Sports bras – how to choose what’s right for you

Posted on January 3, 2013 by support

 

Your breasts are very precious, but you knew that! Your breasts are made up of fatty tissue, and supported mainly by skin & fragile ligaments called Coopers’ Ligaments. These ligaments are not elastic, so during repetitive or high impact sports your breasts bounce and pull the ligaments causing them to stretch. THIS is what causes your breasts to sag, nothing else!

Anita momentum sports bra

Running without any bra at all causes the average woman’s breasts to move up and down by 8.5cm. Wearing an ordinary bra reduces this by 32 per cent. A sports bra reduces this by at least another 20 per cent.

You also know that an ill-fitting, or poor supporting bra may give you breast pain, shoulder/neck ache, or even back ache. All these health problems, just because you’re not wearing the right bra!

OK, so now you KNOW it’s important to stop your breasts moving around whilst exercising. But how? What’s the best type of sports bra?

Anita Momentum Sports Bra

A COMPRESSION sports bra, is generally a cropped top which holds the breasts against the chest wall to stop them moving around. This type of sports bra is only suitable for breasts up to a B cup.

“A B cup? But I’m so small I don’t need a special bra surely?” Yes, you do! Scientists have proven that even women with very small breasts need that extra support that a sports bra gives. A small breasted lady who is running will need a firmer support sports bra, than a medium breasted lady who is doing pilates or yoga.

Most sports bras use the same structure as your usual everyday bra, but with firmer fabric, more structure, and generally, more fabric and better overall coverage for your whole breast. These sports bras are band and cup sized as usual, so you can get a sports bra to fit you correctly, in the same way you can get a fashion bra, or soft cup bra.

All brands of sports bras have won awards at different times. So, you need to choose a sports bra according to the sport you do and your bra size. Where do the straps sit on your shoulder? Do the cups support your whole breast tissue?

This is a rough guide:

Pilates/Yoga Cycling Step/Netball Running/Horseriding
A-B Cup Light Medium Medium Medium
C-D Light Medium Medium Firm
DD-E Medium Medium Firm Extra Firm
F+ Firm Extra Firm Extra Firm Extra Firm
Royce impact free sports bra

Royce Impact free sports bra

 

As with all bras, the style or brand you select must be comfortable to wear, with no wires or seams pressing on your breast tissue. You also need to remember that during your monthly cycle your breasts will get heavier, and fuller, so make sure your sports bra is suitable for the whole month!

Sports bras are available in all bra sizes – A – K, 28 – 48.

If you need help or advice, speak to your Bra Lady. Try different bras, and also try to mimic your exercise. If you run, then jog on the spot, or around the room. If you do pilates or yoga, do one of your exercises. Check that your breasts aren’t moving around much & that you’re comfortable.

And enjoy your exercise – pain free!

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Teen Bra Range introduced

Posted on March 20, 2012 by support

We always try and respond to customer requests, but it often takes time to find the right solution to customer’s bra issues!

Sweetling Kitty Honey Flower patch bra

Kitty Honey style, Flower patch design

So we’re delighted to have found the lovely Sweetling teen bra range for our younger customers. Created by 2 Mums of 7 girls, and featured on BBC2 television programme Next Big Thing in 2011, the Sweetling teen bra range is developing all the time.

As girls breasts start to change and grow from the age of 9-11, they need some support, and often coverage to hide embarrassment of their changing body shape. The Sweetling team have designed different shape bras for these different shape bodies our daughter’s, nieces’s and grand-daughter’s have. Each bra shape, named after their own daughters, comes in plain white and some lovely patterned fabrics. Each bra has a matching bikini brief.

Our Bra Lady team will be offering teen bra fittings over the next few months in their

Sweetling Milicent Matilda teen bra

Millicent Matilda style, French twist pattern

areas, with the Sweetling and Royce teen bra ranges. We expect to be able to find a solution to all breast shapes and sizes for our customers, so please do ask if you have specific requirements.

The Royce teen bra range offer a moulded cup bra in larger sizes, as well as packs of lighter support first bras.

None of our range of teen bras use wires as these can damage young and developing breast tissue.

We look forward to Supporting your daughters as we’ve supported you!

 

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Your unwanted bras can help others

Posted on February 20, 2012 by support

We’ve taken in unwanted bras for a while now, but thought it was worth telling new customers that we offer this service.

Unwanted bras can be recycled, with the bras being distributed to charities in the UK and overseas who support women through a variety of circumstances.

Some of the used or damaged bras are sent to textile recycling, with £1 for every kilo going directly to Breast Cancer Campaign.

You can send your bras directly to the Breasttalk.co.uk Bra Appeal. Or if you prefer, you can send/deliver them to us and we’ll send them on for you. For every bag of bras we receive you’ll receive a £5.00 voucher to use on bras4all or bras4mums websites. Please make sure you include your name & contact details so we can send you your voucher!

All types of bra can be recycled:

  • All Sizes, even US or European.
  • All styles of bras but not too sexy.
  • All clasps and straps must be in working order unless sending worn/torn bras.
  • All types of bra, maternity, nursing, sports etc…

We ask that you please wash all bras before you post them.and that you attach a small piece of paper to each bra stating the size. Use a paper clip to fix it to one of the straps. If you are sending new bras please let them know that they are new. All worn or torn bras can be sent in, but need to be marked on the label in pen for sorting purposes.

Your donated bras should be sent to:
BreastTalk.co.uk — Bra Appeal
P.O. Box 71
Craven Arms
SY7 0WZ
ENGLAND

or our offices at Unit 14, Coppull Enterprise Centre, Mill Lane, Coppull, Chorley. Lancashire. PR7 5BW

Don’t let your unwanted bras stay in your draw – they can help others! Our thank you £5 voucher, will help you refill your draw with the right size & style for you now!

Thank you.

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Helping to raise funds for Breast Cancer Research

Posted on October 3, 2011 by support

During the month of October – Breast Cancer Awareness Month – bras4all, and the Bra Lady network, will be helping to raise all important funds for Against Breast Cancer Charity.

Royce Chloe Mastectomy bra

Royce Chloe pocketed bra

bras4all will be working in conjunction with non-wired bra specialist Royce Lingerie. Royce has pledged to donate £1 to Against Breast Cancer for every one of its Chloe mastectomy bras sold during the month of October.

Royce Lingerie Design Director, Jane Fleming says “As a supplier of mastectomy bras, we work closely with women who have had breast cancer and subsequent surgery and treatment. We are delighted to be working with our customers, raising funds for Against Breast Cancer, a worthy cause which works to fund ground breaking research to improve detection and increase survival after breast cancer diagnosis.”

bras4all and the Bra Lady network are launching their new information leaflets during October to help ALL women understand the importance of breast health, by being Bra Aware as well as Breast Aware.

For help or advice on the size of Chloe mastectomy bra you need, or for any support please contact your local Bra Lady, or the main office, info@bras4all.co.uk.

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NEW! Mastectomy clothing range

Posted on July 20, 2011 by support

We’ve listened to you and are delighted to be able to offer a few items of pocketed mastectomy clothing. The Nicola Jane pocketed vest top and swimsuit are now in stock and available to order.

Even though these items have pockets in, if you don’t use a breast prothesis you can also wear these items of clothing, without the need for a bra, knowing the clothes will give you extra support.

The pocketed vest top, and pocketed lace vest top have a bra top built in to the structure of the vest. Your prothesis simply slides in to the pocket, as it would your mastectomy pocketed bra. Each mastectomy vest top uses a bra fastener at the back, so it will be as supportive as a bra would be. If you require a larger cup size, simply increase the band size which also increases the cup size on bras & these items of clothing.

Anything else you’d like us to source or stock? Do let us know. We’re here Supporting You…

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NEW! Royce Heather Mastectomy bra

Posted on June 9, 2011 by support

The popular Heather range by Royce now includes a bilateral pocketed bra suitable for using with protheses and breast enhancers.

Royce Heather Mastectomy bra

The stretch lace on the top of the cup sits well against the chest wall, whilst retaining good shape and support.

The lilac bra straps make them pretty enough to show off under vest tops when the weather allows!

Matching comfy short makes this a lovely summery set for our mastectomy and lumpectomy customers.

 

Sizes available in Royce Heather Mastectomy Bra: 32A – 42DD

We’d love your feedback on the new style, and if you’d like to see more like this in our range. Coloured bras are new to Royce, and we’re hoping they will continue to do more fashion styles. Do you agree?

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Anita Sports Bra wins design award

Posted on May 11, 2011 by support

Lingerie and Swimwear specialist Anita Dr. Helbig has been given the red dot

Anita Active firm support sports bra

design award for outstanding design quality for its high level ‘momentum’ sports bra.

A high profile jury awarded the brand’s ‘momentum’ high level sports bra the award in recognition of the high design quality of the model, which provides effective support for sportswomen during high-intensity sporting activities.

The high level sports bra momentum effectively supports athletes during high-intensity sports activities. The breathable high-tech fabric ensures a pleasant skin milieu, enhancing sporting performance. This sports bra provides active sweat management as well as maximum support and the highest comfort!

Red dot design awards initiator Professor Dr. Peter Zec said: “As always, our jury examined the submitted products extremely critically. The quality of design clearly won through during the judging process and new, truly creative solutions were also rewarded. Both criteria are not only the benchmark for good design but also for potential market success.”

The Anita Momentum sports bra is available in white and black 32B – 38H, 42G, 44F and 46E


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What is a mastectomy bra?

Posted on April 27, 2011 by support

Anita 5756 Alicia mastectomy bra

A mastectomy bra is a bra suitable for use after a woman has had a mastectomy (a breast removal), or lumpectomy (a part breast removal).

Depending on the type of surgery, and whether there has been a reconstruction of the breast as well, will determine the type of bra advised by the breast care nurse.

Generally, a mastectomy bra is a bra which already has pockets sewn into it, for a prothesis (a breast shape, either silicone or fabric), to sit comfortably. Some bras are manufactured with the pockets already sewn in, others have pockets added later.

Most bras can have pockets sewn into them, so just restricting a search to mastectomy bras, may limit the styles available in a particular size. For example, if you have one breast removed by mastectomy and you’re a 34G, you’re more likely to get a good fitting bra by having a pocket sewn into a bra of your choice. Very few manufacturers make mastectomy bras for cup sizes above an E or F cup.

Mastectomy bras, ones with a pocket already sewn into each cup of the bra, are made so that the remaining natural breast fits into the cup as normal. The other side, where the breast is no longer there, will be filled with the prothesis, so that the bra and body shape looks natural under clothing. When a bra is pocketed for a lady, only the side that is required is pocketed.

Women are generally advised, after any breast surgery, to wear a soft cup bra – a bra with no wires. Depending on the type of surgery, and/or follow up treatment, reconstruction or where scar tissue is, will determine the type of mastectomy bra that is advised.

There are many mastectomy bras available, plus soft cup bras. Some may be more suitable

Royce Silver mastectomy bra

for immediate post surgery wear, (where you usually get given a ‘softie’, a small very soft prothesis made from fabric and stuffed with cotton wool type fibre), being softer and higher. Others look like ‘normal’ bras.

If you need bra fitting advice for a mastectomy bra, before or after surgery, or even after your treatment has finished, seek specialist advice from a bra fitter experienced in mastectomy bra fittings. Your body will be changing all the time, so you’re likely to need different bra shapes and sizes through any treatment you have post surgery.

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bras4all News

Posted on April 13, 2011 by support

Our bras4all shopping site is still fairly new in it’s current state, even though we’ve been trading for 5 years now. We’re still tweaking things, so please let us know if we can make improvements.

This news page will keep you up to date with new developments in mastectomy bras, soft cup bras, teen bras and sports bras – our specialities.

We deliver our bra fitting service to you via our bra lady network. Our home fitting service and our email support service are designed to ensure you get the right style and size bra for your circumstance and outfit.

We welcome your feedback on our products, services and information, and aim to improve these to support you better (in more ways than one!).

Our news pages will encourage your input into discussions about bras and bra fitting. We welcome your comments about new products, or bras that you’d like us to search for on your behalf.

Welcome to bras4all. We look forward to Supporting You…

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