What I’ve Learned from a Proper Bra
1. It’s important (to have a proper bra), and American (and most other countries’) bra companies have generally terrible ranges of bra sizes.
2. It’s a really difficult topic to bring up. It originally was, but now that I’ve learned to spot bad bra-wearing, it’s become a topic that I know how to discuss. I can’t go up to someone, whether a stranger or a good friend, and say “your bra is all wrong”. !! What do I do?
3. Despite the potential for ultra-awkwardness, it’s still an area where almost everyone needs a re-education. See the my first Perspectives post for my story about my aunt. (This incident is what pushed me off the decision/procrastination fence.)
4. Lots of people have said I lost weight.
i. Reasons why I might look like I’ve lost weight:
a. Most of the people who’ve said this haven’t seen me in a long long time and have no point of comparison besides a vague impression of a short chubby Asian girl;
b. my good bras lift my chest away from my stomach and hold my bust up properly;
c. my migrated breast tissue is re-migrating to its proper places;
d. for the last few years, I’ve been preferring more form-fitting clothes because they feel like they’re actually on my body as opposed to around it;
e. I probably smile more than I used to; not that I was perpetually grumpy before.
ii. I actually don’t really want to lose weight… I’m very comfortable where I am, thank you. I already get blown around by heavy NY winter winds; I prefer being sturdy on my feet than being less fatty.
5. Despite not having lost weight, I fit into (and look better in) clothes that I thought I’d outgrown. There’s this top and skirt set that I’d bought in Thailand- it’s gorgeous but I’ve never been able to wear it. Although it was in my size, my bra band would ride up to my armpits (kind of sad that didn’t tip me off that anything was wrong with my bra…) and it is not the kind of top that a traveling bra band can pull off. Now that I can wear it, the dyes have bled and shifted so while it’s still beautiful, there are some pretty noticeable flaws 😦
6. I have been playing some Kinect games that required heavy jumping and scampering around the room; NO PAIN! It was glorious. I might even be comfortable running! More elaboration in a later post on how support-less bras made my PE experience throughout school even more horrible than it had to be (but a note that I must clarify first: I loved playing most sports, it was just that my lungs don’t agree, so it was not a distaste for physical movement that turned me off of that class.)