To give up bras for good?

[BleakBetty]

I am sick to death of uncomfortable, painful, pretty damn unnecessary bras especially in this heat!

I have NEVER found a comfortable bra. Ever! And I can't afford a super pricy one either.

So, I've given up! I've worn a bandeau thing for a tiny bit of nipple coverage for the last week and I'm actually loving bra-free life. My boobs aren't particularly large so I figure I can get away with it - although one of my friends thinks it's incredibly odd and suspects I'm a weirdo .

So I'm wondering - AIBU? And have any of you given up with the hassle?!

Firstly: YANBU for not wanting to wear one. Especially with smaller cup sizes, it's not something you must wear.

Personally, I prefer wearing a bra. I have 10y of breastfeeding under my belt & my breasts went from a 32C before & during my first pregnancy to a 32FF overnight when my milk came in with my first. Ever since, they have been pretty saggy. They never went back to that 32C after either.

Anyway, so in the last 5y I discovered what a properly fitted bra feels like. After lots of trial and error I discovered a bra that fits me perfectly and I genuinely don't feel it is there. No itchiness, no digging straps, no digging wires. Debenhams around here is great for bargains. Personally, I find £20 for a good bra sort of the right price, but my favourite style can often be found at a fraction of the cost in the reduced section. I actually have the same bra in 5 different colours, it's that comfy. It's just Debenhams own, not Freya or any of the other DD+ styles.

I wear my bra firstly to stop the jiggling and secondly to give me a better shape under clothing. I tend to wear more fitted clothing, so without a bra my boobs don't actually fit in the bust shaping of dresses etc

The thing is, all those saying if you get a proper fit you can buy decent bras for £20, that only works if you are fittable and have boobs or a shape which can be fitted.

In my case I have been told by many fitters that they just cannot fit me and no bras in their entire stock will fit me other than a vest or crop top.

Debenhams, John Lewis, m&s, house of Fraser, you name the store and I've been turned away or I'll fitted. Even rugby and pellet Mis-fitted me twice. It was only when I was moaning on a thread on here that a head fitter at r&p contacted me and arranged for them to come from head office to fit me. Even then in the whole range of their bras only 1 fitted well and 1 fitted okay.

I will probably need a bespoke made bra for a perfect fit. (Which I will get after I'm done with babies - I have been pregnant or bfing for most of the last 5 years.)

34DD here (went up to FF when bf). Wore I'll fitting bras for years then got measured in Victoria's Secret. Heaven. I have found Next bras really comfy butbhad to go down a cup and up a back size. Mind that's only when out. I found some soft crop tops in Aldi of all places and they are utter, utter bliss, even in this heat. Soft but with a cup shape so they do give a bit of lift. Mind yesterday I gave up and simply wore a bikini top with a sheer thingy over it. 46 and a bit heavier than I should be but I seriously don't give a f×××.

If you are comfy & happy bra-less, go for it!

Rugby and pellet? What the fuck kind of shop would that be? No wonder they didn't have any bras they're a sports shop!

I rarely wear bras, and I am have big boobs. I only wear Sports bras when i go to the gym or if i really need to. day to day I don't bother. I pick comfort.

Just had two and a half weeks off work after ankle surgery and didn't wear a proper bra the entire time. I have a few sport type bra thingies that you just pull over your head. So comfy. Didn't want to go back to a bra when I went back to work but had to for others sanity.

I have to wear the bloody things or I'd get bruised kneecaps!
(Slight exaggeration)

Even Charlie Dimmock who was famed for going braless when gardening, seems to be well upholstered these days. I think after a certain age it becomes a necessary evil.

I don't own a bra and haven't since I turned 16. But then Keira Knightley probably has bigger boobs then me so it's always seemed like a bit of a piss-take that I'm supposed to wear one.

I usually wear a bra to enhance my 32Bs so that it looks like there's something there. I didn't bother today with the heat. It felt quite liberating to go to work wearing pants, dress and sandals only.

I accidentally forgot to pack a sports bra for an 8+ mile fun run so went free and was suprised that there was no discomfort. I wouldn't make a habit of that though!

Those that like the Avon One Bra can it cope with boobs that normally require large cup sizes? It does come in my top size but prior crop top experience tells me that the band will be too big and the cup too small.

32H and losing weight for a reduction to a B cup. I was hoping to splurge on bras afterwards but if they're still uncomfortable and annoying I might just get a few crop tops

I took mine off at home yesterday (too hot) and my 5 year old daughter said, Is that allowed?Love it. Does she think there's a law about bra wearing?

I always get fitted at bravissimo and found them still to be uncomfortable at the end of the day but since they started making the Satine bra, it's amazing, forget I'm even wearing it, recommend to anyone on here that can't go without!

God, you sound fab. Love your spirit. 😘

I am a 32FF and need to wear a bra as it looks awful and I feel a bit undressed. Fine is you are a B cup or under, anything over needs a bra. I but soft cups from bravissimo, and they are so comfortable.

MrsKoala Pmsl Rigby and Pellar, someone's autocorrect is on😂😂😂😂😂😂

Had to stop eating a bra recently due to shingles rash being painful with the straps. Have a need as well as size 34E. I found these soft tops with a kind of bra support in them in the sale at M & S, with a cross back. Really comfy, but a bit hot at the moment to wear. Good to cover up tummy as well. (useful for mums like me whoa re a bit, well, saggy all round). It will be coming back out in the Autumn though. Can't cope at all with underwired bras in general. The wires used to pop out and dig in then come out completely and leave one side saggy. Not a good look. Sports type bras these days, from good old M & S. Might try that Avon one.

wearing, not 'eating' a bra. sorry for typos,

I'm so jealous.....I would love to be able to ditch the bra but being a 30H this is just not an option. I tend to wear a sports bra if I'm looking for a more comfortable option.

I wear mine, always underwired, from the moment I get up to the moment I go to bed. Really uncomfortable without one on and definitely look better and have better posture with them well supported.
YANBU - but it might not be the best thing to do on a more than occasional basis if you want to avoid sagginess or back problems.

Sorry Robina, but wearing or not wearing a bra has nothing to do with sagginess - I suspect it's down to age and genes rather than anything else.

It's great to see such a positive thread. There are many more women now who are choosing to 'buck the trend'; it should be for us to choose and not be dictated to on what we wear.

For those large of nork - try it - you might find you like it! Wear a cami-style top or those soft 'bras'. It makes such a difference.

I gave up wearing a bra for health reasons as both my great Grannie and my Ma had breast cancer (ggrannie had a double mastectomy in the 40s). I was finding that even with properly fitted bras my breasts weren't 'draining' properly and I was in a lot of pain with the residual fluid. Taking the bra off has stopped the pain altogether.

I don't intend to go back!

I have never owned a bra. I wear sports bra/crop top things and my boobs aren't tiny. They are fine and much comfier.

Adderding I'm not a large cup size so I honestly don't know (but as an Avon rep I'd be interested in feedback on that). The best thing with Avon though is you can return for a full refund with no hassle! I do that all the time with stuff and it's a good way of trying things I wouldn't normally use!

Why don't you try ordering your size and the next one up to see which one fits the best and then ask your rep to return the other one? If you plan on using the tumble dryer they do shrink in it (discovered the hard way by accidentally tumble drying it).

Those of you wearing soft bras/crop tops, how do you wear them under vest tops? I find they always show. I'm too big to go without (they'd hang to my waist!), but don't want to wear underwired bras anymore.