Flattering sports bras for smaller ladies...

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I'm 28DD. I wear sports bras a lot of the time, so it's a quest to find ones that work. I love the look of them layered under tanks, but so many of those - like Sweaty Betty etc - start at a 32 back.

On a 28 band a DD is fairly small, and anything like the crop-top styles flatten my chest completely.

The best I've found is an underwired Freya Active moulded one. It's £38 and I'm wondering if I can do better... any padding/underwired/general boosting is welcome.

The underwired Freya Active is great, as you say, and if you like that I'm sure you'll also like the Panache sports bra. It's really supportive and gives a great shape under clothes.

Worth bearing in mind that there's a couple of different Freya ones to try. I probably like the crop top sports bra (also underwired and shaped) as much as the non crop-top version.

Those styles work for me (30E when not pregnant) and are just as supportive, if not more so, than the strap-em-down Shock Absorbers of this world.

I'm normally a 30C and recently bought a lovely lightly padded high impact sports bra (purple & pink with zip at the front) from M&S but it is so tight I couldn't even get the zip to meet! A 34C fits perfectly and it's really comfy providing good support at £19.50 so worth a try.

It's a good point Phoebe, about the sizing difference in back sizes. I can sometimes get away with a 30... Maybe it'd be worth a go.

Running... thanks, I had been put off the other Freya ones by trying one with an awful seam across the front. Maybe I should look again!

I think the one with the seam would be one of the older-style Freya models? They've really upped their game and the newer moulded ones are just brilliant.

Definitely try the Panache though. Sizing is like Freya, so you'd be a 28 back. Can't recommend that bra enough.

And avoid the Berlei Running one - its moulded and gives a great shape, but support-wise it's dreadful.

That Berlei one is a real disappointment isn't it.

Love my Panache - comfy, nice shape, and supportive. The M&S zip front ones are great, but only start at a 32 back, but do need a size up so are OK for me

Have a look at Shock Absorber- I'm not sure what bans size they start at, but they are sized really small, so I think that as a 28 you may well be fine in a Shock Absorber 30

I found shock absorber really... deflating... I've not got much to work with though

Yep, Shock Absorber bras are generally very supportive, but in a strap- em-down, constrictive way (much like the Enell, and other traditional sports bras), rather than using the side and underwire support you get in the top-end moulded models like the Freya and the Panache.

I'm getting on with wire-free Shock Absorbers while I'm pregnant, as they have more stretch, but once I'm back to normal I'll be leaving them behind.
They squoosh you in too much, tend not to be as breathable, and don't give a nice shape under clothes either.
Which is fine if you're just going for a quick run, but if you're in sports bras a lot of the time you want something very supportive but also something that's comfortable and more aesthetically pleasing. Which IMO is where the better moulded bras can't be beaten.

This is the Freya crop top sports bra - it's not a "crop top" in the traditional sense and has two separate, underwired defined cups, giving a great moulded shape..

www.lessbounce.com/product/freya-active-underwired-crop-top-sports-bra

But on balance I probably prefer this one...

www.lessbounce.com/product/panache-sports-bra

And also the underwired Freya you say you've already tried.

Well, if I'm chucking £38 at it, at least I know it's one of the best around, ha! It's purely an aesthetics concern.
Will def try the Panache one, and the crop top, as I may be able to just chuck a tank over it and go.

I'm flatter in the bust than you OP and i find this problem - i also wouldn't buy shock absorber, my boobs completely disappeared. I'm a 36 b/c and i have found that i don't really need much support so it's more aesthetics. I wear DKNY ones in large But you probably only need a small or medium.

I have small breasts, but they still move a bit when I jog. What can I buy that will keep them in place? I don't mind at all about them being flattering. I look shit in the gym anyway. Would you say shock absorbers are the best?

Gwenhwyfar - shock absorbers do a very good job of strapping 'em down and stopping them moving.

I am 30C and all of my sports bras including the Shock Absorber compress and flatten me, I didn't think there was such a thing as a flattering one!