, how lucky and free you must be! No fuck off, physics and gravity still does its thing.

Also 100% about having to feel fabric before buying.

 

[WouldBe]

Voted before reading the opening post.

 

[ouirdeaux]

There are too many theoreticals in my last post, and it's been quoted, so there's no point in editing. I want to die.

 

[Epona]

Also familiar with that sentiment, I have unquoted you, please feel free to un-theoretical your post as much as you would like

 

[ouirdeaux]

Also familiar with that sentiment, I have unquoted you, please feel free to un-theoretical your post as much as you would like

Thanks. Even if I've now brought my ineptitude to the attention of a much wider audience by drawing attention to something most had probably hadn't even noticed.

 

[Yu_Gi_Oh]

This summer I mostly didn't wear a bra at all. I'd never done that before but it was about 35C every single day and I'm only a 34A so I don't need a bra, it's always been more about politely concealing my nipples/the bounce. But this summer I was like, no. Fuck off. And people (mostly men) did stare a bit but actually I got very into it.

Now I'm back at work I'm wearing a bra again. Actually I just wear crop tops but it still feels like more restriction than is reasonable after a braless summer. I just got some totally lace crop tops from Etam which I wear if I anticipate I may be taking my clothes off in front of a man after work. But otherwise I wear these very cheap ones from Walmart which are not sexy at allllll but only cost a couple of pounds.

 

[Epona]

Thanks. Even if I've now brought my ineptitude to the attention of a much wider audience by drawing attention to something most had probably hadn't even noticed.

I have a habit of putting way too many commas in my posts in what sometimes appears to be an attempt to break the world record for the longest and most incomprehensible sentence ever written.
I don't think you have much to worry about with a stray theoretical or two.

 

[Cloo]

Small back/larger cup and larger back/small cup are a pain - in the year or so after breastfeeding my oldest I was a 30C and that was annoying because a lot of places only did A or B in 30 back. Made me wonder what all the tiny-sized surgery-boobed celeb women are supposed to do - get custom made I suppose.

 

[furluxor]

I've got an F/FF cup - not because my tits are so big but because apparently, if you are narrow under the bust and your breasts are bigger, the cup size jumps up an extra place (or a few?). I don't understand any of it but that's what a bra fitter tried to explain to me. But I still need proper support. Whenever I hear the whole 'bra is a cage, burn it and be free!' thing, I just breathe in and out very slowly. Yeah, lady, because everyone has a body exactly like you.

And actually I don't find underwire bras uncomfortable, I don't really think of my bra during the day. Going to a specialized shop for larger busts and having a proper fitting changed this in a massive way (before that I wore a D and it was a poor fit). Now I always have a fitting when buying. My sports bra is not underwired but it means a lot of compression and a bit what I imagine wearing a binder would feel like. Which is cool too, it does the job well.

 

[moose]

I like an underwired bra at the lace/mesh end of the scale, or leopard. Ideally with wider shoulder straps so they don't dig in. Big back, big tits.

I despise a moulded cup or padding.

 

[Plumdaff]

I always wore underwired as I believed the (OK, my mum's) orthodoxy that larger-chested women HAD to (I'm bigger-chested but only a D cup). Then in lockdown I discovered bralettes made of really thick nude tight-like material that did the supportive job well, are seam free, and were 900 times more comfortable so I bought a load and pretty much always wear them now. I have since found some lacier pretty bralettes for when the strap may show, so wear an underwire once in a blue moon.

 

[May Kasahara]

Similar to furluxor, I wear underwired bras with straps and feel most comfortable doing so. It often feels like there's a universal assumption that all women hate wearing bras and that it's a painful imposition - actually I hate the feel of non-wired bras, and my tits are too big to go without support. Especially now I'm mid-40s and have breastfed two kids

 

[May Kasahara]

Also, wearing a nice bra that hoiks my tits up a bit makes me feel better about my body overall, which is good for my day to day mental health.

 

[Rebelda]

I am VERY particular about bras. Been through loads of styles but I think I've settled. I have loads of lift you up and push you out and oooh aren't I nice looking ones, but I'm getting rid because I never wear them and most of them are the wrong size. For work and anything vaguely strenuous I wear a 4-hook, wired sports bra with two entirely separate boob compartments. I cannot have them meeting in the middle. For the rest of the time I finally have some non-wired, soft cup bras that also offer full separation. I have one proper cleavage bra for sultry dresses. I don't wear any of them at home.

 

[RubyToogood]

I did the classic lockdown thing of going over to the stretchy Uniqlo type ones, which were more successful for the larger size than I was expecting. It doesn't seem quite right to describe them as crop tops but anyway. Then going back to underwires and finding none of the old ones fitted, mysteriously.

The Uniqlo type are good for wearing when you've got a bit of a revealing neckline as they don't look like underwear.

This thread has prompted me to look up a shop in Forest Hill that does bra fitting and they get absolutely amazing reviews. I might have to try them.

 

[kalidarkone]

I'm a 40 K or maybe KK. I've always worn an underwired K but it's only been fairly recently that KK has been available so I might give it a try.
I always buy online.
I'm considering this at the moment:
Especially because of the back support.

https://www.bravissimo.com/products/mallory-bra-lg108/#multi-lg108mut

 

[RubyToogood]

I'm a 40 K or maybe KK. I've always worn an underwired KK but it's only been fairly recently that KK has been available so I might give it a try.
I always buy online.
I'm considering this at the moment:
Especially because of the back support.

https://www.bravissimo.com/products/mallory-bra-lg108/#multi-lg108mut

I have a bralette I made which has all the straps meeting at a central point on the back in a ring. It's not super effective as a bra and you see the straps at the neckline unless you're very covered up but I do like the different weight distribution.

 

[kalidarkone]

Also bravissimo do some beautiful sexy bras. I always go for sexy for several reasons:
My day to day uniform is grey scrubs so it's important to feel good underneath.

Because my bras are so big they are expensive about £40. So I normally buy one at a time and I find it hard to spend money on clothing that I don't like.

I wear a soft bra exclusively for swimming and one of my swimsuits is underwired, but better suited for a pool party then lane swimming at the local pool- the bust zip won't stay up and each time I emerge from the water....its full on in yer face cleavage

 

[Cloo]

I like moulded/slight padded cups because I have small boobs and a comparatively big tummy so I need all the help I can get to balance my shape up a bit and to make some dresses/tops fit right.

 

[Callie]

Always non padded, underwired with straps. Like May Kasahara I feel a bit weird without a bra. I wear a 38E/F/G so probably should be measured again but i find like all clothing different styles/suppliers differ slightly in fit. I prefer a fairly full cup usually with sturdy fabric rather than flimsy or lacy.

My most recent bra purchases were from Ann Summers but one is flimsy and sparkly gold only £20 which isn't had going. They have a pretty good range of sizes

 

[May Kasahara]

Balconette shape works best for me. Plus I like the mental image of my bosom providing a space for Regency ladies to lounge on with their opera glasses

 

[geminisnake]

stopped wearing bras yrs ago, they were never comfy, will wear a sports bra or crop top if I have to. Thankful I don't need to wear a bra but tbh I think I still wouldn't. Saggy boobs agogo here

 

[Thora]

My ribcage is about 28" so the only available bras tend to be 'teen' styles

I just wear crop top/bralette type things these days.