Power mesh?

Kirsten,

Isn't that the stuff inside so-called 'tummy flattening' slacks the big department stores advertise? I've never figured out how it's supposed to work, though, since it's only sewn into the front of the slacks. Seems to me it would just pull the side seams forward on the wearer.

Doreen in Alabama

That's exactly what it did for me, but it works really well on the sides of bras -- gives you breathing room but still holds on snugly.

Ah, so the power mesh would be good stuff for the ng's bra makers.

Doreen in Alabama

Lining the tummy panel of a swimsuit to hold the bulge in! ;)

Kirsten, it's time for you to start making your own bras or swimsuits!! LOL Neither are hard, but they are fiddly....well worth the time though.

Br> Hi everyone,

Well, after spending several hours at 2 different stores to find a bra that fit, it might be worth the time! As for swimsuits, I have made some but have found I need to try them on before I decide if I like the style. They always look good on the model! So I just buy them on sale.

Kirsten

The illustrated bras don't offer much support. I fail to see how a male would know about a comfortable and supportive bra. I'll stick to my cloned pattern because I know it works and is comfortable.

Bronwyn ;-)

Mel> Hey, if you want to make your own bra, Don McCunn just opened up his

The pattern he drafted is for an underwire bra, I believe. That's what most ladies wear. But on the mailing list we discuss other types of bras, also, and you can also create an old-fashioned type of bra using his method.

The guy has lots of experience in fashion and design and teaches pattern drafting classes, and he also designs fashions for fashion dolls (not Barbies -- I think they are quarter-scale, realistically-proportioned dolls). He also collects opinions from the people on his mailing list and other people he comes across, and he is also married, so I bet his wife has some input also.

Give the guy a break. In his research to create this, he has tried to cover as many different figure types as he can to make sure that his method works for as many people as possible.

And if you have a bra that fits well, supports adequately, and is comfortable, you are ahead of the game. Many ladies don't.

I just voiced my opinion the same as you had voiced yours and I still stand by what I said!! ;-))

Most ladies I know hate underwire bras and don't wear them...me included, and I could never buy a comfortable bra until I started making my own as I could adjust it where necessary. Now I have support 'and' comfort and 'no' underwires. Bra making is not rocket science but I still think you need to 'know' the true meaning of 'support'.

Br> HC wrote:

Count me among the "love underwire bras" group! ;-)

Beverly

Me too. A properly fitted underwire bra is *more* comfortable than an unwired bra. (I'm fortunate in that I have found a style of readily available bras that fits me properly.)

jenn

-- Jenn Ridley : snipped-for-privacy@chartermi.net

That's what I discovered about twenty years ago, too. I love the commercial bras I found which fit me well, I just have to be sure that if the ends begin to poke me, I stitch a little pad of flannel over the end(s).

Beverly

Properly fitted -- aye, there's the rub. (pun intended) Not everybody can find one that fits them right, and they are like the little girl with the little curl right in the middle of her forehead -- if you can't find a perfectly fitting bra, which many ladies can't, your closest match in an non-underwire style is going to be better than the closest match in an underwire style.

Melinda, who hopes to never touch underwires

Me too! I'm not supported properly without.

Different people are different shapes, and some shapes are better in wires and some are better without. It has a lot more to do with the shape of the breast and how it sits on the ribcage than the size. If you are a UU shape, or a OO, you are more likely to be comfortable in an underwired bra than if you are a horizontal oval shape. But the shape of the ribcage also has a bearing, as does height.

I have a narrow, almost circular ribcage, and more of a UU shape these days than a OO, so an underwired bra with the cups close together suits fine, in the right style: as I'm only 5'3", I need a shallower wire than many DD's come in, or the wires poke out the front when I sit down, or dig me in the armpit.

I get fitted professionally about once a year, and buy decent quality bras in the right size and shape. It's not cheap, but it looks and feels so much better than having ill-fitting bras causing discomfort and making me look dreadful!

Something like 75% of women wear the wrong size bra. Most of them never get properly fitted. It makes a HUGE difference!

Kate, where do you get fitted? My daughter (nearly 19) has steadily moved through from C to D to DD and at the last bra buying session, UK

34E. She prefers underwires, as long as they do not come up too far at the front. At 34AA I am at the opposite end of the spectrum so can only offer limited advice (or even support)!

Lizzy

[Note to other Mums - if bra choice is limited get the bra *before* the prom/evening dress! We had endless fun trying to find a bra to go invisibly under a low backed, spaghetti strapped dress. I ended up cutting off/out the original straps and adding fixings to take clear removable straps]

I have worn underwired bras for almost 50 years and have never had any complaints about them. Luckily, I can find my size & style in most dept. stores, like Dillard's. A while back, I used a pattern from an aunt, to make myself one, using the few alterations she had marked on it, since we were about the same size. It fit OK, but I prefer the ones I've worn so long. To make something I can purchase that fits perfectly, seems a waste of time & energy. Just MHO. Emily

I passed up your size my junior year in high school, and I have one (that admittedly costs almost $100) that supports wonderfully with NO underwires, just an extra undercup support that is almost like plastic canvas fused to fabric and the rough edges covered. I can run in it (well, I could before I wrecked up my knee -- now I am leery to run because the knee sometimes buckles on me) and have absolutely NO bounce.