Click Here to See the Bra Band Project!
Omigosh, it’s here!!! I can barely sit still in my chair writing this as I get to finally say…Today we are ready to debut our Bra Band Project results!
They are SO inspiring, thanks to the participation of all of you amazing readers and other bloggers spreading the word! If you haven’t been following along, a quick recap: back in March myself and 4 other lovely (seriously! add them to your Google Reader!) DD+ bloggers (Boosaurus, BrasIHate, ByBabysRules, and Braless in Brazil) started the Bra Band Project. We wanted to show to the world that there was a real need for bra bands in 30 backs and under, and that we were real women, both young and old, who needed these bras (and sometimes in large cup sizes, too!). Apparently we hit a nerve–the response from you was tremendous.
I have to say, I get goosebumps every time I look at the photos because they show, truly, the variety of women who wear these sizes. We’re not all super skinny, and we can’t be put in an age range of “just juniors,” either: everyone in these photos is 18 and up. Plus, for me, it reminds me that even though no local stores carry my size, I’m not some weird freak of nature — there are so many other women out there who also need a small band and large cup!
When lingerie company Claudette heard about the Bra Band Project, they shared something I found very interesting that also reinforced the need for these sizes:
We know how critical a great fit is, and the correct band size is where
this starts. So, we are delighted that so many women are now becoming
more educated and are demanding a bra that truly fits them – aligning
with Claudette’s vision from day one! Our best-selling sizes are 30 and
32 bands, the popularity of these sizes has created a solid demand for
the addition of 28’s which we plan to add in our size mix for SS13.
-Claudette Lingerie
A few things about the project:
- It can be hard for many of us find the correct size, especially for those of us in the sub 28 band range so not all of us are in the correct bra size because of that.
- Panache plans on coming out with a 26 band bra at some point in the near future.
- We have decided to focus this portion of the project on DD+ cups because that is our expertise, but we know that many of our small cup sisters were anxious to join, too! The fabulous Amanda over at 32aa Bra has taken the reigns on the D cup and under small band market, so please join in!
- The project is ongoing, so if you haven’t yet submitted a photo and want to, you can do that right here.
- You can keep us with on Facebook or Twitter.
Here’s our official statement:
Welcome to The Bra Band Project!
We first started this project after a few big-name, full-busted (DD+ cups) lingerie companies asserted that there was “no market” for 30 and under bands, and that “30 and under bands are for juniors.” We wholeheartedly disagreed! We knew that there were plenty of us out there struggling to find bras in these sizes.
To illustrate our point, we’ve collected photos of women who wear sizes 24-30 band bras in sizes DD-KK, ranging from ages 18-50+. As the photos show, we are women of a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and ages, and we need and deserve bras that fit.
Why is having a wide range of band sizes available in the market so important to us? We believe that a bra cannot do its heavy lifting without a firm, supportive band. The band of the bra — not the straps — does most of the work lifting your breasts! This is just as true for women wearing a 24, 26, 28, and 30 band as it is for band sizes 32 and up. But if we can’t find our best size, how can we get the support we need? And it’s not only large bust sizes that need good support: a band that is too large will cause problems for women and girls with busts of any size.
This project also helps illustrate that for full-busted women, band size is often best determined using your true underbust/ribcage measurement as a starting point and adding or subtracting inches as needed on a case-by-case basis. For many of us, no inches need to be added to this measurement! We hope this project is enlightening to you. We hope it makes people think and re-think their views on bra sizes and what bra sizes mean. We hope you can relate to these women.
If we could wave our magic wands and have whatever we wanted in our lingerie drawers, what would we ask for? Well, aside from some very inventive new bra and lingerie ideas you all dreamed up for the Parfait by Affinitas Big Spring Giveaway competition, many of you shared your wish list of products that already existed on the market but not in our sizes that I’d love to highlight here. We’re lusting after longlines, shapewear, and solutions that would allow us to wear whatever clothing we want, and who can blame us?? Here’s hoping a lingerie company is already on the case with these!
A few of you mentioned some wishes for products I have seen before, too, so I’d love to share here some resources. If anyone has other suggestions to help out your fellow full-busted sisters, please share in the comments!
Thanks again to everyone for their participation. Without further ado, your full-busted wishlist!
OUR FULL-BUSTED PRODUCT WISH LIST
Longlines
Freya's lust-worthy Piper Longline, coming in August...
...but sadly, it only goes up to a G cup in sizes 30-38
- “I would love to see a beautiful longline bra in my 28F-FF size! Since Freya unveiled their Nieve longline way back, I’ve been lusting after one myself. I’ve even bought their second longline, the Edina, in a 30F, but it just isn’t quite right. Alas, their 30 bands are large, and I’m a smaller 28. If beautiful longline bras existed in 28 inch bands, I would be all over them.”
- “I’m still waiting for a gorgeous long line bra that isn’t padded! One that starts in a 28 or 30 back size!”
- “I adore these new longline bras that are coming out — but wish they were in a more subdued mauve pink or soft grey. I love pretty soft colors that don’t look bridal!”
Shapewear/Corsets
- “A bra with amazing side/back support that smooths you out and supports everything where it should be… yet still have the designs of the most sleek and sexy lingerie! That would be a lot of women’s dreams to just have that perfect, slimming and stay-in-place support!”
- “I once tried the Panache Confetti Thong Body in black, which has a wonderful soft and sheer fabric and is designed really beautiful and cute in my opinion, especially the backside. The problem with this body is, for many women I know, it’s cut much to short in length, and so it was for me. Also the cut of the bra wasn’t good for me. I’d wish that kind of bodysuit for me again – or, one which would suit women of all body lengths: perhaps a sheer corset or long bra with a cute thong, in a similar style.”
Panache Confetti Thong Body suit
Wouldn't it be wonderful to have more shapewear options like this in a bigger range of full-busted sizes?
- “Something to wear under my wedding dress that is cute, but isn’t cut too high so it can’t be seen!
” [My tailor for my wedding dress altered my corset so that it angled into a V in the back instead of straight across to match my wedding dress. You could ask your tailor if this is a possibility and show her the corsets you are thinking about purchasing to get her input! --Sarah] - “I’ve been on a mission for a bustier for way too long. Besides the usual S/M/L problem, I am also a little bigger in the waist, so it is tricky to find something that fits the cups and the waist.”
- “One of my dream items is a bustier. The perfect bustier fits me perfectly, that means having a small enough waist, and none of that annoying semi-rigid boning that gets awkwardly shaped the moment you sit and never goes back to its original form. In addition to that, the perfect bustier has 6 sturdy garters with metal clips (not the flimsy plastic ones) to hold my stockings up all day long. A good example is the Kiss Me Deadly Vargas Dress, except with my cup size, a 27-inch underbust, and 23-inch waist, it will never fit me.”
The smokin' Kiss Me Deadly Vargas dress
Bras
- ”I’d really love several options for plunge bras in small band sizes (26-28) and larger cup sizes (G+)…. there seems to be very few, if any!” [Polish bra manufacturer Ewa Michalak seems to be the only player I've been able to find in the sub 32/GG+ cup size plunge bra game, although 26 and 28 bands would have to be special order sizes that can't be returned. Curvy Wordy has lots of reviews of various Ewas, like the PL Violet. My own thoughts on the brand to come soon. --Sarah]
Though it starts at a 28 back, DD+ plunge fave Freya Deco leaves several cup sizes out of the fun after a G/GG cup
- “My dream full-busted bra would be a perfectly fitting strapless bra.” [I'd like to add to that: a strapless that starts in a 28 back and goes up to a J cup! Please! --Sarah]
- “When I was a bit smaller-chested, I had a few soft-cup bras that were bandeau but with thin straps. I’d love to find a classy update to that, designed for bigger busted girls and maybe with thicker straps but with the same comfy feel and casual look.”
- “As a vintage-loving girl, CONE BRA CONE BRA CONE BRA!”
- “A comfortable, well-fitting, good-looking, and practical nursing bra would be a godsend. [My wife and I] have, as of this writing, not found it yet. It may continue to be elusive however, since (picking only one bra sore point, pun intended) some people seem completely anti-underwire, whereas others require underwires. One would additionally hope for an inclusive range of sizes, with big-/small-cup size outliers being constructed differently from sizes closer to the center of the bell curve (as necessity dictates). While there is likely no one perfect bra for everyone, we can still hope!” [I've just discovered this really cool new company via Twitter called Lorna Drew. Her bra cup sizes are adjustable to fit 3 sizes as you fluctuate while nursing and include sizes 30-38 B-J! I will be trying these come August. --Sarah]
Lorna Drew nursing bras come up to a J cup that expands to a JJ!
Swimwear
- “I used to swim competitively, and I miss it! I’m desperate to find a one-piece swimsuit that’s suitable for laps and flip turns and that won’t cut across too close to the nipples or cut off my circulation.” [I have seen a couple that might work for you, though I've never tried them: the Freya Active Swim collection. --Sarah]
Specialty
- “I would love to see full-busted versions of the bra ‘solutions’ offered to smaller-busted women. For example, clear-back or low back bras and transparent centre gores for plunging necklines. It would open up a world of new fashion options!”
- “Tanks with built in bras for big busted women. Regular ones have zero support which is not flattering for anyone bigger than a B cup.” [Check out Bravissimo's strappy tanks with built-in bras -- they're the only ones I've seen so far and I actually loved them. I reviewed them recently here. --Sarah]
- “The dream would be a truly backless bra for the bigger bust, but I know due to the laws of physics that is unlikely to ever happen. Otherwise I just adore sexy lingerie, baby dolls, corsages etc., which are actually made for the bigger bust. A pet peeve of mine are all of those which just come in small/medium/large, cause they NEVER fit.” [I ordered something called D+ Perkups by Faveo--they're backless and say they work for up to a 30HH/32H/34GG/36G/38FF/40F size. I'll be posting my results here soon! --Sarah]
Fashion Forms Backless bra--this one gives me small cup envy!
Thanks again for sharing your full-busted wishes, and please share in the comments if you’ve found a solution to one of these DD+ requests!
When I launched the Parfait by Affinitas Big Spring Giveaway, I asked for each entrant to share something they long to see in our DD+ world, in honor of Parfait introducing to the market something I’d dreamed of after much wasted time in fitting rooms: pretty lingerie made for full busts, sized like bras, instead of small, medium, and large.
I wasn’t alone in my joy over this DD+ solution…here’s how happy a few of you were to discover bra-sized lingerie, too!
I just found your company!!! Wow. Love love love your collections…this is my dream come true!
I have always hoped for a company to make lingerie for FULL-busted women…and you are the answer to my hopes!!!!
Parfait's Honey Babydoll
I’ve had a few of these jump-for-joy DD+ moments over the years:
- Stumbling upon cup-sized swimwear (a God send!) in Linda’s Bra Shop,
- Learning about some of the companies making boob-friendly versions of the classic white shirt so we can, you know, *button* the frigging things
- Falling in love with Bravissimo’s strappy tank tops with a built-in bra.
It seems like more and more amazing products for our size range are coming on the market all the time!
So with all these inspiring DD+ innovations, I thought I’d share in this post some of the most creative ideas for the full-busted market that you all came up with. I seriously want all these things you’ve come up with, like, now! … Who knows? Maybe they’re not too far off from becoming a reality (lingerie designers, feel free to take notes!!). Tomorrow, I’ll share some of the DD+ solutions we’re hankering for.
MOST CREATIVE DD+ IDEAS
- A summery dress with a built-in bra. I am sick of thick straps showing or top/sides of bra peeking out of lovely light, strappy dresses. Please dress gods, make a pretty dress with enough support for a G bust! [Can we get Pepperberry designers on the case for this one?! --Sarah]
- A nude, seamless, padded full-fit bra with a high center gore, with, like, pink embroidery along the band and straps (for instance, roses or snakes).
- Neon colored convertible bra that truly fits! [Sounds like a job for Claudette to me! --Sarah]
- My dream full-busted bra would be a lightly padded longline – at least six hooks for extra support and comfort – and would either be wirefree (I can dream!), or have soft wires encased in foam. It would come in a big size range – starting at a 24 or 26 back, and going up to a K cup – so that everyone can experience the wondrousness of it. It would come in both basic, sexy black & lots of lovely colours and cute designs (rasberry! tattoo print! blush!), so one could wear it as a top in summer, if they were daring!
- I’ve always wanted a cheeky bright navy pinstripe bra that was kinda silky, a la pin up girl of the olden days. [Love retro inspiration! --Sarah]
- My dream product is a good quality knit nightgown with a soft bra insert. One that comes down to the knee. [Amen! I recently tried this one from Bravissimo; probably not exactly a perfect match to your description, but maybe in the ballpark? --Sarah]
- A pink, polka-dot set (Pink background with white polka dots). A very balconette style (think Curvy Kate Tease Me), with a ruffle at the bottom. White ribbon along the top. Matching high-waisted knickers, with sheer side panels (in pink!). Oh, and a babydoll that matches.
- Those strapless “corset tops” my friends wear. [I've long lusted after the D&G corset tops. Le sigh. --Sarah]
- My dream full busted bra set is completely inspired by Paris. I’d like the bands, straps, and seat (of the knickers!) covered in an Eiffel Tower, poodle, and baguette print! The cups would be all Leavers lace and the bottom would have a sheer panel below the belly and through my hips. [Squee! How gorgeous does that sound?? --Sarah]
Did these give you any more ideas?? Share your wish list in the comments!
I’m so, SO excited to announce the winners today of the Parfait by Affinitas giveaway! Thank you to everyone who participated, and I can’t wait to share everyone’s dream full-busted lingerie and bra ideas throughout the week. You are all such a creative lot!
As promised, I used a random integer generator to choose the 10 winners of the giveaway. If you followed Parfait on Twitter or Pinterest, you earned an extra entry for each one! Here were the winning numbers…
which corresponded to the following lucky women! (Drum roll, please…)
1. Susan Roudabush
2. Jean Jmfmf
3. Ana Tomás
4. Steph Bowe
5. Amy Harvey
6. Rebekka K. Steg
7. Kate Nelson
8. jameane
9. Miranda Aschenbrenner Galea
10. Morgan Frazier
Wee-hoo!! You ladies get to choose any 2 pieces of Parfait’s S/S 2012 collection! This could be bra/bottom, bra/babydoll, bra/bra, or any other combination you can think of.
Part of Parfait's S/S12 collection
I’ll be in touch with the winners shortly via direct email so you can get these goodies in your hot little hands asap!
If you’re still itching to get your hands on Parfait, you can find them on Bare Necessities, Linda’s Online, and Her Room, among others. And a big thank you to Affinitas Intimates for this fabulous giveaway!
Before I get to the strappy tops from Bravissimo, just a little reminder that my Parfait giveaway ends tonight at midnight! Don’t forget to enter for a chance to win any 2 pieces of your choice from their SS2012 collection…like this dreamy babydoll, the Alexis:
Okay, now onto my Bravissimo finds!
I decided to take a chance and give these skinny strap tank tops with built-in underwire bras from Bravissimo a whirl.
Image via Bravissimo
- Image via Bravissimo
I’ve been itching to try these tanks as a simple solution to layering a bra and a tank and then having to think about making sure your bra straps don’t stick out. I usually wear a layering tank with thicker straps to avoid that (this reversible Anthropologie one) but I liked having the option of skinny straps for once!
Because I’ve been working in a cluster of sizes rather than just a 28J or 30HH, I tried the top end of my band range (this tank starts only in a 30 band) and the biggest cup available, a 30H, to see if it might possibly work and ordered the blue and white nautical stripe and basic black ($51.75 each; also in a pretty hot pink shade and basic white).
Size chart for Bravissimo strappy tops with built-in underwire bras
Lo and behold, I loved them!
They work great for layering. Here’s the blue and white under a sheer Joie button front navy top. I love wearing this with coral maternity jeans (size 6 US, $58.17) from Asos and easy Yosi Samra ballet flats!
Layered under a sheer navy Joie top!
I also like them on their own. These are 60 cm long, so they are working for me and my baby bump, even at almost 26 weeks pregnant. They should be plenty long if you’re not expecting! This is such a fun top with dark jeans (these are my big pregnancy splurge, AG maternity skinnies) and a colored shoe (red croc print Yosi Samra flats work for me!). I love how seamless the back looks — no bra band bumps here!
The black has been also been a great wardrobe staple for me (as these should be at $50 a pop!!). Here it is with my coral jeans and a thin gray sweater:
In Sedona on my babymoon!
There’s also darts under the arms that I find super flattering:
FIT AND SIZING:
- The blue and white feels best on the tightest hook, instead of the loosest where you should be starting, but this works for me because if anything, I’ll need to expand out over the next few months as I enter my third trimester and postnatal stages. Because of this, I’d say that for the best fit, your normal band size would probably work best. However, if you’re going for the black, I found that the band does feel more snug. I am wearing the black on the middle or loosest hook…depending on the day! (If you’ve ever found black bras to run a bit tighter in general, Claire at Butterfly Collection explained to me before that the dye process to make garments black can result in a snugger fit…a bit of trivia for you!)
- From my experience the support has been as good as a regular bra for regular everyday wear.
- The H cup fits nicely on me, so perhaps the cup runs a bit big compared to other bras since I’ve usually been wearing a 28J/JJ or 30HH. When I checked my experience against the reviews on Bravissimo, there’s mixed feedback: some find the cups big and others find them true-to-size. From about 6 weeks of wear now, I haven’t had to muss about with these at all; everything stays put, straps, cups, all’s where it should be all day long.
- I’ve also found these tops very comfortable, with one exception. The hooks on the black tank run right up to the very edge of the band, so when I wear it on the loosest hook I can feel where the hook and eye meet. This seems to be a manufacturing error on my tank because this is not the case on the blue and white striped tank, which has a good amount of material left to protect my skin from the hook-and-eye closure.
- The straps are fully adjustable. I wear mine tightened to the tops of my shoulders.
- The closure can be a little bit of a pain to get closed, unlike the photo above where the model seems to hook the bra part with ease. I can’t hook this in front and spin it around because of my pregnant belly, but if you are a spinner, that might be the easier way to close this. To hook it from the back, I can only do it if I leave my arms out of loosened up straps, then put the straps on and tighten them up. Otherwise I feel like quite the contortionist!
UPDATE:
Erin C asked a great question about the padding of the bra part of this tank in the comments, so I’m adding two photos here of what the bra part of this top looks like. The top of the cup is sewn right into the top seam of the tank. When I felt the padding on this versus an old Freya Deco I have in my donation box, the padding on the tank felt slightly thinner to me. These photos also show the 3 seams on each cup that helps give this shape, as well as the mesh band and center gore. If anyone has tried both the Bravissimo and the Panache and can compare the two, please do share in the comments!
UPDATE PART 2:
Annie from Bras I Hate asked a great question about how this bra works, so although I don’t normally show photos of myself in bras, because this one has a lot more coverage I’m going to add some photos of what the bra portion looks like on. Please excuse the bit of baby bump! Also, my tissue is quite full on top so the shape you get in this might be slightly different.
The bra portion acts like a normal bra. The tops of the cups are simply extended to meet the top of the tank and sewn in to the seaming there
The underwires extend all the way back like a normal bra
A 2-hook closure. This portion is detached from the tank
RELATED POSTS
Yesterday I featured four organizations that are anxious to take your unwanted bras off your hands. I really love these organizations for helping to make well-fitting bras available to all women, especially those who can’t afford their often high price tags.
Today I wanted to delve a bit deeper into one of them, The Clothing Library, which is taking a very unique approach to reusing your bras. I interviewed Kim Slawson, founder of The Clothing Library, to find out more about how the unique clothing lending system works and why collecting a wide range of bras is especially important to this organization.
Q: What is the Clothing Library? What do you aim to do and who do you help?
The Clothing Library is a virtual and physical resource supporting members by cataloging and lending items, like a book library, but for clothes.
One person’s dud is another’s dream outfit, or to the point about bras, one girl’s older boulder holder is another’s bosom buddy.
We’ve seen a lot of interest from 3 camps:
- ladies who change sizes rapidly because they are expecting
- teens who change sizes frequently due to development
- moms of kids who change sizes frequently because, well, they’re kids.
As such we have a real need for maternity clothes, kids clothes, and bras.
Good-fitting, high-quality bras can be difficult to find, expensive or both. Add to that the complication of frequent size fluctuations and there is the making of a real headache, both logistical and financial. This is a problem that the Clothing Library is tailor-made to solve.
Q: How did you start doing this?
The Clothing Library concept was an epiphany I had one day while looking through my closet. I realized that a large proportion of my clothes never saw any love, and I figured that I was far from unique in this respect. I talked to my friends and found out that they, too, had clothes gathering dust. “Why not put these unworn and unloved garments to use?” I thought. Thus the idea of a shared community resource for clothing, bags, shoes, and bras was born.
In parallel with this, my knowledge of bra-fitting and sizing grew, along with my recognition of the sad state of support that most busts enjoy. I decided to help change this in two ways: by making available as part of the Clothing Library a large range of styles and sizes of bras so that ladies could find the best fit possible; and by curating and disseminating accurate and helpful informational bra resources (links to blogs and guides, people and stores, videos, and books). This is, of course, a never-ending task, and help is sorely needed and happily accepted.
Q: How do you use donated bras? Do you have trained fitters?
We are in the process of working with area clothing and lingerie stores to arrange fitting services. Currently, self-fitting resources are provided. With that said, a relationship with a professional fitter would be ideal and this is something we are definitely working toward.
Q: My bras are stretched out/old/looking a bit dingy. Can you still use them?
Even if your bras are old or you have fallen out of love with them, they may be of help to someone. We definitely need a large variety of band/cup sizes and brands/models to help people find bras that fit and styles that work for them. If they are torn, dirty, or unwearable, it might be best to discard them.
Q: What sizes do you need?
All styles and sizes are needed. With that said, especially in demand are larger cup sizes on small-to-average band sizes (for example, 28D – 36K). For many people just becoming “bra-conscious” (to borrow a phrase from the Polish bra-review community Balkonetka.pl), it’s often hard to find their newly-discovered size in stores and hence hard to try before they buy. The Clothing Library aims to alleviate this problem.
Q: Anything else you’d like to share?
Donations are tax-deductible! The Clothing Library will provide worksheets to itemize your donations come T-day.
I’m keeping a request/matchmaking list as well, so if there’s anything you need, let me know complete with sizes and specifics, and I will see to it that items find a deserving borrower.
This resource is still in the early stages; soon with the launch of a database and website I aim to automate a great deal of the item listing, browsing, and borrowing process. Look forward to exciting developments in 2012, including an online catalogue and virtual listings detailing items in members closets. Thank you for your donations and for spreading the word!
The Clothing Library can be found on Twitter at http://twitter.com/
SIMILAR POSTS
Give the Gift of Well-fitting Bras by Donating Your Unwanted Ones!
Supporting Younger Women with Bigger Chests: Fairy Bra Mothers
Happy Monday! This weekend the weather here was freezing and overcast, so I spent some time spring cleaning my wardrobe: emptying out my drawers and reorganizing, sorting through my closet, and piling up clothes for donation. (The nesting instinct is kicking in!) A part of that pile are the bras I excised from my lingerie drawer earlier this year as part of my New Year’s Brasolution. Some of the bras are hardly ever worn (internet purchase mistakes), some have served their duty. So what to do with these surplus bras if you aren’t planning on auctioning them off on ebay?
These are ready to donate!
Happily, several organizations will gladly take them off your hands and put them to good use! So if you never got around to cleaning out your ill-fitting bras earlier this year, why not jump in now and make it part of your spring cleaning–and help other women who can’t afford the often higher price point of full-busted bras get the wonderful boost a good fitting bra can give?
Here are a few places you can send your bras:
- Support1000: This Chicago-based organization would love your new or gently used bras!
Begun in November 2008, they originally aimed to collect 1000 bras to donate to organizations that served women. They’ve way exceeded that with over 15,000 bras donated and then distributed to:
• schools
• homeless shelters
• job-readiness programs
• domestic violence shelters
• residential facilities for recovering addicts
• Native American communities
• communities in Kenya, Mali and Zimbabwe
• many other organizations and social services professionals who serve women
Something else that is really cool is that you can also sponsor a specific cup size with a monetary donation via their Sponsor-a-Cup program. For more details on how to donate your bras, go here.
- The Bra Recyclers: This organization can take your new or used bras as long as they are in decent condition–i.e., straps and clasps need to be functional. Bras in good condition are donated to victims of domestic violence in the U.S. who often arrive at shelters with only the clothes on their back. “Having donations of good quality bras help[s] the women we house with not only their physical but their emotional outlook as well,” said a representative of one shelter who receives donated bras. CEO Elaine Birks-Mitchell told me they especially have a need for larger-sized bras as they always run out and have to ration them to the shelters they support.
What about bras you’re not sure are up to snuff? This is a good program to consider because they will recycle as much as they can if its not fit for wear:
Once acquired, clothing (e.g., bras) are sorted and graded based on condition. Once sorted, the used clothing is recycled in one of the following
manners:
• Used as apparel which is generally exported to least developed and developing countries where demand for secondhand clothing is particularly high.
• Recovered textiles become wiping and polishing cloths used in commercial and industrial settings.
• Reprocessed into fibers for furniture stuffing, upholstery, insulation, soundproofing, carpet padding, building and other materials.
• Donated to organizations in communities around the world to support efforts individuals in transition
• Is unusable and not for recycling
The Bra Recyclers has four easy steps to follow for donating your bras here.
- The Clothing Library: This organization got in touch with me after I originally posted about my New Year’s Brasolution, encouraging me to donate my unwanted bras. They are basically a lending “library” for clothing, including bras. The idea is really fascinating, so I have a guest post from founder Kim Slawson coming tomorrow to explain more about this interesting idea.
- Oxfam Big Bra Hunt: UK readers can donate their bras at their local Oxfam where they’ll either be resold in their shops or sent to Senegal to be sorted and sold at Frip Ethique. The money raised goes to help fight poverty in Senegal and around the world.
Did you know that there were so many cool organizations that could give your unwanted bras a new life? I can’t wait to send off my bra donation to help other women get the support–literally–they need. Join me!
RELATED POSTS:
The Clothing Library: Putting Your Old or Unwanted Bras to Great Use
Supporting Younger Women with Bigger Chests: Fairy Bra Mothers
{I’m super happy to bring you another guest post by fellow full-buster and nursing bra pro Patricia, who wrote the fabulous series on Nursing Bras for the Already Well-Endowed Mama! Here she takes a look at two A.J. Rumina tops. Enjoy! XO, Sarah}
In a nod to my status as a Navy wife, I hereby present a Fit[ness] Report (or Fit Rep, as the military calls it) on a couple of tops by AJ Rumina.
I am always on the lookout for tops that fit well, as they are such a rarity for our kind – those with a larger cup and a small/average everything else. So, I was excited to give AJ Rumina’s tops a try. I selected two models – the polo shirt (pink, $19.99 on clearance!) and the t-shirt (yellow, $24.99). Both looked cute and promising in the photos on the website, and the prices were very reasonable.
Polo shirt, photo via A.J. Rumina site
T-shirt, photo via A.J. Rumina site
I also appreciate that the company is a small business, started by three women who saw a need for clothing to fit those of us with bigger busts and were motivated by the desire to help others through philanthropy and community service.
The sizing also seemed straightforward, thanks to AJ Rumina’s size chart.
According to the chart, with my measurements of Bust: 36, Waist: 26 (Bra: 32F), I would fit nicely in a Small F/G (Bust: 36-37.5, Waist: 29.5). I don’t like tight-fitting clothing, so I was happy that I wouldn’t be on the small end of the size, it seemed.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case when the tops actually arrived. Much to my dismay, the tops were much tighter than I feel comfortable in. I have always been a big believer in avoiding clothes that are even a smidge too tight, as I think they make even the most slender and toned among us look much bigger than they are. (See, e.g., muffin top syndrome.)
First, the Polo Shirt:
Pros:
- I liked the overall design of this shirt.
- I definitely appreciate a higher (but not too high) neckline like this one.
- The length was ideal.
- The fabric was pretty comfortable.
Cons:
- The main problem was the body of the shirt was much too tight for my liking, to the point that the fabric gaped a bit at the chest and back.
- The fabric was also a bit thin – as you can see, my belly button was visible in the front, and slightly reminiscent of a moon crater. Sure, I want to look out of this world, but this is not exactly what I have in mind…
Anyway, with the thin fabric and tight fit combined, I felt quite exposed in this top, to the point that I was tempted not to post the photos here, though I ultimately decided it was for the greater good to do so, to help others understand the fit on me.
I also wasn’t crazy about the shade of pink in person, so I decided to just return the shirt rather than try a different size. (Luckily, AJ Rumina has a generous return policy – if you’re not happy with their clothing, you can refund or exchange it within thirty days, so long as it’s unworn with labels intact.)
Next, the T-Shirt:
Sadly, I had the same fit problems with the T-Shirt, though I had high hopes for it based on the photos on the website.
Pros:
- Again, I really liked the overall design of the shirt. A longer sleeve like this one, just about to the elbow on me at 5’2’’, is nice, as it really de-emphasizes the bust and flatters the upper arm. (I usually avoid cap and other short and formfitting sleeves, because I think they draw the eye to the fullest part of the bust, while also increasing the risk of the dreaded fat-arm.)
- As with the polo, the length was good.
- I also really liked the color, which was very vibrant and saturated.
- The material was thicker than that of the polo, which I generally prefer.
Cons:
- As you can see in the photo, though, it was just way too tight in the body. As in the polo, this tightness led to gaping both in the back and chest – not a good look! And also, just too much emphasis of my, ah, topography, in general.
TRYING TO GET A BETTER FIT
In an effort to find a better size that might work, I consulted one of the owners, Rebecca, who was extremely nice and helpful. She suggested I go up a size, to the Medium F/G. She sent it in blue. (This color was also very nice and rich.) Alas, the fit was still not right for me. It was still uncomfortably tight in the body, but now the shoulders, torso and arms were too long. According to the size chart, the Medium F/G should fit measurements Bust: 40-41.5 and Waist: 30-33.5, but I found it to be nearly skintight on my 36 bust and 26 waist – nearly as tight as the Small F/G. In fact, it was even hard to wriggle over my chest!
So, with much dismay and many shipping costs on both sides, I decided that these tops and I are simply not meant for each other. Thanks to the return policy, I ended up returning all the shirts for a refund. I don’t know how the fit would be for someone else – maybe it’s just my shape that’s incompatible with the cut of these tops – but my sense is that the size chart is probably off, at least in the Small and Medium F/G range for the shirts I tried.
Fit report, over and out.
{Although the T-shirt and polo shirt sadly didn’t work for Patricia, I want to also shine a light on two tops that have worked pretty well for other DD+ bloggers: Darlene at Hourglassy reviews here the AJ Rumina Dress Shirt, and June at Braless in Brazil reviews here the AJ Rumina Rolled Sleeve Dress Shirt. For another review of the T-shirt, June takes a look at that here.}
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Tops that Flatter a Full DD+ Bust: Fall 11 Roundup
My last round of soft cup bras didn’t turn out so well. I tried and reviewed three soft cup bras (marketed as maternity bras) in December while looking for sleep/lounge bras: the Royce Sadie and two Panache styles, the Alisha and the Sophie. I thought I’d found the one with the Sophie if got the right size, but as the update to the review shows, something was WAY off about the fit of that one.
I had to try maternity bras even before I knew I was pregnant because I was looking for a sleep bra, and as I mentioned here, I couldn’t find any in my size; most don’t go past an F. Instead I focused on soft cup bras, tricky for small band/big cup sizes because most soft cups are made by lines that target the full-figured full-bust market, like Elomi, and start at sizes 34 or 36. The only full-busted soft cups available in small band sizes are also marketed as maternity bras so if you’re looking for a lounge/sleep bra in a 30 band or under, they are your only option from what I have found. However, there’s nothing exactly pregnancy related about these bras besides the fact that they have extended hooks in the back (ranging from 4 to 6) to accommodate back expansion in pregnancy (no nursing drop-down cups). Aside from that you can use them whether or not you’re expecting.
Freya Dotty Soft Cup
Freya was the final brand I could find that makes soft cups in smaller band sizes. I spotted the Dotty and Kelly on their company website but couldn’t track them down anywhere but a UK site called Bras Galore. This was at the beginning of March, but while I was clicking around on US-based Bigger Bras the other day (looking for swimsuits…tis the season!) I was excited to also spot them for sale now there, too.
Freya Kelly Soft Cup
Although I’ve wanted a lounge/sleep bra for some time now, I’ve especially been wanting a soft cup bra since falling pregnant because by the end of the day, my breasts and/or underbust can sometimes swell up and I can hardly wait to whip off my bras. Because the girls have gone up in weight and size (from 38.5″ overbust to 41″), though, I really can’t bear to pad around the house without support.
I ordered my sister size of a 30HH in each Freya style; both start at 30 backs and go up to HH cups. Fit-wise, material-wise, and construction-wise the bras seem the same, just different patterns, so my comments apply to both bras. Ordering through Bras Galore was easy (£5 shipping, about $8) and I have been wearing these bras for the last 6 weeks.
I normally don’t include bra photos of me on this site but with my pregnant belly it was tough to see the fit of these under my shirt like I did with my last soft cup posts, so here goes! read more…
With the ever-expanding bust and baby bump, I’ve been doing a little shopping (hee hee, I love this excuse!). Although I have picked up a few specifically maternity items now (JEANS!), a couple of these Anthropologie finds seemed good for full busts whether or not you’re expecting.
1. Given Then Gathered Column Dress, Bordeaux, $128
This dress comes in navy or this orange-y color (labeled bright red on the website, but I’d beg to differ there). There’s a bit of spandex so it shapes to your body, and I found the draping flattering–it’s got a little Grecian going for it! Plus the modal fabric is quite soft so while this is extremely comfortable, it looks pulled together. I think a long thin necklace might make a nice focal point for this dress, or even a thin belt, and definitely heels. I tried a Medium for pregnancy but otherwise I’d go for a Small, so I think it runs pretty true to size.
Pretty draping details
Plenty of room for an expanding baby bump -- at 21 weeks here
2. Porthole Chemise, Division E, $68
Can full-busted women wear stripes? I say, why not, especially when something’s fitted? This is such an easy summer dress and while the stretchy fabric and knee length nicely accommodates an expanding belly, this would look fantastic on non-pregnant curvy women, too. The cap sleeves mean plenty of bra coverage and I love the open scoop neck. This is a Medium, which judging by the bust fit I’d probably opt for if I wasn’t expecting, as well.
But the best feature of this dress is the back cutout detail, which safely hits just above the bra line:
The blue and red color combination looked striking on, but there’s also a lavendar and gray–I just didn’t like it as much with my skintone, and you definitely need a neutral bra underneath as you can see the floral pattern of my bra here:
3. Twinkle Bands Top, Splendid, $68
Here I am with stripes and a flattering scoop neck again! This is the only find where I really can’t guess how the fit would look non-maternity, but the fabric is quite thin and drapes nicely, plus it’s longer and hits at the hip, so it might be worth a go in the fitting room. I went with a medium for extra tummy room and with the banded bottom everything felt pulled in and streamlined; if I weren’t preggers I’d do a small. This is the Brown Motif, which really looks more pretty metallic copper.
As you can see in the above right photo, the bra shows under the arm. I’d opt for a nude or lace bra, but you could also do a tank underneath (like this one) for extra coverage.
And here’s how I imagine this might accommodate the bump as I grow; on the right you can see how the banded elastic bottom would really come in handy in keeping this fit quite flexible as I get bigger :
4. Peplum Ponte Tank, Ganni, $78
Finally: hello, gorgeous! I ADORE this top, but sadly peplum waists and pregnancy do not go hand-in-hand. It was so eye-catching, though, that I had to pass it along; I had great luck with this Bailey 44 peplum top in the fall, so when I saw this I thought it might be another great option for other DD+ women. It’s stretch cotton, so it might have some give in the bust, and, well, that hot pink color must be tried on by someone!! I’d pair it right with the floral jeans (which I tried on here) pictured next to it. Also in ivory and navy.
