Why Are Sports Bras So Terrible?
November 1, 2015 6:43 PM   Subscribe

"Today, there are a lot more choices than the original Jogbra jock strap design. In fact, as anybody who has gone shopping for a sports bra recently can attest, there is an overwhelming number of choices, from strappy yoga designs to padded cups to the classic racerback. But the choices women face come down to two main categories: compression bras and encapsulation bras."
posted by the man of twists and turns (64 comments total) 28 users marked this as a favorite
 
I hate the uniboob hangup so much. I don't give a flying fuck if my sports bra gives me a uniboob. It is hard enough to find something that allows me to run without pain. I really am not going to worry about whether I have the proper womanly form while I'm exercising.

I wear Enells. They aren't sexy, and they aren't cheap, but they get the job done.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:01 PM on November 1, 2015 [47 favorites]


This was a depressing read. More than half of the reason I don't exercise is because I can't find any sports bras that actually do what they're supposed to do in any way whatsoever (and I have looked and looked and looked and spent and spent and spent and tried on and tried on and tried on and returned and returned and returned). According to the article that's not going to change any time soon. I too, really don't care if my boobs look like boobs or not. Nobody is supposed to be looking at them anyway. I just want them to stay still so I'm not constantly bothered by them.
posted by bleep at 7:05 PM on November 1, 2015 [6 favorites]


I suppose I should try new sports bras out, but the ones I have tried have all been so horribly uncomfortable (and also often unsuccessful at containing, to boot) that I've completely given up on them. I just wear my normal bras to work out. There's some mildly uncomfortable bouncing when I run hard, but it's far less uncomfortable than wearing a sports bra.
posted by vegartanipla at 7:07 PM on November 1, 2015 [2 favorites]


Under Armour's Cortina echoed some of those sentiments in an email. "Women want to feel good and look good," she wrote. "Gone are the days of sacrificing style for fit or comfort. She expects and DESERVES a bra (no matter the cup size) to fit, perform, and be on trend. Many bras offer one but not the others. She wants it all and she can have it all!"

I barfed.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 7:09 PM on November 1, 2015 [43 favorites]


"I think we need to scrap the whole bra system and start again from a sizing system," Steele says. Bra sizing is confusing, imprecise, and variable. This isn't just a sports bra problem, either; some surveys say that literally 100 percent of women are wearing the wrong sized bra.

...

Encapsulation bras treat each breast individually, more like a regular bra. While compression bras work perfectly well for women who fall into the A- and B-cup range, larger breasted women need more support.

Does this apply to me or not? I'm not exactly boobtastic here, but the much-vaunted ABraThatFits method puts me at about a 32D/32E, depending on weight and the bra itself. On the other hand, for years I wore 34As and 34Bs. If you are going to (correctly) point out that bra sizing is a pain and a fucking half, please tell me what unit of measurement you mean by "A- and B-cup range"!!!

And I mean, to be frank, I am currently wandering around in a size Small ratty-ass sports bra because the kind with actual cups and spaghetti straps a) are a bit less comfortable and b) constantly slide down on my shoulders. Yes, even the properly fitted ones. Yes, even if the breastband isn't so loose it's riding up. I must have badly sloping shoulders, but I really just want bras that will prevent my nipples from chafing and be more or less comfortable. Weirdly enough, sports bras are better at that task than anything else I've seen, even if they do sweet fuck-all for keeping my boobs in place or being much better support than going without.
posted by sciatrix at 7:19 PM on November 1, 2015 [2 favorites]


Bras are the worst. All bras. The only thing worse than a bra is no bra. At least when you're like me and you have a relatively small ribcage and breasts that don't match. Maybe if that's not the case, no bra is not worse than all bras. I would not know.

Goddamn bras,
posted by crush-onastick at 7:38 PM on November 1, 2015 [20 favorites]


Switching from uniboob bra to a separate cup bra (specifically the Moving Comfort Maia bra) was a boob revelation. A boobvelation, if you will. I liked it even better than my old Frog Bra. Though I admittedly have never tried an Enell because of the cost. That said I agree that most sports bras are shit when it comes to doing their actual job.

I strongly, strongly resent the implication that I am supposed to look cute and fashionable in the gym. When I first started getting really into lifting it was in dingy old places on plywood platforms with guys who were wearing old t-shirts with holes in the armpits for as gym clothes. Being an owner of many such t-shirts as well as a thrift shop aficionado, I was more than happy to follow this aesthetic. Now more and more I am feeling the pressure to get cute $100 tops and patterned yoga pants and wear tiny underpants-shorts and all that bullshit. It is so difficult to find women's clothing that is focused on function and toughness over trendiness. I tried on 20--literally 20--pairs of workout pants at Marshall's yesterday before I found a pair that was thick enough to not show off my underwear when I squatted down.

At this point my ratty, stained, oversized gym clothes are as much political statement as a functional clothing choice. I am fine with that. I reject the pretense that I am supposed to look hot while getting sweaty and gross and doing actual work.
posted by Anonymous at 7:39 PM on November 1, 2015


I like the uniboob. It's like armoring up for battle. Lifting and separating is not what I care about in a workout.
posted by emjaybee at 7:42 PM on November 1, 2015 [24 favorites]


I've long theorized that the magic girdle given to Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, (by Ares the god of war) was actually the prototype for a sports bra that kept her breasts in check amazing well: without pain, chafing, weird sweat pools, bouncing or jiggling, shoulder strap dents or any other problem, and that it worked so well that the idea of the Amazons being partially breastless was the result. (And c'mon: if the AMAZONS who were amazing didn't give a shit about how their boobs looked why the hell would we, bra manufacturers?)

Then Hercules was given the theft of her bra as one of his labors, probably for 2 reasons: a) the king's daughter was super jealous and wanted that bra because who wouldn't? and b) without that wonderful sports bra breasts would get in the way of the Amazons and they wouldn't be able to fight so well. Or run, for that matter. And that was the end.

In other words, women have never had such amazing breast support for activities because it takes a goddamn myth built around the Grecian gods and the power of fucking Ares, GOD OF WAR to be able to create a sports bra that actually works.
posted by barchan at 7:47 PM on November 1, 2015 [75 favorites]


Okay this is crazy, but ... NURSING sports bras work pretty great. There's a terribly sturdy structure for each boob, like a cupless bra, that gives really good bust supports, and then each breast has a flap that closes by snapping to the strap and providing compression and support to each breast individually. The "two layer" construction where it separately provides structure for the bust, and control for each boob, works really well for me. Downside, they're very BRA looking bras. You need a shirt. Also they'd chafe too much for marathons, etc, but for less-intense workouts it's really good support.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:48 PM on November 1, 2015 [3 favorites]


The thing I always hate about the uniboob is the sweat running down the middle and the chafing as my wet skin rubs against itself. Also, so many sports bras have thick layers of padding and fabric, that air doesn't get through. It's like wearing a plastic bag on my chest. I'd rather wear a regular lace underwire bra like the ones I wear every day, and just not work out as hard.

Also I went and got fitted by a well-regarded local shop, and they downsized the band size, upsized the cup size, and sold me a bra they said was perfect. That bra cost a small fortune. It looked good under my clothes but I developed frozen shoulder just trying to get into the darn thing. I switched back to my wrong-size bras, because I wanted to be able to breathe and not hurt.
posted by elizilla at 8:00 PM on November 1, 2015 [5 favorites]


I've always thought a specially trained koala bear would work well. It would cling to my back and reach around and cradle my boobs. No straps digging into my shoulders, and infinitely customizable pressure just based on a verbal command.
posted by mysterious_stranger at 8:02 PM on November 1, 2015 [64 favorites]


Enells for life over here! Those things are the only thing that allow me to run, jump, and ride horses without my boobs smacking me in the chin or feeling like they're about to tear off.

The only thing I hate about the uniboob is that when I'm driving my car the seatbelt slides up the uniboob and chokes me.

Basically, I've learned that being a large-busted person means that something is constantly trying to choke me.
posted by TwoStride at 8:20 PM on November 1, 2015 [16 favorites]


I can't get most sports bras on/off without dislocating a shoulder. I only buy the ones with clasps (currently the Fiona from Moving Comfort). I'd like my workout to not involve getting the bra on, thanks.
posted by girlhacker at 8:28 PM on November 1, 2015 [5 favorites]


At some point, I realized that if I wasn't actually running there was no need for a sports bra. I mostly lift so I'm rarely moving very fast. If I'm just squatting and pressing I'm more comfortable in a regular bra anyway.
I do have a few mostly ancient sports bras, I wear them out of historical obligation sometimes.
The fitness clothing industry is out of control. I'm kind of a gym rat and I wear pretty much the same stuff the guys wear - gross shorts and sweatpants and old tshirts. I've got a few warm, cute sweatshirts for Pilates but that's the peak of my gym fashion. My yoga pants have holes in them. Still wearing them anyway.
You know what looks hot? My overdeveloped quads and biceps.
And picking up more iron than the guys. That's pretty hot, and expensive clothes and sports bras aren't needed.
posted by littlewater at 8:28 PM on November 1, 2015 [15 favorites]


The biggest bullshit for me is padded sportsbras. I'm worked out; why the hell do I need insulation foam making me more gross and sweaty?
posted by winna at 8:29 PM on November 1, 2015 [8 favorites]


I've always thought a specially trained koala bear would work well. It would cling to my back and reach around and cradle my boobs.

But then you might catch koala chlamydia.
posted by vegartanipla at 8:36 PM on November 1, 2015 [1 favorite]


I call total bullshit on those last couple of sentences in this article.

So one athlete with "olympic aspirations" that was tested wants to not be flat and that's the takeaway for the tester and/or author? I can assure you, most female athletes want a bra that helps provide comfortable support in a way that lets them not have to think about their chest while they're participating in their sport.
posted by stagewhisper at 8:36 PM on November 1, 2015 [3 favorites]


also: for a lot of the smaller chested women amongst us, the title of this piece is begging the question. I ran competitively with lots of women over a period of many years a little over a decade ago. There were lots of things we complained about in regards to training discomforts (the holy grail of blister-proof socks for example) but bra options weren't one. ymmv.
posted by stagewhisper at 8:41 PM on November 1, 2015 [2 favorites]


I love sports bras, I haven't worn anything else in easily 8 years. Altho now I am addicted to my shitty surgical bras from the deboobening this past spring. Basically fuck underwires forever, hooray for max support and/or longline goodness.

the real thing i hate are those stupid fucking tops with the "built-in bra". excuse you, go away forever, who the fuck are you meant to fit.
posted by poffin boffin at 9:26 PM on November 1, 2015 [7 favorites]


More than half of the reason I don't exercise is because I can't find any sports bras that actually do what they're supposed to do in any way whatsoever

So. I have RA. It sucks. I am also "blessed" with a 40H bust. It also sucks, but in different ways. Exercise sucks. My joints hurt. My tits hurt. My everything hurts all the time.

Twelve years ago, I said "Fuck it", and took up Middle Eastern dance (bellydance). Zero impact, and no sports bra required, because you're teaching your tits to do tricks. Middle Eastern dance allows me to get my shimmy on without hurting myself, so I don't ossify from inactivity, and I get to strengthen core muscles and feel healthy.

(Yeah, yeah, someone on Salon bitched recently about white bellydancers. My husband and his paternal family are Syrian. They think EVERYONE should take up Middle Eastern dance. I'm grateful for their warm encouragement, and adore dancing with the Husband's 91 year-old Auntie. I hope the Dance keeps me as healthy as she is!)

In short: fuck sports bras. Put some coins on that shit and learn to throw it around. It's way more fun and a lot less frustrating and painful.
posted by MissySedai at 9:41 PM on November 1, 2015 [35 favorites]


I tried on about a million sports bras last year because I haven't been able to run without boob pain since I was about 13 and I finally decided to try throwing money at the problem. This Panache bra was the best by far (I wear a 34G). I can actually run in it! Hardly anything moves around at all! It doesn't even give me the uniboob, which is a problem not for aesthetic reasons, but because it encourages horrible itchy sweaty chafing. It seems like a complete technological revolution compared to the squashy sausagey sports bras of my youth.
posted by dialetheia at 11:00 PM on November 1, 2015 [8 favorites]


"I've always thought a specially trained koala bear would work well. It would cling to my back and reach around and cradle my boobs. No straps digging into my shoulders, and infinitely customizable pressure just based on a verbal command."

At first look one might think a koala would be a good choice for a "support animal" but their crabby disposition and short arms are both hard to work with.
One may wish to consider the sloth for it mild manner and long arms, or perhaps a gibbon if one is of a more energetic disposition. A trained howler monkey might also serve double duty to clear the jog path and warn other pedestrians.
posted by boilermonster at 11:04 PM on November 1, 2015 [19 favorites]


Does this apply to me or not? I'm not exactly boobtastic here, but the much-vaunted ABraThatFits method puts me at about a 32D/32E, depending on weight and the bra itself.

Dude, yeah. This article talks about how women are wearing the wrong size but then goes on to describe women based on the letter cup of their bra which is exactly how NOT to describe womens' boobs!! It's wrong. wrong. wrong.

I barely have a handful but measure to a 28D and usually wear a 30C.... yet I barely have any "boob." People who think they're a D-cup are likely a much higher cup and larger band. It's frustrating to try to take an article seriously that's trying to enlighten the world around sports bras but then gets something so completely wrong.

I'm lucky on one hand that I don't need much support. I can get really cute, strappy, sports bras and bralettes for under tank tops. (Since I can't exercise.) But on the other, since I have to get a tiny, small bra to fit my band area, trying to get that damn thing on and off over my shoulders is something fit for a contortionist. Forget trying to put it on or off if my skin is at all damp. Sometimes I've almost yelled for my husband to get me unstuck from the damn things. Then the bras that come with laches on the back don't generally go down to, say, a 30C or even a 32B. Plus they often do have separate cups which give me Madonna cone boobs. Uhg.
posted by Crystalinne at 11:59 PM on November 1, 2015 [5 favorites]


Basically fuck underwires forever, hooray for max support and/or longline goodness.

As a small boobed lady, I've been able to carefully remove the underwire from most of my bras. The band is enough support and because my boobs do odd things, even the right size may have some gapping or stab my ribs. Cutting out the wire gets rid of that. If anyone here is a fellow small boobed lady (or if you want to give it a go) I just make a tiny hole on the inside by the end of the wire with a seam ripper and pop them out. No stitching required as the fabric usually won't fray. I'd say 90% of my bras now have this treatment and fit way better than before.
posted by Crystalinne at 12:02 AM on November 2, 2015 [7 favorites]


"I think we need to scrap the whole bra system and start again from a sizing system," Steele says. Bra sizing is confusing, imprecise, and variable. This isn't just a sports bra problem, either; some surveys say that literally 100 percent of women are wearing the wrong sized bra.


This is why I get so volcanic with rage whenever a media outlet sends a journo to be fitted for a bra and she trots out the '%% of women are wearing the wrong sized bra' stat line, because it implies that it's the consumer's problem, not an industry one.

Fucking bras. I wrench mine off at the end of the day and hurl it across the room thinking, "Be gone, monster!"
posted by Gin and Broadband at 12:05 AM on November 2, 2015 [11 favorites]


My life changed when I found the Moving Comfort Maia bra. I can run and have a vigorous workout without boob pain.
posted by HMSSM at 12:39 AM on November 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


A trained howler monkey might also serve double duty to clear the jog path and warn other pedestrians.

Actually, for this activity, a Spider Monkey, evolved to hug (due perhaps to a lack of opposable thumbs preventing grooming) would definitely be your pick of the simians!
posted by smoke at 12:39 AM on November 2, 2015 [5 favorites]


I wish I'd have had a decent sports bra 20 years ago. So many good exercise habits died due to boob pain from terribly sized and designed sports bras.
posted by HMSSM at 12:41 AM on November 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


Sigh. I've heard great things about the Moving Comfort Maia Bra, but Moving Comfort apparently doesn't want to serve larger ladies who have large band sizes but still like to work out.
posted by TwoStride at 5:26 AM on November 2, 2015 [7 favorites]


the real thing i hate are those stupid fucking tops with the "built-in bra". excuse you, go away forever, who the fuck are you meant to fit.

I wear them around the house. They give just enough support that I can do chores. I also sleep in them. As a person with boobs i find they're not good for anything else, though apparently my friend who is pretty much flat likes them while breastfeeding.
posted by jeather at 5:33 AM on November 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


Howdy y'all. I have a 55" chest, and a 38" rib cage. Bras are a thing which make me insane, especially since I cannot comfortably wear under wires. My quest for exercise gear has been a long and arduous one. Like Eyebrows, I have switched to nursing bras. Designed for large boobs, with solid 2"-3" elastic bottom bands and solid padded shoulder straps, and a separator between boobs. That said, I still roll a bandana like a headband, and tuck it between and under my boobs, like a gingham underwire, to stop boob sweat.

I too really resist this concept that I need to dress up to go to the gym. I wear ratty ancient sweats, and giant t-shirts, and a headband. Don't care that im not pleasing to the male gaze while rowing. If they don't like it, they can not look.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 5:39 AM on November 2, 2015 [6 favorites]


Omg, the sports bra that CHANGED MY LIFE was the Anita bra. Getting an accurate size helped, I'm sure, but that 30G wire-free bra is like ARMOR and I can run (back when I ran) and NOTHING MOVES. It sounds dumb to say it's empowering to wear it, but damn, it's empowering to wear it. I jokingly called it boob jail when I first got it, but it's not constricting-feeling, really, it's more like an exoskeleton that I completely forget about while I'm working out. (It's expensive, but, to my mind, totally worth it. And much better than my old technique of layering on two or three cheap Target sports bras.)
posted by mothershock at 5:42 AM on November 2, 2015 [3 favorites]


My primary mode of exercise is ballet. I am a grown up lady who is not built like a professional dancer but still is pretty damn good at ballet. I've been wearing adult large and extra large leotards and tights since I was 13 because I have never been built like a professional dancer. And, though nobody cares now, in high school trying to find a leopard that I could wear a bra with and have it not show was the hardest. Didn't have to be a sports bra, but just something to de-emphasize the jiggling of a terribly awkward teenager in a room full of tiny teenagers who decidedly did not jiggle. Thank goodness for adult ballet classes.
posted by ChuraChura at 5:44 AM on November 2, 2015


Haha, I caught and fixed "my primate mode of exercise," but missed autocorrect changing leotard to leopard...
posted by ChuraChura at 5:44 AM on November 2, 2015 [16 favorites]


I am large chested and SWEAR by the Panache sports bra. I ran a marathon with this bra - did HIIT - and have never felt so held in.

And while I agree that you shouldn't be forced to feel attractive while wolfing out, I am much more likely to go running/work out in public if i feel "cute" and this was the first bra that gave me boobs and not a fat roll on my chest while working out.
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 5:58 AM on November 2, 2015 [4 favorites]


The animal-themed autocorrects here are delightful.
posted by Squeak Attack at 6:07 AM on November 2, 2015 [15 favorites]


I tried on 20--literally 20--pairs of workout pants at Marshall's yesterday before I found a pair that was thick enough to not show off my underwear when I squatted down.

I actually got some Old Navy (yes, sweated labor, but almost everything I can buy new is sweated labor) "compression" workout pants and while they do not "compress", they are very substantial. And because they are Old Navy, they come in a wide range of sizes. (Let me tell you, "fat but muscular and possessed of a giant skeleton" is not a body type that is admitted to exist for AFAB people; if I weren't so damn short I'd just wear men's stuff, but it swims on me.)

Also, for anyone who has medium or small breasts in relation to your ribcage: I was surprised to find that doing chest press built up the muscle underneath and reduced bounce. This is not a solution to most people's problems, I know.

I would like to start running instead of ellipticaling, but I am not going to feel good about it until I have some kind of ultra compression garment. As a gender non-conforming person who none the less has breasts, I've got to say the whole "look cute at the gym" trend is just a killer. When I was in HS, I had some great sports bras - mostly cotton, bound you down like a trained howler monkey and had absolutely no frills, also they were navy, not aqua with neon binding or something. In my brain, I thought these must still be available, and I looked and looked, but no more.
posted by Frowner at 6:15 AM on November 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


I found a sports bra that fits. I had to first figure out what country manufactured that particular brand, then convert from US to UK sizing even though I was purchasing from an American merchant. Then I had to check around the web for reviews so I could make sure there was nothing finicky about the design that caused other women trouble with the bra. Then I had to go up one band size because sports bras fit a lot tighter than standard everyday bras.

With that minimal amount of effort to find something that works, it's such a surprise that everyone is having so much trouble! /s
posted by theraflu at 6:27 AM on November 2, 2015 [2 favorites]


I have that same Panache bra that others have linked above and it is freaking magical. There are a few others I have tried that I like OK, but that is the most comfortable for me (30GG) and doesn't lead to my boobs sticking together and making extra greasy boob sweat and of course a hair gets in there.
posted by louche mustachio at 6:30 AM on November 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


As a large-busted lady, nothing ruins my day faster than having to go bra-shopping and having a in tears breakdown in the dressing room. (This also applies to clothes shopping.)

However, I am in need of new bras, there is a shop near my house that does fittings, ladies I know like them and their products, so here's hoping.

(As for sports bras, I just need a product that makes sure the girls aren't jiggling madly this way and that when I am doing hardcore spin in the mornings.)
posted by Kitteh at 6:34 AM on November 2, 2015


I started to run consistently when my older sister, bless her, bought me a decent sports bra. At the time it was Champion and it was uniboob and it was awesome. There are even better products out there now and I'm a Moving Comfort fan.

I like that occasionally I can get something that is not black and I like that I can run further these days without repercussions if I forget the bodyglide.
posted by TORunner at 7:00 AM on November 2, 2015


My knees are shot to shit so the only kind of real exercise I can do is low-impact stuff like walking, swimming or ellipticals. So the main times my old target sports bras get any usage is once a month, when my boobs get so incredibly sore that I need something, ANYTHING, that will keep them from moving AT ALL 24/7 (but is still reasonably comfortable to sleep in). I've seriously considered just getting an ace bandage and wrapping it around my chest, the pain can get so bad. Will be trying out some of the super concrete cage compression bras mentioned here.
posted by triggerfinger at 7:00 AM on November 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


I'm also a fan of the Anita bra, it is super comfortable. And yes, I would be very happy if the 30G was available in all the colors.
posted by florencetnoa at 7:03 AM on November 2, 2015


There are even better products out there now and I'm a Moving Comfort fan.

Those look super comfy but idk how I feel about not having adjustable straps. Do they hold up well to weekly washing or do they get saggy after a year like the Shock Absorber ones?
posted by poffin boffin at 8:06 AM on November 2, 2015


Fucking bras. I wrench mine off at the end of the day and hurl it across the room thinking, "Be gone, monster!"

At my house, it's "RELEASE THE KRAKEN!".

I'm pretty lucky in that my exercise is walking and the major league bounce is not a problem for me. The uniboober sports bra is fine, and frankly I don't care if the people who see me walking in the park aren't happy with the state of my boobs. They shouldn't be looking at them unless they're trying to figure out what my t-shirt says anyway. But I'm really interested in some of the bras mentioned in this thread and I'm going to be checking some of them out.
posted by immlass at 8:35 AM on November 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


do they get saggy after a year like the Shock Absorber ones?
On that topic, I have never met a bra – sports or otherwise – that lasted more than six months before being stretched out and frayed to the point of uselessness, and that's with handwashing and air drying. If I can get a year out of this Shock Absorber bra I just picked up, I will be one happy lady indeed.

Also, unrelated, but uniboob sucks for large-breasted women. You know that chub rub you get when your thighs rub together after a day walking around in a skirt? It's like that, except a sweat rash between your boobs. Encapsulation bras forever!
posted by theraflu at 8:45 AM on November 2, 2015 [3 favorites]


> There are even better products out there now and I'm a Moving Comfort fan.

Those look super comfy but idk how I feel about not having adjustable straps. Do they hold up well to weekly washing or do they get saggy after a year like the Shock Absorber ones?


Which model are you looking at? I have three Moving Comfort Maia bras that have adjustable straps. I've had them for over a year and two seem to be wearing okay. One of them had an underwire pop through, but I was able to mend that. I machine wash and hang to dry.
posted by TORunner at 8:49 AM on November 2, 2015


My hatred of uniboob stems entirely from the fact that having my boobs mashed together means tons of sweat and friction. When you have to quit working out until your flaming and painful tit rash heals up, you learn to look for as much encapsulation as possible. Fuck looking fashionable, I just don't want to be in pain.
posted by palomar at 8:55 AM on November 2, 2015


I'm liking the super complicated and crazy expensive Victoria's Secret front clasp + zipper bras. I hoard my coupons and Angels Rewards until I get a few that can stack and I buy them then. I have three. I have to wash them continuously because I refuse to wear a sweaty bra and my schedule gets a bit crazy. I have heat rash issues with the uniboob bras, and I need the layers to prevent nipple visibility. There is nothing more embarrassing than getting stares in the gym because your nipples are visible.
posted by domo at 9:48 AM on November 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


Which model are you looking at?

Idk, the 4-5 that came up first when I put Moving Comfort into amazon search.
posted by poffin boffin at 10:07 AM on November 2, 2015


I've got a Moving Comfort Juno, which does have adjustable straps. On the other hand, it is a pain in the ass to put on if you have short little arms like I do, because you have to pull the thing over your head and then reach around and do the hooks in the back. I wear it less often than my Enells, just because it's kind of annoying to get on and off.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 10:54 AM on November 2, 2015


I have two Shock Absorber bras: the underwire ones that look like a regular non-sports bra. One of them is new: one I've had for about four years (I picked it up at a Title 9 warehouse sale for $15, best money I ever spent). I don't handwash them, but I do hang dry them. Neither has gone saggy, but I do rotate them out with my other sports bras.

I admit that they're crazy expensive: $79 for a bra! But they're SUPER comfortable: I wore mine on a 200-mile walk across England and they were comfortable enough to wear all day long, and still supportive and wicking. They are now my favorite exercise bras.
posted by suelac at 11:21 AM on November 2, 2015


I have a couple of Moving Comfort options, Juno and something else I can't remember. Both are 3 years old and the adjustable straps are still going strong.

I love uniboob, and not just for fitness activities--as emjaybee said, uniboob feels like armor. Also my boobular configuration is not compatible with lift-and-separate, so uniboob forever!
posted by esoterrica at 11:47 AM on November 2, 2015


I wanted to snark that the answer to the title question is that all bras are terrible, but it looks like the article covers that.

Bras are the worst. All bras. The only thing worse than a bra is no bra.

Yes this. I am a large breasted, small rib cage woman and I have nerve issues that make bra wearing (of any type) difficult. Sports bras are just torture, and ones from the last 3-5 years more so. I think the cutification is lately to blame. I thought it was me, maybe my body changing. But I have some sports bras from a few years ago, some barely worn, that fit better than what I can find off the shelf. They aren't perfect, but they're not strappy, impossible to put on yet somehow have no support. Or literally seem to assume anyone more than a b cup isn't worth catering too.

I know there are some sports bras in this thread that are spoken highly of, but I just want something easy and off the rack for the infrequent days I can actually tolerate a bra.

I've made my piece with ill-fitting 3 sizes fits all! bras, opting for a smaller band and busting out of the predefined boob area and making my own mono on. Then limiting exercise to non-bounce. Which i probably couldn't do anyway.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 1:08 PM on November 2, 2015


I need the layers to prevent nipple visibility. There is nothing more embarrassing than getting stares in the gym because your nipples are visible.

Oh, you know: fuck that noise. I am not having a go at you, domo; rather, I am enraged at this absolutely whack societal standard. We are absolutely, positively supposed to have visible breasts pleasing for anyone who may wish, uninvited, to gaze upon them; but somehow we're supposed to be humiliated and ashamed when our attire indicates we have nipples.

I literally don't understand that. I don't understand where it comes from, how it is perpetuated, or why it prevails. It also seems like a game one cannot possibly win so I just ignore it.

Dear World: Yes, my breasts have nipples. We all know this and we're all just going to have to get over it.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:14 PM on November 2, 2015 [13 favorites]


I think that's because people who don't understand how nipples work think it means something it doesn't mean.
posted by bleep at 2:17 PM on November 2, 2015 [2 favorites]


> At some point, I realized that if I wasn't actually running there was no need for a sports bra

I like them for archery. I'm sure a better archer wouldn't have the same posture problems I do (or would buy dedicated chest-protectors), but... ouch.

I don't feel like I have to look "cute" at the gym -- I'm tall, I don't do cute -- but I do like to wear clothes that make me feel good about how I look, because I want to be confident. My idea of looking good can include a really ratty T-shirt or a Lululemon one, depending on my mood.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:37 PM on November 2, 2015 [2 favorites]


Shaming women for visible nipples is one of my pet peeves too, DarlingBri, so I appreciate your statements!

Before my reduction, the weight of my breasts against the bra usually inverted my nipples, so I didn't have to worry about it personally, but still resented the double standard. After my reduction, I realized I might have to worry about it, bought some padded bras, hated them, and decided "fuck it."

I solve the sports bra problem by never getting any exercise! (Probably not doctor recommended.)

But I had to get some sports bras for after my reduction surgery, and everything was racer back, which I find very uncomfortable, and many of them had all those million trendy straps, which look absolutely torturous to me. Yay, lots of tiny elastic straps to chafe and dig and roll?
posted by Squeak Attack at 2:51 PM on November 2, 2015


Squeak Attack, those are the Sergio creatures I tried on somewhat recently! I have a few times where I just could not get those fuckers on even to try them. Like some sort of puzzle- if you can't figure them out, you're not cool enough to exercise.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 4:15 PM on November 2, 2015 [2 favorites]


Yay, lots of tiny elastic straps to chafe and dig and roll?

I thought no one could make sports bras look dumber than they already did.

Boy, was I wrong.
posted by winna at 4:51 PM on November 2, 2015 [2 favorites]


I had an ancient Jogbra from the 80s, and only got rid of it in the last few years, when my weight increased to the point that I knew I'd never fit in it again.

It was a joy: a big cloth sling with enormously wide elastic racer-back straps and underboob band that never died. It was comfortable, incredibly durable, and held me solidly.

I think they don't make them anymore because they never wore out; women didn't need to buy new ones.
posted by jrochest at 7:40 PM on November 2, 2015


I don't want to pepsi blue myself here, but if you're interested in a comfortable bra that definitely has a form follows function design aesthetic, take a look at my user profile.
posted by jrishel at 9:05 AM on November 4, 2015 [1 favorite]


I am not equipped to comment, but I read someone who is: Every Comment On Every Article About Bras Ever
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:42 AM on November 5, 2015 [2 favorites]


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