A good bra makes you feel great!
For full figured shapely women, there may not be a more essential wardrobe item than the right full figure bra. Worn on a daily basis, it is the most hard-working garment of all, lifting and supporting our breasts and helping us to feel confident to face the world each day.
Your bra can also be your worst enemy if you don’t buy the correct one for your body. There is a fabulous choice ranging from expensive to cheap plus size styles and choices, even within the same band and cup size. So, expect it to take some time in the fitting rooms to pick out the perfect bra.
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Sagging straps, loose band, cups too tight and overflowing – it’s so easy to go wrong. If you have never been now is the time. If you have been fitted, but your weight has changed in the last year, guess what? Your cup and band sizes have fluctuated and you need to be fitted again!
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I like the website BustyBlues.com – where the tagline is “and to think that people actually pay to get DDs!”. BustyBlues has good advice on plus size bras and plus size swimsuits. My favorite page is her recommendations on budget priced plus size bras. Here’s an excerpt…
Up until now, I was just happy to find a bra that fit well and made my clothes look good on me. However, all of my favorite large cup bras are well over $50 a piece, and worth every penny, I might add. So are there any cheap plus size bras, bras under $35 that can stack up to my favorites that cost nearly twice as much? I explored this recently after a trip to Lane Bryant where I found two bras that were comparable in style to a couple of my favorite bras, plus a plus size convertible pushup bra!
I came across a good discussion on plus size bras over at 3FatChicks.com. One writer shared these tips, which I thought were particularly useful:
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. It’s just too difficult to get an accurate measurement when we do it ourselves. And even when you get an accurate sizing, you still have try the bras on because every brand is different, and sizes can even differ within brands!
If you’ve ever had the problem of just too much cleavage showing, check out this cool new accessory: tiny stones that you pin on your blouse to minimize cleavage. They’re called “Bosom Buttons™” and are handmade with quality stones.
Easy to use, you simply pierce the button through your clothing and fasten with clutch at back. Bosom Buttons™ are also handy to keep a scarf or shawl in place. See the whole selection of Bosom Buttons™ here.
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Here are two beautiful tops from Curvety.com that are especially flattering on curvy body types.
The top at left is a dazzling electric blue in a body skimming style. We saw this electric blue big-time during the holiday season, and it remains strong. The easy swing style is flattering on all figure types, and if you can get away with slipping your bra-straps down a little you can show off beautiful shoulders.
But there are no bra-strap concerns with the soft pink blouse pictured at right. The gentle tie-dye effect is garnished with ever popular paisley print; and bra friendly straps add a fun and comfortable touch to the ¾ split sleeves that are finished with a band.
I was extolling the virtues of plus size sports bras (yes, plural… I wear both the Activa Zip Front and the Enell) to a friend the other day. I said I don’t care if they give me the “uni-boob” look – I love the comfort and support.
She looked skeptical, saying that she’d heard that tight fitting sports bras can harm your respiratory tract.
Hmmm…that didn’t sound good. I did some research and found out that in 2005 the American College of Sports Medicine’s scholarly journal published an article on just this issue – the threat of sports bras on respiratory function.
The study determined that the sports bra “imparted significantly more pressure on smaller breasted females’ torsos when compared with the fashion brassiere, although this increased pressure did not appear to significantly affect measured lung volumes or brassiere comfort scores. They concluded that wearing a sports bra during does not harm your respiratory tract. In fact, their research indicates that wearing a sports bra during activity is beneficial to reduce breast motion and its related pain.
Women have been strapping themselves into some kind of breast containing device for eons. Historical records show that some type of bra was worn by women as far back as far back as ancient Greece when Grecian female athletes bound their chests while exercising.
There are many myths about bras, but the 5 bra myths that drive us the craziest are:
Bra Myth #1: Wearing a bra prevents sagging breasts
Breast tissue is made up mostly of fat; it has no muscle at all. Sagging breasts occur naturally because of genetic disposition, gravity, involution (when a breast no longer has to produce milk for suckling) and time. A good support bra is designed to prevent the breast from appearing to sag – but only while it is being worn.
Bra Myth #2: Full figured women can find a great bra “off-the-shelf”
Full figured women rarely find a well fitting bra without first having a professional breast measurement taken. The special needs of heavy breasted women must address band and cup size in addition to type of straps and which garments the bra is being worn under.
Bra Myth #3: Full figured women can save money by buying cheaper bras
When it comes to bras, ‘you get what you pay for’. For a full breasted woman, it is essential that her bra be constructed of a good quality material that is going to withstand the friction of everyday use while adding support and comfort to heavy breasts. Lower quality, cheaper materials will only disintegrate in pretty short order and will soon have to be replaced. Quality bras are stylish, comfortable and, when properly fitted, can alleviate the shoulder pain that is prevalent in large breasted women.
Bra Myth #4: The looser the fit, the more comfortable the bra
On the contrary – a well fitted bra will not move around. A well fitted bra stays in place and will not irritate exposed skin on sensitive friction points of the body. A properly fitted bra not only provides adequate support to heavy breasts, it also distributes their weight evenly, which provides more comfort and looks better too.
And the biggest myth of all…
Bra Myth #5: there are no sexy bras designed for women with large, heavy breasts
Nothing could be further from the truth. Today’s fashion mavens pay particular attention to the wants and needs of the fuller figured woman by designing sexy bras embellished with lace, under-wires and other fashion attractions in order to enhance the aura of sex appeal in women of all shapes and sizes.
A reader wrote to me today and asked an interesting question: if you’re a busty woman is it a good idea or a bad idea to put a picture of yourself that shows off your boobs in your MySpace About Me section?
Hmm…I guess it would depend on what you want your MySpace About Me to achieve. I googled this and came up with a website that is (believe it or not) completely devoted to how to write your MySpace About Me section. Here’s part of what they said on the topic:
Think about the purpose of your MySpace page. Is it to promote your band or your business? If so, write a MySpace About Me section that focuses on your band or your business. If it’s to connect with your friends and make new MySpace friends, then write about stuff that you’d like to share with friends.
So regarding a photo that shows off your assets, I would repeat what MySpace About Me says “think about the purpose of your MySpace page”. And then you’re on your own!
Promising news… Zafu.com will soon be offering a bra style fit predictor similar to their jeans fit service.
As you may know, Zafu is a site where you can type in your measurements and they will give you recommendations on exactly which brand and style of jean will fit you perfectly. Apparently they’ve had requests from hundreds of women all over the country to expand their research to include bras.
They have a team of fit specialists dedicated to making sense of the hundreds of brands, styles and sizes that are available to women today.
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Natalie from the BustingOut forum writes:
I don’t know if there are any knitters here, but I finally bought myself a copy of Big Girl Knits, a knitting book for women size 14 and over. Yeah, not everyone here is plus-sized, but if you are and you knit or know someone who does get your hands on this book because they have knitting patterns specifically for large-breasted women.
Sound like something you’d be interested in? Here’s more info based on the description at Amazon.com:
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