Bra advice needed

[Beeches]

Hi Gentlemen,

I am hoping that some of you more experienced bra wearers might be able to offer me the benefit of your wisdom.

I’m in my mid 60’s, and a relative newcomer to male breast ownership. I never wanted to have breasts, but over the past few years they have gradually appeared as a result of hormonal problems. I am not considering surgery, and am trying to learn to live with them. I live in a rural area so my options for getting a professional fitting are minimal.

My best-fitting bra to date was sourced from Wish.com. It is described by Wish as the ‘Ekouaer Women Bra Push Up Memory Foam Underwire Bra’ and is marked as US 38B / UK 38C It is definitely the most comfortable of the bras I have tried so far, and the underwires help a lot in reducing the amount that my arms rub on the sideboob tissue by pushing it forward into the cups. The thin memory foam padding on the cups helps to disguise my nipples, which have grown pretty large and project a lot through my shirts.

I don’t have the years of experience with choosing bras that some of you have, and being UK-based, many of the excellent recommendations I have seen on the forum are not easily obtained over here. I’m hoping that you might be able to suggest some bra styles and brands that might be suitable for me, and which can be purchased in the UK.

I have been advised that with wideset, shallow breasts and a side-boob problem, I need a wide gore, underwires and preferably some sort of side support. I will try to upload a couple of photos to show me with and without the Ekhouaer bra mentioned above.

I would really appreciate any suggestions for a bra that would best suit my body shape. Thanks in advance for any ideas you may have.


Beeches

[Beeches]

No bra-wearing UK guys with gynecomastia out there? Surely there are a few around...

I did notice that the UK part of the International forum seems predominantly focussed on surgery, so perhaps fewer UK men accept the condition. I have been trying without much success to find a 38B with shallow cups and side support, preferably lace and unpadded. Any suggestions on UK-available brands or bra types would be very gratefully received.

[Johndoe1]

Have you looked into Anita bras? Rosa Faia is also their brand. They are German. I have several of their Twin style unlined which works well for wideset shallow and several of their Extreme Control soft cup sports bra.

https://www.anita.com/shop/en/underwired-bra-serie-twin-080f65.html

https://www.anita.com/shop/en/sports-bra-extreme-control-d4f276.html

[Beeches]

I had not been aware of the Rosa Faia brand, but they certainly have some very nice bras. I definitely like the look of the Twin - not too 'girly'. It has the deeper wings that I was looking for, and the wide straps look very comfortable.

The Anita bras look promising, too. I'll check them both out. Thanks for the suggestions, especially good to know that they suit wideset shallow - not information on offer from the manufacturer.

[Johndoe1]

In the Twin larger cup sizes they have a built in inner cup support band for better shaping that's not needed in the smaller cup sizes and since it isn't a mounded cup, you have a more individual natural look that doesn't translate into "girl boobs" when wearing it. And because it is unlined, in hot climates, you don't broil in your bra but if you have an issue with nipples show, petals and covers work very nicely. All from experience. The Twin comes in soft cup and underwire. There are two styles of the Twin. The regular Twin, and its flashier Twin Art (same bra more exotic pattern fabric) and the Twin Firm for Plus size breasts. I own and wear three of the regular Twin underwire bras. I. LOVE. THEM.

[Beeches]

The regular Rosa Faia Twin underwire looks perfect for me, unlined and with deep wings to help keep the sideboob in check. I have only been wearing a bra full time for a short while, but already it feels a lot better, and in some ways more natural. I wish I had tried it sooner, rather than just putting on a bra when I was expecting a lot of activity. I now see that it is not just the high-impact stuff that a bra helps with. In particular, I had not really been aware of just how irritating the constant arm-rubbing-on-sideboob problem was until it suddenly wasn't happening any more - a bit laike an annoying background noise that suddenly stops. Regular wearing resolves the sideboob abrasion problem, and also the constant low-level nipple irritation when going braless. Anyway, I really appreciate your recommendation, which will save me no end of trial and error ordering and returns, I would think. I have already ordered a Twin underwire, and I can't wait to give it a try.

I do have real problems with my nipples showing. Without a bra, they are much more conspicuous than my breasts, I suspect. Moulded cups do help disguise this, but I could do without the feminine boob shaping, extra projection and overheating that comes with foam, however thin it might be. I tried an experiment using some silicone covers with a (cheap and badly fitting) unpadded bra, and it was much cooler with zero high beam effect - The bra still fitted badly, but the nipples disappeared. I'm optimistic that the Twin plus the silicone covers will be the ideal combination.

It seems surprisingly difficult to find 38 band bras in small cup sizes - many ranges seem to start at C cups. Luckily Rosa Faia do have a 38B. Not that I'm complaining - I'm happy to be no bigger that I am, and hope I don't grow any bigger. I suppose the bra choices will get better if I do, though. I'm lucky to still be at the stage where concealment is an option. It must get progressively harder to conceal breasts when you get to D cups and beyond.

I'm fine for sports bras right now, but will certainly take closer a look at the Anita Extreme Control at some point. It looks very well designed, and although pull-over sports bras are simple and less likely to show at the back, I do prefer to have some band adjustment options.

[blad]

Once you have boobs you may as well wear a bra full time rather than trying to pick only active moments. The benefits do extend beyond just during activities. Unsupported breasts just seem annoying all the time.

There are so many guys out there who just do not know what they are missing by not considering a bra. I think at least 10% of men out there could benefit with a bra. That would really change the acceptance equation.

[Beeches]

That certainly describes me, Blad. I had previously assumed that putting on a sports bra to go hiking or cycling would take care of the breast jiggle and nipple abrasion problems. It did, but I was missing the more subtle day-to-day discomforts. It is only since I started putting on a bra each morning that I have become aware of this, simply because I suddenly felt a lot more comfortable.

I’m still a bit self-conscious when I go out, but nobody seems to be staring or pointing at me, so I am gradually getting more relaxed about it. When I have figured out a better daily wear bra (I’m getting there, thanks to Johndoe1’s helpful advice) I think I will have cracked my acceptance barrier.

[Johndoe1]

Once you have boobs you may as well wear a bra full time rather than trying to pick only active moments. The benefits do extend beyond just during activities. Unsupported breasts just seem annoying all the time.

There are so many guys out there who just do not know what they are missing by not considering a bra. I think at least 10% of men out there could benefit with a bra. That would really change the acceptance equation.

This is a true statement. I was so physically uncomfortable and that is exactly what I did when I first started wearing a bra. After I decided that I would start wearing a bra, a somewhat long story in itself, I started out when I exercised. That soon led to the conclusion I wanted to be comfortable all the time, not just when I exercised and began to wear all the time and then wished I had just done it and not be so scared. At that point, a bra was not a piece of female clothing, but a support garment for breast tissue and whether I wanted to believe or not, I had breast tissue and a bra will make my life more comfortable and why NOT wear one. No one cared or saw it but me.

[curiousk]

I have to admit that I’m way more comfortable wearing a bra regardless what I’m doing.   Having the support making me feel better.   I wear a 44B/42C depending on the style so there’s no hiding them.   Honestly, I don’t think many people pay enough attention to see if I’m wearing or cares enough to ask.   If someone ever asked, I’d yes I am and go on about my business.   I should have started wearing a bra since I was teenager.   I would have been tough, but worth it.