Over the shoulder boulder holder

[cjsmith]

I was very pleased to discover that Title Nine has a store in Palo Alto. They don't carry my size (no one within a couple thousand miles carries my size) but they have something close.

I walked out with a 32DDD - yes, three Ds - in something that I am guessing runs small. I also ordered a 32DD for those days when I might want to descend a stairway while carrying something in my hands. You curvy ladies know what I mean, I'm sure.

One advantage of shopping at a sports store: you get an undergarment that does something more than just make lines on your shoulders.

Dear Victoria's Secret,

I will never darken your door again. I'm sure your feeling of relief at that statement is second only to mine.

Sincerely,
Someone crass enough to have an actual chest

Comments

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Yay for finding the right size and good support. I have trouble imagining what it would be like to have to deal with that. *hugs*

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

My feet are *very* sore now because I spent an hour shopping and jumping up and down in the dressing room. I was quite impressed with a couple of the bras I tried on. One of 'em had everything but flying buttresses. It's pretty frightening-looking, and it takes a while to do up all those hooks (pec exercises! one, two, SMOOSH!), but it definitely does the job. The one I chose is more traditional in appearance but just as... effective. :-)

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Interesting about Victoria's Secret, both my daughter Amanda and rivka buy bras there, and they're both pretty well endowed. I wonder if there's regional variation?

I remember some of your earlier adventures in bra buying. Glad you found a good one. Does it allow you to breathe?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing that they probably have ribcages. 32 is rough. Still, I don't think I've seen any triple-D cups at VS, even on the gargantuan band sizes. Maybe regional variation is the answer.

I definitely took a nice big deep breath when I took the thing off. I suspect, though, that anything that lets me breathe will let me jiggle. I'm ready to try the other side of that divide for a while.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

They're both 36 DDs, though Rivka went to a larger cup for a while after Alex was born. But she was wearing nursing bras then.

As for you... I'm just sorry something so lovely is such a pain for you.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, 36DD is not as hard to find as 32DD. I should amend my reason for not darkening Victoria's Secret's door. :-)

Thank you for the compliment! Me, I just wish I could leave 'em at home most of the time. (Hot date tonight -- now where'd I put those things? I didn't leave them in my locker at the gym again, did I?)

[sharya.livejournal.com]

The one you got looks exactly like the sports bra I use! Or used to use. I've now gone up a few sizes due to breastfeeding :/

One of my good friends has a hell of a time with bras too... she's a 30 GG

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oh yikes, 30GG sounds like a nightmare. The things some women have to deal with!

[inflectionpoint.livejournal.com]

Yay for support. I share your issue with VS, and I take a 34C most of the time and a 36C some weeks. That seems to not be a size they carry, and it's frustrating.

Yay again for real support!

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

While they (VS) appear to carry up to a 40DD online, I have not been able to find a 40D in stores around here. Since I wear between a 40D and 42 D, this is an issue and I have since given up shopping there for anything other than underwear bottoms.

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

I cannot even find a 40D in VS stores--most only carry up to 38's. Those of us 40 or above can't shop there.

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Not having the issue, personally, the concept of wires in a bra makes me cringe - they seem like they'd be painful if not done very well.

[janigrey.livejournal.com]

They do not - carry those sizes in the store. I used to work for VS - Bras of anything larger than a 38 -DD would require them to redesign the Bra room.

I don't have a Fredricks store anywhere near me - but I'm curious is they sell the Bigger, sexy sizes in the store or not?

Yay, Title 9!

[wooddragon.livejournal.com]

The one with everything but flying buttresses is the *only* bra I have ever put on that I can run in (and I have tried hundreds)without someone's hands providing extra support. I have two of them, in case one is dirty...

I have many, many bras from Title 9. I love Title 9. I just ordered from there this week...

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Really? They lack a 34C / 36C? That's just... broken. Gah.

And many yays for something that works!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

They're just about the only thing that work, at least for me. The U shape gives a lot of extra stability to the fabric. My best guess at the force redistribution: the weight wants to go *down* but it can't because it would have to stretch a shoulder strap, and having the wire there means the weight going down would *also* have to stretch the sides of the cup. This way they don't have to make it out of concrete. ;-)

Re: Yay, Title 9!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I always used to hang on when I ran, even in a jogbra. I did a lot of Bay to Breakers that way. :-)

It's an exaggeration when they say you "won't bounce at all, not ever" in that bra -- but it's WAY minimized. And this one I'm wearing was just as good in the dressing room test. Yay Title 9!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Wow. 32B to 38DD is really a rather narrow range. Neither you nor I are strikingly "unusual looking" in a crowd of random people on the street, yet we're both outside that range. I'm surprised they can do as well as they do within those limitations.

[jcgbigler.livejournal.com]

The U shape gives a lot of extra stability to the fabric. My best guess at the force redistribution: the weight wants to go *down* but it can't because it would have to stretch a shoulder strap, and having the wire there means the weight going down would *also* have to stretch the sides of the cup. This way they don't have to make it out of concrete.

In many ways, a bra is the clothing equivalent of a suspension bridge. Basically, you want to increase the load that the bridge can carry. The underwire serves the equivalent of a combination of the floor and the stiffening trusses in the following diagram.



And yes, like suspension bridges, a bra that's designed badly is prone to failure, much like the Tacoma Narrows bridge in Washington did in 1940:

Re: Yay, Title 9!

[psi-star-psi.livejournal.com]

Wait, you have two hands to add support to your bra, in case one is dirty? I'm confident you can find volunteers to assist in case of any shortage.

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

I've read A Stress Analysis of a Strapless Evening Gown (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0138526575/sr=8-1/qid=1142789596/ref=sr_1_1/104-2464898-1428737?%5Fencoding=UTF8), but I never thought I would think of Galloping Gertie and bras in the same thread. :-)

[psi-star-psi.livejournal.com]

They're detachable (http://www.anysonglyrics.com/lyrics/k/kingmissile/detatchablepenis.htm), you see.

Re: Yay, Title 9!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I once had a running buddy who volunteered. The gait coordination required was impressive.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

That's EXACTLY the song I was thinking of when I wrote that! :-)

Re: Yay, Title 9!

[psi-star-psi.livejournal.com]

This is what the Summer Olympics is missing. Synchronized running!

Re: Yay, Title 9!

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

I always used to hang on when I ran, even in a jogbra.

My solution has been to wear TWO sportsbras, one on top of the other. That's the only way I've ever found enough stability to actually JOG. One sportsbra is fine for lighter activity like step-aerobics or soccer. Why does my comfortable jogging pace have to be at the EXACT natural frequency of my breasts? Is there some kind of evolutionary advantage to that? 'Cause I'm not getting it!

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

I've definitely bought 36C at VS. But it wasn't COMFORTABLE. Maybe I'm too picky because I refuse to buy anything other than black :)

Re: Yay, Title 9!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I want to see the bit where the guy pitches his partner downrange and then has to run at an inhuman pace to go catch her. Of course, with this modification, we're back to "only breastless women need apply" -- making it just like every other Olympic sport.

Re: Yay, Title 9!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I've heard of the two-bras solution but never tried it. I sympathize completely with the natural frequency problem! If this is "intelligent design" I want a smarter designer.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Comfortable is a whole extra dimension on the graph. Call me picky on that score as well! (For me the preferred color is cream or white, 'cause I have some white shirts. No pink no black no red no beautiful dark green no flowers no ribbons no lace none of that stuff. Bo-ring!)

Re: Yay, Title 9!

[wooddragon.livejournal.com]

They used to say that of the frog bra, which did not work for me. But for the one with all the hooks, I can run in it and not be uncomfortable. Prior to that, it required two layers of Spandex under the T-shirt...

I didn't like running while holding on, which is probably a reason I'm not much of a runner...

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

I believe Fredricks carries up to a 44 in the stores, with cup sizes up to E or F in stores.

Re: Yay, Title 9!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

The frog bra didn't work for me either. But that Last Resort is amazing!

I didn't particularly love holding on either, but that just made me more annoyed at the boobage than at the running!

Re: Yay, Title 9!

[wooddragon.livejournal.com]

I don't have any balance when I'm holding onto 'the girls'. Either not having the arms swinging, or their own rhythm would send me sideways. :)

[hitchhiker.livejournal.com]

that was the first thing i thought of too :)

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

Oh, they have them.... for about 30 seconds. Because those are very COMMON sizes. I believe that the most common sizes are 34B and 36C. therefore, they're all sold out by the time you get there.

And yeah, nothing over a 38 in the VS stores. *blech*

(currently a 40-42D, here)