My mom wants to know about your bra

(Heh, catchy title, eh? Made you look!)

It’s true, though. For more than four years, she’s been one of my most loyal readers, but only rarely comments. (I do occasionally get an offline earful, but that’s another story!) Now, though, for the first time, my mother has actually proposed a topic and asked me to ask you for your opinions.

Talk to me — no, wait, talk to my mom — about bras. Love them or hate them? Necessary evil or favourite accessory? She and I have differing opinions on the subject. She sees them as a necessary evil, something to be released from at the earliest possible opportunity. Taking off her bra is her first step to getting comfortable, the way I imagine it’s like for a guy to take off his tie at the end of the day. Freed from societal convention, she’d happily go braless all the livelong day.

Me, not so much. I put on a bra first thing in the morning, and take it off last thing before bed. I hate not having one on – I feel worse than exposed, I feel uncomfortable and, well, unsupported. While actually shopping for bras is torture, once I have one that fits it’s my new BFF. I don’t like fancy bras or push-up bras or multicoloured lacy bras; I just like plain old comfortable, supportive, do-your-job-and-don’t-be-in-my-face-about-it bras.

As a matter of fact, I’ve been waiting until I finish nursing to go down to the high-end bra shop near where I work so I can pick up a couple of decent if not expensive ones that fit perfectly, something I was just about to do in 2007 when I found out I was pregnant with Lucas. I tried one on one day on a whim, wondering why on earth someone would pay upwards of $100 for a bra, and was astonished to see it slim 10 lbs off my silhouette instantly. Now I can’t wait to go buy one or — the luxury of it all — maybe two! Having a decent bra is like having a good hair day — it just makes everything better.

Talk to me my mom about your foundation garments, bloggy peeps! Are bras to be endured only as long as decency dictates or so fundamental you would never think of going without? (Notice that the idea that they could be purely for fun never even crosses my radar screen!)

Author: DaniGirl

Canadian. storyteller, photographer, mom to 3. Professional dilettante.

19 thoughts on “My mom wants to know about your bra”

  1. Fun post! Okay I love good bras… all my bras are from Victoria’s Secret. I just stock up when I’m in the USA although of course you can order online. They are the most comfortable, truly. Miracle Bra, Body by Vicotoria, and my new fav is the Bio Fit, it is made specifically for each size. Anyway, I used to sleep without a bra before I had my kids, but since having kids and breastfeeding, I got into the habit of usually sleeping with a bra on. I never did wear nursing bras, I found them to be pretty useless – maybe I just never found the right one? But yeah, I need the support! I am not uncomfortable in a bra. At the end of the day, though, I do like to get comfy in my lulu’s!

  2. Best bras: Wolford. Expensive and worth every penny. As you mentioned, a good bra totally makes over how your body looks in clothes.

  3. I am not a fan of bras and take mine off as soon as I walk in the door. I like tank tops with built-in soft bras. I know Lulu Lemon has some with enough support for a well-endowed woman to exercise in but that doesn’t describe me ;+) BUT (here is where I might be a hypocrite) I love how I look when I’m wearing a properly-fitting (read expensive) bra.

  4. I have a love-hate relationship with my bras.

    I HATE shopping for bras. It is so.hard. for me to find one where i’m not spilling out all over the place, yet doesn’t come up to my chin.

    I like to wear different cut shirts that have a wider neckline, or tank tops, but with the utlitarian bras i’m forced to wear, the straps are huge and ugly. I have never found a comfortable, supportive bra with a nice slender strap that i wouldn’t mind peeking out from a shirt.

    I take my bra off as soon as i’m home from work, but that being said, i wouldn’t feel comforable ever going out in public without a bra. Most people could tell if it’s cold outside just by looking at my chest area even when i have a bra and a shirt on! (TMI? – sorry…)

  5. I agree 100% with your Mom!

    That being said, I know that part of my prob is that I only own cheap, ill-fitting bras. Could you pls share the name of the shop you mention in your blog? I have no idea where the fancy underwear shops of Ottawa are located.

    Great blog topic, by the way!

  6. Take your Mother with you to have a bra properly fitted. She will never feel uncomfortable again. The girls will be upright and proud once again.

  7. De-lurking to comment: I cherish my “old lady” bra. My girls hang to my belly-button if not properly supported (I’m not exaggerating) and it’s not very comfortable or flattering. Like you, my bra is first on in the morning, last off at night. It’s true – a properly fitted bra takes about 10 lbs off your middle. I need all the help I can get in that department!

  8. Hey Dani – BraChic moved to Westboro while you were on mat leave. It’s down past Roosevelt on Richmond.

  9. So….I’m with your Mom all the way!!
    However…I would NEVER dream of going without one in public…or when I’m visiting and staying over at my dad’s house….or when I’ve got my brother over….and very rarely would I allow my mother to find me bra-less (something about lectures to do with proper support) unless I’ve spent upwards of 12 hours with the damn thing on and can not stand it any longer…

    ….but I do tend to spend good money (not ever over $80 though…) on ok fitting bra’s as I DO require a certain amount of support….can’t live with them…..can’t live without them….

  10. I used to not mind bras, but now I hate them. I much prefer wearing a tank top with good support it in (lululemon). In terms of bras, except for one wedding that required a halter bra to go with my outfit, I haven’t worn any bra other than a nursing bra for the last 5 years. I think I’ll have to rediscover the world of undergarments after my youngest nursling is done.

  11. well since I am plus sized and breast feeding, I have very few options. I purchased three nursing bra’s off of the internet..and those are what get me thru..but they sure are not attractive, not slimming and no where near beautiful…
    I wish someone would make an affordable, beautiful bra for people in my situation!!

  12. I hate bras. I hate wearing them, I hate trying them on, I hate buying them. It’s like bathing suits. How can so little fabric cost so much? You’re mother has a very timely request. It was bra fitting day at Sears yesterday! Yet again I was told I sit between two cup sizes, so trying to get a bra that lifts these sorry saggy things up (before having a baby I could still pass the pencil test at 35!), covers them and doesn’t have those terrible seems down the middle is down right impossible. And never in my life could I ever dream of spending $100 on a bra! I only wear a bra when I leave the house. As soon as I step inside, I’m doing the whole pulling it out of my shirt sleeve trick.

  13. A very good answer here says that breasts are happier when they have no-bra time: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080120003011AA00sio

    And please don’t ask how I knew the answer was there for the purpose of commenting on this post.

    Personally, I enjoy a good bra, because as you said it – it’s like a good hair day. I like them like I like a sunny weekend day or cream instead of milk in my morning coffee. I just think they make good things better. On me, and especially on other people who might catch theirs in their zipper if not adequately contained.

    But I also know that some freedom from constraint is healthy, though flapping in the breeze is pushing it a bit far.

    And hahaha – Captcha Oracle: they Smaller

  14. Hey Mom!

    I’m like you the sooner I get that puppy off the better! I had that contraption and what happened to the 60’s where we all went braless? Of course I didn’t have boobs back then. BUT I can even take mine off while driving if it is driving me nuts…that being said

    I do like to have pretty ones and I would like to have a nice expensive one that hold my sagging girls up where they used to be. I think a pretty sexy one makes you feel sex (if the blood thing doesn;’t cut your breathing off by the end of the day)
    Great topic Mom…should suggest more for Dani to poll about.
    Hugs
    Sharon

  15. Hugs to you too Sharon – those times were wonderful – such freedom – short short sundresses with soft cups inside and matching “underwear” and the figure to wear them!!!

    A friend sent me a joke the other day and I thought I’d share it –

    A couple had been married for 50 years
    They were sitting at the breakfast table one morning when the wife says, “Just think, fifty years ago we were sitting here at this breafast table together”
    “I know,”the old man said. “We were probably sitting here naked as a jaybird fifty years ago..”
    “Well,” Granny snickered. “Let’s relive some old times.”
    Where upon, the two stripped to the buff and sat down at the table.
    “You know, honey,” the little old lady breathlessly replied, “My nipples are as hot for you today as they were fifty years ago.”
    “I wouldn’t be surprised,” replied Gramps.
    “One’s in your coffe and the other is in your oatmeal”

    Captcha – Betterman (how’d that get in there)

  16. I have to wear a bra when I’m pregnant. For some reason, the feeling of boob skin on tummy skin makes me completely nauseous. For real.

    Then when nursing, I leak like a faucet for at least the first 9 months, so a bra and nursing pads are an absolute must. Even at night… ESPECIALLY at night unless I want to wake up in a puddle. (sigh) I’m not a fan of nursing bras, but wear them around the house because of their practical benefits (I have an 11 week old). However, if I’m leaving the house or having people over, I’ll break out a bra that looks better under a shirt.

    Since I’ve been pregnant or nursing with very little bread since the fall of 2002, it’s been a long while since I’ve shopped for bras in a store other than Thyme Maternity.

    Maybe 2010 will be the year…

  17. Love mine. Especially since I got fitted properly by the Yentas at Nordstrom’s.

    Tell your mom to get fitted properly.

  18. Dani, you must be getting lots of hits with all this “breast” talk 🙂

    As a nursing mom with a large cup size, I continue wearing my nursing bras almost 24 hours/day. One time, as my bra started to get wet in the shower, I realized that I was still wearing it. Probably a combination of sleep deprivation and just wearing it all the time.

    They definitely don’t make me feel sexy, but my hubby comments regularly about the easy access.

    And yes, I spent over $100/bra since I can’t buy bras in most stores. (Because of my bra size). I’m all about wearing the right size which requires a good store like BraChic.

    I don’t love or hate them. They just serve a purpose. Pre-baby bras were definitely more interesting, but since I’ve been big breasted for all my adult life, get sore without wearing them. I definitely would love to go braless at night again though!

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