Ask Everyone: Loungewear and Bras - YouLookFab Forum

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Ask Everyone: Loungewear and Bras

Scarlet

Veteran

So for a lazy weekend breakfast or when I need to change out of "nicer" work clothes to come home in the evening I enjoy wearing loungewear, like a sweatsuit for example, around the house. The trouble is I don't feel decent enough to e.g. answer the door, run the garbage outside, or whatever might come up when I don't wear a bra. I wonder if other people are in this boat and what your solution is? Does anyone maybe use a loungewear bra and is there a particular kind or brand that you like?

ETA: As a follow-up question I started to wonder as well does anyone sleep in a bra?

Dressing

21 replies

Latest reply was from Aziraphale

Lantana

Veteran

I wear a cami with a built in shelf, nothing fancy, just the regular ones you buy at Target.

Astrid

Veteran

I wear an old sports bra of mine, this one http://www.calida-shop.de/dame.....ive-sports. It has lots of cotton in it and is comfortable. It's not the best support I can get (now that I know my true bra size), but it was the best I could do back then with the few sizes available in stores. I have the 70C (with a bra size of 65DD/E) and while it's not good enough for doing sports anymore it's enough support for lounging around at home.

Betti

I wear all of the above at times, and also a soft over-the-head bra like this:
http://www.barenecessities.com.....roduct.htm?

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I have an old, slightly too big in the band bra that I wear around the house or when I'm cleaning, etc., or a simple little minimally-supportive bra from the Gap that is probably meant just for loungewear -- no fasteners or underwire, it just slips on over the head like a tank top. My niece got it for me before my surgery, knowing that I would need something comfy while I recuperated. I think it was $10 and I have used it plenty!

Scarlet

Veteran

Betti, somehow I wasn't able to see a particular bra with that link. Can you tell me the name?

Thanks so much for the responses so far. Very interesting. I think maybe I need to look for a soft bra, but they are harder to find in large cup sizes since I guess the assumption then would be one is looking for more support. I am currently sporting a 34DD/32E or so.

ETA: Janet, great tip! I would love a $10 solution, ha ha.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Scarlet, the Gap one is just sized S-M-L. I'm about the same size as you and took a M. It provides just enough support and coverage to be decent enough to answer the door or run out the driveway for the mail.

ETA: I think this is it. Either I was mistaken about the price or she got it on a 2-for-1 sale.

http://www.gap.com/browse/prod.....=807495012

dakotacheryl

Veteran

http://www.herbergers.com/shop.....35024.html

I have been wearing the above bras for lounging and sleeping (can't stand not wearing "something"). They come as a two-pack and are usually on sale at Kohl's or my local department store.

I am a 36DD (after being properly fitted last month) and I buy these in the "large" size.

HTH

Astrid

Veteran

Figleaves has one option without wires that comes in your size http://www.figleaves.com/uk/pr.....lour=White. Not the prettiest and only available in white, but fairly high cotton content. Lace has a sports bra without wires in a 70E http://www.lace.de/commodity/6649#.

If you think one of those cotton tank top style bras would be good enough I suggest having a look at Schiesser and Calida, both have a few options available and you wouldn't need to order online and could try them on for size.

As for sleeping in a bra, I never do. I don't think it's necessary and I'm more comfortable without a bra. I know that some friends of mine do sleep with a bra though. And not for comfort but because they feel insecure without one, even at home. It's a bit sad, I think.

ETA

Are you sure about your size btw? It's just that I've met you and you are quite slender and even I need a band size 30. I can't imagine you wearing a 34.

Diana

Veteran

I admit that most of the time I go braless in my loungewear (there are benefits to being smaller up top) but if I need to be a little more decent or if I'm doing something active (like yard work) for which I'd like a little support, I'll either wear an old, stretched out sports bra (a lower impact one) or what is essentially a crop top, like this:
http://www.amazon.com/3-pack-S.....pd_sim_a_1

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Only last year I joined the soft bra team around the house. I use to do the shelf camis, but they really bug me. I picked up a colorful 2 for 1 pack of Bandinis to go under a low cut day dress at first http://www.hanes.com/clothing/.....#038;cmFV= Once I started wearing them under tanks around the house in the FL heat I was hooked. I have fallen asleep in them but don't wear them for that on purpose.

Scarlet

Veteran

hah, now I am feeling silly for not having this sorted. I guess it is one of those corners I have cut to save my fashion dollars. Thanks for all these great suggestions.

Astrid, good call, there is a Calida near by me and I suppose I could ask in Triumph as well. Yes, I know it seems surprising, but during pregnancy my ribcage expanded a lot. It seems to be going back down now, so I am in a transitional phase. I guess this is maybe why some nursing bras come with 6 possible hook settings, which puzzled me at first.

Mo, yeah, I don't know shelf camis have never been that comfortable to me. I think maybe they work better on a smaller bustline, to which there are indeed many advantages.

Irene

Veteran

I used to sleep with a big sports-bra (as in oversized for me) -now I sleep without a bra. As for lounging, I need something a bit more supportive so I use wireless bras. Something like this:
http://www.victoriassecret.com.....8;Catalogu

They are comfier than your regular bra. Mine are also a bit large for me, and I think I got them at Primark, so very inexpensive (I buy my other lingerie somewhere else, don't panic).

FlorenceFearne

I've been meaning to try some of these:

http://www.herroom.com/valmont.....-bra.shtml

I figure they're cheap enough that if it doesn't go well, I've lost very little, but they are extremely well reviewed. I also like the lace, which keeps them from just looking like a sports bra.

Anonymous

I bought my size bra from the sears catalogue to try to save a few dollars. They don't fit quote right so I use them as my lounger/sleeper bra. They are on the loose side

I don't sleep in a bra unless my breasts are in the sensitive stage of my cycle. But I do put one on the morning if I am lounging in my pjs. (teen kids, don't want to embarrass me or them)

sarah

Veteran

Scarlet, I just figured this out last year. I wear the same GAP racerback pullover bra that Janet linked to. They come in a zillion colors and provide enough support that I can take out the trash and show up in front of houseguests without being too uncomfortable.

Isabel

Veteran

As a stay at home mom, most of my life is "lounge" , well working "lounging work wear".

I LOVE ponte pants for "lounge". They are as comfy as sweats, they are really durable, and you can throw on a jacket and look great.

I sometimes sleep in a bra, though I have man boobs. I had to wear one after my breast surgeries and I have really gotten accustomed to it.

I recently bought a seamless, stretchy kind a bra that is very similar to this one :

http://www.kohls.com/product/p.....s-3463.jsp

It is like wearing a bra t shirt or a really nice sports bra. And speaking of that, I have also become a big fan of seamless sports bras ( Thanks RunCarla ! ) and they double as a really cute "cami" peek a boo.

http://www.dickssportinggoods......414035.441

Any way, I hope that helps and that your son is fabulously healthy and happy.

DonnaF

Veteran

Scarlet;
If your bras aren't comfortable enough to wear except when you're sleeping, I'm wondering if they're the wrong size for you?

Disclosure: Last month, after wearing 32 bands for over 45 years, I finally measured myself and figured out that I should be wearing 28s. . . .Doh!

Jjsloane

Veteran

I have to have something supportive at all times (much to support) I don't change bras when I get home and put on loungewear that is meant to go outside if necessary. I generally wear a shelf bra cami or a "sleep bra" with my pajamas which are not meant for even a trip out for the paper. I don't put those on until I'm almost in bed.

Jeanie

Veteran

I wear the same kind of pullover soft bra that Mo posted. They come in a 2 pack, are priced well, and I like that they are convertible. You can wear them under a racer back tank or even a strapless sundress.

Betti

Sorry about the link, looks like they changed it. Here it is on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Bali-Mic.....B004BIWQTU
It's very similar to the soft pullover bras other have posted.

Yes, I sleep in this too. I have quite a bit of nipple show-through in my sleepwear without it, and when I get PMS I get such bad tenderness that I can't stand to sleep with nothing.

Aziraphale

Veteran

I'm no help with your first question, since I just let 'em free when I'm in my pjs. (For me, loungewear and pjs are the same thing). I'm a believer in letting them breathe from time to time. They jiggle around, yes, but you really can't see anything beneath the woven cotton fabric of a pajama top. I think that's the key for me: in a stretchy cotton tee shirt, going braless is hilariously revealing, so I don't use those for loungewear.

As for your second question, no, I don't sleep in a bra, the very thought makes me cringe. But you know, I DID sleep in one every single night when was nursing. One of those soft Bravado ones. My breasts got SO BIG when I nursed. Like, Jessica Rabbit big. And were heavy, and I was convinced they would stretch so much they'd be down to my waist by the time the milk dried up. So as a protective measure I wore the bra. (They're not down to my waist -- they are pretty much the same as before, except with some silvery stretch marks -- so maybe it worked? Or maybe I just have elastic skin? I'll never know. LOL).