Looking for a comfortable light-duty bra

[Beeches]

I seem to have settled on various unlined plunge underwires as my most comfortable and supportive bra type, but there are still occasions where I would like to be in something a little more stealthy in public - my favourite bras do inevitably give me more forward projection - a trade-off for having my side boob under better control.

I’ve been trying to find a light duty alternative to my sports bras which I can actually bear to wear for longer periods. They are great for support and control, but I hate my boobs getting squashed down so much for anything other than short periods. Fine for a hike or a run, but too much for day-to-day wear.

The best alternative for casual wear that I’ve found so far is the Sloggi Double Comfort Top. It is 95% cotton and 5% Elastane, has an eleasticated underbust band but no padding or underwire and comes in a wide range of sizes. It offers only minimal support, so would be of little interest to those of us with significant breast development. Absolutely no good for anything active, either, but I find it really great around the house and garden. There’s just enough control to reduce jiggling and it prevents nipple irritation pretty well too. Being mostly cotton it is nice and cool in the warmer weather, though it does nothing to hide nipple projection.

Does anyone else have other suggestions for similar alternatives of this type? Ideally, I would like a bit more support and an underwire to help control my side boob problem. Preferably with a V-neck that would not be obvious under an open necked shirt. A pull-over style with no hardware would be nice, too.

[Johndoe1]

You might want to look at either a bralette or even a soft cup bra. Bralette styles will not give as much support as a soft cup, but is more comfortable and if you can find a bralette with seams, that will help with support as well. In general a seamed cup bra can give as much support as an underwire, but it doesn't shape as much. I have a couple of soft cup bras I wear on the weekends or when shaping isn't as important as just plain support. Look for bras with side panels or inside the cup slings to help with the side support. This is important when when wearing soft cup or underwire unlined bras. Many of my unlined underwire bras also have a built in sling or side support panel.

[Beeches]

Some great advice as always, Johndoe1 - Thanks!

I had not considered bralettes or any non-underwires because I had assumed that they would be pretty hopeless at dealing with side boob, but maybe I need to take another look.

I do have one bra with slings built into the cups, and I had not fully appreciated their purpose until you explained it. I was aware that they did a good job of shaping and pushing the breasts forwards and up. If I wasn’t trying to minimise the appearance of my breasts I would be very pleased with the shape they give me!

I really like the bra. It is a Wacoal Cherish and has underwired moulded spacer cups, which I love because they are so breathable. The spacer material also smooths out and thus minimises my nipple projection. It is pretty good at containing a lot of my side boob tissue and results in a nice shape. A disadvantage is that it gives me quite a lot of forward projection, so no way to hide my boobs in this one.

The only downside is that my partner really hates it. She is great about me having breasts and my need to wear bras to support them, but the Wacoal is particularly girly in appearance (pale silver gray with lots of decoration and shiny details) She says it is very pretty, but that’s not what she wants to see on her male partner. I have to admit that I would like it more if it was a little less feminine to look at, but the underwires, spacer material and slings are perfect, and it feels great on. Pretty much backs up your recommendations, too.

[Johndoe1]

Any side support you get will push the tissue forward and give more projection. That side tissue has to go somewhere and it gets pushed towards the front. But that's not always bad. It's like with minimiziers, they flatten out the breasts some and that pushes tissue to the side giving the appearance of less projection. Still the same volume, it just gets shaped differently. Personally, I have come to like that round projection that a good side panel gives me. It's also more comfortable to me as well, but I know that isn't always true with everyone. Guess I am just more different than others.

[Beeches]

I have to say that I like the appearance too - far preferable than the side boob look which I just hate.

[aboywithgirls]

Sideboob IS unattractive. I don't like seeing it and I hater the feeling of it. I would much rather have my boobs in the cup where they belong. 

I have found that certain brands deal with this better than others. Fantastie, Elomi and Torrid are great options. Torrid is particularly good for alot of men because they usually have the smaller cup sizes in store so you can try on and be fitted and wear it home. They are very friendly towards men in their stores so don't be embarrassed. They are ready and able to get you looking and feeling better in a bra that fits.

[Beeches]

I had not thought about the effect that minimisers have. I was planning to try a minimiser thinking it would make my boobs less obvious, but if it is at the expense of more side boob I don’t think I will bother. I would rather have some well-shaped projection than ugly side boob!

ABWG - I really like some of the styles from Fanstasie, Elamie and Torrid, and I take your point about the manufacturers being male friendly. I would love to get fitted professionally, but I confess that I have not yet plucked up courage to do so yet. I live way out in the country, and would not feel comfortable getting fitted locally in a small town (I don’t imagine those manufacturers offer such facilities where I live anyway) Also, none of them seem to offer anything in my large band / small cup sizing. I guess I’ll have to keep looking and maybe travel to get a fitting, when fittings become feasible again.

[aboywithgirls]

I totally understand. However you can go on Torrid's website and check their store locations. It might be close enough for a nice ride and far enough for anonymity  too.

[aboywithgirls]

Here's a link to Torrid bras. You will find that almost everything they sell has a 38B option. Any of their 360 smooth collection will work great for you.  They provide great support, a nice rounded shape, very comfortable too! Also the strap adjustment is on the front with a smooth, flat spandex back making it all but invisible under most tops.

https://www.torrid.com/torrid-curve-intimates/bras/full-coverage/?utm_medium=GSE&utm_source=BR&utm_campaign=GEN&utm_content=__iv_p_1_a_1481022150_g_57568833536_c_283113631859_w_kwd-299720500958_n_g_d_m_v__l__r__x__y__f__o__z__i__j__s__e_111739574148_h_9002297_ii__vi__&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhIP6BRCMARIsALu9LfnzWULLY2x7uTay_qArwR5t5IZac7Bt9DKW3snAzYPrQa1jg1iY0-YaAjjNEALw_wcB

[Beeches]

They look great! Thank you so much for taking the trouble to check this out and pass on the links. I like more or less everything about them, especially the flat back and wide wings, which I think would work well with the side boob problem. They do look very comfortable and supportive, too. No 40A, I note, but I do know that 38B works, even if I need an extender to get the band size right.

Of course you are right about getting a fitting, but this is where I ran into a problem. For some reason it did not occur to me that Torrid might not have stores here in the UK, so no real chance of a store visit any time soon.

I will see if I can source one in the UK, though even that seems unlikely from what I’ve seen. I may have to resort to Amazon.com, who will usually ship to the UK and who also take care of the shipping charges, import duties, taxes and so on. Torrid will ship here themselves, but I would have to wait to find out exactly what charges I would be in for on arrival. I know this is not as good as getting fitted, but at least it would be based on your informed opinion of the product.