Oh girl...I'm so with ya on this one! I can't stand wearing bras...period.

Has anyone tried those Ahhh Bras from HSN or the Genie ones?

You're lucky that your's are still perky dirt...lol!

I'm with you all the way. The bra was the first thing that came off everytime I came home. The best thing that I can say about having the bilateral mastectomies is that there is no more reason to wear one. I am totally comfortable now, and if you don't like to see my flat chest, that is your problem, not mine.

Heather, good for you!! I didn't know about your double mast., but you are strong, inside and out. You're right, if you don't like it, don't look!

My bra comes off every nite after dinner. I unhook it and pull it out through my sleeves and hubby laughs every time.

I never thought of wearing just a cami, the bra still lifts them out there, though which I need and like. LOL

What kind of cami has the shelf in it? Since my reduction, it's hard to find anything that fits me around (as I'm not small), and also fit my boobs (which are small). Bathing suits are the same problem. I need find one with a shelf.

I don't know your age, or your height, but I also wear a 36DD bra, am 5ft 1in. with a short torso and would never go without wearing one, except when I sleep.
I am 66.

Why?
I run the risk of tucking them under my belt.
Shirts with darts wouldn't fit right.
Running down stairs is no fun.

I've always been small, anywhere in my life for 32A to 34B. I stopped wearing bras when I was about 40, just didn't see the point. I never ever even had "cleavage". Then I started dialysis, so I have many nurses, doctors, technicians leaning over me and working on my arm where the needles go. I started wearing a bra to avoid them touching my uncovered breasts. I own one nice cammy which I wear for fancy dress-up occasions, like Thanksgiving dinner.

LuckyGardner, I found some at Old Navy 100% cotton ( which you all know I love) they were very reasonable. I too am, built generously ( a nice way to put it) I hear you on all the smaller or tight ones, these are nice and soft and easy to wear.

Monica, I am 36 and 5'6'' They are still a little perky not like when I was 18 but comfort wins over, plus unless I am chasing kids, no running :)

Stacie

Due to mastectomy, reconstruction & reduction on other side, am unable to wear anything tight even a jogging bra. Love the Ahh bras-they provide just enough support without being constricting.

I wear a bra in the summer, but a cami in the winter. The cami I buy is to hot in the summer. It is long enough to tuck in and stay and it has more of a cup than a piece of elastic.

My bra straps no longer slip. The grooves in my shoulders hold them in place.

I've been 5' 6" and 36-DD since I was 14. I've never seen the advantage of this. I hated to give up sleeping on my tummy. Clothes that fit my narrow shoulders and back will pull over my bossom. Blouses gape open in front. Nighties must fall from the shoulders, not be fitted. From middle age on, gravity has taken a toll. I'm still 'all in front', but at a lower altitude. And there are the grooves.

Be happy, those of you with smaller busts!

Stacie, Thanks for starting this thread. Like you, I love and have to have all cotton too. I'm going to pay Old Navy an on-line visit and check out those cami's. I'm small chested but still can't stand anything that's the least bit binding...drives me nuts!
I'm "high fivin'" all you gals for sharing your experiences and for not giving up not matter what the circumstances.

I'm so glad I decided to join here...feels like home already because everyone seems so honest and down to earth...it's great! I can tell we all have each other's best interests at heart...and that's what it's all about.

Bras have always been uncomfortable from as far back as I can remember, until a few years ago when I had a professional fitting. Turns out I had been wearing the wrong size and using the straps as support, instead of the band. Ever since then I don't even feel like I am wearing a bra and I don't have grooves in my shoulders anymore.

I've tried cami's, but they don't provide the support that I like.

The guy who invented the bra should be shot, and I just KNOW it was a guy, lol. !!!

I can't stand being braless - ewww. Except in bed, of course. When I get up in the morning, unless I'm getting directly into the shows (after feeding the cats, of course!!!), I put a bra on.

Just can't stand the feeling. And I'm small 34 A or B (if I'm lucky). I'm so surprised to see so many women who go braless! I don't find bras uncomfortable at all. Interesting!

What monica said, except add 2 inches to her first # and increase the alphabet to G and add 3 more years.

Believe me, these big sacks of warm mashed potatoes need support. No, there is no such thing as a comfortable bra, just some are less painful that others.

Lovemymimi, you are so very welcome. Hope that you find something at old navy. And speaking of them and all cotton, I also love their long sleeve t-shirts, they are thinner but super soft, kinda like wearing a hug.

Stacie

ps Love, love, love your name, my sister's name is Amy but thanks to my oldest we call her Aunt Mimi lol.

"these big sacks of warm mashed potatoes need support"

That's the funniest I've ever heard of describing breast! LOL!

The most comfortable bras I own are the wireless ones from Bali. Just bought 3 more of them.
They do support, straps don't slip and love them.

And....they make plain ones - bras without lace, buttons or bows.

Suzieque, you don't know how lucky you are.

DDD here. have always been big. LOL . They are fatty and have never been too perky. ! LOL TMI TMI
I will not go with out a bra. I won't at home either.
And they are all underwire. These puppies need support.
and I am NOT comfortable with them swinging, swaying about when I am walking or trying to do housework, gardening or moving at all. AND in the summer? hot skin against skin? I don't think so! LOL you ARE lucky! More power to you!
kat
who has always wished for a a or b cup! LOL

The grass is always greener! I am a small B and I very much envy those with the curves! It's too bad we can't all just be given C cups across the board, lol.

I also hate going without a bra and I usually sleep in mine. I find them very comfortable. I imagine it's more comfortable for smaller chested girls to wear them because there isn't as much strain from the bra on the back and shoulders to keep them properly restrained, lol.

I wore camisoles through my 20s, then started wearing a light, comfy bra. Hate underwires.

I have both the ahhh bra & the genie bra. The ahhh bra is thinner with less support then the genie. But the genie is a tight fit so get it a size larger. They do tend to flatten you out a bit, but they are comfortable.
There is a older thread on these bras see link below.
You can still find the genie or ahhh bras at some walgreens.

Here is a link that might be useful: Just had to tell you.....

Chi83, I will gladly donate some of my 36DDs to you, they are not all they are cracked up to be!!!

Funny story, I had an older coworker once who always made jokes, and he told me his wife' bra was a 36 long.

HATE, HATE, HATE bras. I'm a 36D and it's the first thing I take off when I get home...the shoes and bra both simultaneously.

I have a couple of ahhh bras and they're nice. Not constraining at all, but I'd still rather be braless in my own home. Such a feeling of freedom for the girls.

Mine were never "perky". I was in 34 DD at 13 y-o, and it was a nightmare, with the teasing and such. They were heavy, and I was slightly built (then, LOL).

But a really well-fitting bra is a marvel. No digging in of the straps, no poking of the underwires. If you hate bras that much, you might need a professional fitting.

If I wore a camisole with a shelf bra, I'd be tucking them in my trousers, too.

the AH BRA IS at walmart for $20 dollars each ,,,and it is called the ah bra

tee hee about the 36 long!!!

When I graduated from high school I was a 36 B, then when I graduated from college a 36 DD. You think I hit puberty a little late lol. I have never liked wearing a bra, even in high school. After spending 6 years either pregnant or breast feeding and always wearing a bra. I am glad I can go without and still feel comfortable.

Stacie

32 or 34 A here......but I always wear a bra, once it's on, I never really think about it. I feel for you bigger chested girls. I used to want to be a little bigger, but really, I don't know what I would do with them!! lol.....luckily, DH isn't a boob man. :o)

When I was young, camisoles were worn over your bra and under a sheer blouse. I do not like seeing women without a bra! Always a bra for me.

Sue

When they operated on my right lung, one of the incisions is located exactly where my bra elastic covers under the cup...Needless to say that I don't enjoy wearing a bra because of that but I don't go braless or I would be itching. I always get a rash if I don't wear one....I have yet to find one that I like....since the surgery.....I also have the issue of having had breast surgery so left side is way smaller than right side but still have to have a D cup.

40 or 42 DDD here... I had a professional bra fitting once, many many years ago and came out with an instrument of torture that certainly supported, but I was pointy and felt like I was wearing bra armor! Maybe they do a better job and have more wearable professionally fit bras now....

Bras that fit were always hard for me to find, and there are a lot of ignorant sales people out there. One time, I asked a salesperson if they had any bigger cups, and she said 'oh we have bras up to a size 56!. I didn't need a 56! I needed a bigger cup! And I KNOW there are people out there a lot bigger than I am. I see them all the time!

For years now, I've work Bali'z Satin Tracings Minimizer bras. They aren't perfect, but they're far and away the best fit (for me) that I've ever found. They have wide straps so they don't really dig in. I still have trouble though, getting support through the band. No matter how snug the band fits, it always pulls up. Wish I had an answer for that problem.

I just bought the Genie Bra at BBB yesterday. As far as sizing goes, they do run small. I am 5'10" and wear a size 14 and bra size 38A which is basically impossible to find! I will say that the XL is very tight! I'm thinking about taking it back. It just seems like clothing these days is sooooo small! I'm still wearing some OLD clothes that I bought many years ago that are size >MEDIUMI HATE HATE HATE wearing a bra and my size is non-existent and even if I do find "my size" it doesn't even fit me right. Apparently made for women that have pointed breasts...HEEHEE!

My 97 yr old mama recently decided that she will now go braless. She is tiny... 81 pounds... but with osteoporotic "hump" in her spine, bra fitting has been a real issue. We had settled on 36 A (which are nearly impossible to find), but even then annoyingly the bra pops up over the girls. I told her that at her age, she was most assuredly allowed to go braless.

I remember in the 1970's reading that if you could hold a pencil under your boob, well you needed a bra & should not go without. I could ~~barely~~ hold the pencil. My how times have changed. Now I could hold a pack of pencils! LOL! I hate wearing a bra, it's sooo hard to find a comfortable one, but also dislike the girls just lounging on my upper abd. I'm going to look into the cami's.

My mom (in her 80's) always wore just a cami, after she had her mastectomy (single) at somewhere around 82. I think she was perfectly comfortable that way, and she was pretty well endowed.

My Mom is 89 and also decided no more bras she has very bad Rheumatoid Arthritis so trying to even pull on a sports bra was impossible. Plus she is a tiny woman. So she is going the cami route or wearing some type of shirt under her regular tops. We went shopping and got several sets with a matching tee or sleeveless top to go under her shirt. She was very happy and did not feel braless.

I am not a tiny woman by far so for me the whole bra issue is a true pain. I have RA also and started having a problem pulling on my sports bras and no way could I do the back hooks any longer. The ahh and genie bra was a comic event when I tried those. But I have found thus far the most comfortable and easy to put on bra so I bought several of them in various colors and now I can actually put them on by myself and not be terribly irritated by it, the straps have like memory foam and are so comfy plus they are very supportive.
Wirefree front-hook seamless leisure bra by Comfort Choice�
I wait till they are on sale and then use one of the promo codes I can always find online and get them at a very good price, also since they have the bra club I end up getting one free.
I showed these bras to my sister and she tried on one of the new ones I had never worn and I thought she was going to steal it from me. I emailed her the site link and a promo code so she could get her own. LOL

For years I wore the all in one teddy which I dearly loved because there was no band around you to crawl up.

At home alone I am often with out bra, out in public always wear one.

UPDATE on the Genie bra I got yesterday at Bed Bath and Beyond plus $5 off coupon, so 2/$15.00. I decided to try it on again and realized the tightness was not around my chest but because I'm a tall woman, the shoulder straps are kind of short for me. I decided to leave it on for a few minutes to decide if I should keep it and found it was actually pretty comfortable. So I wore one of them today and I'm happy I got them. I barely felt it on. I think it may be too hot for the summer months though.

This is what I think about the Genie Bra. I would not suggest buying it if you are large busted because I'm an A cup(just barely too!) and it's tight even on my small bust! So maybe a B cup tops. Still I think a B cup it would smush you flat. But you can always return them at BBB.