OK, I’m a shameless hussy of a senior who adores pretty bras and considers her bra wardrobe to be an essential aspect of her style persona. Outwardly, my wardrobe style is neutral, streamlined, and functional, but underneath I’m all about lace, ribbon, color, and matched sets. I’m fine with cleavage, glimpses of lace and ribbon, the hint of nipple under a smooth fabric, and even a bit of movement.

The North American ideal of a smooth, rock-solid, circular, nipple-less mound has never appealed to me, so I stay away from molded foam cups, padding, and minimizer bras. My favourite bras are perfectly fitted, underwire, seamed demi-styles—mainly French—which are supportive enough to wear whIle exercising but comfortable enough to wear while lounging. I now regret I spent so many years wearing those wretched, ill-fitting, cheap, beige, foam cup things during my twenties, thirties, and forties. I thought it was normal to relegate bras to the same utilitarian status as a head of lettuce—necessary, but not very exciting and definitely not worth much of my fashion budget. It took an excellent bra fitting in a small, specialty shop in my mid-fifties help me realize how much a pretty, WELL-FITTED, well-constructed bra could elevate my style emotionally and physically. Since that fitting, I’ve never regretted putting a sizeable chunk of my fashion budget into my bras.

I was a late bloomer, but I have no hesitation now pledging my allegiance to Team Pretty when it comes to my undies.

Oddly, sometimes I feel like my sports bras are more comfortable than some of my everyday bras. I think this is because the sports bras have wider, more substantial bands which do the heavy lifting (heh) job of support better than thinner bands, which are more common on non-sports bras. After all, the band is what is providing most of the support, not the straps. Sports bras have so much more structure, so they don't tend to shift around. I think most of my bra discomfort comes from shifting or scratchy edges. Balcony style bras are much better for me than other less structured styles.

I'm a little envious of women who have small enough breasts that they can even think about going braless or with a minimal bra. Don't get me wrong, I love my boobs, but I have permanent dents in my shoulders from a lifetime of bra wearing.

Oh my goodness, going braless is disrespectful to others? I don't know where to begin. I steadfastly refuse to think of my dear little breasts as offensive objects, and just as resolutely defend the right of every woman to clothe--or not to clothe--her chest in whatever makes her feel comfortable, attractive, and most like herself.

I wonder if men have an issue their their "headlights" also? I have never thought about it before.

I really wish boobs weren't such an issue, you know? I agree with you and others that a lack of support can be downright painful for a fast moving person. I wear mainly molded cup bras to avoid "headlights". MarieJo bras fit me really well. However, I notice myself starting to appreciate a more natural shape, and Gaylene's comment resonated with me. When the opportunity presents itself, I need to replenish my bra capsule, and I plan to add a non-molded cup to see how I feel about that. Currently I only wear lace bras under woven shirts. Count me in as someone who loves beautiful underwear. Having said all that, I recently tried on all my tops in a closet clear out, and I realized I really needed to change my bra for some tops to evaluate the fit.

Shiny, a good strategy. Oversized loungewear has it’s advantages.

Scarlet, YAY. You like pretty undies too, (we are a small Team). Good job swapping out your bras when evaluating your tops.

Reading all this makes me think of the "maniebra" episode from Seinfeld. Women did burn their bras in the 60ies and were proud of their nips. As for me I like a nice fitting bra with lace and no foam padding. Around the house I just wear a tight fitting camie and it works for me. And a shout out for all those women who have more to worry about "like breast cancer" rather than a good fitting bra.

I too laughed at the title. For comfort I wear loose bralettes @ home and will occasionally go braless in a loose fitting top. My cup size is small enough that discomfort with movement is not an issue. But I never go outside the house without a bra. I would be way to self-conscious not wearing a bra. I prefer lightly padded underwire tee-shirt bras since I mostly wear knits.

I need one for support (36G) and to get the right fit in clothes, especially when I wore suits for work. Very very very worth it to go to a good lingerie shop and pay up for quality (somehow the Belgians really know what they are doing - Prima Donna is fantastic - and super-lacy styles in large sizes). I wear an underwire all day, except for bed.

I was in the hospital for quite a while in 2014, and never felt that comfortable in hospital gowns - even though they mostly hide the "droop." I brought some lounge bras with me, and wore them when I could.

If someone wants to go without - fine! But no way for me personally.

I dislike the feeling of shimmying, myself. I'm not large, and sometimes will opt -- mostly in a very hot, humid spell -- to go minimal about underpinnings. But like Angie, I feel somehow more sexy than I'd like if my breasts sway! lol (I think I notice this, and maybe they do it more, since I have gotten older. Sob!)

I hate, hate, hate, trying to deal with the balloon animal back issue, the back fat. I have to admit that for me, at least, this is a weight and a health issue. I have forbears who, in old pictures, are very, very obese. I've been fit and small most of my life, but am facing real challenges managing my weight of late. I wish sometimes that spot reducing worked! For sure my bra size has changed with the weight gain -- I need a much wider band than I wore before. I try and frame it to myself as motivation to keep working to lose the darn weight!

This was a really interesting read! I've got small breasts that don't really move/drag downward with movement so bras aren't that important to me. I wear them mostly because I've always associated them with being "an adult" or "professional" but I'm slowly getting away from that mentality.

I've got a few t-shirt underwire bras because I feel like clothes hang better over them, and a few soft, non-underwire bras that I wear on weekends, etc. I never wear bras for lounging or sleep and sometimes not under thick sweaters in the winter, especially if I'm already wearing a camisole underneath for added warmth.

I feel kind of bad saying this (sorry Angie!) but I find the texture of lace uncomfortable and a little off-putting. Maybe I'm over sensitive but I'm always aware of the garment when wearing it, so I've gotten rid of most of my lacy underthings.

I don't wear molded bras and stay far away from foam because I feel they make my large breasts look larger and not in a good, perky way. I find movement uncomfortable and prefer 3-part cup bras, which seem to give me a nice shape and excellent support. I do sometimes get Headlights and they can make me feel self-conscious but not enough to wear a bras with any kind of padding. *shrug*

Binkie - Yes! Belgian bra brands are really good in general, and Prima Donna makes fantastic bras for larger boobs.

I’m glad someone brought up the “headlight” issue. I have experimented with various ways to address the headlight effect. Bandaids did not work for me. I purchased some reusable silicone nipple covers which seem to do the trick and they were not uncomfortable at all. In fact, they stay in place without any adhesive, and I didn’t even notice them. I recommend them to anyone interested in addressing this problem.

My philosophy about bras falls in line with Gaylene, however, the reality of my life at present means I am working in a public school special education setting. It’s the wrong place to draw attention to my chest. We have enough difficulty getting our students to make appropriate clothing and underwear choices. Therefore, I wear my molded bras to work, and save the lace for evenings and weekends.

I have to say that I can't even relate to the idea of boob movement. I am very small (34 barely A). Still, the girls are not as firm as they once were, and they feel best in a bra, but my favorite bra is a very low support bra that basically just hugs them. A little lace. It's really enough. (Gramercy bralette from True & Co.).

Outside in the world, I am fairly traditional. I really don't love to see a lot of skin (or nipplage) on display except at the beach. But when I was in grad school and really firm, I used to love wearing muscle shirts braless. It felt very badass and I actually loved the look. So there you go. The full circle evolution.

Gaylene wrote my post for me LOL...

Would prefer to NEVER wear a molded or foam lined cup. I really like the Wacoal Racer Back bra because the straps sit on top of the muscles on my shoulders and not by the edges where there's less "meat"...also the straps can't fall off...unfortunately, the straps are closer in toward my neck, and most of my tops have a neckline that is too wide for these straps...sigh

I don't mind if other women go braless...but I find it terribly uncomfortable. I do change into a lightweight racer back sport bra at home and wear these to bed also.

Thank you for the compliment, Angie