Ok, sorry for the delay ladies. I am too tired after getting up at 5 and getting home at 8 to invest so much thought into boobs!
Chapter 9: Sports bras
I'm going to cut straight to the chase here: You need to promise me you won't wear compression bras ever again. Do you promise?
...
Good.
Compression bras are awful for any size or shape. Even if you are an A cup, believe me, your breasts can be damaged and sag. And no one wants their nipples to drop two inches lower. Exercising without a proper sports bra is the quickest, surest way to cause irreversible damage. Compression bras basically smash your boobs against your chest. Does that sound healthy? It's like footbinding for your breasts. Furthermore they bind your breasts together into one mound and offer no motion control, which means that you have a mound of breast tissue flailing around within the bra.
So what is a proper sports bra? A good sports bra will have thick padded straps for comfort, separate cups that encase each breast individually, seams and inner slings in each cup for better motion control, and moisture-resistant fabric. Shock Absorber makes excellent sports bras:
http://www.figleaves.com/us/ns.....orber+bras
I have no personal experience with Enell, but they appear to be a great brand as well:
http://www.figleaves.com/us/ns.....Enell+bras
Freya makes a good one as well, but is meant for D+ cups only:
http://www.figleaves.com/us/pr.....FRA-AA4002
And finally, also for the full bust, there is La Breeza:
http://www.biggerbras.com/cata.....eeza.shtml
Yes, these are probably the ugliest, most hideous bras you have ever seen, but that is not the point is it? The point is to keep you protected. You also may not love how these look or what shape they gave you (mine gives me major bullet boob), but again, a sports bra is gear and it is important to wear the correct gear when working out.
Try to find the highest motion control available, even if you're just doing light exercise. There is really no benefit to having less protection. It isn't going to be more comfortable. Depending on how much you work out you should have anywhere from 2-4 sports bras. Treat them the same way you treat your other bras. Never wear them two days in a row, and wash them the same way. You may, however, need to wash them more frequently since nothing is worse than a smelly bra!
Chapter 10: Misc. fit issues and conclusions
I would compare bra shopping to jeans shopping: You will have to try on a LOT of styles and brands before you find your match. Your size in one brand might be different than your size in another. Just as you might sometimes size up in skiinny jeans or size down in wide legs, you might also size up or down depending on the style of bra. Those of you who have curvy hips and small waists know that sometimes you have to size up and get the waistband taken in, just like you might have to size up in your bra and get the bra band taken in. Once you get familiar with different bras and styles and how they fit you, bra shopping will not be as intimidating or time consuming.
Unlike clothes however, bras can be duplicated over and over again! If you find a style that works for you and you hate bra shopping as much as I do, why not just get that bra in a variety of colors, or even one color? It's an undergarment so no one will see it or care. OTOH, if you enjoy bra shopping and like to have variety, by all means, go for it.
You may also find that the bra you wear changes with the outfit you have on. For more fitted garments, I like to wear a more uplifting bra, while with relaxed or more voluminous styles, I need a bra that gives a flatter shape. Note that this does NOT mean a minimizer bra! To all my full-busted friends: Avoid minimizers like the plague. They give a very bad shape to the bustline and actually make you look wider by spreading your breast tissue around to awkward places (like under your arms). You'll look smaller if you just wear a bra that fits and keeps you contained instead of spreading you out all over the place!
Two areas in which my knowledge is not so extensive are nursing bras and post-surgical bras, so please keep in mind that everything I have written until now is related to everyday bras and not those used for special needs. Eventually I probably will have better knowledge of post-surgical bras, and when I do, I will share that info as well!
Let me know if there are any questions...