The unfettered bosom: why or why not? - YouLookFab Forum

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The unfettered bosom: why or why not?

ironkurtin

Veteran

A friend who has a very small chest insists "EVERYONE NEEDS A BRA," although she easily could go without. Whenever I strap the Bs down to go running, I wonder why the heck she fetters herself when she could go without, especially when it is very hard for her to find grown-up, pretty ones that fit her cup size and narrow back.

Then there are the very large-chested ladies I spy on the street who so obviously could use support but instead choose to fly free. Whenever I see them, my boobs whimper and my back starts to ache in sympathy.

I personally wear a bra because without it my bosom jiggles and droops and it makes me nuts. Also, I get sweaty underneath and that's never nice. If I could go without one, I would!

Do you choose to wear or not wear a bra, and why not?

Dressing

99 replies

Latest reply was from Von

Aida

Veteran

Yay bra for me. Gravity may be a weak force, but it's certainly strong enough to affect even us smaller chested Also, I dislike the jiggles.

EDIT: I don't like to wear one at home when I'm lounging, though. Smaller chest has its advantages sometimes, I suppose.

carter

Veteran

Always a bra, except for homebound loungewear! Why? Well, because they're heavy. They are by no means where I left them when I was 24, but I have no desire to see them flopping around my waist when I'm 70!

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

Your thread cracks me up IK. Seriously I had to laugh out loud while reading.

So -- I always wear a bra. 32D/32DD. I heard, at the age of 13, that if you could stick a pencil under your bust and it stayed, you needed a bra. There are women with small busts who still could hold a pencil.

I never see women flying free! Except models in magazines and on line. I do, however, see many women who are wearing such poorly fitting and old bras that they are pointing very far south. Part of living in a low income, rural county with many seniors.

K. Period.

Veteran

I always do due to size/comfort issues. Plus I want them to stay up where they are! I have to admit to having a bit of a personal aversion to non-bra wearing. It isn't rational, but it feels like close talking. Their stuff in my space. I have the same issue with fully exposed yoga pants.

rae

(website)

Veteran

I am personally on Team Everyone Needs a Bra. You never know what gravity is going to do! Even facial skin sags and creates nasal-labial folds, jowls, etc. Even if my chest was really small, I would not want boob jowls.

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

Exhibit A. Superfashionperson Jenna Lyons

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix.....06x423.jpg

ETA

http://assets.nydailynews.com/.....es/article

Diana

Veteran

Ah, when I was thinner and a B cup, I would occasionally go braless. These days, I am a C cup, which is just heavy enough that I need the bra for comfort if I'm going to be moving around, etc. I will admit to sometimes running out for groceries without one though! I NEVER wear one at home, unless I'm working out.

Speaking of which, I do think almost everyone needs a bra when working out. It's so jiggly otherwise! And I've gotten chest pains from high impact exercise with a bad sports bra in my young and dumb days. It's not pleasant.

deb

Veteran

I did not start wearing a bra all of the time until I went through menopause. Grandma told me I would get bigger and she was right. Mind you, I am definitely not large but I now feel them when I walk. I do have a funny story from the other day, though. I was not feeling well but had to go into the office for a meeting. I took my shower the night before, as usual, so I got up, washed my face, brushed my teeth, got dressed, put on makeup, took my hair down out of the twisted topknot I wear to bed, grabbed a mug of tea, then drove to the office. (yes, I do it in that order every morning). Anyway, I came home early because I was still not feeling well and when I was changing out of my work clothes, I found I had not put on a bra. I did not even realize it all day. So. I guess you can say, I really do not need one. lol

ironkurtin

Veteran

It's quite reassuring to see Jenna Lyon's nipples point in different directions like us mere mortals. It still makes me twitchy to see her lack of support, however.

AG, are you saying that you, like Jenna, prefer to let the girls wander where they will?

E

Veteran

You have the best way of phrasing things IK!

I have a small, lightweight, self-supporting chest (pencils are somehow supposed to stay? what?) in the 30C/30D/32B/32C range depending on brand, and I've yet to find a bra that feels even 20% as comfortable as going bra free. There isn't any drooping (yet!), not enough jiggle to bother me, and I get far sweatier with a bra than without. So I never wear a bra at home (where I spend most of my time). I only wear one when I go out (or for outfit photos here) if I'm wearing a fitted/clingy knit top sans topper, and thus the bralessness would be too obvious to casual observers (because both I would feel self-conscious and don't want to make other uncomfortable). In fact, I started loving & acquiring woven tops/dresses about 3 years ago, when I discovered how well they disguise things! It was the start of a revolution for me, hehe.

I'm just not willing to be in discomfort every day on the off chance it'll help the look of my bosom in 20 years. If they start to head south, I suppose I'll re-evaluate, but the older I get the more of a laid back hippie-type I seem to become, so I somehow doubt I'll care that much. I'll probably just wear more layers to disguise things. hehe Oddly enough, the initial desire for comfort ended up being very empowering: I no longer worry about looking flat chested/feel any need for padded bras, probably because I'm so used to how my chest looks on its own. I think of it as delicate now rather than small or flat, and I'm quite grateful for it, after having spent much of my post-puberty life feeling less of a woman due to that same delicacy.

If I were jogging I'd need a sports bra, which I remember whenever I'm with my niece and we start racing around, but the fastest I move in regular life is a brisk walk, and that's rare. I'm more of a strolling type.

I'm actually listening to an audiobook called Breasts: a Natural and Unnatural History right now, so this feels like a timely thread! If I learn anything about bras vs. gravity, I'll be sure to share it with the forum.

Diana

Veteran

PS- I know everybody wants big boobs but I miss being a B cup. I'm happy with my weight but I wish I had my smaller breasts from 20 lbs ago back.

Helena

Veteran

Team fettered. 2 kids. That's all I gotta say

Susie

Veteran

When I was young and my smallish boobs were still perky I frequently went without a bra. I considered it a nice perk of not being well-endowed. These days I need a bra to keep them up where they used to be.

Echo

Veteran

I always wear a bra, except to bed. For women with a sizeable bust, the darts in dresses and blouses are often in the wrong spot if they are not wearing a bra, making clothing look ill-fitting. And I just don't appreciate the unsupported look. This might be slightly different, but I don't appreciate a man in track pants or rayon-type dress slacks without underwear, either. It's just TMI in both cases for me.

Besides, my mother always told me it was impolite to point.

deb

Veteran

I never wanted big boobs. I think what era and where we grew up plays a role in our choice. I was of the 'burn your bra' era and a hippie girl, and nobody wore bras, no matter what the size. And I worked in the banking industry and thought nothing of it.

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

There's an even more unflattering picture of Jenna Lyons that I tried to find, featured that chick from Girls. Personally I don't think she's perky enough to go braless. If that is body snarking, then so be it.
I wish I was small and perky enough to go without. But I've never have been.
I just get super-irked when designers create fashion that can't be worn with a bra, eg backless dresses. Talk about inaccessible fashion.

rabbit

Veteran

I'm team 'the pencil drops', but pretty much always wear a bra with clothes. Nipple chafing, not fun.

Exceptions are with PJs, and some knit maxi-dresses with Grecian halter tops - they show far to much of the outline of the back strap even with a strapless option. I try to only wear them outside in hot weather though, and avoid cool breezes or AC. I haven't yet had a formal occasion dress where I had to use one of the various tape or paste on options.

A question that occupied me all through watching American Hustle though, Amy Adams, how did that even work? Braless? Tape? Magnets?

FWIW I think she looks absolutely stunning in that movie, sideboobs and all.

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Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Truthfully I have always wanted to be able to go braless at least sometimes. Wouldn't/couldn't before birthing/nursing three kids and now it is certainly not an option.

BethL

(website)

Veteran

It feels like I've always worn a bra. Like perhaps since birth. Team Seriously Well-Endowed here. It's uncomfortable for me not to wear one, though I dislike wearing it at night. At some point during the last year, an old shoulder injury flared up and necessitated that I wear one of those back support bras with the 5 or 6 hooks up the front for a couple of weeks. Uh, yeah. I couldn't look. So not good.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I could go without but rarely do out in the world. At home lounging, or doing the laundry or getting the mail I don't bother. Workouts, absolutely. I have an item or two that isn't bra friendly and I'm debating sewing little cups into the front for the friction Rabbit mentioned.

Gigi

Veteran

I'm small (A-B cup), and I go without when I can. Like E says, it's more comfortable. There's also some medical evidence that going braless helps your breasts circulate lymph better, which may reduce the risk of breast cancer. (Interestingly, the same study said that going without a bra can actually help your "perkiness" over time by building ligament strength or something, a side effect of the breasts moving around.)

I wear a bra only if my shirt really looks dumpy without—my bosom (if you can call it that!) is somewhat low-placed, so if my shirt is at all a bit big on me, the excess material really hangs. In those cases, the bra helps add more bulk to use up some of the extra space.

I also have some Victoria's Secret bralettes that I wear if I want to wear a bra but don't want to feel "strapped in." They're made just from sheer lace and are pull-on. They give about half the support of a regular bra, I would say.

I used to be really self-conscious about not wearing one. But I'm getting braver. I managed a spaghetti-strap dress last year and have bought another for this year, plus one of the backless tops that Anna complained about. :^) Might as well enjoy the advantages of being small!

I think it's kind of sad that we're all concerned about looking "perky." Women's breasts aren't naturally as perky as they look with a bra, even if you're very small. It's part of our cultural wiring that a women's breasts should be practically pointing straight ahead. I don't know if they're as concerned about "perkiness" in Europe, for example, where bra wearing isn't as nonnegotiable as it is here. Anyone know?

Anonymous

Another on a Team Pencil Drop but I wear bras for several reasons...modesty, although small of boob, my nipples are sensitive and show, and clothing just fits better. My 30 band bras are comfortable, much more so than the ones I used to wear that were too big and moved around. I did go braless quite a bit back when I was nursing babies and mostly at home.

Dee

Veteran

This is an interesting thread! I'm an A or B cup so I doubt I need one most of the time, but I don't find bras uncomfortable either (no digging in at shoulders, pulling in back, etc) so I tend to wear them when out of the house.

I could probably go without, but rarely do aside from loungewear or the occasion halter style in the summer. Although a few times this winter I didn't because I figured no one could tell under the two or three layers I was already wearing.

Jeanie

Veteran

I would love the luxury of not wearing a bra. I dream of being able to take my boobs off and put them back on when needed.

MsMaven

Veteran

My childhood years I had several great-aunts and a grandma who didn't wear bras. My sisters and I speculated: Did they have to hold their breasts up somehow to fasten the belt around their middle? Because the breasts flopped down over the belts.

In my early teen years: wearing a bra meant you were a grown up--not wearing (needing) once meant you were a kid.

Early 1960s: everyone who wanted to appear to be a nice girl wore a bra.

Late 1960s: I'm a student at UCLA in the summer of no-bra. Woo-hooh! Except I'd already had two babies. I wear a bra.

Early 1970s: the no-bra bra. I wore them. Nipples did show through. Once, on a trip, I went braless. Too much undesirable attention from men. All at once I became a public spectacle.

Life ever since: even though I managed to maintain my weight until my 50s, the breasts kept needing a larger size. Going without is not comfortable, although there are days I have to unfasten the damn thing. Buying clothes gets to be more difficult--will they fit inside this dress?

Now and the future: If I don't wear a bra, I will have to hold up the breasts to zip up my pants and fasten my belt. I am thankful, however, that they are still here and thus far mammograms are clear.

Angela K

Veteran

Jeanie, I had to smile and nod in agreement with your comment. Wouldn't it be lovely just to sleep on you stomach again. It's been so long I can't even remember! I find that as I get older I wear a bra almost constantly (except to sleep). As a 34D/32DD AND PUSHING 50 I definitely need the support and wouldn't think of leaving home without one. Last year I was very sick and had to go to the emergency room, wearing jogging pants and a sweat shirt, hair uncombed. You know the deal, BUT I had my bra on! Like American Express...IMHO don't leave home without it!

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

I was able to go without one in my youth before I had kids because my bust was small and wide and was not affected by gravity. Oh well, having babies changed all this and I need bra now (but I still remove it when I come home so it is only for going out for me).
I do have a friend whose bust is average in size and who rarely wears bra...and I think she would look better and trimmer with the support...

anne

Veteran

Diana - You miss your B cups - I would love a nice full B cup!! - I am barely an A, would probably fit into an AA (I haven't bought any bras for a while).
Before I was on YLF I considered anyone larger than a C cup big busted! I have been educated here)
I sometimes go braless at home, but always wear one out. I find they help with chafing and to be honest, I am very reliant on the padding to even out my figure a little (33inch bust, flat above the nipple/ cf 37 or 38 in hips)

WishfulSpirit

I'll go braless at home but not out. I'm about a B cup and wearing my VS bras (brought on ebay...yea for the internet!) gives me a little bit of luxury. Plus I don't really feel "dressed" without one. For larger-chested ladies, a good bra is essential for creating an hourglass appearance.

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