I ditched my 34FF bra for a week and it was hell

We see the bra debate pop up on the internet every few months and there’s always a girl advocating the no-bra movement. And it’s always a girl who falls on the smaller end of the boob spectrum.

I wear a much bigger (34FF) bra size and I’m pretty reliant on my bras. When I do sports I wear two or three – I can’t breathe, but at least my boobs aren’t threatening to fly off. I was curious about some of the arguments made against the bra, especially the claims that they aren’t necessary and that it’s comfier living sans-bra, so I decided to go braless for a week to see if these arguments hold up for the bigger boobs.

Because there aren’t enough topless pictures of me on the internet already…

Day one

Not wearing a bra makes you look fat. That was my immediate reaction to getting dressed for work. Like all breasts, mine are not immune to hanging lower than they would if encased in underwiring. And that leaves me with some pretty unflattering lines, especially in my moderately fitted work uniform.

I tried to ease myself in by clamping them down to some extent by wearing a rather tight old tour t-shirt underneath. This was a mistake. If it did anything, it pushed them lower down.

The dual layers of t-shirt made my walk to work extremely uncomfortable. The new found freedom of movement allowed my nipples to chafe against the cotton shirt. The extra movement also meant I spent half the day pulling the under t-shirt back down as my boobs tried to escape it.

At work, I encountered the thing I had most been dreading without a bra: the walk-in-freezer. However, this was actually less painful than usual. I mean, it’s still a frigid walk-in freezer, so it’s still not fun, but it wasn’t as bad as expected.

Day two

I am really ~aware~ of my breasts at the moment. They feel like they’re about to drop off at any given moment. There is a slight underlying pulling sensation on the skin between my chin and my cleavage as if my breasts are about to pull away from my body entirely. I miss my bra. When I’m watching TV or playing around on my laptop I have started unconsciously holding my boobs up. I am living in a constant low-level discomfort without some sort of boob-cage on.

I also have a theory that a baggy shirt will be comfier than a fitted one, as I switched to a baggy one after work yesterday and it was way less unpleasant than work had been. Unfortunately, I’m working again today and my uniform doesn’t come in “baggy”.

I couldn’t stand the feeling of my work uniform totally sans bra, but I couldn’t face repeating yesterday’s t-shirt horror-show, so I opted for an elasticated cropped top under my uniform. It helped a little, but didn’t make that much difference. Although it did give me massive uniboob, so that was awesome.

I miss you guys…

Day three

 WHY AM I DOING THIS?! I HATE THIS.

I’m so uncomfortable. Every part of my boobs is running a constant level of discomfort. I can feel every inch of them and I hate it. I have a vastly increased amount of underboob sweat due to them not being lifted and held up anymore. And that’s pretty gross and totally adds to the discomfort. I haven’t been comfortable in any way since I started this. I have taken to lying on my front because at least it’s a different type of discomfort.

I am dreading work because it will involve walking and moving without a bra. I don’t know if I will make it through the whole week. I think I can safely say that if you have big boobs, then the no-bra movement is not for you. For you, bras are magic and necessary and wonderful. I miss them.

Day four

We’ve passed the halfway mark. This is the point when I’m supposed to have some kind of volte-face and realise that this is a wonderful experience, that I’ve learned so much and that I can totally get through the remaining few days.

Yeah, no. That is not happening. This is hell and I want to quit.

I’m finding that the crap feelings coming from being braless are starting to affect me in other ways now. Not only am I uncomfortable, but that discomfort is draining my motivation and willingness to put any effort in to anything. It’s becoming a lot of effort just to throw on some eyeliner and drag myself into work. It’s actually pretty surprising that something as simple as ditching the bra can have this much of an effect on my life.

Even worse, they’re starting to feel like they’ve gotten bigger. Because they weren’t big enough already. 

Illustration by Juliette Hayt

Day five

I cheated. I couldn’t take it anymore and I put on a bra for a couple of hours. It felt foreign and strange, and tighter than usual, confirming my theory about a size increase, which I’m really mad about. It was wonderful. But I took it off again and went back to being miserable for your entertainment.

I have discovered that baggy, light shirts are the best thing to wear, however, my work uniform is neither of these things which is distressing. I had intended to work out in some way this week to see how I fared without a bra, given that I would usually wear a regular bra, topped with one or two sports bras to really clamp them down (yes these measures are completely necessary). But given how uncomfortable things like sitting and walking are, I am in no position to do it.

Day six

Today I spent the day sulking because my boobs hurt. That’s all.

Can I quit yet?

Day seven

The final day. I’m so relieved/shocked I actually made it this far. My boobs still feel like they’re going to fall off, and they are ~definitely~ bigger. Which is terrible.

Interestingly, no one has said anything this week, which means that either no one noticed, no one cares if I wear a bra or not, or that I live in the sort of place where people don’t feel the need to comment on how I dress myself. Whichever it is, I’m counting it as a win.

What I’ve learned this week is that baggy shirts > tight or fitted shirts when you aren’t wearing a bra. But you should totally wear a bra if you have bigger boobs. The pain is not worth whatever you’re gaining by not wearing one, which I guess is a ton of money if you choose this as a lifestyle, because bras are so freaking expensive.

But totally worth the money. I have a new found love for my bras. I’m putting one on and I’m never taking it off again.

@TheTab