Deber wrote:
I hate bras and went without (a bra) because of sensory issues. Refused to wear one until I absolutely had to - age 17. I didn't realize that I looked poorly without a bra until someone took a picture of me and gave me a lecture while waving the picture in my face. Lifelong problem of being unable to see myself as others do. After that lecture I tried to wear a bra but it was hard because of sensory issues. My mother forced me to have a bra fitting and the lady put me in a bra that was so tight that I couldn't breathe. It was the correct size but I couldn't stand it. I often wore large and loose clothing and put a bandaid or tape over my nipples. I thought that if my nipples didn't show that no one would figure out that I wasn't wearing a bra but I got called into the office at my first job and told that I needed to start wearing a bra. I went back to a professional fitter and spent an hour trying on bras. Found a better fitting bra but never perfect. Then yoga, exercise and front closure bras became available. They are so much more comfortable. It is hard for me to tolerate going to a clothing store. Spent a lot of money buying bras out of catalogs and learned that I absolutely needed to try it on before I bought. Problem I found was that styles change and after spending a lot of time finding a bra that I liked, it would be gone in a few months. Learned to buy 5 - 7 bras at the same time. Went braless after work hours which caused the wrong sort of attention.
PunkyKat, you said that you wished you would get breast cancer so that you would have a mastectomy and not have to wear a bra. That happened to me. After 5 surgeries I no longer have breasts and never again have to wear a bra. Now people stare at me when I wear something that is even slightly form fitting because I have zero breasts. In fact, one side of my chest is concave because they had to take so much tissue out. Yes, I was offered implants at the time of surgery but declined. A couple of my friends got implants and they leaked after a few years and caused horrible problems. They have to be replaced every few years and it is very difficult to see around the implants with a mammogram. I have friends who had breast reconstruction from other tissue in their body and the results were not good, very mishappen. I have a couple of mastectomy bras and a set of prosthetic boobs but I haven't used them for years. Funny thing is that as much complaining as I did about having to wear a bra, I miss having breasts.
If you miss having breasts and hate prosthetic ones, I did see a knitting pattern that a breast cancer survivor designed for a more comfortable substitute than a prosthesis. It is so good at mimicking what an actual breast looked like that one of her friends thought the knitted one was the natural one.
Here's the pattern.
http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall05/PATTbits.html
18 Feb 2011, 2:41 pm
