2021: Sports Bra Redux

[TheDBYC]

I’m an " after-market " 32DDD & really like the Shefit bras because they’re infinitesimally adjustable. Unfortunately, they wear out fast due to that same reason. Victorias’s Secret, Lululemon, & several others offer a double-layer sports bra with an underwater on the inside & a zip-up compression layer on the outside. I’ll probably try that next. I have a drawer overflowing with bras because what works for yoga doesn’t work for riding & jiu jitsu requires something all together different!

A woman on Shite Eventers vet wrapped her boobs when she forgot to bring a sports bra to change into. She said it worked well! Worth a shot.

[Aleuronx]

I think Calvincrowe and others have hit on the point. I’m not ‘large’ persay but enough to bounce as noted in most recent lesson video that I was unamused by the amount of bounce occurring in the sitting trot.

I have played around with the ‘sister sizes’ before and not had success. My band size is pretty well set and if I go up or down it’s either suffocatingly tight with cups gaping or too loose with cups that overflow.

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I just need to give some options a try. Just a bit salty at $70+ for sports bra, but I guess if I find one that makes the sitting trot less of a show it will be worth it.

[Cabaret_SK]

My current top two are this new model from Lululemon: https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-sports-bras/Swift-Speed-Bra/_/prod9750151?color=0001 (I love the adjustability in the straps - it helped me really get a good fit), and the Knix sports bra. I’m a 34DD/34E.

[Renn_aissance]

@Pezanos

Boy I miss that bra, but only the Moving Comfort Juno one, not the Brooks iteration. It was my favorite of all time.

See, this is a great example of “every bra fits someone but no bra fits everyone” - I much prefer the Brooks iteration over the Moving Comfort because the Moving Comfort has a seam in the front that rubs against my sternum. I have both kinds and if I wear two MCs two days in a row I get a rub. I have to alternate.

@Cabaret_SK I was looking at that bra. The straps only adjust in length, not in style, right? I do best in a racerback and that conventional back isn’t going to be my jam.

[Cabaret_SK]

I just went and grabbed it to confirm, and you are correct - they adjust in length, but not in style (and could not be a racerback). I know the Enlite bra is a racerback style from Lululemon, and I know lots of people who love that one!

[S1969]

@Renn_aissance

was looking at that bra. The straps only adjust in length, not in style, right? I do best in a racerback and that conventional back isn’t going to be my jam

As a runner, I agree 100% with this. The bras with convertible straps to cross in the back gives much more support. I know exactly what some people are saying…where the bottom band is supportive but the top of the breast still jiggles. I hate that look! And I we a long run it results in rubs, etc. It may fe comfortable but there are bras with more allover support.

Bras are like jeans…they fit certain body types. But I’m happy to pay $70 for a good fit. Good bras will last a long time too if you wash by hand.

[2tempe]

I spent $$$ on a Lululemon and was not at all impressed. My go - to and not expensive - is a Champion high impact wire free sports bra. Note that I wear it OVER my regular bra. Yes you can survive in Florida wearing two bras, lol. 34-d here. It works so well that when I occasionally forget, I literally believe I should not trot.

[LilRanger]

I have been wearing Goddess bras for sports for a while now. I’m not only narrow chested, but have narrow shoulders with very prominent trapezius muscles, so I can’t wear racerback straps because they make my shoulders cramp. But I need shorter straps than most bras offer.

Anyway, the goddess have infinitely adjustible straps, which is great, they aren’t sweaty ,like my panache,and they make me look great, even riding! Yay! And I found them for under $40, once I got my correct size. Huzzah!

[mvp]

@Bristol_Bay

@Obsidian_Fire

I can’t believe anybody likes these Wacoal’s.

Every bra fits some but not everyone. I believe it didn’t fit you but there is no reason for you not to believe it fit me. No need for the hate.

Ok, but you wrote “These are the best.” Sounds like a pretty universal and strong claim to me. And the OP surely wasn’t asking which bra best fits another random person on the innerwebz whom she has never met, right?

@Scribbler, OTOH, the website you mention sounds really helpful to everyone with any-shaped boobs. Could you kindly give us the link? We have boobs, so we need it.

[Aleuronx]

Okay, here’s the prelim update! Between @Cabaret_SK and some barn mates I took the (monetary) leap and got 2 of Knix catalyst sports bras, one front zip and one not.

First impressions is the fabric is comfortable but substantial and good compression in both the zip and not. I’m not 100% on the fit, sizing is nonstandard BUT they have a 30 day wash and wear return guarantee to pick the right fit so I feel better about it. My only concern is straight off on the next to last hook and loops so if it stretches I only have one notch to go in terms of tightening up the band.

I have ridden in both once each and they are comfy to wear in a way that they feel non-existent on and hold things in quite well. Mind you one was a lesson where I didn’t think about it at all so maybe that’s a good thing??

I’ll give another post if I end up replacing size or how they get on for a month. They are eye-watering in price but isn’t everything related to riding??

[jvanrens]

I’ve been eyeing Underarmours sports bras for a while, but like shoes, I won’t buy without trying first. The have a model that comes recommended by a rider or two, so one of these days I’ll get myself into a store and try one on. The last of my trusty Champion bras is on it’s last legs…

[Against_All_Odds2]

I have 3 of these in rotation:
https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-sports-bras/Enlite-Bra-Zip-Front/_/prod9090377?color=48237

36 DDD and they are the best I have found thus far. I really like that I don’t have to squish my body through one that is “pre done up”. The open front makes it really easy to take on and off when you are drenched in sweat.

[TheDBYC]

I’m mad at Lululemon because a DDD = E (at least as far as I know it does & I used to manage the Intimates section in a dept store it, dammit!) But their 32E was just eh. And for $78 for a bra I better be wowed. Plus, most places give a professional discount to yoga instructors but I’m sure Lulu only gives a discount to uber-famous yoga teachers. Harumph.

[Renn_aissance]

I am sorry to say… I think you’re thinking of UK sizing, and Lululemon is based in Canada. US DD is also called a US E, matches the UK DD and the Europe E cup. A US DDD is also called an F in the US, UK E, Euro F.

Signed, US E who just wishes we could have a little bit of standardization, please.

[TheDBYC]

The E was too loose, though. Not too small, as you’d expect if a DD = E size conversion. And their sizing jumps from DD to E with no DDD in between in a lot of styles. I give up!

I agree that bra sizes are whack-a-doodle confusing. I was considering ordering from Pour Moi, a UK-based company. They claim a US DDD equals a UK E. And don’t even get me started on Cosabella! Love their underwear. Despite trying about 12 different size permutations, I have never once hit on the correct size in their bras.

[S1969]

@TheDBYC

But their 32E was just eh. And for $78 for a bra I better be wowed.

Send it back.

It’s really hard to know how a bra will fit until you try it on and jump around in it. And even then, you can’t know 100% about things like rubs/chafes until you wear it for an extended period of time.

I also like to read the ratings for bras, and some companies, like Title 9 - will actually say “runs small, buy one band size up” or similar comments. Although, the last time I did that, I disagreed.

Sizing is tough because people are different - a larger woman with little body fat might wear the same band as a smaller person with some fluff in her mid-section. That will change things a lot. So you do have to be patient and willing to send them back if they don’t fit you.

But once you find one you love - buy a couple. They will last a long time if you take care of them.

[quietann]

I have been happy with the basic Shock Absorber bras, too. The biggest plus for me is that they are designed like normal bras with hooks in the back, no pull-on or front closure styles. Between bad shoulders and a half-crippled hand, that’s the only style I can put on and take off on my own. I will say they are not the most most supportive, but good enough for my toodling around on the trails. I recently went from a 34D to a 34DD because I’m rather more fleshy in the relevant areas. And I am really scared of when I need to replace my normal bras; I wear Wacoals and none of their sizes work for me now.

[Cabaret_SK]

Lulu has a fitness instructor discount - my sister is a local-level fitness instructor in a small Canadian city, and she gets the discount! (So definitely not just for uber-famous yoga teachers)

[eightpondfarm]

i just bought some yoga pants and sports bras from target. I threw away about 4 or 5 old ones that were stretched and wonky. Was surprised to see that the new ones (four or five different makers, all size M) had foamy inserts…these triangular cup thingies. When did they start putting foamies in sports bras? I have zero need to look like i have nice round breasts, and if it were not so invasive i’d have had the damn things cut off of me decades ago.

[TheJenners]

I think it’s to keep from nippin’…