I'd like to talk about my tits. And other people's tits. I'd like to start a Tit Thread.

[KingJoffreyLikesJaffaCakes]

I bra intervened myself with the help of a MN thread from aaaages ago I found on google.

I've changed size shape, not loads, but enough for my bra to be tight. Had cup spillage, digging in around the back, all a fucking disaster.

I was uncomfortable, my back ached and my boobs were deeply miserable.

Current bras were pretty threadbare anyway and the knickers weren't much better. It all needs replacing.

Bought a new bra. Lovely. Fits beautifully. Ordered more. Found a company called Curvy Kate and am already a fan.

I am once again at peace with the world. Bras and boobs are now my new hobby.

However, whilst browsing online for bra advice I came across loads of sites saying the bra measurey ladies in shops just say anything to get you to buy stuff and catalogue/website models are nearly ALL wearing the wrong sizes in pictures.

Is this true?

Is there a conspiracy?

I'm fascinated!

"Should I buy a 30f as back is still fine or should I wait until after baby is born?"

WAIT. I bought a nursing bra in my "predicted size" when I was pg with DS1 and the size/shape was totally wrong - also for the first few weeks your cup size fluctuates wildly anyway (or at least mine did) and you really don't want anything too tight or wires pressing on you as it can give you blocked ducts. Ouch. I'd get something like a supportive stretchy bra/sleep bra (Bravado do good ones) to tide you through the first while and then get measured.

Also depends on your shape/nipple position/baby but I'd have had problems trying to feed pulling down the cups in a Deco - obviously give it a go but I found a proper underwired nursing bra much more comfortable. Anita do pretty nice ones (including a moulded t-shirt style) and the wire is positioned so it definitely won't put pressure on the ducts. Would probably fit you fine as well if you normally wear Freya. Freya do nursing bras too but I don't think they do underwired.

Oh I'll have a look at those Anita bras. If they do a 30 back they may well be suitable. I used regular bras for feeding my daughter but not straight away and not deco and I'm going back a while so can't remember how long it was before I went into them. Thank you for your reply.

I'd wait too until after the baby is born.

Mine went at least 2 cup sizes up, after being up 2 cup sizes by month 3.

Freya do an underworld nursing one, pure, which is not dissimilar to the deco and really comfy but also properly supportive. I am usually a 28dd or e in Freya and ended up in the pure in a 30ff at about six weeks. Before that had some softer bravado ones as the cup size varied so so much pre and post feeds in the first weeks before feeding and supply fully established.

BTW, talking of Decos - top recent Freya Deco-related discovery: I had always thought the Deco plunge wasn't a great fit for me because the cups gaped a bit at the top. Discovered yesterday that the Deco Vibe model, while the same shape, is actually a good bit more closed at the top (possibly because of the nice trim) and fits PERFECTLY. Great fit, lovely shape, really comfy, NO GAPING.

goes off to buy them in all the colours

Just wondering if anyone here can advise me, I've worn a 38/40C for as long as I can remember, bra intervention tells me I'm a 34E - measured in Debenhams- however this cuts me in half almost and I have red marks everywhere.

I wear a size 10/12 and I'm 5ft 3in, currently my most comfortable bra is a Panache 36DD(but this still leaves red marks under the arms and underneath my boobs) Curvy Kate 36D gapes at the front, M&S 36DD is too small (over spillage and boobs escaping underneath) whilst 34E is too big on the cup. I am a little bit fat around my middle which doesn't help at all either.

I'm quite narrow at the top (according to bra fitters) and full cups don't suit me as I can't seem to fill them.

I would love to have a fitting at Bravissimo but there isn't one close enough, can anyone point me in the right direction?

It will depend on the style of the bra. You probably suit balconette and demi-cup shapes rather than full cups or plunge.

Because the objective is for the band to provide support, some marks are normal, although you don't want to feel cut in half. It seems that a 36 is best for you, but it will depend on the brand and the model, so always try related sizes for each.

Sorry, Downstairs, I'm not a pretty bra person.

Downstairs, I'd suggest trying a Cleo Marcie/Kali or Panache Envy/Jasmine. The Marcie tends to come up a cup bigger than the others.

A Curvy Kate Florence might do the trick too, the band comes up tight enough to warrant trying the 30.

Camden, I'm more full on the bottom and quite widely spaced so a lot of stuff gapes at the top/middle on me (M&S is particularly bad, all the cup shapes are wrong) - I've had reasonable luck with Freya half cups (eg the Patsy lightly padded one), Freya Deco Vibe (better fit than the regular Deco), and some Triumph styles like the Amourette Spotlight, which is super comfy (the Amourette 300 fitted beautifully but gave me mysteriously pointy outward facing breasts...). Do recommend a lot of trying on though, especially as even within the same brands some bras have more stretch in them etc.

I'm a 30H and find Panache Jasmine a very good fit. There are a variety of colours available. Currently wearing one in black with animal print.

Question for the bra gurus, if you don't mind...

I recently lost some weight due to illness and ended up with most of my bras being too big in the band, though cup size doesn't seem to have changed - was a 34D for ages, am now a 32DD. Bought a few new bras to tide me over, including some of my favourites in the smaller size, all of which fitted fine on first try-on and mostly continued to fit fine when I wore them. However, I have a couple of Freya styles (one Deco and one Lauren) where my old 34D needs to go on the tightest hooks to feel in any way supportive (but just about works), but having worn the newer ones for a day or two the band is still like a vice around my ribs/sternum, if anything got worse after a day. Is it possible that I'm sort of between sizes and should stick with the bigger one on the tightest hooks (while bemoaning having wasted money on two bras, albeit at Brastop discount prices), or just wash and wear the tighter ones and hope they loosen up?

As a bra aside, one of the other bras I got was a Calvin Klein one, mainly chosen for the colour (deep turquoise! also very reduced in price!), but it is literally in the largest cup size they make for my back (it's 32DD and I could have possibly done better with a 30E as the bands are very stretchy - if they actually did an E cup). I am a not particularly busty size 12, it seems kind of odd to be at the largest possible cup size in a brand. Or is everyone else measuring by the peculiar M&S method?

For the tightest bras you could by an extender with hooks to give a more comfortable feel until the elastic gives some way.

Oh that's a good idea, Lweji - I actually had an extender for a nursing bra ages ago, I wonder is it still in the depths of my underwear drawer?

Most brands don't do a wide variety of sizes. Calvin Klein is very run of the mill in that sense.
The other day I went to a highstreet shop that advertised large cups to ask about it and they only did the largest cups in the widest bands. Sigh.
I ended up giving the shopping assistant a lesson in bra fitting and telling her to go to our Bravissimo equivalent.

Not one but two extenders discovered in the depths of my drawer! I will experiment tomorrow once the offending Deco is dry.

Can I ask for advice on finding a good fit? I am a Bravissimo 30ff, fitted last year after pregnancy and BF. I waited about 6 weeks after stopping BF before going for a fitting.

I bought 6 bras, that all felt and looked right when I tried them on, but really only 2 fit properly after wearing them for more than an hour (same bra in 2 different colours).

When I 'scoop' my boobs in, after a while wearing, they seem to work their way into a different position, and then it becomes apparent that the bras aren't the right fit!

Does anyone else have this issue, and how can I get around it? I'd never tried Bravissimo before, and thought that miraculously I wouldn't have this problem after being fitted properly, but sadly it's not the case!

If it helps, the two that fit right are Panache Porcelain Elan.

The ones that don't are Cleo by Panache Juna (x 2), and Cleo by Panache Maddie. Slightly annoyed that's ££ of bras wasted.

If it wasn't too long ago, it's often said that Bravissimo exchange if they they didn't fit well.

I too have three that don't fit that well, but I tend to use them when I have smaller boobs (time of the month for example) or looser clothes.

As for yours it may have to do with the shape. I don't know the models, but look at how high they go under arms and in front, position of the straps, actual cup shape and so on. It looks like the both that don't fit are balconette, so maybe avoid that shape in future. Particularly the Panache ones.

My boobs are crazy - lots of dense glandular tissue so they never go below the F/G cup range no matter how much weight I lose or how much I'm training... and pregnancy has brought me from a 30FF to a 32J. Living in a Curvy Kate Daily Boost in my true size at the moment and a couple of others in "almost" sizes (Cleo Juna 34H etc). Favourite bra ever is the Panache Envy but they're never reduced anywhere so I haven't bothered getting any more of then while pregnant.

Curly, from your description and the styles you've mentioned, the two Cleo styles are not wide enough for your natural breast positioning, I suspect that the breasts 'leak out' at the armpit edge.
You may find that the Porcelain Idina, Freya Idol or Fantasie Rebecca/smoothing balcconette sit better if you need a t shirt style.

Thanks Lweji and Married. Yes my boobs spill over the top and sides once they find their natural position. I will look at the shapes/styles you've suggested.

Should i try a larger cup size do you think, or is it the shape and style of the cup that's the issue? The trouble is, i don't know they don't fit until after i've worn them, so i'm looking for a way of knowing as soon as i try them on that the fit isn't right. When i bought the 6 bras i was in the shop for about 2 hours, so i really did try them on thoroughly! And still 4 out of the 6 aren't right.

Ugh, I have SUCH a love/hate relationship with my boobs! I was a 32FF and then had a baby. Now one boob hangs somewhere round my belly button and I think the other one's gone out for a drink somewhere.

Anyway, these guys have a pretty good Rigby & Peller bra fitting guide. I found it quite handy as I've been incorrectly sizes SO MANY times in the shops!

www.saintbustier.com/news-and-fashion-advice-for-busty-women/rigby-peller-bra-fitting-styling-session.html