Everyone loves boobs. Well, some gay men aren’t that crazy about boobs. But many, many people love boobs. However, one challenge when you own a pair of boobs is finding brassieres to put them in. Boys, you might as well click away now, because we’re going to talk about bras in a very analytical kind of way—it won’t be very sexy.
But it’s crucially important; bra fit and comfort make all the difference when you walk out the door, ladies. You really can’t feel good if you’re not rocking your tits. And itchy lace, falling-down straps, and riding-up band can make you miserable all day. Some percentage of women, varying from 65% to 90% according to statistics that are quoted everywhere you look, are wearing the wrong size bra. That’s a lot of misfit bras. I interviewed Michelle, owner of Dollhouse Bettie in San Francisco, about how women can get the right size bra.
The first step is to go to a good shop and get measured, even if you’ve been measured before. Dollhouse Bettie’s staff are all trained in measuring and fitting; you can walk in any time without an appointment and a lovely young lady like the very helpful Elke will fit you and advise you.
At Dollhouse Bettie, I was very surprised to be told I was wearing much too big a band size—going from a 40C to a 36DD or 38D gave me noticeably better support. Bra sizing is an interlocking ratio relationship; you can go up a cup size and down a band size, or down a cup size and up a band size. You need to try both, because the volume of the cup, the distance between your breasts and your personal fleshiness are all factors. I found that while the bigger cup sizes fit my boobs beautifully—who would have thought I was a double D?!—the smaller bands that went with them, while providing much better support, also made the flesh under my arms and on my back bulge out. (See, I told you this wouldn’t be sexy, guys.) If that’s the case, you can try a bra designed with a wide band to prevent this problem; then you’ll be really comfortable and really supported. Look for brands that specifically mention "no more back roll" on the tag. Minimizer bras are often designed this way. Not sexy to think about, I know.
When I spoke to Michelle, she said that her store doesn’t carry band sizes above 38 because most women, unless they are genuinely plus-sized, really shouldn’t be wearing a 40. Instead, they may be happier in a larger cup. Oddly, she finds women in the US have an aversion to going with a larger cup size—not what you’d expect! The Brit lingerie blog Knickers has a great article about how Americans live in denial about larger cup size bras.
Yes, getting fitted means you will probably have to buy a bunch of new bras. But really, don’t we all need new bras most of the time? They are only designed to last six months to two years ( for the over $100 ones), and we all keep them much longer than that. Even more not sexy, guys. Sorry.
If you’re not near a high-end lingerie shop like Dollhouse Bettie’s, department stores have fitting services and fitting events. Macy’s, Nordstrom, and J.C. Penney will generally do a bra-fitting without an appointment and for free. Before you get fitted, or if you absolutely can’t find the time to do it, watch these extremely helpful videos on bra fitting on the Macy’s site.I absolutely love these videos because the first girl they show is a full-sized, gorgeous woman with curves.
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