All About Bras

Big ones, small ones, perky ones, wrinkly ones, wonky ones, perfect ones, flawless or covered in stretch marks, sprinkled with a rogue hair or five, inked up or sporting naughty piercings…

Breasts are beautiful. And while most women find wearing a bra to be cruel and unusual punishment, it doesn’t have to be. Wearing the right bra not only improves your posture and therefore makes you feel and look more confident, it supports your ‘girls’ and gives you an overall more polished look.

Most women wear a bra every day, but shockingly, many do not know their real bra size. From comparing sizes with your friends to holding a bra up to your breast and guesstimating, an alarming amount of women just wing it when it comes to buying bras. And while you may think that has worked for you for however many years, chances are it hasn’t and you’ve been wearing the wrong bra size all along!

• Does your bra ride up at the back?

• Do your bra straps constantly slip off?

• Does taking off your bra mean nursing red welts and marks from the day’s wear?

• Does wearing a bra hurt?

• Does your bra cut into your skin or has your underwire been stabbing you in the chest?

• Do your breasts bulge out of your bra? Does it feel like your cups are literally running over?

• Do the cups of your bra gape, wrinkle or dimple?

• Do you constantly feel the need to adjust your bra?

• Does wearing a bra make you feel uncomfortable?

• Do you find it hard to breathe when you’re wearing a bra?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, the chances are high that you’re wearing the wrong size bra.

Getting fitted for the right bra is a lot less complicated (and a lot less daunting) than you’d think! All you have to do is pop into your nearest Miladys outlet and get your measurements taken. If you’re shy, no worries. You keep your bra on while your measurements are taken and what’s even better is that it is absolutely free! The salesperson/bra fitter will then recommend a size that will work for you and your precious ‘girls’.

Getting fitted for the right size bra is only half the battle. The other half is taking care of your bras and getting as many wears out of them as possible. Taking care of your bras means washing them when necessary (and as often as necessary), rotating them to ensure that you don’t wear them to death (over-wearing means that bras don’t get time to air out and may lose their elasticity a lot quicker than normal), repairing bras that can be repaired and letting go of the ones that can’t.

When it comes to when and how often you should wash your bras, it’s up to you, really. Use your own discretion to decide, but regardless of how often, you will have to wash your bras at some or other point. Whether you wash them weekly or monthly, keep in mind that bras get dirty just like any item of clothing, and for hygiene’s sake, you should be washing your bras every three to six wears. Of course, the more you sweat, the more often you should be washing your bras.

Depending on who you ask, some people will swear by only hand-washing bras, while others will tell you that it’s completely fine to chuck them in the washing machine. Whichever route you opt for, there are a few things you need to know about washing your bras…

Always make sure to check out the label of the bra for any specific instructions on how to wash it. Fill either the sink, a bucket or a plastic tub with lukewarm water. After adding a mild detergent to the water, soak your bras for a while.

Don’t leave them for longer than an hour. Squeeze (do not scrub, wring and twist) the cups gently a few times and rinse the bras. You may need to rinse the bras quite a few times to get all the soap out. While rinsing, squeeze the cups again to get as much of the water out as possible. Again, don’t wring or twist them. Be as gentle as possible. Reshape your bras before drying them. Air dry bras by either hanging them by the middle or laying them flat on a towel.

To machine wash your bras, make sure that the back clasps are fastened before you throw them in a lingerie bag (or a pillow case). Wash similar colours together on your machine’s gentlest setting. Do not tumble dry! Reshape and air dry.

As one of the most common cancers in Namibia, breast cancer is not only something we should think about once a year. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the truth is that while thousands of women die of breast cancer every year, early detection can save your life.