To think the boob or bust bra evangelism goes too far!

[hihellohihello]

I can't use this method. I've scars and sensitive skin after a mastectomy and then menopause. Soft tissue which will redden and go dry if anything digs in.

I don't feel that these issues are unusual. Granted, many women have not had mastectomies but many have soft tissue, dry and sensitive skin. No matter what size they are. I have tried to build muscles up and have but still got a layer of soft skin over them on my back and underarm area. I'm not big - the opposite 5 ft 7 and size 8 with a BMI on the low side so losing weight would not be the best option for me.

So I choose bras with a 34 back size. (Measure between 30 and 31). However, this seems almost taboo now. They don't ride up and don't leave red marks. They are the most comfortable apart from comfort bras/bralettes (which I get in a medium). Tighter bras leave red marks and my skin gets dry.

So sick of hearing 'You'll get used to the underband being tighter' and 'You need to go up a cup size' . Complete with a Facebook page. I've tried it. It doesn't work. I see so many pictures even in lingerie catalogues of flesh billowing over underbands. Underarm rolls and back rolls (Although the breasts may defy gravity). These rolls aren't suggestive of a good fit. Granted my breasts are not as high as they could be versus hoisting them up with a smaller band and shorter straps. They don't look like they are about to defy gravity. But they look normal and don't sag, when wearing my bra, at least. They're not at my waist or anything - they are where they should be.

I understand it might be empowering to get some uplift / look slimmer but horses for courses. Running everyday, watching what I eat, walking and weights got me slimmer already. My bra just needs to be comfortable, hold a prosthesis and not show under my clothes.

But such is the Boob or Bust evangelism that many stores will not even publish measuring guides. Thankfully, I do know about 'sister sizes' - one thing I can thank Boob or Bust for, I suppose.

Rant over. 🥴

I am a size 16 and would wear a 34/36E using their method. I would much rather wear a 40C and breathe tbh

on the whole I wear crop tops/bralettes as I’ve never liked wearing bras at all, much more forgiving.

I agree. I think BoB is just a guide rather than something set in stone. I went to an independent bra shop and find that a 32D is perfect for me, even though I am pretty flat chested, and my underbust measurement is 29". I just don't have any fat on my upper torso. I can't say the same for the bottom half though

I still see a lot of women who are wearing bras that are obviously the wrong size and who could do with the famous MN bra intervention.

I agree about the evangelical nature of it and all the "if you're a size 16 there's no way you are a 38 comments" Also the criticism of M&S staff, by all means criticise their system but not the poor staff who have to do it that way or get in trouble. Having said that I really appreciate how much effort the admins put into the FB group.

I was wearing an old stretched 38E which was too big in the band and too small in the cup (I'm a size 18). BorB measurement 36J which were too tight on the band and massive in the cup. I have ended up with a couple of 36GGs which fit perfectly in the cup and pass the BorB band test but I have had to "break in" and one of which I still have to take off the minute I get home from work, which I've never done in my life before. I am definitely trying 38 again next time.

I can see back pain is upsetting. But my bras do support me. What I am saying is that it isn't the only way to get a well fitting supportive bra.

Yes, I agree it isn't the only way. I was responding to your comments on other people's "rolls" and explaining that it doesn't necessarily mean their bra isn't doing the right job. If you don't have that sort of body, you may think it looks as if bra bands are too tight, but not necessarily.

I think maybe a no unsolicited comments on random strangers' breasts, rolls and underwear would be the best thing all round 😄

You'll get used to the underband being tighter' and You need to go up a cup size

What do you mean about being sick of hearing people saying this? I'm in fifties, I'm not small, no one has ever mention rolls of fat, back fast, bra underbands or cup sizes to me. Could it just be you need to get off the facebook pages about it or stop talking about it?

@CoffeeAndTV1, yes, that's a very good idea!😁 I

It was my own rolls that concerned me in tighter underbands, though, when it badly affected my skin which drew my attention to this issue. So I looked at the women in the catalogues and saw they had them and thought, 'Don't they have an issue with that being uncomfortable on the skin too? '. For this reason I though it worth mentioning. Back pain is horrible too, I've had that before as well.

Ooh, that sounds blissful! I don't even frequent Facebook was just thinking about recommendations on here. I stay on Style and Beauty, mainly, because I figure it is less controversial than a lot of the site but my recent bug bears have been this and sun cream.

The reason it irks is because it affects the market place when trying to find a new size because your shape has changed.

I know this absolute MN heresy and people will be furious but I think it's a bit of a marketing trick. Women absolutely love being told they have a tiny back size and huge cup size, and what a surprise that this highly flattering news turns out to mean they need all new bras in sizes that only come from really expensive brands...

Indeed, I got an email just this week telling me how many women have their bra size wrong from a company I have bought mastectomy bras from. Apparently they offer virtual fitting. But there is a link on their site to a boob or bust style fitting on Bravissimo which irritated me.

I have had a lumpectomy and double mammoplasty with anchor scars on both breasts along with a full axial node clearance and I do now wear an underwired bra in my BOB size. It took some tweaking to find the right size in one bra then working out the size in other bras but I have something to wear that is comfortable and not the fugly Molke that people always try to recommend post surgery.

If you have back fat above the band then it is likely the cup is too small and that is migrated breast tissue, if your band is slightly too loose then it moves and causes rubbing. My first step when trying a bra is always to put it on back to front to do a band test. If your band doesn’t fit properly then you will never get the bra fitting right.

Have you asked locally if any seamstresses can put a pocket in a running bra rather than trying to buy a special mastectomy one?

There is vanity sizing in some shops (they make the cups a size too small and the back band a size too big)

But that wouldn't make a difference of someone is wearing a bra and gets told to size down in the back and up in the cups? As they are starting from the vanity sized product to begin with iyswim

I do the sewing myself @MrsPnut. Cut up old comfort bras for the pocket lining. It's the sensitive skin issues. Loads of lymph nodes out and menopause means skin is sensitive for me. Hence the running, body brushing, cold baths you name it. All helps circulation. Tight anything can exasperate it.

if your band is slightly too loose then it moves and causes rubbing.

@MrsPnut, no grubbing. I've tighter bra bands and looser. The looser cause less issues.

Rubbing!😂

OP I hear you. I am fairly generously endowed, but I also have a very, very wide ribcage. (Yes, I can sing and do very well in breathing exercises etc.) I find that allowing an extra 2 inches band measurement to the boob or bust system often works. But even better - and this is NOT an advert - I put my measurements into the Fantasie brand calculator. It came up with a different bra size than the one I expected, but, ye gods!, the comfort. A bra that fits, supports and is comfortable.
Different brands suit different people, of course. But I suggest you keep trying different reputable brands individual sizing systems until one clicks for you.

But Royce were good for the sports mastectomy bra. Tbh I got sick of sewing and I run everyday so thought it was worth it once I found it fitted.

I get so sick of the evangelical stuff their fan girls go on about. I have skin flaps these days and they hang low. I measured a ridiculous size (32 HH or something) but there’s no way a 32 would even do up round my back. A 34 cuts me raw. I wear a 36E or F and that suits me. My 12 year old measured bigger than me using their method, I can assure you she isn’t! It’s all so arbitrary.

@scottishnames, have Fantasie still got that calculator? They seem to have gone all modern with a how to tell if your bra doesn't fit and book a virtual fitting. (I.e. they daren't talk old fashioned measurements anymore incase boob or bust out them!)

I agree. I'm a big woman (5'8'', size 14/16) and according to B&B I should wear a 32E - but they nearly slice me in two. I actually feels like it's cutting into my skin.

Yanbu I love my 32c bras. I tried a 28dd but found it so uncomfortable and like my ribs were bruised, even the 30d was uncomfortable. My 32C bras are very comfortable.

It really didn't work for me. The band size I got was so tight I was struggling to breath in three different brands. Even with wearing it wouldn't have been comfortable. I kept being told I was measuring wrong but I make my own clothes quite often so probably measure myself far more than the average person. Funnily enough, the clothes I make fit.

Who is trying to get you to go up a cup size? That's a weird thing to say to a lady who's had a mastectomy and has already found a bra size she's very happy with.

I must confess I have ONCE suggested to my two closest friends that if they went down a back size and up a cup size or two they'd love the results but nope, 34d is their happy place 😂 None of my beeswax if they're happy with their current fit. I love my Fantasie double f's, as you say it's horses for courses.

I'm a 10 on top, 6 on bottom as my hips are a 34, not sure if that makes a difference? I would wear an 8 if I was to buy a dress.

@dottieautie, yes, I think this is why companies have stopped talking measurements altogether! What suits one customer doesn't suit another. It's no surprise bras for post menopausal women, for example, are often different to those aim at women in their 20s. Skin issues, different shapes etc. What is genuinely comfortable can be different. I think if the ideal size came up with a range of sizes and talked about overcoming a wider range of common issues it would be better. Instead of a this is wrong and this is right approach.