Bras - Does this only happen to me?!

[MouseyHousey]

So, I seem to find it difficult to find comfortable bras. I usually buy in Debenhams or Marks and Spencers and buy 34G.
I was recommended to go to bravissimo, they said I was a 32H but I found the bra really uncomfortable.
I always buy underwired and the ones that arent padded as such but are thick, iyswim.
On all of my bras the wires end up poking through the middle of my bra after a while - Why is this happening? Is my bra the wrong size? (It feels comfortable and I dont have any double boob issue) Is it that Im buying rubbish bras?
Does this happen to anyone else? Can anyone recommend some good bras for larger boobs but not bravissimo?

I'm 34GG and I know what you mean about uncomfortable! To be honest, I have found Bravissimo pretty good and about a million times better than M&S where they sized me as a 36E

I'm thinking of going to Rigby and Peller for my next lot - folks on here absolutely sing their praises. They are extremely ££££££££ but last for years apparently and fit beautifully.

I have about 8 bras that have done this, so bloody irratating and i haven't even got huge knockers.
The wires come out and poke my bosom and they end up in the bin!
Cheap or expensive they are all the same.
Im coming your thread as i wanna know why this happens too!

With the wire poking out issue, do you machine wash? If you do, maybe the temperature is too hot?

I really rate Bravissimo, Anytime I am there I am measured and am usually a 36FF but depending on the bra, this can change. They staff usually bring in a range of sizes around 36FF as some brands are known to fit different ways.

If you have been wearing the wrong bra size and letting the shoulder straps take the strain rather than the back this is why you could be uncomfortable. The back is supposed to be quite tight on a new bra, sit straight in the middle and the cups are supposed to envelope the boob.

I go to Rigby & Peller occasionally too but am fitted at the same size but again this can vary slightly by bra make.

I've never had that underwire problem but all bras fit very differently, even within the same brand. Some Bravissimo bras fit me like a dream and others I can't get them off fast enough. It is one of those boring processes where you have to keep trying different ones! So it's possible the Bravissimo sizing was correct but you happened to try a bra that wasn't a good shape for you.

When you say "uncomfortable" do you mean tight around the ribs? When I got fitted at John Lewis I'd been wearing 34/36Ds and came out as a 32F - it did take some adjusting to the newly firm feel of the smaller bra round my torso but my god I wouldn't go back! What was "comfortable" in a sloppy sort of way when I put it on was making my back ache like hell by the end of the day. It shouldn't be uncomfortable as in constricting your rib cage, but you should notice when you put a good bra on (and then you forget all about it and go skipping around all day without so much as a wobble).

Fantasie is a good make for most sizes (particularly larger cup sizes). John Lewis is generally good for bra fitting.

If you have been following the washing instructions (handwash etc) then if you still have your receipt then you can take your bravissimo bra back (if its in the time frame specified) and get a replacement I think.

Try an independent boutique. Y y to fantasie bras.

I do machine wash, usually at 30 never above 40.
Maybe I will go back and try bravissimo again.. I tried on 3 different bras in store. they did seem quite tight around my ribs and I thought they didnt fit right on my boobs.. seemed a little gappy at the top.
I guess I'll just have to try everything they have in store!
I had a look at the Rigby &Peller website.. I definitely dont have £100 to spend on a bra.. It would be my only one! Plus its only in London and Im in Scotland so quite far to go!
Thanks for all your advice so far, so glad to know its not only me this is happening to!

Forgot to say, I am also slightly different sizes in different makes of bra. 32F in Elle MacPhersons, which come up small (LOVE them) but most of my Fantasie bras (the ones that fit anyway) are 30F. Bravissimo ones are mostly 32F but they're feeling a little bit loose (because I'm naughty and machine wash them probably) Plus there can be a bit of variation over the month. And I'm losing a bit of weight at the moment, which I suspect is going to shrink me to an E or so, and I'm pretty sure everyone changes naturally as they get older anyway, with or without kids (but especially with).

It's amazing anyone manages to wear a correctly sized bra, really.

[Grin] at the Only Bra. You'd be washing it out every night like a Victorian maid. £100 is a bit steep.

is what I mean.

I've found that in the larger sizes the fit is really, really variable..

Freya for example don't seem to do strong enough underwires for the 38HH I wear at the moment, so they twist forward and poke DS when I pick him up. The bravissimo own brand bra I bought about a year ago is excellent, and I wouldn't normally buy panache, but out of the last batch I bought a panache one turns out to be the best fit (I have trouble with the underwires being far, far too wide for the cup and poking me in the armpits, and the panache has a nice, narrow underwire)

My current strategy is to order a whole load of bras around the right size, and send back the ones that turn out not to fit well (50% of the bras I bought last time - although I exchanged one for a smaller size which fits quite well)

This happens to me whether I handwash or machine wash :/

even if the bra is the right size officially, that doesnt mean it will automatically be comfortable. You need to try on a few.

Underwired bras are just too uncomfortable and I don't wear them any more. I've been tempted to try these stretchy ones that keep being advertised on TV.

I'm quite interested in them (but probably too norky for them). They sell them in my local Budgens for some reason

I was fitted in John Lewis and was recommended to buy a larger cup size and smaller chest size so I went and spent a fortune on new bras. I was miserable for weeks trying to adjust to the new fit - with red sores between my breasts and under my armpits. In the end I went back to my old chest size and down one cup size from the 'official fitting' size and I'm back in bra heaven

The only make I can stand is Triumph though. All others drive me crazy. I'm very sensitive about these things . Triumph aren't too expensive though and do wash well.

I get fitted in Bravissimo in Edinburgh - the first time was ok but the last two times I have struggled with the bras. I sent one lot back and am persevering with these new ones, but they feel too tight on my ribs especially when I sit down. I usually have Freya bras as I find the shape on other makes rubs all over the place but even these Freya ones aren't really working for me this time despite them telling me they were the right size. Tempted to hot machine wash them to make them loosen up.

Very jealous of these big knockers, I'm a crap 30B/C

If you hand wash, bravissimo will cover them for 6 months

OhEmGee24, many days I would swop places with you in a heartbeat. My massive knockers are flaming heavy and I have shoulder and back pain often. They're not always as much fun as they look

Yes to the underwire coming out problem! I took 4 bras to my mum last week to resew up for me and 2 have gone again.

I'd been considering getting old lady firm support non wired but I think i'll try buying a few more and only hand washing and see how I go.

I have had all my bras from Bravissimmo for years and never had that problem.

When you wash your bras, try putting them in one of those little mesh bags (you can pick them up in the Poundland etc) and don't wash them any hotter than 40deg. The bags protect the fabric of the bra, stop it snagging, stop the wires rubbing on the fabric and stop your bra hooks from catching on the rest of your washing.

Do you use a biological washing powder? The enzymes in this may be damaging your bra if you use it for every wash. I would suggest using a non-bio powder and use the bio one every third wash perhaps.

Final thought, you're not tumble drying them are you? I can't imagine that would be good for them in the long run.

I does say Handwash Only on many bras when you read the label. I never handwash mine, but I do try to be fairly 'sympathetic' to that when I wash them.

OhEmGee I used to be a B/C and there are upsides to both. I always rather hankered after wearing dresses and couldn't fill them out, now I "pour myself into them" as they say in the tabloids. But used to look great in jeans and a t-shirt when I was skinny and now I look dreadful, which since I am very lazy casual does make getting dressed a bit challenging most days. It depends what you like wearing.