Responding to my invitation to Ask Me Anything, Jenn wrote, "My question is about wearing a bra. My wife and many close female friends are known to comment about how they can’t wait to take off their bra. Of course, as a crossdresser I can’t wait to put one on! Knowing that you dress much more often (and longer) than I do, what do you think about your bra?"
Whereas fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg once proclaimed, "Feel like a woman. Wear a dress!" I say, "Feel like a woman, Wear a bra!"
Is there any garment that defines womanhood more than a bra? Fashion forward fellows may dress like women from head to toe, but they don't wear bras. Only women and femulators wear bras.
On occasion, I have femulated without wearing a bra because I did not have the correct style bra to go with a particular dress or top I was wearing and since I am already well-endowed for a guy, going bra-less was not a deal breaker. However, I prefer to wear a bra when I femulate.
Early on, I wore some ill-fitting bras. The band was too small and/or the shoulder straps too short and like Jenn's lady friends, I could not wait to take off my bra.
After too many misfits, I decided that the only way to get a bra that fits is to get a professional bra-fitting at an intimate apparel shop or in the lingerie department of a department store.
Your mileage may vary, but I have been fitted for bras in both girl mode and boy mode in both venues and have never been turned away. In fact, the women performing the fittings were very helpful and seemed pleased to have a male join their bra-wearing sorority.
If you are unsure about which bra-selling venue to seek out for a fitting, you can always call ahead and ask. Also, during the holiday season, guys shopping for intimate apparel gifts is common, so walking into a lingerie shop in boy mode is not that unusual this time of year.
My niece worked at Victoria's Secret for awhile and the saleswomen were used to fitting both men and women, so don't be shy – go for it, girl!
And if your bra is the correct fit, you won't even know you are wearing one!
By the way, when you were growing up, did your Mom call it a "bra" or a "brassiere?"
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| Wearing 3.1 Phillip Lim sweater, RTA skirt and Marni bag (Source: Intermix) |
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| Nadia Russo |
Every day, with my "A" breast forms under my work shirt, I wear my bra to the office. As a generously ample person, I just look like a big guy with man boobs. I'm not huge, I weigh about 230 at 5' 8" tall.
ReplyDeleteMy latest bra preference is from Big Lots. Marilyn Monroe brand all elastic, traditional shaped padded bra in size 2x.
Heather.
Ah… but when you wear a bra seven days a week, 18 hours a day and when you take off your bra and let the girls loose that is when “Feel like a woman.”
ReplyDeleteJust saying.
I love to go braless when I can. The sensation of my HRT induced breasts is terrific! Some of my tops I can't get away with it though. I have found it interesting when I do, I catch more women than men sneaking a peek! Probably not in an admiring way though.
ReplyDeleteCyrsti, Your comments on your HRT induced breast sensitivity deserves further elaboration, for informational purposes. This is one subject that is never talked about,or even acknowledged, even in the support group that I attend. Thanks V.
DeleteI know a cross dresser who glues the breast forms on so as not to have to wear a bra. That seems too risky, and not so risque, to me. I'm a fairly active woman, so I wear a bra mainly for utilitarian purposes.
ReplyDeleteStarted making my own bras because I miss the all-cotton ones from my youth in the 1960s-70s. Oh, Dixie Belle, why did you stop making anything but nylon half-slips and panties?
ReplyDeleteGetting the fit right is tricksy. Since the band and the cups should do all the supporting -- but since you need straps to help the cups stay on your breasts -- and since you may be wide set or close set, round or oval or "rock in the sock" -- it can take a lot of time to either find a rtw style that suits your particular body or to fine-tune fit on a me-made bra.
Interesting puzzle, and when you finally get it right, there is nothing more comfortable than a properly supportive bra. Which is what my mother called/calls it: a bra.
The boys used to insensitively call it a "shoulder to shoulder boulder holder."
ReplyDeleteI don't remember what my mother called her bras, except one time, after she'd found one of them in my bedroom, she said to me that it was "not yours." :-)
I sometimes wear a bra in male mode
ReplyDeleteI use a front fastening one because they are flatter with fewer lumps and bumps than normal bra
Lucy
I still remember buying my first bra for me. I bought the wrong size, style, and cup size. Eventually figured that out. I have found that a good quality bra generally is comfortable longer. I have found that Victoria's Secret works best for me. Just my experience. I do not remember what my Mother called her bras, but she did seem to have a predominant number of black ones. I do agree that for me when I put that bra on, that mental switch seems to flip from male to female. Could be why I have such a large selection.
ReplyDeleteRandy
I *highly* recommend the bra fitting guide on r/abrathatfits on Reddit. Also Nordstrom :) The Nattori bra I’m wearing right now is so comfortable I could sleep in it. It was $50 on sale, but *totally* worth it.
ReplyDelete