Bras 101: The Great Post-Exchange Debate
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Deborah, if you have time, would you be able to go to the Toronto site and tell me if you are familiar with the styles they sell that would suit my needs?
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Never say never ... I never thought I would EVER sleep in an underwire bra. I drive round trip approx. five hours on Tuesdays. By the time I get home about ten hours later I'm hurting some. Today I wore a bra that by the time I got home I was really hurting. I changed into a freya eleanor bra and within 10 minutes I wasn't hurting anymore. I took it off about an hour ago and put on the bra I normally sleep in and while I'm not hurting like I was earlier, it is achy. I'm putting back on the freya eleanor and yes, I'm going to sleep in it. Never say never!
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Val, if the implant sizing suggests 32DD and i want to try a 30" band...what size cup would i order? There are no department stores or specialty shops that stock 30" band bras. Thanks.
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YOU REFUSED TO GET OUT OF THE CAR??
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I am still laughing about this Mantra!!!....
Okay....So the problem is you are not wanting an underwire and most of these European brands which will work for you do not come in wireless. This store carries Wacoal and they might have some wireless styles. Chantelle is great for you - a number of styles would work - the C-Chic is great for breast recon - but again - underwired bras. I am still going to send you the Freya bra and you can take it to your PS and show him how well made it it and how the wires sit on your ribcage - NOT on the inframammary fold. So call and ask what they have in wireless - before you drive there.
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cleo: Here is Val's favorite bra - the Freya Pollyanna. On sale at Nordstroms....returns are free if it does not fit. You would wear a 30E....they sell out fast at this price!
http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/3144450?origin=keywordsearch&resultback=247
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Yes, I REFUSED to get out of the car. Let me remind you, I was in a horrible mood and mentally and physically drained!!! And it's a strip mall plaza so we were parked right infront of the door.
DH - okay, here's one of the stores my mother mentioned. Let's go.
Me: NO.
DH: No? No what?
Me: Ummm, no thank you??
DH: You mean you don't want to go in?
Me: Right. I'm in a real foul mood and I'm tired. Let's just leave .. . now!
DH: SERIOUSLY??!! This is crazy. We're three steps away. Come on. How bad can it be?
DH (jumps out of the car and opens my door as I sit there refusing to move).
DH: Okay, fine, I'll go in and . . . and . . . and . . . I can't go in myself!! I don't even know what to ask. I'll look insane.
Me: Well, there are only two options as I see it. Look insane or get back in the car and drive off.
He chose option B.
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Thanks much, Deborah. Going there now!
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I would have loved to see your husband go into the store alone and try to describe your breasts though....
He is a good guy! A keeper! To do that for you....despite you having a meltdown....
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LOL Mantra -- thanks for sharing the scene!
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Actually, he might have enjoyed trying to describe my breasts . . . especially if he got to play the blind breast test
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LOL Mantra: the blind breast test!!!
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Dawne-Hope: We are going to have to start calling you "Val Junior"! LOL! You two are like Viking babes, to be able to sleep in a Freya underwire!! But I have been wearing my Freya all morning and I must admit, it feels pretty comfy...
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whippetmom - I had two things going for me ... It was a 32 band, so a little bigger than the ones I wear during the day and I've taken a nap in it on a couple of Sunday afternoons ... so I eased into it. You'll know I'm hard-core like Val when I can sleep in a 30 band!
LOL, 'viking babes' ... not hardly for me!
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You go, Dawne!!! - See, y'all?.....I'm not COMPLETELY crazed to sleep in my Eleanor after all!
Ladies....I just received my VS French Lace Sling!! Alas, it does not "sling" much of anything on me (will post the pic I just took on Lilah's thread).....it runs quite generous around, so is just too big to push up/in the foobs at all..... and it doesn't come XS. I'll have to return it unless somebody wants it.....
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Dawne - I must confess.....one of my Eleanor's is a 32............though I do wear it on the tightest hook..... For the first 4 months post-exchange, though, I faithfully wore my PS-approved size 30 Pollyanna 24/7!!
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Mighty, mighty Vikings, we are! (funny......my boys' high school mascot was the Viking....)
I did want to add.....regarding the Freya Pollyanna bra.....and actually Deborah pointed this out to me last year.....it is somewhat of a "minimizer" bra, meaning that you look smaller in it than in other bras. I think that's actually a wonderful thing, though, especially in the first few months post-exchange. That bra just does an amazing job of implant stabilization - which probably explains the minimizing effects - which makes it ideal for the early months.
Mantra - I fogot to say yesterday......sorry you had a bad day, but your story still made me smile!
Somebody (can't recall who and didn't check back) asked about wearing underwire for exercise. Yes, underwire is especially good for exercise like pilates and yoga where your arm movements cause implant movement and you thus require more stabilization/encapsulation. Although I do have one wireless exercise bra - which is a good one for compression and actually isn't horrible at encapsulation because of its structure (Lululemon's Ta Ta Tamer bra) - all my other ones (Bendon and Donna Karan) are underwires. I love them and so do the foobs.....
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Deborah: Vikings, LOL!!!
Val: So the sling comes in S, M & L only? How do you know what size to order! I will have a look on the picture forum, but I am thinking I would need a medium.
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MBJ - If you want that sling-thing to do what it's designed to do - add some extra pressure to push the foobs up and in - then you want it on the small side. Honestly, the small would EASILY fit a 34 band size I'm thinking. I had it on the tightest hook and even over a bra it was huge, so consequently just sat on me looking really stupid....
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Val: I want it! It's no longer available. PM me your contact info and I will send you a check!!!
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Go Viking girls!!! Do you have horn helmets as well? hehe
Mantra, your story cracked me up!! Thanks for sharing it.
Deborah, please let me know what you think of my new bra pics, especially the Natori one. I followed your seggestion and got one of my new bras in a 30DD. But it seems to cut right across my foob and smushes it in such a way that it squishes out in other places.
Anyway, you guys, check out my new bras and 6 weeks post exchange pics.
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happymom - I posted on the bra thread on the picture forum. You are looking HOT!
I got my bras from bare necessities yesterday and I was so excited - like a kid in a candy store! The Natori does look a little small ... I'im interested in what Deborah has to say. I bought a Chantelle demi ... do the demi cups give us reconstruction ladies enough support?
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Thanks Dawne-Hope. I was soooo excited when I got my package today!!
I know bras are cut differently. I think it's weird that a DD would not fit.
Good question about the demi's. Because 2 of the 3 I bought, are.
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Dee: You are just BURSTING out of those bras! Holy moly! If you like the 32 band, I believe you still need to go up a cup size....
The Felina Harlow looks like it fits the best, and in all of the Felina photos, there is a lot of spillage. So it all depends on where the wires are hitting and I just wonder if a 32DD in that "Harlow" might not fit a little better....
Let Val take a look and give her thoughts!!
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happymom - If there is one thing I've learned in the great post-exchange bra hunt it is that they are all different. I've bought since my exchange in July everything from a 32C, 32D, 32DD, 30D, 30DD. It all depends on the brand and style of bra. Other DD's would likely work, don't rule them out just because one doesn't work. The general problem I'm having is that I need a DD width, but the DD projection of the cup is too big. I've learned to keep the tags on and wear the bras for a few hours to see how they feel, where the underwire marks fall ... it takes that long to see if they work. If not, return them and then exchange for other ones that may work!
It is trial and error. 0 -
Ok, I finally made it to Noordstrom. She was very nice andseemed to know what she was doing. She brought 32 D and 34 C and said the 32 D fit me the best. Spent $260 for four bras!! They were Natori 136059 or 10090 (is the styl # on tag or on bra?), Chantelle Depuis 1876 or 3951, two underwire sports bras DonnaKaran 35137 - does these sound OK to the bra experts? The Chantelle cost $80 and the Natori $60. I'm leaving the tags on to make sure they will be ok. Thanks for the help - still trying to get DH to help me post pictures. thanks, valerie
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UGH!!! Thanks Deborah and Dawn-Hope!! I felt the same way. But the wire fits around my implant very nicely. They are tucked in and I'm not being cut apart. I sent the Natori back. That fit was just awful! haha I've exchanged it for a Freya Arabella Plunge, sheer black with lilac ribbons. I tried a 30DD again, so will see how it fits when I get it. DH loved the pic of the new one so much he loved the matching panties. I said they aren't on sale and cost $34!!! Do you want me to spend $34 on a pair of PANTIES??? He said, go for it! hahaha. Who am I to say no? Hope it fits! Dawn-Hope maybe that Natori would fit you, since it was DD. Certainly no problem with the projection on that one!
Valerie!!! Check you out spending all that $$$$!! Hope they feel really good on you. I've never spent this kind of money on bras in my life! But, after what we've been through, we are, after all, WORTH IT!! I've never looked so good in my clothes. lol
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Remember - the first few weeks after surgery, the anesthetic cuts down on our common sense. So hurry to the store now- before it wears off lol
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Claire: LOL! Apparantly it has rubbed off on her DH, too! hehe
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You know what, ladies? If we ever deserve to indugle ourselves now is the time. I've never been a frilly, lace lovin' girl but losing my breasts has enabled me to embrace my feminine side. I too splurged this past week and bought matching panties to go with these frilly, lacey bras. We deserve it. If a year from now we're still doing this, we may need some therapy! But I think right now a little indulgence is just fine! 0
