Another Wacoal fan. I wear the Awareness. It took me a while to find this bra. I was actually fitted at Bloomingdales. I bought and couldn't wear many brands. I even went to the store in NYC that was recommended by Oprah.

I now buy this bra at a local shop where is is discounted.

Go to a big store and be patient enough to try on many bras. Bring or wear a t-shirt to see how the bra looks . If it looks good with a t-shirt it will be fine for all your sweaters and blouses.

Don't get talked into getting a bra that is too tight. Don't get talked into buying extenders or having them sew something to extend it. You will be able to find something but it might take a few stores. There is a local shop that said to me that they had nothing for me! A good friend gets all her bras there and yet there is nothing that fits her at the shop I go to.

Make this your mission. When you find a good bra, stock up! Bras can be discontinued but I found out that mine is a very popular bra and it will be soon be made into other colors. This is a sign that it is a good seller.

I agree the only way to get a comfortable bra is to be fitted by someone who knows what they are doing. They will know how brands run. In one brand I am a much different size then another go figure. A good source are stores that also sell prosthetic for mastectomy women. I find these stores to have lots of expertise, and carry specialty bras for all sorts of needs. Most city's usually have at least one store specializing in bras not just lingerie stores that also carry bras. (just search on line )Once you find that perfect bra you can order online (usually cheaper if that is a concern) The trying on is the part that I hate the most it so frustrating everything pretty or sporty or on sale doesn't fit :( or worse you think it will work only to find it pinches etc. But I have found Elomi/goddess work but have to be fitted as their sizing is weird. Good luck hope you find something that works.

I was ridiculously excited to FINALLY find a bra that fits me perfectly, the straps don't EVER slide off the shoulder, extremely comfortable (even with the underwire and covers my back fat & under arm fat. It is made by Vanity Fair & can be bought at JCP. http://www.jcpenney.com/women/bras-panties-lingerie/bras/customer-favorites/vanity-fair-beauty-back-full-figure-back-smoothing-underwire-bra-76380/prod.jump?ppId=1dac530&catId=cat1001460027&subcatId=cat100240035&deptId=dept20000013&topDim=Product+Type&topDimvalue=bras&dimCombo=Product+Type%7C&dimComboVal=bras%7C&currentDim=Product+Type&currentDimVal=bras&dyncharset=UTF-8&urlState=/women/shop-clothing/bras-panties-lingerie/shop-brands/vanity-fair/bras//N-gk8ri3Z1z141pm/cat.jump

Bali double support wire free bra. Natural cups, no padding, stretchy fit.

wore underwire for several years but changed after first baby...now I wear a front closure and for the most part very comfortable...aaa, thanks for the shop name. i'll see if they have one in Detroit...

I am not a fan of them! UGH!

that was a good video, long but good.

I agree with you, JoAnn, it is a good video and the links she posted are great, too. I am sending all this info to my granddaughters.

I'm going to share this video with every woman I know! Why is it such a secret of how to measure for a gosh darn bra for crying out loud!?

where are the links? I needs that chart.

also where would someone find a I-J-K and larger bra???? That would fit my head!

I just can't believe this.

The links are in the description. Click on "More" to see them. The chart is here: http://www.reddit.com/r/ABraThatFits/comments/rh26h/is_getting_fitted_for_a_bra_as_humiliating_as_it/c469bi0 Or you can pause the video and take a screen shot.

I have a friend who was very generously endowed, had two babies and never lost the additional size. She wears a J, I think.

I like Wacoal Retro Chic, but I've always worn the bra that fits best, exclusively (for decades it was Vanity Fair Lace Picquant), rather than different styles on different days. Instead, I buy them on the Wacoal website to get the pretty colors. Every season they have one or two specials.

I just went by one of the names of the bras she mentioned, "The Panache" and found the "Simply Be" web site. I think it may be out of the UK, not sure. But shipping is quick. Nice customer service.

On the left of the page, you'll see where to narrow searches, for instance size, style, price etc. If you check "size" and then "J" (or whatever) it will bring up a page of what they offer in that size.

Wanted to add that when you first put on a bra that actually fits, you may feel like I did. "This doesn't fit - it's way too tight! I can't even hook it! My sternum feels pressed!" But if you give it a chance they seem to form to your body. The scoop technique she mentions works too!

Simply Be web site (bra section)

I wouldn't consider buying a bra online unless I got to try on that size first.
I'm going to see what JCPenny has to offer, an maybe just go up a size. It has to be better then what I have now.

I'm wearing my best one right now, have to take a niece to a dr. I have found the European bras have much better construction. Mine is a Rosa Faia and retails between 79.00 to 109.00 and I know that is pricey but, when I take in to consideration the dozens of bras I've bought that don't fit, it's worth it. I went to a specialty bra store and they lady found this one for me and I've worn this style ever since. I have nerve pain in my back due to many surgeries and had always had pain until this so I'll never switch to any other brand. The sizes are different that American sizing.

I do wish one thing tho, that my bras had more padding, not to make you bigger, but a layer of padding in the cups for a more modest look under t-shirts and other thinner garments. I hate the "high beams on" look but I sacrifice for the non-quad boobs.

I won't let people who have been handed a measuring tape and a few minutes of "training", tell me my size. One should measure with no clothes on, and that aint happening in public (for me). If I wear a bra that has problems, it's likely due to weight gain, but I wear it wrong on my terms. I should just lose the weight, but that's another issue.

Schoolhouse, have you tried nipple covers? There are many kinds from the disposable adhesive ones (only the outer edge is adhesive, to reusable ones that are just held on by your bra, to silicone ones that just stick.

Schoolhouse: An alternative to that "high beams" look? "Petal Tops" -- silicone circles with a slight adhesive on the backs that you place over the nipples. There's a Playtex/Hanes store near me, and they stock the Braza-label ones. They are very comfortable; are reusable; they both stick and un-stick (when you're ready to take them off) very easily; and the Braza type costs $9. I have seen similar types at Joann's Fabrics, in the notions area, too. I use them frequently, and they really do conceal what you don't want revealed. (One day, I forgot to use them. I rushed to the restroom at work and tried to finesse something out of toilet paper to use as coverings. It wasn't exactly a great look!)

Oops, Pilllog! Great minds think alike!

Yup! Pammyfay, if you have to improvise at the office again, try Scotch Tape. Or Scotch tape over half a folded Kleenex. Or a big BandAid. (I seem to have a name brand streak going here.) As long as you have a bra on, and not a tight white/light T-shirt, it shouldn't show. Tape alone works pretty well under spandex. 'Course, I come from an era when we repudiated the plastic doll look and didn't mind a little show through. :)

pammyfay! LOL! I've been there girl. I've seen items similar to "Petal Tops", I think at Elder Beerman one time; but it seemed like they were expensive and a one-time use thing. The Petal Tops sound interesting, I'll give them a try. The last two bras I bought from Simply Be are suppose to help with the problem by being "perfect for under thinner clothes....". I've tried them on but haven't worn them yet. Time will tell. I needed some casual styles for working outside in the summer.

Oh yes, I've improvised many times over the years. Some things like tape and bandaides work but - OUCH when you take it off. However, the medical(?) paper tape for sensitive skin works okay if not left on too long.

rob33, I always heard too that if you lose weight, you'll lose it in the bust also; but that doesn't seem to be the case for me. Maybe a little, but not all that much. It's a genetic thing!

here they are as a "buy it now" on eBay for $6.00 that's for 5 pair!
Petal-Tops

Hey, wow! Thanks. I was going to go online and read some reviews first but maybe I should snag those on Ebay. I'll bookmark.

You need to get fitted properly. I finally fitted myself, by checking an online tutorial. No wonder I couldn't find a bra to fit me to save my life! I've always worn the wrong size! I'm now wearing the right size. My boobs are where they belong! Oh, don't get the yahoos at Victorias Secret to size you. I couldn't believe where the girl put the measuring tape to measure me. No wonder their bras didn't fit me....... I was elated to find out though, that Noordstroms carries bras with large cup sizes. I'm a 32F. I've always worn a 34DD. And I wondered why I had no support........ :)

The fitter I had at Nordstrum's must not have been taught correctly, because she sized me the way the video said not to. Then also advised they had no bras that would fit me. My point is, the video indicated that Nordstrum's did good fittings - that is not necessarily true. Perhaps at some stores.

I remember in the video she said she bought some of her favorites at Nordstrom's but I don't remember her mentioning them measuring, i.e. fitting her. She didn't look all that buxom to me either, so maybe they did carry some that fit her. I went to Nordstrom's online way back when I first saw the video and didn't see any size in my size either.

All this bra talk is making my head spin, I have never seen anything over a DD in the stores. I am not about to spend a pile on them either so up a size or 2 for me and hope that works.

* One question though............... Do you know of any pull on over the head bras that will work? After I had that frozen shoulder I can't reach back there to hook, so over the head it has to go. I don't like to hook in the front and spin around, I guess I got spoiled.

There was a thing awhile back where Oprah called out Nordstrom as the place for bras. Riding that, Nordstrom way expanded their lingerie departments and staffed accordingly, to meet the demand. The fitting video is a couple years old as well, nearer the time when that was happening. It's quite possible that they were understaffed so hired someone who had been trained at Victoria's Secret and hadn't been trained yet, or slipped by without them realizing she was doing it wrong.

The only pull over the head bras that I can think
of are the sports bras. But I'm not sure how much support they really give. I do
know sometimes you get that "one-boob or una-boob" look. I tried one once many years ago thinking it would work as a minimizer but it stretched out pretty quickly.

All I know is that I was totally wearing the wrong band size all these years. Once I did the math, I somehow came up with the "J" size and it works.

I sized myself this morning and BOY I did not realize I was not wearing the right size either! According to the video, my number size is only a 33 which would go up to probably a 34 since they don't sell 33s...I was wearing a 38! OMGosh! I'm anxious to go try on the size that I am supposed to wear and see if it's accurate!

On this one ...
... o j is (uncharacteristically) ... speechless!

The girl I spoke with at the Noordstroms here has to take a fitting course that is a total of six weeks long, plus she has to fit X amount of customers to get her "diploma". When I mentioned VS to the girl at Noordstroms, she rolled her eyes....

I'm just now watching the video! And yes, I had the woman at Victorias Secret measure me that way and I laughed and asked my daughter what that girl thought she was doing. LOL And I did measure myself the way the girl in the video showed. And we are the same size. :)

joyfulguy - if only we ladies could just sew new elastic into our under garments we'd be happy. It just wouldn't support the same things in the same way! (wink). This IS aka "OleJoyful" isn't it?

Good point, plllog. That could have very been the case. And debby_ab, that is good to know. I might give Nordstroms another chance.

I tried on about 12 bras today, None fit! I don't know what to think or what size to even get. I measured the band size like she said but the bras I tried on the band size was way too tight, even going up a size still didn't work. I think I will just stick to what I have been wearing and a go up a cup size or 2. If I can even find one.

JoAnn, did you find your size in UK equivalent? Because I did just as you did before I ordered online and went to Kohls, needing a new bra for a special occasion asap. I tried the US equivalent of the UK size, and the bra from Kohls was too small with the quad boob look again. I called KMart because on their website they had Js, but when I called the local store the clerk said they don't carry that size but she could special order it and call me back. She never did.

I know how frustrating it is and I sympathize.

JoAnn, you want to band size to be tight. They stretch out and it doesn't take long. I've had mine about 2 months now, and probably could go to the middle hook already. It was very tight in the beginning for about a week.

Interesting. I will check out some of these suggestions because I have seldom found a comfortable bra. I almost never wear them. I know...not good, but I am at a stage in my life where comfort means more to me than anything else. I think the most comfortable bras I ever wore were nursing bras and that goes back 30 and more years!

Marilyn, Dr. Ochoa-Maya would approve of what you're doing. According to her (and it makes sense to me), there's no reason to wear a bra except for personal comfort if necessary. Otherwise, we're better off without them. Wearing a too-tight bra can pose risks.

Dr. Ochoa-Maya's blog post on the subject

If I didn't wear a bra, my boobs would tuck into the tops of my jeans and I would look flat chested..... And I wear low rise jeans......... Ain't nobody wanna see that. ;)

Alisande, that's a great article; my health care providers agree with her! The only time I wear a bra is when I'm out in public and am not wearing layers. This has been my habit for many years, and there's no question that I feel better for it.

The bra I bought yesterday is pretty comfy, soft and lightly padded. 4-way stretch. Cushioned convertible straps. (It will also stretch over your head.) Just under $18 at Walmart, its a Playtex - Play it up, The Downtimer Bra. It goes up to a 2XL which can be a 44 DD.

Hooray! Hope it works out for you.

I wish I could go bra less. It's definitely more comfortable, up to a point. Working outside in the summer wouldn't be pleasant though.

Mine comes off every nite. I'll slip it off through my sleeve and hubby laughs every time when I do that. Freedom!

I've often thought that a man had to have invented the bra.....would any woman really invent something that would put tight spandex around the breasts in 95 degree heat!!! Lol. Wouldn't it be nice if bras were never invented? Then we'd all look totally normal with breasts hanging down to our toes!

Naming brands probably doesn't help much because what's comfortable for me mY not be for someone else but I'll throw it out there anyway. I've worn Glamorise Magic Lift bras for years. I've tried other brands but always go back to my tried and true. I'm not sure I'm "magically lifted" but as far as bras go, this is the most comfortable for me, even though it comes off the minute I get home.

I've measured myself in the past but the size I come up with is way off from what is comfortable.

Y'all, much of what has been said here is why one needs a properly fitted bra! Yes, the band should be tight, but not tight enough to be restricting. Even though you should fit the bra to the last hook, you should be able to hook the middle hook without straining. If you can't, you either need a bigger size to start with, or the bra doesn't have sufficient give. There shouldn't be any strain on your shoulders. Lift with your knees! :) That is, without the shoulder straps on, all the lifting should still be done. The shoulder straps just keep things in place and do that final little shaping. You should not be stabbed by any part of the bra. You should not feel a sigh a relief when you remove it, and should be more comfortable wearing a bra than swinging free. A really well made and fitted bra will do that for you. Otherwise, why bother?.

I'm happy with Victoria secret body fit. I hate push up bras and lace. I've never worn good fitting bras until I found the VC ones. They last along time and you feel like you don't even have one on, but have the support and no head lights show! I need new ones again, I think they are about $40.00 each