Big boobs

I don’t want to derail the thread again as it is actually not about bra fittings 😂but I stand corrected from my earlier posts about bra size @Mooshamoo I went for an-in store fitting yesterday and I’m actually a 32H!

The bras i tried on made my chest look so much more perkier and lifted and were so comfortable.

Bu the new bras as lovely and comfy as they are will not make my chest less sexualised /looked at! They are still very big and noticeable but it is what it is. At least they look and feel a lot better now and I’m giving my boobs the correct support.

Try Asda. They do 36G, so if 36f isn't big enough that should be your next choice rather than 38f. Maybe 38G. But I definitely think Asda 36G would be worth a try. They're only £5/6 each with underwired soft cups and really comfy. My first port of call since Debenhams closed.

Elomi are great for larger cup sizes. Agree your bra size sounds off. I'm a 16 and in 34 k/kk. I wear the Brianna so comfy often forget I'm wearing it

I think as a rule, ladies like me and OP with larger busts, find it hard to find clothes to cover us up because they're not designed for large breasts. So while on a woman with small or normal sized breasts, that top or shirt might feel like it's covering everything, on us, we're still spilling out or drawing insane attention to our breasts without wanting to.

As someone who prefers clothes that are more flexible, I'll take your word for it about not being able to find clothes that are fitted but not crop tops/ body con! It doesn't feel like that to me because so often if I can fit it over the bust it is too baggy and big over the waist. It wouldn't surprise me though if properly fitted clothes like that are only available in more expensive brands - just like when I was wearing smart dresses for work, I generally found that a good tailored dress was only available at the pricier brands as I guess the more cheap and cheerful ones don't have the budget to make them.

I do agree with the OP's point though that people with big boobs are more sexualised by others, no matter what you wear. I found that even at school and I was only a C cup. I've gone from a 38DD to a 34DD in the last few years, and I feel so much better - not just two and a half stone lighter but from my breasts being smaller and lighter which then makes exercise easier and helps keep the weight and fat off.

No, but some clothes seem to be designed for people want to cover up in a tent at all sizes, and don't be faux-naïve about shops having a particular age group in mind. And it's much easier to design and make boxy clothes with no shape, so it's also cost cutting. I was expressing surprise that the OP couldn't find clothes to cover up with, as that's all I seem to find, unless I go into shops aimed more at younger people- and that can go too much the other way. I might want something nicely fitted but I don't necessarily want a cropped top.

Go to bravissimo and get a properly fitted bra. Whenever I make excuses not to regularly spend money on replacing bras I remember Oprah at Harry and Meghan's wedding. She looked fantastic and you could see her waist.

you are not the only one. I am 32K! i have one word for you - bravissimo. the panache tango bras there are a lifesaver.

if you are really unhappy. reduction is always an option. patients report high rates of satisfaction with reduction surgery

I’m a size 14 and 34H. I can’t imagine how you are a 38 but anyway…

Why can’t you dress in a way that doesn’t show off your boobs? Do you think it might be that your clothes are too small? Or the wrong design and shape for your figure?

V necks with a cami or t shirt underneath are flattering, never a high neck as that will make you look huge. Nothing too tight or clingy. Also nothing sleeveless if your boobs stick out wider over your arms.

I think you need to treat yourself to a big trying on session.

I hate that my huge boobs are the first thing people seem to see.
I sometimes used to feel as though they walked into a room before me.
Much, much improved now with a tight underband and a proper fitting bra.
I really like a balconette smoothing minimiser bra. Game changer.

This is why I get confused when people say it's too tight
34 band on me and I'm a solid 16 (sometimes 18 with boob room!)

Some pics here of well fitted bras

https://instagram.com/theirishbralady?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

Just come on to echo the other big boobed girlies among us...get a proper bra fitting. I went from 38C to 34FF. Got measured up at Fenwicks and they were great. You will not believe the difference it makes to your entire body shape, not just your boobs. As others have said, flatter women pay thousands to have what nature gifted us. Clothes are there to make the most of every shape, you just have to find what suits.

I feel you OP. So hard to get nice clothes and be professional/modest if your figure is dominated by boobs.
So things that I did that worked:

• V neck tops with a cami underneath so there's a nice flash of lace or colour behind the v neck which doesn't show the cleavage
• buying tops/trousers separately rather than as an outfit/suit so you can buy bigger tops and smaller trousers
• having draped soft fabric on shirts rather than cotton (viscose maybe I can't remember) which falls softly rather than crisp
• avoid sleeveless and polo neck as these tend to emphasise boobs
• layers generally work well, I was a big fan of thin long open (No buttons) cardigans with a top or dress underneath. The long cardi lengthens you and breaks up the "mass" in front
• dresses can be nice if you get loose fitting and if you wear with bright or patterned tights then again attention drawn down rather than up

I would definitely get fitted
A bra can feel too tight if the cups are too small
I'm a 34K and a size 16 and can fit a fist under the band at the back if I tried
Often it's the shape too, Elomi plunge bras are the only ones that work for me

As others have said - no way you’re a 38 back. I’m the same height as you, weigh 11 stone and am a size 14/16 on top and am a 34 H. You need to get properly measured - NOT M and S who are terrible but a small independent, Rigby and Peller or Bravissimo. You are probably a 34 with a bigger cup size. Once you’re fitted correctly you look less booby. It’s slimming and flattering.

I share your pain... My boob's are 36F!! I hate having big boob's.
A friend of mine used to work with a girl who was big. Her boss used to stare at her chest when she was taking dictation. In the end she got so cross that she told him they didn't answer back!!

Exactly that. It’s ridiculous. I complained but they don’t take me seriously in this part of the U.K.

WHAAAAT? You can't have a breast reduction because it might limit your options to feed a baby you may or may not even have!? That's OUTRAGEOUS.

I'm so sorry.

For the record, mine was done in my early 20s (privately, not in the UK) and yes, I struggled to breast feed. But as I tell people all the time - I wouldn't have met DH, got married and had children if I hadn't had the breast reduction because I was so self conscious so frankly, that breast reduction is the reason my children exist.

Even when my scars were still quite visible, I was MORe comfortable with men seeing my breasts then then I was pre surgery. I HATED the size and weight and droopiness of my breasts.

I do sympathise, as someone who started adult life with small boobs and suddenly grew after having children in my 30s, I know which I prefer and would gladly swap back if it were possible. It can feel so demeaning to be aware of people looking at you in a sexual way. A friend of mine had reduction surgery about 5 years ago, it was for back pain but she feels more comfortable about the look of them too now.
I don’t want to harp on about bra fittings too much as I’ve seen you plan to get one in the new year but just to say the style of bra can make a huge difference to how prominent breasts appear and your fitter will be able to help with that. Also I found wearing the correct size helped mine to look less ‘on display’ - I was wearing a 36C for ages and when I finally got the correct size (32E-G depending on brand/style) I was surprised how much more discreet they seemed.

Agreed.
im a size 20-22 BECAUSE of my stupid boobs.
they’re a size 38KK, and absolutely MASSIVE. They cause me pain and everything, but the NHS refuse to allow me to have a reduction. Because I’m still “of breeding/breastfeeding age” which is STUPID

I didn't know clothes were designed for people in the mid 40s! Aren't clothes just clothes?

I don't know if you've said if you have large breasts or not. I do and find that dresses with a waist do tend to ride up a bit because the breasts are taking up more of the bodice than they should but if I go up a size, then I run the risk of the dress being droopy or loose around my shoulders/waist/hips. So it is a challenge. So fitted dresses without a specific waist tend to be better for me than dresses designed with an actual waist unless the fabric and style is purposefully swishy and I can go up a size. This is especially true when I am slimmer. Similarly, I like a fitted, but with stretch, jumper-shirt when I am slimmer as it expands to fit my breasts, but still nips in at the waist as required.

Going up a cup size doesn't magically make the band size bigger. A 32K wouldn't fit me round the band because I don't measure 30-31.5" inches around my underbust, I measure 33", which makes me a 34 band, and a DD, because there is 5" difference around my full bust.

A 32K bra would just cut me in two while having these vast empty cups attached.

And if the Boobydoo system is not the way bras are measured and manufactured then someone needs to tell Sainsbury's they are making them the wrong way, as I buy my bras from TU and they are always the right size.

Brastop start with a 28 back and go up to a 28 K I think https://www.brastop.com/

The day I decided to have a breast reduction was the day I realised, age about 23, that I was constantly trying to hide my body. I also felt like if anyone ever said, "do you know Vuurhoutjies" and the other person said they weren't sure, that the first person would say, "you know, she's the one with the massive breasts".

How, I'd like to think (now I'm older) that I was NOT being referred to that way, but that's how I felt.

So I 100% do get it.

Obviously, good bra as discussed endlessly on here!

Other tips I think is how you wear clothes. I know a woman with very big breasts who sort of embraces them - wears clothes that either show them off with lots of cleavage or she covers them up but in a way that doesn't minimise them. I think she looks great, but that is 100% NOT my approach. I have, over the years, found ways to dress so that I don't feel my breasts are leading the way. I like v-necks, and softer, more flowing fabrics or, if I'm going for tighter, the type that emphasises the better parts of me - gentle cleavage, my waist (when I'm not as overweight as I am currently), legs, bum etc.

Aside from the right bra dressing right is needed. It feels counterintuitive to wear belts and wrap dresses or v and sweetheart necks but they do make a difference. Tailored long body length clothing will be far more flattering and less sexualised than poorly fitting t-shirts, tents and fussy sleeved items.