And now if you direct your attention to the center of the show ring, I’d like to present the sporting group.
One of the most popular posts on this site is the post where I show you how to accurately measure your bra size, and then offer up a few of my favorites. If you haven’t checked it out, I highly recommend it, plus you’ll need it to move forward in your bra journey today, just click here.
The right bra is a life changing experience. Do I want to be a 38 H? Nope, sure don’t. I want to be whatever size the cute bras that hang along the aisles of Target when I’m in there buying $5 Adam Sandler DVDs and PopRocks are, but that is not in the cards for me or my boobs. I will never be the girl who can buy a bra in the store, and when I finally came to terms with that, my life became so much easier… and so much more comfortable.
Now that I’ve mastered the everyday bra, I’ve used that size to explore life outside the traditional cups. Finding a big boob-friendly bikini top was awesome, and figuring out a U-Plunge bra for a formal dress was also tons of fun… but what about a strapless bra?
My past experience with strapless bras go as follows. Step 1: Put on strapless bra. Step 2: Ignore all extreme side boob and back fat. Step 3: Feel comfortable never. Step 4: Constantly adjust it using creative reasons to pull at your chest in public. Step 5: Give up and accept you are now wearing a cummerbund.
I’ve accepted that strapless bras are not in the cards for me. So maybe someone could inform all the fashion companies that keep spitting out halter top and strapless dresses, as well as the tops with straps too thin to hide my thick bra? Yes? Awesome. If I can’t have fun dainty things, nobody gets them.
You know, unless someone invents a curve friendly strapless bra that legitimately holds the girls up and doesn’t slide down my body every 3 seconds? OH WAIT.
Curvy Kate Luxe Strapless Multiway Bra. In keeping with tradition, I’m a Curvy Kate fanatic. CK bras fit me like whoa and make my boobs look perky and fun. The Luxe Strapless is no exception. It was comfortable and sturdy, but it’s definitely full coverage; I didn’t get a ton of cleavage with this bra. That is not always a bad thing. It would be perfect for a casual tube top or maxi dress, and because it was so full coverage, it gave me a smoother back and minimal lumps on the sides. However, if you are wearing a top with a low neckline, the top of the bra may show. I read loads of reviews on the Luxe, and many of them advised to size up in the cup but stay put in the band. I should not have done that, I should have sized down in the band, as I had the slightest bit of slip after a few hours. So my advise would be to size up in the cup and down in the band. Click here for the Curvy Kate Luxe!
Wacoal Full Figure Red Carpet Strapless Bra. Winner Winner! I am not even sure how I came upon the Wacoal but going forward, I cannot imagine my life without it. It’s everything I want in a strapless bra; cleavage, hold, and support. The Wacoal is a snugger fit, and both the band and cups are lined with rubber gripping. I wore this bra for about 3 hours and had minimal slipping. I was amazed at how great my boobs looked, and Andy was a big huge fan, which is great because it’s so snug, hooking it on was a two person job. It gave me a bit more back fat, but I don’t even care, the support was awesome. I ordered this bra completely true to size and it fit great. Click here for the Wacoal Red Carpet!
Tip: Read the reviews. All the reviews. I wish shopping was as easy as a click, but it’s not. So take the time to educate yourself about the clothes you are wearing, and it makes the investment in well fitting pieces that much better. Your boobs will thank you.
I like that even tho the Wacoal is considered a “plus size” in the description, they still offer it in smaller sizes (I needed a 32D). Very cool.
Yay! I’ve been looking for a good strapless bra for ages! I have TWO dresses I can’t wear (without a sweater) because of the dainty straps. So excited to try these out!!
I love the Wacoal strapless! I bought it for a bridesmaid dress I had to wear and loved it so much that I used it for my own wedding day. They make amazing products!
As I sit here, pulling up my strapless bra because OMG it’s 90 degrees and humid, who wants to wear sleeves??, I know the intimate apparel gods sent this post to me…
I thought the Curvy Kate was a “before” picture, with the Wacoal as the “after.” Looking at them side-by-side, it appears the Wacoal sits higher and looks a much more comfortable fit.
The Wacoal definitely has more lift and is snugger. The Curvy Kate stayed put, it just didn’t LIFT, if that makes sense? It kep my boobs about where they’d be in a standard t-shirt bra. It was very comfortable and didn’t slide down a ton, it just wasn’t as push-up as I expected.
I was so excited when I saw this post, only to click on the links and discover that neither one is offered in a 44. Someday!!
I haven’t tried it, but have heard good things about Goddess! http://amzn.to/1UwqZPU
Oooh thank you!!
Same here…..the struggle is real.
Hope this is okay but I want to leave a link to the AMAZING strapless bra that I’ve found. Life-changing. COMFORTABLE. Supportive. Did I mention comfortable? Stays where I put it? Comes in ALL the sizes?
http://www.amazon.com/Goddess-Womens-Marilyn-Strapless-Black/dp/B00387FN04/ref=sr_1_sc_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1436281295&sr=8-2-spell&keywords=Goddess+Stapless+Bra
Of course! Scoring amazing bras is important! Share away!
Honestly? I’d go full on steel boned corset rather than a strapless bra.
Most of the DD+ options I’ve seen for strapless bras really suck because companies construct them in the same way as they do for smaller busts… AKA, they skimp and use plastic boning which buckles and offers you zero support after you put any significant amount of weight on it…. It’s fine for a smaller gal, but for larger boobs it’s completely inadequate.
Plus, once you get into cup sizes that are much larger than G or H, your options for strapless bras drop off to none anyway. So, for some ladies (including me, I’m a JJ) a corset is really the only way to go.
Thanks for investigating strapless options. I would love it if you could address another summer clothing issue. Now that I am wearing the proper sized bra (thanks to you I’ve become seriously evangelical about it to the point where I have to stop myself from directing strangers on the street to your original bra post) I’ve found that my bra shows under my arm in every tank top I put on. It’s July and it’s hot and sticky and I want to wear as little as possible. I’m loving the looser, slightly boxy, style of tank, but the underarm bra show is not pretty. I can put on a light shirt or sweater when I’m in my air conditioned office, but not outside. I can handle a little bit of bra peeping out, but often it’s inches of bra fabric showing. I can put on a tighter tank or cami underneath, but that extra layer defeats the purpose of the light loose tank on a hot day. Do I take up the shoulder seams (which might also raise the neckline to a point that isn’t as flattering on the boobs)? Would double sided tape work or would it just cause weird wrinkles or show too much bra somewhere else? Maybe a cheap bandeau top over my bra? How do you deal with this?
Thank you so much for this article. I bought a dress, that I LOVE, and have been searching for a bra that would work for three months. Read your article and ordered the Wacoal. It is perfect! Love the hold and the fit. I’m a 38G and thought strapless was never going to happen for me. Thank you for your positivity and advice!