Seriously, does anyone else need to go underwear shopping?

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retirehappy
retirehappy Posts: 4,752 Member
It is that time, the panties and bras are just too loose to do the job. I've done some "shopping" in the packed away clothing, found a bra that really does fit, haven't worn it since 2005, when I had lost down to about this size using ediets and menopause as my motivation. I can't get by one just one bra.

The panties, I keep having to pull most of them up multiple times through out the day. Gotta go shopping for real now.
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Replies

  • CrisEBTrue
    CrisEBTrue Posts: 454 Member
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    It's important to wear a bra that fits. You'll look and feel 10 years younger when the girls are properly supported.
  • sharondtd
    sharondtd Posts: 549 Member
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    Congrats! Get good ones, and be firm with the fitter.
    How many calories do we burn struggling into sports bras that don't have hooks?
  • retirehappy
    retirehappy Posts: 4,752 Member
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    I'm my fitter. I don't trust the flat chested young girls who work in the shops around here.
    I am hard to fit, always have been. I carry over 20 lbs of my weight on my chest. Cris is so right, with proper support, you do feel better and look better too. I always tell them I know what I need and will locate it myself. They don't care they just have to ring me up and get their commission which is always a large one.

    All my sports bras have hooks, and several have underwire support too.
  • CrisEBTrue
    CrisEBTrue Posts: 454 Member
    edited July 2015
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    sharondtd wrote: »
    How many calories do we burn struggling into sports bras that don't have hooks?

    OMG. :p

    Seriously, this happened to me several years ago.
    I was suffering at the time from Frozen Shoulder Syndrome..
    I got the hookless sports bra on, just fine..well it WAS tight. (you can see where this is going)
    But when it came time to remove it, I got one arm halfway out and then I was stuck, one arm waving in the air, the other one wedged tight against my head. I couldn't move my left arm at all without excruciating pain. It was like an episode of I Love Lucy. (rated X for partial nudity). I was bumbling around the room helplessly; even if I'd had a pair of scissors to cut myself out--I couldn't have done it because my arms don't bend that way.

    Finally I got myself out of it... felt like I'd escaped from the web of some giant evil spider.
    I was pretty glad my husband wasn't there to see it.. he wouldn't have been much help, rolling around on the floor in a fit of hysterical laughter.

    I gave that thing to Goodwill. >:)

  • retirehappy
    retirehappy Posts: 4,752 Member
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    Cris, LOL too funny, I'm sure it wasn't at the time tho.
  • CrisEBTrue
    CrisEBTrue Posts: 454 Member
    edited July 2015
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    :D

    I've never been properly fitted for a bra.
    I probably should be. But it would be so embarrassing to roll them up from my waist and stuff them into the cups with somebody watching..

    :/
  • sharondtd
    sharondtd Posts: 549 Member
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    No, I haven't fallen into the massive emoticon - swamp like the youngsters who add strings of them like, wellll.... But I have to do this in appreciation of the laughs. :D:p;)
    Thank you for the smiles!
  • sussexbythesea
    sussexbythesea Posts: 1,335 Member
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    yes do go for a bra fitting though I am still not wearing the recommended band size as just too tight it seems, no longer wearing big knickers! gone down from 16 to 12 UK and can wear the bikini briefs of a few years back without tummy hanging over its great and comfortable, no longer see those big knickers showing when bend at waist!
  • retirehappy
    retirehappy Posts: 4,752 Member
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    yes do go for a bra fitting though I am still not wearing the recommended band size as just too tight it seems, no longer wearing big knickers! gone down from 16 to 12 UK and can wear the bikini briefs of a few years back without tummy hanging over its great and comfortable, no longer see those big knickers showing when bend at waist!

    Always great to have a non scale victory like that. :)
  • grandmothercharlie
    grandmothercharlie Posts: 1,361 Member
    edited July 2015
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    The saying goes: "If you want to look 10 years younger, pull up your bra straps." It's true, too.

    Most people wear the wrong size bra. I finally have the right size and it was because of a youtube video (wish I could find it) by a young lady. She gave a hint for us older, less firm women and it has helped me find the perfect size.

    1. She recommends measuring under the bust and adding the 5" for the band size. 6" if it comes out to be an odd number. (Many sights recommend above the breasts, under the arms. I get too big a band that way).
    2. A bra should always be sized to wear in the end hooks. The others are meant to be used as the bra stretches from wear. They aren't "size" options.
    3. But this was the best tip for older, less firm women! For cup measurement, measure at fullest part of your chest. On me, that is quite low and I still have all the "back" and underarm breast tissue. So, the cup size measurement is really too small. So...then lean over at the waist, so you are parallel to the floor and measure again at the fullest part (Probably across your nipples). All the breast tissue in front, sides and back will have dropped forward. This measurement will probably be quite a bit larger than the first cup measurement. Now, take the difference. This is your cup size measurement. Subtract the band size measurement from the cup size measurement to determine your cup size from the chart below. Of course, it might be up or down a size which you can only tell from measuring. When you try it on (and wear it) you should bend over and reach around to "swipe" any breast tissue from sides and back into the cup. You might have to make a few adjustments to the straps to make sure the band remains level and the straps don't bind.
    4. To know if it fits right, it should feel like a hug. The straps shouldn't be holding the breasts, the bra itself should. You shouldn't have any tissue bulging above the cup. The center gusset between the cups should be flat against your breastbone. Your breasts should be separated. The bra band should be level all around. It shouldn't ride up or down. It shouldn't bind. Cups shouldn't pucker. If the fit isn't perfect, try a cup size up or down or a different style or manufacturer.

    So, here is my measurements. I am 33" under the breast. I add 5" to that so I wear a 38" band size. When I measure for my cup size at the fullest part of my breast it is 40". But, since I sag a lot, when I bend over at the waist and measure at my nipples, it is 48". So I take mid-way and use the 44" to use as my cup measurement. There is 6" difference between the final 38" band measurement and the final 44" cup measurement, so my cup size is a DDD or and F. (Depending on manufacturer). 38DDD is a perfect fit for me. Before, I bought the bands too big and the cups too small. I would then have that bulge under the arm and in the back and the bra would ride up and cut into my shoulders. The right size really does feel like a hug.

    Hanes on-line has Bali, Maidenform, and Playtex. I just bought another of their Bali, minimizer, extra-lift, that has become my favorite bra while on sale for $16.95 and free shipping.
    9cqas1zuqd8x.jpg



  • retirehappy
    retirehappy Posts: 4,752 Member
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    Great tip. Very similar to what I do, but I find if I add the extra to the under breast measurement, they don't fit me right, I just add 1 in., and that works for me with most brands. I find the cups are not all equal, depends on the cut of the cup, so I go for the DDD, but it does take a F or G in some models/brands. That is why I do all my own fitting o:) I am currently down to my old 34DDD bras now.
  • amflautist
    amflautist Posts: 941 Member
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    I need new bras too. Do they still make 38AA? Or maybe all I need is a new box of Band-Aids...
  • retirehappy
    retirehappy Posts: 4,752 Member
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    amflautist wrote: »
    I need new bras too. Do they still make 38AA? Or maybe all I need is a new box of Band-Aids...

    You have no idea how I would like to have that issue.
    No matter how little I weigh, I am never happy with my photos because of my chest, I always look big to me.

  • sharondtd
    sharondtd Posts: 549 Member
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    Thank you. Wish I could educate the new fitter at Macys. I finally got ones that almost fit, but they're still not right the way they used to be with the old fitter.
  • bvifun
    bvifun Posts: 402 Member
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    amflautist wrote: »
    I need new bras too. Do they still make 38AA? Or maybe all I need is a new box of Band-Aids...

    I hear you only too well. Lol. After losing over 30 pounds, I was able to just tighten my hooks (could use a pair of socks in there) but then I went to Victoria's Secret and tried on bras. VS does vanity sizing so I now wear a smaller band but a larger cup size. Not likely! But they fit. I have been able to go to medium undies from large too.

    Of to Canada and another visit to VS. I asked the cute young girl if I was her oldest customer. She assured me I was not.

    To those of you without this issue, if you got it flaunt it.
  • mxchana
    mxchana Posts: 666 Member
    edited July 2015
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    Just getting around to reading your detailed bra explanation, Charlie - and I am undoubtedly wearing too small a cup size... going to have to measure and figure this out. Thanks so much!

    It was thrilling when I lost enough weight that I need to buy new underpants. Every little victory along the way should be celebrated, I say - even the ones that no one else knows about!
  • amflautist
    amflautist Posts: 941 Member
    edited July 2015
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    Went bra shopping today. Dang, they don't make 38A. Had to find the flattest 38B in the store. "Flexi-fit", that's what they call it.
  • grandmothercharlie
    grandmothercharlie Posts: 1,361 Member
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  • amflautist
    amflautist Posts: 941 Member
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    @grandmothercharlie Thank you! I will go looking for that one. A name I remember from ads years ago.
  • bvifun
    bvifun Posts: 402 Member
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    So I did my annual trip to Victoria's Secret for their vanity sizing. This will now mean I have replaced all my old bras. They have some good bras for thos elf us with little on top.