Thursday, December 13, 2012

Breaking the Mold

I sense the writing's on the wall. Based on reader feedback, preliminary research and what I can deduce (though Figleaves did advise this eve, that it has a new order on the Fantasie Smoothing Underwired Balconette due to arrive in 2013), it's time to find an alternative staple basic beige bra (aka "nude" in my skin tone).

Let me recap my many needs:
  • It's got to be supportive.
  • It's got to be vaguely attractive in cut and material. I don't expect it to be exciting, but if I end up at the hospital or (far better, if just as unlikely) having some kind of quickie in a fancy hotel hallway, I don't want to be embarrassed by it. 
  • It's got to be without seams or any embellishments having profile. No lace. No texture. Just smooth and seam-free.
  • It's got to have under wire.
  • It's got to be flexible (aka soft cup). Firm molded cups are not for me. We can debate what molded means, but for the purposes of my needs it means anything that has even a slight hint of built-in cup structure - foam in even the slightest amount, padding, chemical shaping etc. 
Apropos of that last bullet, practically all seam-free bras are molded. That means the fabric is chemically altered on a mold to produce a structured, seam-free shape having the appropriate cup volume or that the fabric is seared around a foam mold in the chosen shape. You know these bras - they stand up on their own. Sometimes they're padded (the ones with foam or inserts), sometimes the molding is less extreme but the bra remains somewhat breast-shaped at all times. 

I really don't know how this bra-type has become so popular because it fits most women rather poorly. Well, I'm pretty sure the reason is that it's cheap to make so it's been in the best interests of brands to market them well. No seaming means reduced labour and less intricate design. While retail stores have promoted molded bras as good options for women of different breast sizes, they nearly always gape on the smaller side. Furthermore the shape does not tailor to one's breasts. It forces the breast to conform to the mold. 

As a sewist, I can tell you that seams are magical, from a fit perspective. They mitigate gaps and puckers. They promote symbiosis between the breast (given all of the parameters of its shape and size) and the bra. Molded bras often gape at the side breast or pucker at the gore because they're a blunt instrument. They also tend to add volume with structure. Furthermore, the shape they provide seems artificial, to my eye though, in truth, I do prefer a pointed cup, which many others find just as artificial-seeming. I can spot a molded bra a mile away. (Note: for a "standard" shaped, symmetrical small chest, molded cups can work just fine. But on women of larger chests - and that's an increasing proportion of the bra-wearing population - they tend to fall flat.)

What to do? Most seamed bras, while they contribute to good fit, have seams. Most molded bras, while they often fit badly, are seam-free. Which is where the Fantasie Smoothing Underwired Balconette comes in.  It manages to give good fit in a soft cup (i.e. not molded) without seams. 

For what it's worth: Many women, while they purport to love the Smoothing Balconette, do acknowledge that the style falls down on fit in one way - it often puckers at the top of the cups if the wearer has bottom-dense breasts or one breast that's larger than the other (in that case, there's often puckering on the smaller side). As one of those women, let me tell you that it's not visible under clothing in any way and said pucker is largely correctable by repositioning of breasts in the cup and shortening the straps accordingly. This kind of proves my point, above. Without seams it's really hard to work around differences in breast sizing or asymmetry. 

OK, let's leave behind the molded bra rant. I've beat it to death, largely because it's so germane to my next step. 

We now know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I will not buy a bra with an inflexible molded cup. We also know that, in addition to the soft cup, I require under wires no seams - and all of this in a larger than a department store standard cup size and a smaller than department store standard back size. Gotta tell you, them pickins is slim.

Stay tuned for some options I've researched, which I'll present in my next post on this topic. And please feel free to weigh in with some options you might know and love.
But, today's question: What's your take on the molded cup? Love it? Hate it? What's your rationale?

31 comments:

  1. My current favorite bra is the Sophia, from Empreinte. It's underwire, it does have seams and a bit of lace, but I don't find it shows through enough to worry about (but then I don't wear thin t-shirts). But the shape! Oh my goodness, I looked younger, looked like I had lost weight, I was very pleased. Three years on, it's time to replace the beige one, as the wires have popped.

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    1. It's a lovely bra but it's got seams and lace - I will be wearing rather fitted tops so I don't think this is the replacement - though it is appealing!

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  2. Hate them for pretty much the reasons you mention. They really don't fit well. I had one bra with a molded cup I liked, bought the same bra in another colour and I did like that one, I think I just ended up with the miracle bra. I think it worked because it was a plunge that just pushed them to the middle rather than simply hoisting them into an artificial up that caused folding under my arm.

    As my husband said "that looks weird". When a man knows your bra doesn't fit, it REALLY doesn't fit.

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    1. Oh yeah. When the guy says it doesn't fit, it's a dead loss :-)

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  3. I have the Fantasie Smoothing Underwired Balconette in both nude and beige (thanks to you and your recommendation of figleaves a couple of years back!).
    I like it well enough but I find the back does not support enough and kind of digs in unattractively. I am much like you - small band size but larger cup size and I can't really understand how Fantasie thinks 2 hooks will be supportive enough for the larger cup sizes...

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    1. Interesting feedback about the back, esp. as the full cup version has much thicker band and straps. I do find the 2 hooks to be adequate though, certainly, 3 hooks would give more stability for everyone. Mind you, I'm in favour of the 2 hooks personally... Let's see if we can't find you a better alternative as we seek out one for me!

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  4. Foam-cup bras can DIAF. I hate that we're expected to wear those things lest there be any hint of nipple. God forbid someone find out I'm a mammal.

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    1. OK, you know you're old when you have to google an acronym - love it, btw :-) This comment is hilarious. I could care less about nipple show-through. I'm exceedingly mammalian that way.

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  5. I'm loving my Gossard Glossies (in a 32G!)... but they are, I suppose, the chemically moulded kind?

    I agree that they probably don't work well for many women. I seem to have topsy-turvy breasts though, very round/full on top. So even bras that have the right volume often give me four-boob with loose fabric at the bottom!

    I don't really have a point - I think I'm just agreeing that shopping for bras is hard to perfect!

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    1. I am SO glad you told me this. It's one of the ones on my to-try list but it's had totally polarized reviews. Can you tell me, is the cup (though molded) soft? Does it stand up on its own when not in use? And does the side support sling look really obvious? Or does it blend in? What colour do you have? Can't wait to hear more.

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    2. It's very soft/floppy without a body in it! The side slings vary in their obviousness depending on size... but in the larger cup sizes, they also tend to be hidden beneath/beside the breast tissue (i.e. I don't think they are too ugly).

      I've got the nude(?), white, and black. Love all of them! They're completely see-through, which I think is hot, but some people find too confronting :-)

      Happy to discuss in greater detail via email if you like! kathryncampbell.83 at gmail.com

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    3. Thanks so much! I may well email if I come up with some more nitty-gritty questions. I'm so pleased to have this info at my access.

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  6. Loathe them with a passion but am now glad (comforted?) to hear that the land of Oz isnt the only country awash in such monstrosities. My smaller sisters seem to love them - I think because they create an artificial (larger) size but I just don't get the whole concept. They don't look natural, I don't need the extra 'size' and I don't think they look particularly attractive either as is or the silhouette created under shirts/tops/blouses etc. All IMHO of course.
    How did they come about anyway?

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    1. Oh, Susan, they are EVERYWHERE. I really think it was an evil constellation of circumstances which brought them about. At first, they were designed (as far as I can tell, having lived through the era), to give more ballast to small breasts but then they took on big-time cache due to extensive marketing campaigns from large manufacturers and vendors. At that point, the larger-breasted population wanted them too - of course, no one wants to think there's a style she should simply stay away from. And it snowballed from there...

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  7. Those molded bras are everywhere in the UK and in huge cup sizes (why would someone of that size want to look so much bigger?).
    Of course if you have a sudden smaller breast day you are prone to a volcano cone depression in one breast - not a good look.
    Have you looked at the Chantelle seamless that has only a little lace on edge. Always expensive I'm afraid....

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    1. I SO don't get the Freya Deco. I think that bra is a monstrosity. Of course, practically everyone loves it to bits, so who am I to rain on their parade. I'll check out the Chantelle, though I generally find that brand a) slightly shallow given my own breast shape and b) slightly too mature for my liking. It's elegant, but I feel that my mother should be wearing it, not me.

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  8. I'm totally with you on the molded cups thing. They NEVER fit right. I live in Texas now but lived in England for years where I got used to the undies and bras from Marks and Spencer. I was very sad to discover when I moved to Texas that they did not deliver internationally. Luckily that changed about two years ago and I have been able to order from them again. They have a good selection of non-molded (they categorise them as non-padded) bras and their sizing is spot on. I've always been really happy with the quality too. And the great thing is that they usually have a full range of sizes for their bras (unlike here where the cute bras seem to stop at a C cup)

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    1. I should consider checking out M&S. They used to have stores in TO - Oh, how I miss that they have left. For the food alone I was addicted to that place. And I did wear the bras also. My style has changed since that time and I suspect so has M&S offerings. Let's see if they jibe... Thanks for suggestion.

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  9. This posting of Sigrid's (and the next two) are about a seamed foam cup pattern. Might be the next (now that you knit) frontier for you to conquer. Wouldn't that be amazing. I just know you'd sew gorgeous lingerie.

    http://sigridsewingprojects.blogspot.ca/2012/11/testing-bra-pattern.html

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    1. Thing is, that level of structure is very tricky to fit on my shape. I know the frontier is out there. Just not sure I've reached it yet :-)

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  10. I hate, hate, hate molded bras. I just don't get them. I don't think they look good on any size. I would also love to find a "soft" seamless style. I don't know of any, so I will be watching intently.

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  11. Bahahahahaha! I have no advice. I think every bra I own is a molded cup---preferably with as much padding as I can handle. (I do draw the line at bras which are more padding than breast.) but yeah, I'm all about the rounded shape. It's natural for me. ;)

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    1. And it's all about that! Whatever shape works on you is the one to go with.

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  12. My biggest issue with non-padded (molded) bras is nipple pokage. Mine are almost always at attention and I've been called into offices for 'inappropriate attire'. And I'm like "I'm a 38 double fucking F, what the fuck do you expect??"

    Which is also why I sew. *sighs*

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    1. OK, I totally take issue with that! It's your body. You're not wearing nipple tassels to work. But, I can appreciate how uncomfortable it would be to be called on that. So I vote for these: http://www.butterflycollection.ca/ultra-petals-nipple-covers/. They're discreet nipple covers that don't require you to increase the circumference of your already voluptuous bust line. If nothing else, they may give you more choices. But still, seriously, I'm not down with being talked to by management because of prominent nipples.

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    2. Also, prior to making my own clothes anything that fit was low-cut. This was fine when I worked in start-up tech companies but when I started working at more conservative places it became an issue. The only time i was called into an office was a small business that I ended up getting "laid off" from. (read: fired with a severance package) I was really glad because they were a bunch of fucking assholes anyway.

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    3. Oh, and thank you, I'll check out the nipple covers. :)

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  13. Aha, so it's not molded cup bras I hate, it's padded--those awful, ubiquitous foam things. The last thing I want is to add to my 38 Cs. Also, they seem designed to make us feel we need to hide our nipples and to conform to the modern fake-is better aesthetic. It's so annoying to have to slog through millions of these to find a nice underwire.

    I also don't care for the uber synthetic fabric even the non-padded bras are almost all made of. I want a nice cotton or cotton blend molded underwire (as long as it's one of those awesome non-pokey underwires)--they seem to match my natural shape. I don't like the pointy shape the seamed ones give and I don't like that the seams show through--nipples are much nicer looking.

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    1. Exactly! I do find that cotton or blend is not adequately supportive for many shapes and sizes. Synthetics do have the edge when it comes to support... (But cotton is much more breathable, I'll give you that.)

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  14. god bless this post! i HATE molded cup bras! they look awful on me, never fit right, and i'm convinced that they're designed to emulate the shape of breast implants.

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