Photo by Kapil Tejwani on Scopio
It’s spring and I’m swapping clothes around, from winter to summer. The fall and spring stuff stays out year round. But I store out of season clothes in the basement in plastic storage tubs, as one does if you only have one closet and a chest of drawers. I have friends who don’t swap clothes between seasons but generally speaking they are friends who live alone and who have year round access to multiple closets.
Even with the swapping about, I’m still pinched for clothes space. So I looked about to see what I’m not wearing and came across a full drawer of bras. Prime clothing real estate taken up by fancy underwire things that I haven’t worn since the pandemic began. I moved them out and relegated them to a storage box on the bookcase.
What have I been wearing if not those bras? Sports bras mostly. But not even my most serious supportive sports bras. Instead I’m wearing the comfy, soft sports bras, the kind people market for yoga or possibly low impact activities. Frankly, I’m not sure if I’m going back to the serious, substantial ones.
I recognize that this is a privilege that follows from being a B cup and not a D or larger. I know some friends who are more comfortable wearing a serious bra. I’m just not one of them.
After a bit of searching for non sports bras that are still soft and comfortable, my newsfeed is full of ads for them. I’ll buy some maybe and report back. I feel it’s the underwear equivalent of Cate’s discussion of “hard shoes.”
I’m still in love with lots of my formal work clothes but never again will I wear a bra that pokes in my ribs.
How about you? What’s your “return to workplace”–whatever stage of that you’re in–bra life like?
I can recommend Knix. It’s a Canadian female-owned company that makes bras without underwires. They have many different styles and do a virtual fitting. They also have a 30-day return policy and they want you to wear and wash the bra. I’m not affiliated with them in any way—just a customer.
I have gone back to wearing my underwire bras, but … much less often. I still have to get over the final hump of feeling like my very small breasts (AA) look good no matter what I wear. As opposed to opting for some padding and push up here and there to feel more curvy. Weirdly, I think other women my size always look fabulous. The dissonance of self-image is a work in progress.
I only wear tank tops now. Not even a hint of support for my almost 50 year old boobs!
I don’t care. I love the freedom.
I don’t think I can go back. I am going to google Knix.
I have until September. We aren’t going back to the office until then.
The most comfortable bra I’ve ever worn is from Decent Exposures, and I’m a DDD (F) cup. Try them. They’re custom made for you, and reasonably priced. https://decentexposures.com/Bras
Hi,
I would like some recommendations from readers and listeners on this blog for a sports bra that is:
(1) not expensive
(2) not difficult to put on (some of them look impossible)
(3) underwire or not
(4) is high-impact, compresses and no movement
Thank you. I live in Ontario, Canada and would prefer to buy from a store here, but online is OK too though I’m not sure about sizing…..
Shelley
Hi Shelley,
I recently purchased a bra from Knix – Catalyst front zip sports bra. It checks most of your boxes, but it is expensive at $98. And, it is an online-only company, as far as I know (but it is Canadian).
Thanks so much for your response to my request for recs, Nicole. I took a look at the Knix site. The style of the bra is nice but the price of the bra is too steep for me. If you think of anything else, please let me know!
Shelley
I will definitely let you know. I don’t usually spend that much on a bra either, but it is nice. It might also be worth it to keep an eye open for their sales.