Small band/large cup bra finds

Between moving in May and developing carpal tunnel syndrome in my wrists since June, I haven't been around here in a while. However, I've dropped in to lurk on the forum from time to time and avidly watched the awesome threads on bra shopping, because it was long past time for me to do the same thing.

Like some of you around here, I'm in the large cup/small band size category, and knew that my cup size had increased a bit, and my old bras were worn out. When I wore a FF/FFF cup, it was tricky but not too hard to find a decently priced and supportive bra; now that I waffle between a G and H, I feel like I'm doomed to spend a bundle, but need the support. I've also grown too picky to put up with mediocre fit.

So before the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale kicked off, I dropped in to Nordstrom for a fitting and tried on everything available in my size. Two Chantelle bras were absolute winners:
Rive Gauche underwire bra (which went on sale during NAS - yay!)
Even though this is seamed, the seams are placed so well that it could practically work as a tee shirt bra under everything but the thinnest knits.

Africa full cup underwired bra, which I thought was ridiculously overpriced, but I found it on clearance at Neiman Marcus of all places.

They are both very pricey, but the support and quality is *so* great that it is worth stalking them for a sale or discount. I just wanted to mention them as awesome options if there are others in my bra size range who are searching for bras at the moment.

Also, after more than a year of searching and many failures, I *finally* found a sports bra that works for me - the Freya active underwire sports bra. Oh my goodness, the support is so great that I don't even notice my chest when I run, and it doesn't smash me flat like so many other sports bras do. It's the most comfortable sports bra I have ever worn, and I highly recommend it.

15 years ago

shana

Veteran

Kari, nice to see you around & thanks for the reviews. Thankfully, my cup size has shrunk 2+ years after baby number 2 so I'm not quite as large as before. I didn't see the Rive Gauche at my Nordies during NAS otherwise I would have been all over it. My Chantelle bras are my absolute faves - just wish they weren't so pricey!

I am very interested in the sports bra - the one I have now is a boob smoosher and although it hold everything in place, it is fairly uncomfortable.

Lisa

Hmm I've never thought about the squished boobs I get with all my running bras. I may have to check this one out, thanks!

Maya

Freya sports bras give me major bullet boob, but I don't care. They give the best support.

It's really good to hear from you Kari, and I'm glad you found solutions that work for you. I have given up entirely on non-seamed bras myself, but they just don't work for my shape (and at my size it's virtually impossible to find seamless bras anyway, with good reason).

I hope you'll be able to post more at some point. You are missed here!

Kari

Shana, agreed that the Chantelle bras are pricey, but I've decided that at my size the price is worth it. I hope that you're able to find a sports bra that works for you! I had such rotten luck trying to find one that I could afford for the past few years. It's awesome to find one that works.

Lisa, good luck with your search, and I hope that this one turns out to be a good option for you. (For me, part of the "squished boob" thing was due to terrible fit on many of the too-old sports bras that I was using on an interim basis - talk about painful!)

Aww, thank you, Maya. I've missed it here too. I hope I can drop in more often.
I've found one seamed bra offered in a large cup size that works well on me - no "bullet bra" shape for me either - but after reading your post, I decided I needed to look out for better seamed options. For some reason these new seamed bras are much less visible under knits (except the very thinnest knits) than any of the others that I used to have.

Boof

Active Member

I have that particular Freya sport bra, and it is great. No smoosh yet no jiggle.

Dawn

(website)

I also have the same Freya sports bra and love it. I think it might be better than my Shock Absorber sports bras simply because it is underwired which deals with the side-to-side motion one gets from sprinting on a bike.

Category