Busting through comfort and style

This is a dilemma I haven’t completely resolved for myself but I do have a few tips to share. I know I’m not alone in loving comfortable clothes. I know I’m not alone in that I still haven’t shed all of the corona curves gained in lockdowns when I went from doing five exercise classes per week to becoming a couch potato. Wearing leggings and tracksuits and sloppy tops and cosy coats has been an easy solution for middle and outerwear. Buying bigger undies is easy enough too. But what to do about the bras??!

Good ones are sooo expensive so it’s tempting to keep wearing old ones that don’t fit properly but still do up because they’ve stretched. This doesn’t necessarily give us the shape or support we desire but it’s an interim solution that many of us opt for. But when we arrive home and that underwire is digging in, the feeling of relief when we cast that old thing aside is so good!!!

Given that most of us over a size C feel we need to wear a bra in public to move freely without attracting attention or feeling self conscious, once our bra becomes uncomfortable, it can be a real dilemma as to what to do. And for those of us who have back pain as a result of the weight up front, things are harder still.

Here are some options…

CROP TOPS

I have several and I do like to do wear these in the summer months as they’re not as constricting as a regular bra. Somehow underwire in warm weather is less tolerable. But they don’t offer support and don’t give you the shape that a good bra does.

BRA EXTENDERS

Have you met these? They are the ultimate in sustainability if the cups of your bra still fit but your torso width has extended. You connect them (via hooks) to your existing bra to extend its girth. They may not be a long term solution but are a fantastic interim one if you have only expanded in one area (torso width).

BRAS WITHOUT UNDERWIRE

I believe this option is the middle ground. It doesn’t quite give the comfort of a good crop top yet doesn’t always give a great shape either. These are worth trying though, as different shapes work for different people. I have a sports bra without an underwire by Panache, and while the shape is not amazing, I’m choosing support and comfort in this instance and it’s great for both of those.

There are lots of cool looking ones advertised online these days, and if they didn’t cost as much as a conventional bra I’d be really tempted to try a few. But you can’t try before ordering and it could become an expensive mistake. The other problem is that very few offer large cups in the smaller band sizes and vice versa.

INVESTING IN A GOOD FIT

I bit the bullet this week. After months / years of hoping, I realised I wasn’t going to spring back to my early 2020 size and shape, so I went to visit the experts and spent the money. Although the price can hurt, the feeling of having a new comfortable bra is sensational! I’m talking about barely feeling that I’m wearing it.

The key is to get the band to fit properly around your upper torso on the loosest fixture without hurting you. You don’t want it riding up or sitting slackly because that means it’s not supportive and you may as well opt for the crop top. Neither do you want it digging in so much that it hurts.

Only once you find a bra that fits well in the band, do you begin to alter the straps. From my experience, wider straps are more comfortable and often look better than thin straps; these dig in more as there is more pressure on a smaller area. Once you have altered the straps, if nothing hurts, and the cup size is also right, you have the right bra.

This is not easy to do on your own until you know exactly how the right bra should fit and feel. And even once you do, having a professional fitting makes the whole experience quicker and easier. Most of us know that awful feeling of struggling into bras on our own in the fitting room, only to walk out exasperated when we find nothing to fit!

So I recommend treating yourself to a professional fitting at least once. The professional people know their stuff and will prevent you from feeling like the woman in the best furniture ad I’ve ever seen, where she bounces down on her couch after a tough day, removing her bra in disgust and throwing her feet up as she does! (A play on those other ads wherein impossibly thin models wearing too much makeup totter around in stilettos perching on the side of a sofa, never truly relaxing). I love this ad; it’s refreshingly real! Have you seen it??!

At the time of writing, I’ve arrived home after test-driving my new bra and I have no desire to rip it off. Thank goodness; that’s money well spent! Seriously, if you’ve not been able to find a comfortable bra that fits properly on your own, I do recommend investing in a professional fitting, and being entirely honest with the person looking after you about where you need it to be more comfortable. You could be amazed at the difference it makes, particularly if you thought you’d never be comfortable in an underwire again.