Can we talk bras? Please recommend ones you like

[jerseygirl07067]

Re sizing, are you using the standard "add 4" to determine your size or the true band size method advocated by the Reddit "A bra that fits" group? Switching to the true band size method was literally life changing for me! I used to think I was a 32B or 34A depending on style. My true size is 28 DD! (28 rib, 32.5-33 bust, depending on hormones ). I prefer a little more breathing room, and since that is a hard to find size and I refuse to pay over $50 for a bra, I use the sister size 30D at Aerie.


For bras - Aerie! They have a huge variety of bralettes (which I've become a fan of since swearing off underwire) and they also have a few styles of no wire "real" bras that actually shape you. Their sizing can be inconsistent so it pays to try on in person if possible or order a bunch planning to return many but the comfort is worth it. The underwires I keep for when I need that type of shaping are the Sunnie style (I believe it's the Sunnie full coverage?) but I recently tried their Happy no wire push up and it was so comfy! It had the shape of a wire without the discomfort and the push up was not crazy, just a little lifted. Those styles run smaller in both the band and the cup so I had to size up to 32C but when I compared the band to my 30s it was shorter. So keep in mind your sizing might be wonky on those, esp if you use the true band method, but the comfort and lovely silhouette are worth it. Bras are often 40% off so hold off for at least that good a deal, and check the clearance page because they change fabrics and colors frequently and put the current season's stuff on clearance to make room for next season colors. (I also love their undies, FWIW.)

Soma has some nice bras but their smallest band is 32 so they don't fit me right.

I also did the Reddit sizing a few years ago and went from thinking I was a 38B and I went down a band size and up two cup sizes to a 36C or 36D.

I also like the Natori Feathers bra, which you can find at Nordstrom Rack.

I would look at Aerie as well as Dd1 has a few wire free bras from there as well that are cute. Sadly I do find their sizing off and I haven’t found anything that works in my size for me. They do run small though as she was probably closer to a 30AA initially but needed a 32AA at Aerie, and is now a 34A in their bras, but her more accurate size is a 32B, maybe even a 30B, but we haven’t found that size locally (without paying $65 for a bra, which I am not doing now). She has these:
https://www.ae.com/us/en/p/aerie/bra...enu=cat4840006
https://www.ae.com/us/en/p/aerie/bra...enu=cat4840006



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Holy cow! That Reddit sizing? Wow!
I thought I was a 36B and it said I was a 32DDD or 34DD. I was at Victoria's Secret 2 years ago and they told me something similar with regards to a 32 DDand I did not believe them. However I did try the bras on and they actually fit better than I expected so I guess there's something to this!

I didn't buy any at the time because I thought it was like the vanity sizing of bras lol...

[Globetrotter]

For years I used to wear 36B, but then I switched to 32DD or 34D. So much better.. I too like Natori at NR.

[SnuggleBuggles]

It was a “duh” moment when I realized my straps were always slipping off because my band size was too big. Went down a band, up a cup and things are so much better!


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[Smillow]

My advice: go to a Nordstrom Rack and try on everything close to your “new size”. Different brands will fit differently. Check out their clearance bras. You can get some good deals and it is a less expensive way to feel what works for you.

[MMMommy]

My current fav are the Gap wireless Breathe bras. Very soft and comfy. About $22 each with promo codes (there are usually promo codes all the time).

https://www.gap.com/browse/product.d...p-page-content

[calebsmama03]

My advice: go to a Nordstrom Rack and try on everything close to your “new size”. Different brands will fit differently. Check out their clearance bras. You can get some good deals and it is a less expensive way to feel what works for you.

Agree! There are great deals there as long as your new size is a "common" one. If you land at a 28 or 30 band, or a "large" cup size they have less available.

I tried the natori Feathers bra everyone raves about and it just did not fit me well. The wires poked and the cups were just off no matter how many different size combos I tried, so don't be discouraged with the new sizing thing if you don't find the right fit in the first few bras you try in that size. There's more to it than just band and bust measurement! It's breast shape, how far apart they are, if they are fuller on top or bottom, if they sit higher on your chest or lower, etc. Grab a cup of tea and spend some time reading that Reddit group. It's overwhelming but I have been so much more comfortable (and looked better in clothes!) since I did it.

[calebsmama03]

My current fav are the Gap wireless Breathe bras. Very soft and comfy. About $22 each with promo codes (there are usually promo codes all the time).

https://www.gap.com/browse/product.d...p-page-content

That looks so comfy! Do the bands run TTS or large/small? I used to wear Gap bras before figuring out my real size but had to stop because they never make smaller bands with real cups, just 30 A/B. I wish they would! If that runs small I might be able to get away with a 32. I wish they hadn't massively downsized out gap store so I could try locally!

[MMMommy]

That looks so comfy! Do the bands run TTS or large/small? I used to wear Gap bras before figuring out my real size but had to stop because they never make smaller bands with real cups, just 30 A/B. I wish they would! If that runs small I might be able to get away with a 32. I wish they hadn't massively downsized out gap store so I could try locally!

It's tough bc they don't have a huge selection at the Gap store. But they did have these in some sizes when I went, so I was able to get an idea. I'm usually a 36A, which is what I got. I prob could use a 36AA (smaller cup), but I think they were out of that online. You can always order online in a few sizes just to see. These seem more comfy than Gap's other wireless which I have bought before. This one seems less constricting.

[twowhat?]

I wore a 34B for years because that's all I though really existed in terms of small band sizes...and then I discovered 32C in college which I though fit so much better. But then I discovered breakoutbras.com after I graduated from grad school and discovered that I'm really a 28DD. Game changer when you have your actually correct size. The Breakoutbras sizing guide is simpler than that Reddit thread but follows the same principles. The most challenging thing for me now is finding my size. Brands I like that carry it: Freya and Panache. For bralettes, Cosabella actually carries a curvy line for people exactly like me (small band sizes, larger boobs) and I LOVE them. They have a "soft cotton" version that I use for work - I reach for it before I reach for my Freya and Panache wire bras because wire-free is so comfy, and the basic lace Cosabella curvy bralette is part of my work from home uniform. If I'm wearing something that really requires the extra structure that wires provide, then I will wear my Freya and Panache bras but I rarely wear them now.

[AnnieW625]

Holy cow! That Reddit sizing? Wow!
I thought I was a 36B and it said I was a 32DDD or 34DD. I was at Victoria's Secret 2 years ago and they told me something similar with regards to a 32 DDand I did not believe them. However I did try the bras on and they actually fit better than I expected so I guess there's something to this!

I didn't buy any at the time because I thought it was like the vanity sizing of bras lol...

That happened to me when I was about 6 months pp with DD1 and no longer breast feeding and I went to Nordstrom and this lady in her early 20s sized me as a 32D sized and I thought there was no way in hell I could be that size. I was never a d cup until I got pregnant with Dd1 and I went from a 34a to a 34d and so I dismissed her and the $70 Felina bra she tried to get me to buy and I went back to Kohl’s and bought more bogo Maidenform 34b bras, which actually fit ok until I had Dd2 and then I was convinced I was a 38A or B. I probably just should’ve asked her for a less expensive size 32d bra.

I haven’t been a Victoria’s Secret in years but the last time was probably right before I did the redit sizing and I wondered why the bras didn’t fit right and it was probably because I wasn’t wearing the right size.


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