that's very bigboobocentric of u, QE

I am wearing a super aerodynamic structured but wireless Princesse Tam Tam number right now and it feels like my boobs are buoyed by kittens on clouds

on the other hand I think my boyfriend would marry me if I had 36F boobs

no one gets to have it all, eh

yes but I am an overweight middle aged woman who has breastfed two children whose boobs virtually reach my ankles when freed from their wire cage.

is it really so hard for someone to invent a comfortable non-spenny supportive bra?

and while I'm ranting, when you can get F cup bras they are often padded FFS!

Looking at Princesse Tam Tam but too spenny for me :(

I am confused to learn that princesse tam tam is related to Etam!! Which somewhat undermines the magic/price point imo.

I think that all female necessities are hideously overpriced and bras are one of the more egregious examples. 

Have you ever tried Rigby & peller? 

If you are near a department store -

Calvin Klein, surprisingly, given his aesthetic, does one really great design of battleship-standard, sorted-for-the-day, Catherine Deneuve-as-CEO-of-EDF  bra. Can't remember whether it is underwired, but it doesn't matter because the support is the whole solid structure, not just the wire.

Bonne courage -

I think you've lost the non-spenny battle.  Get to Rigby & Peller and they will sort you out with something that fits your shape.

(Oh - just seen Clergs says the same - smart woman.)

(Also if the wires keep coming out - how are you washing them?)

Heh at Etam! I had no idea that still existed...

Rigby & Peller can fook right off at those prices.And yes, why is such a necessity so expensive?! When I rule the world etc etc

Calvin Klein does not appear to cater for the larger bust :(

rigby and peller has good sales tho! worth keeping an eye out. And think of it as an investmetn in your back.

Is this Jayerzbait?

There is no way I am spending £90 on a bra! I am way too poor. And I would need several...

I have machine washed bras for years (yes yes I know you're not supposed to) and never had any problems, but the latest ones can't seem to cope with it.

As for fitting - my bust does not confirm to type. I only found out I was an F cup after going to Bravissimo having been wrongly measured at M&S for years. But their bras are so bloody uncomfy

"My bras are crap quality and don't fit me but I don't want to spend the money on something that will."

Best stick with your current plan then, it seems to be working fine.. ;-)

PS - I machine wash my Rigby and Peller bras on the delicates cycle and they last years.

It's times like this, when I am safe in the comfort that primarni bras will do the job nicely, that I don't mind having fairly average bosoms.

Although lately I'm more into uniqlo wireless, Hollister lace bralette thingyos and victoria secret underwired.

uniqlo high five! I didn't expect them to fit but they do

£90 for a bra seems fckng toppy (pun intended) to me.  do they charge more for giant wab supporters given the extra material?

u can get a pack of serviceable boxers from m&s for well under a tenner.  

this seems worse than the tampon tax

Yep Wang the giant ones are more expensive and there is so little choice it's hard to shop around, and those that do specialise in big ones can charge a premium. It's fooking unfuriating.

I wouldn't even spend £90 on an entire outfit. I am not tight but I genuinely cannot justify that kind of expenditure on myself. 

My life is so simple now that my biggest joy is taking my bra off when I get in from work.

Bravissimo is the answer and they have shops as well as mail order, they can deliver overnight.

re the wires - you have to handwash wired bras. You can do this using the handwash cycle on the w/m and out them in one of the net bags first ( robery dyas).

i have been doing this for decades.

also re wire in armpit (intact) implies back size too big - get fitted at bravissimo.

Soz just seen you have tried bravissimo - whats the problem with them? They have millions of sizes. If you try to buy in the sale only some have sold out sure but they should always have 36f it isnt that unusual.

For what it is worth, lady strutter is a generously chested sort and I believe often favours the ‘freya’ brand, which I believe may be obtained (like all good things) at John Lewis 

Freya from SG1 had cracking norkage tbf.

bollox to using a net bag, a pillow case works fine imo

I hear you Queenie. I think that you may have to handwash if you want to preserve the underwiring as long as possible. Just pure physics. All that turning round and round in a machine bends it.

So my replacement M&S bra (the only black one in the entire frigging shop in my size) cost £18 plus a £3 net laundry bag since after 30-odd years of machine washing bras they now can't cope

I also had to buy new tights as it had gone through on the toe (60d ones, first wear too)

I hate to sound like my mother but M&S quality is not what it was.

minkie, I just found the material of the Bravissimo own brand stuff really itchy although tbf I haven't tried any of the other brand stuff they stock (like Freya)

pre-kids I was a D/E cup and life was so much simpler 

on 

bollox to using a net bag, a pillow case works fine imo

Took me a while to realise you were talking about a bag for washing bras in rather than the bra itself.

Gosh I didnt even know bravissimo did their own brand!

mine are usually freya/panache

washing in a pillow case is fine its just that my handwash prog on the w/m doesnt spin much so a cotton pillow case then takes ages to dry whereas the nylon net dries immediately.

Oh, if you meant the clothes, pepperberry or whaever they call it now, yes, dreadful crap, dont go near it.

gym wear is good, again its some brand, not their own.

Very informative thread

BRAvo