Bras...(venting)

[Catrin]

Thanks for your thoughts Susan - I've learned a lot in the past few weeks Sadly the half cups don't seem to work for me, I need more than that but I am loving the Chantelles I scored at Nordstrom Rack the other day! I also really like the Frey sports bras I purchased last month. Full encapsulation and they are the same size as my Chantelle fashion bra. The band fits more tightly of course, and getting out of them are like safe-cracking but they feel SO good in my intense training session. The band fits too tight, however, for my to wear my HRM strap in the usual place. I am going to try wearing it below my bra tomorrow and see how well that works.

Chantelle makes a bra I really want to try that is designed for my south-seeking gals - as much as I like my Chantelle purchase I may try that one rather than the Freya Gem...

[Susan]

The Freya Gem ist really pretty Have you had the chance to try the Cleo Lucy? It seems to be quite similar to the Freya gem, comes up quite high too and is a really great fit for me - I guess the best fiiting bra I own, everything stays in place. The band fits more snugly than on most other bras I own and it gives a nice round shape (wich doesn't come naturally for me ).

Sports bras and HRMs can be a bit tricky, I had the same problem (I haven't used a HRM in a long time now). I had most success with squeezing it in a bit above the band. I liked the Freya Sports too, it feels very safe, but I think my current favourite is the Shock Absorber Max Sports Top. Not as much separation, but holds up to everything I do.

[Catrin]

The Freya Gem is pretty, isn't it? I've been told it would give me the proper support. This Chantelle Chacemire 3 part bra is also beautiful, I think I like it even better...keeping an eye out for sales It has side slings that helps to hold and support. I suspect the Chantelle might fit me better - although they are both 3-part bras so they may well both serve my needs the same.

I tried on several 34-band bras the other day and they just don't provide me enough support. It was like I didn't have a bra on...and I won't return to that. If that means I have fewer of them and save a bit longer then so be it. I hadn't realized just how much better it feels to have proper support. I will keep my eye out for the Cleo Lucy to try on.

[OakLeaf]

NYT covers some more companies with fitting software. No sports bras it doesn't appear, but might be useful.

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/b...me&ref=general

[Catrin]

NYT covers some more companies with fitting software. No sports bras it doesn't appear, but might be useful.

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/b...me&ref=general

Very interesting approach, I am going to have to try them out! Thankfully I love my Freya sports bras, it is the everyday bras that are proving a bit more challenging...

[OakLeaf]

I just got the new Champion Show-Off Bra, and so far, I like.

Champion changed the fabric in the bra I'd been wearing for years, to where the new ones really don't support me , so I'd been looking for something new.

I just did bridge repeats in it yesterday, for a total of 8.5 miles counting the jog to and from the bridge - so not enough to know if it'll cause problems on a real long run, but enough for first impressions, and here they are:

Rock solid encapsulation support. I've whined here before about how hard it is to find very firm support for small breasts, but this bra has it. I don't think my boobs have moved so little on a run since I was 12 years old and they were the size of apricot halves. I've never worn an encapsulation bra that really gave me any support at all, so I'm impressed. Bonus that I wasn't expecting, is that it doesn't put the pressure on my still-unstable collarbones and ribs that my old compression bras do. And I really don't care about uniboob, but for those who keep score of that, this one gives nice separation.

Room for a HRM strap underneath. That can be a deal-breaker for me with some bras. This one fits just as nicely as my old favorite. I was getting just a teensy bit of pinching with the HRM strap slide adjuster on one side, but that's more to do with my individual configuration than with the bra itself. It may chafe on long runs, it may not - we'll see.

Adjustable straps. Again, we'll see how they wear in. Strap length can be an issue for me since my boobs ride low, but there's lots of adjustment in these. First wearing, the adjusters are very stiff - impossible for me to adjust while wearing the thing, and they didn't slip at all during my run. At that distance, no chafing from the adjusters, and even though the straps are only a little wider than a day-wear bra, they're soft, and in the racerback configuration they didn't give me any trouble.

Adjustable band. This is just as valuable for the ability to partially open up the racerback for putting it on and taking it off, as for the adjustment itself. I wondered how this would look in real life, since hook-and-eye closures can make a sport top look like underwear, but I think this is one is reasonably attractive even with this closure. I don't work out without a shirt any more, but I used to, and I would've been comfortable wearing this alone. I certainly wouldn't hesitate to change my shirt in public while wearing this bra.

Concealment. Now, this leans negative for me, because I really don't care about my headlights, and any padding means it's going to need extra care in the wash and in the underwear drawer, and that it will wear out faster no matter how careful I am with it. But, I've got very prominent headlights, and this bra completely hides them. It's got little reinforced stars in the nipple area for extra concealment. There's no color show-through either in the white one that I got.

It only comes in S/M/L/XL, which means it probably won't fit anyone whose cup size is much off the average for their band size. And since the Small fits my 34-small-b self so nicely, smaller women won't find one in their size, either.