I am sending my message again. I am sorry for two things. First apology,
some of you may not have received my first message because "s-p-a-m"was
written in the subject header. Below is my reply again. Sometimes my
anti-spamware tags okay messages with the word spam in the subject header.
I replied and forgot to remove the word from the header. My second apology
is to those on digest mode. I forgot to delete out the old messages from
the tail of my message. I was on digest mode last week and know what a pain
it is when people do not delete out the old message when replying.
For those who missed this the first time...
Franchesca,
Give your daughter a hug from me. All my friends in 8th grade were
wearing bras and I didn't have a thing to put in one until I was in 11th
grade. I learned later in life that being small chested was a blessing.
My DIL also feels the same way. My youngest sister was well developed
before any of my other sisters. Baby Sis is six years younger than me.
My mother used to say, "Wait until you have a baby and they will come."
When that did work after my first child, she said, "Wait until you are
middle-aged, and they will come."
After son #2 was born, I refused to breast fed, then they "came in"
engorged. The pain was unbelievable! I decided that I would be happy
with what I have. MY DIL used to wear a size 0 dress, and after her
second child, she became engorged. She said that she never wanted bigger
breast again.
When I was pregnant with son #4, I was living with my MIL. He was an
active child and loved to run his feet into my ribs. This caused my bra
to move upward and I complained to my MIL. She was WELL-endowed and said,
"Honey, if I had as little as you, I would NEVER wear a bra." I got it!
Official permission from my MIL to not wear a bra!!! This was 1985 so the
no bra fashion of the 1970s made it acceptable. I have probably worn a
bra 50 times, at most, since then. My breast have not sagged and are
still like they were in my 20s. I gave my MIL official permission to my
DIL to not wear a bra and she doesn't wear one now. What my MIL said not
upset me. She immediately showed me the reason. She pulled up her blouse
and showed me the heat rash under her breast, and the deep cut sores on
her shoulders from her bra straps. She said that she has had them for
years and they were very painful. My mother is large chested and showed
me the same problems that bras have done to her. Last year, my mother
told me that her petite chested mother never wore a bra and looked great
her whole life. This was the greatest gift my MIL ever gave me. I have
never found a bra that fits me correctly.
If you are an A cup, you really do not need to wear a bra. But I
understand the teenagers wanting to be in bras when everyone else is
wearing them. If you really want to put your daughter in something, try a
sports bra. My daughter hated training bras but loved sports bras.
Today a lot of the teenagers to young adults are not real! They are
enhanced and this is socially acceptable. We live in the fake generation.
Fake hair, tans, boobs, hair-color, bleached teeth, etc.
There are ways of hiding not wearing a bra (the nipple issue.)
***I started growing my hair long after son #4 was born. My hair has been
below breast length since 1986. I never had it trimmed shorter since.
Also son #4 when a baby would go to sleep holding my braid. Until he was
five years old and he was upset he would sit in my lap and pet my long
braid.
***I wear t-shirts around the house. When I first started not wearing a
bra, I made sure the t-shirt had a pocket or printed logo on the front.
The opposing side of the pocket, is where my braid or ponytail resides.
If my shirt/blouse does not have a pocket or logo, I let my hair down.
***A Maidenform saleslady taught me this one. Don't purchase those fancy
flesh colored stickers to go over the nipples. Only purchase the fancy
ones for hot dates! Go to the drug store or supermarket and purchase
large Band-Aids. They generally come 10 to a box for a dollar or two. I
use the store brands made of plastic. The cloth ones have too much
adhesive and can cause bruising or irritation when removing. Also remove
the Band-Aids while taking a bath. Put a little baby oil on the breast
after removal. The removes all the band glue and moisturizes the skin.
For a person with small nipples, you can cut the Band-Aids in half
lengthwise and use the remainder on the other breast. Someone with larger
nipples, use the entire band on each breast.
I have professionally dressed many of ladies and teenagers over the years.
Here are some of the tricks of the trade for enlargement:
***I once had a student crying in the bathroom because her chest did not
fill out a dress that she had to wear immediately. I am a pro at "making
boobs." I pulled some tissue paper and increased boob size the
old-fashioned way. Needless to say, she stopped crying.
***This is my newest solution! Most of the cammies with an open space to
slip pads in. There are also cups like a bra without straps or a back
that will slide into cammies easily. But they do have a piece or elastic
joining the cups. I have also sewn cups into some evening dresses.
***Another solution that I use, is to purchase these empire waisted tops
with the cups built in without underwires. I wear them under close
fitting tops. These tops come in various colors and have spaghetti
straps. I have found at Macy's and JC Penneys. I purchased every color
available. The down side to these tops, I have found very few with cups
stitched into bust. When you wash them, the pad will fold over like a
shoulder pad. You either have to stitch the pads in place from the back
lining or pin them in place prior to washing.
***My kits has several breast pads in various cup sizes. I purchase them
at Hancock Fabrics. If I am working a play, before dress rehearsal, I buy
pad that they have in stock. The key to cleavage, is to put the pads
under the breast and slightly toward the armpit in a bra cup. Make sure
the wearer pulls "the girls up" before putting the pads in. This pushes
the breast up better than an underwire and they look more natural. My
first play, I purchased the pads for two actresses. After the other
actresses saw how nice the two actresses looked, they came in begging me
(in their words) to "make boobs" for them. After that play, I have been
know locally as the person who can make boobs.
***You can also purchase the "Natural." I have only used these once.
They adhere to the breast and feel like real breast but do not breathe.
So you can fell hot quickly.
***In magazines, film, etc. They are using spray-on cleavage. They are
actually spraying a line down the center of the chest in a darker shade
than the person's skin color to create a shadow. This process is also
used to create abs on stomachs for those diet advertisements and music
videos.
My daughter has the opposite problem of yours. She started blooming at 10
y.o. Her doctor told me that when girls chests start blooming, that their
period will start generally one year later. And it did. I asked why
girls are starting their period so early. He said because of livestock
being given steroids and antibiotics. He also stated that many GYN
doctors are prescribing hormones to girls in puberty to control mood
swings. Hormones are being prescribed as young as 11-12 y.o girls. A
good majority of my daughter's friend have been on hormones in puberty.
When we recently purchased bras at Maidenform, the saleslady told us that
if you can not find the exact bra size to go up to the next number and
down a cup size. This worked for my daughter. We did this because the
selection in styles were limited at her true size. Another test if a bra
is fitting correctly is if the chest strap between the breast lays flat
against the chest. If the strap is away from the center chest, the bra is
not the correct size.
When my daughter first needed a bra, we had a hard time finding bras. I
was pulling my hair out. I can say, do not go to The Gap for trainer
bras. Also Victoria's Secret measured her incorrectly. Training bras
should not be expensive. They want way too much for them. Sears does
have a nice selection. I found a bigger selection a KMart. This was
before Sears bought KMart but you might want to check there. When you
find a brand of bras that she does like and they fit well, stick with it!
I hate underwires for the same reasons as others..the poking problem. I
take a seam ripper and make a small cut to remove them.
One TV series that shows how a bra should probably fit is "Tim Gunn's
Guide to Style" (TGGTS.) It is on Bravo! Thursday nights. They are only
six episodes and I believe this Thursday is episode 5, then Project Runway
begins. The first two episodes really shows how to know if a bra fits
properly. If you don't catch it repeating during the day, let me know. I
have been videotaping the show and can loan you my copies. I agree with
the show that everyone needs a good foundation. Some parts of the show I
don't agree with. But the foundation is very important. Today a women
shouldn't have to suffer with an ill-fitting bra. When the woman on the
show has a proper fitting bras, the co-host or Tim calls it "happy bra
face." I have to laugh because I saw my daughter with the happy bra face
last month on our shopping trip.
Lastly, one of the principal problems with cup sizes is that everyone's
bust is not shaped the same way. Some are completely rounded, some have
more tissue underneath and to the sides, etc. That is why if you find a
bra manufacturer that you like, stick with them. Most manufacturers do
not change their cup sizing molds for years.
Good luck Franchesca! Remember to have a lot of patience. As frustrated
as you are, your daughter is probably twice as much. I really feel for
single fathers when they take their puberty-age daughters bra shopping!
Penny Ladnier,
Owner, The Costume Gallery Websites
www.costumegallery.com
www.costumelibrary.com
www.costumeclassroom.com
www.costumeencyclopedia.com
_______________________________________________
h-costume mailing list
[email protected]
http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
