Okay, later in the week we will definitely be talking about the BFDudes, but for now, let’s help BFDiva Rebecka (and the rest of the girls, and their girls) with the age-old dilemma of finding a good bra, shall we? Take it away, Rebecka:

I am desperate to find a REALLY good bra, for the larger breast set but more importantly get some clarification! I had the idea of turning to you, my sister in boobies, when you posted that great site on your blog about the cute outfits you guys got. So I’m hoping you, your readers or any other fabulous resource you may have come across can send me in the right direction and maybe clarify some things along the way as well.

I’ve read and heard a billion times how to find your bra size. I’ve tried it and pretty consistently come up with a size that doesn’t match with what I have or what feels most comfortable wearing. Now a few weeks ago I recorded a documentary on the BBC called My Big Breasts and Me. Anyway the show made SO much sense. It followed 3 women all very naturally large breasted, E cup and up. They were all fairly averaged sized, one poor girl was 19 a size 4/6 and already a 30F – UGH. So the show said the MOST important parts about fitting your bra to you was to use the measurements as a guideline but follow some bigger rules of thumb.

1) No breast tissue spills out the top or the bottom of the bra
2) The front of the bra in between the breasts sits snugly against the chest
3) The under-wire sits against ribs not breast tissue underneath but even more importantly on the sides (under the arms) (which made sense but at the same time I feel like my breast tissue goes quite far onto the sides of my body)
4) The band of the bra in the back (where the clasp is) was even with the bottom of the bra in the front.

Here’s where my dilemma starts, all this makes sense for me until you get to the band part. Right now I’m a 36DD and I feel like after a month of wearing a new bra, that’s it, the band starts to make it’s way up my back. Not so badly that it’s obvious or uncomfortable but according to the show this is very important with back issues.

Since I went from a D to a DD I started having back issues and I figured this might be why because a DD doesn’t seem all that huge to me (can you tell I live in the land of silicone). I tend to wear a lot of lower cut stuff and I hate when the bra peeks out not to mention I tend to feel like I’m being squished down when I wear some of the full figure styles (the ones that the cup covers more of the upper parts of the breast as well).

At this point the only bra’s that I have found to work for me based on those issues are the Secret Embrace Victoria Secret bras. They’re ok. The ones with the scalloped edges on the bottom can be uncomfortable and extremely itchy and I don’t always want that extra firmness and padding that comes with this style (sometimes it nice but not as a day to day bra). My bra doesn’t need to stand up on its own and i’d love to find one thats not so stiff. I also find that they don’t breathe very well at all and if you combine that with sensitive skin I end up walking down the street with my hands down my shirt itching like crazy. Now these are the bras that after a month I feel like the band starts to stretch so maybe the problem is not the size but that the VS bras are probably shite and that’s why they only last about a month before they start stretching out? But these work for now although I’m still searching for something better and for a style thats a bit more of a day to day, sheer or slight slight padding just to cover nipples peaking through.

I guess I’m curious as to what the rest of the women in this world find? If their problems are similar or if I’m just too big and I’m dreaming to even be thinking about Victoria Secret anymore. Is there a brand or company or someplace out there that sells bras that don’t feel or look like my grandma would wear. Is there something that still does it’s job but I can wear with some of my more plunging neck lines. And last but not least something that doesn’t have a shit load of padding because lets face it at a DD cup size I don’t need nor do I want to add anymore. I heard Wacol was good and have tried them once or twice with no real wow this is great factor but I figured I’d try again and just ordered a 34DDD just to see if that might help with riding up. I figured a larger cup size but smaller around the ribcage to stop the ride? Who knows if this will work but hey it’s worth a try. Let me know if you can point me in the right direction!

Me, I have always bought my bras from Cacique, and I love their new balconette bras, which are low cut enough to work under my many plunging neckline outfits—but they do have that sort of stand-up-on their own stiffness. I’ve also heard good things about Bravissimo (and had a great halter top with a built-in bra from them) but they are a UK company so shipping to the states is expensive. I don’t know how long a bra is “supposed” to last, but I tend to get new ones every three months or so.

One final note is that I have had a bra fitting at Nordstrom, but according to my friend La Wade, bra sizes vary by company and style as much as regular clothing sizes do. Here I always thought it was the one place where women’s clothing sizes remained consistent, but it turns out that is a BIG FAT LIE. So you might have to find a style you like and stick with it.

Let’s see what the rest of the BFDivas have to say about this all-important issue!

Posted by mo pie

Filed under: Fashion, Feminism, Personal, TV