Our first Boob Week had us talking more about boobs in the office than usual — and we all seem to have a story to tell, whether that's overcoming an issue with size, breastfeeding joys (and trials), and shopping for the perfect bra. That's why we asked three of our writers to share their boob story. Got a boob story of your own to share? Do tell @BritandCo!
Size Matters
By Lindsey Graham-Jones
It was almost my 30th birthday when I finally decided to get professionally sized. I was working on a piece about the best bras for big boobs and it just so happened that my own collection had become sparse and stretched out. It was clearly time for an upgrade. I'd spent my entire young adult life wearing a 34C — a size I had come to believe fit me for no particular reason — and I'd begun to wonder if it was indeed correct. The band often felt loose, my straps slipped, and I felt like I had to do the 'scoop' more often than I should've. I decided there was only one way to find out and set out to the land of unrealistic body types.
Victoria's Secret was loud and aggressively pink. It was toxic and nostalgic at the same time. I made a beeline to the dressing room and requested a fitting. The girl was nice but rather uninterested in my quest. When she measured me as 32DDD I was shocked. "That's three D's?" I asked shocked. "Yes," she said, "it also translates to a 32E."
I changed quickly and left VS en route to Nords — my tried and true, wondering why I didn't start out there and there has to be some mistake, this can't be true, that's too many D's. Breathless I arrived and requested a fitting only to find the first measurement was indeed true! All this time I'd been wearing the wrong size, uncomfortable and borderline suffering, without even knowing it!
Going from a 34C to 32DDD in a day was wild, but wearing the right size proved even wilder. Experiencing that (second) confirmed moment gave me so much clarity and confidence instantly. It felt like I was taking back my power — power I didn't even realize I was missing. In getting sized and learning my fit, I opened a new door to my own independence, self love, and most of all, comfort. Wearing the right size bra has been a real game changer and I honestly can't believe it's taken me so long. My advice to all women of all ages: Go get sized! Having a bra that perfectly fits my boobs has done wonders for both my physical comfort and my self esteem. They fit so nicely now and that makes me feel strong, powerful, and very, very *supported.*
Why Running Made Me Re-Think How I Felt About My Ta-Ta's
By Sarah Koller
I was what you call a "late bloomer."And when I did finally mature, my expectations of a curvy upper-half fell flat (quite literally - ha!). As you can imagine, this did nothing for my self-confidence in junior high — especially when it came to gym time. (Oh the dread of changing into that scratchy uniform surrounded by other pre-pubescent teenaged girls!) It wasn't until later in my high school experience that I began to accept — and appreciate! — the assets I had been given. I was on the Cross Country and Track teams, and I thrived on doing long distances, which of course, required wearing a sports bra. I would get by my cheap seamless one, I ordered in bulk from Target, while my other "well-endowed" teammates had to double up on theirs or splurge on expensive ones with more support. Despite this, many of them still complained of "back pains" from our longer-distance days, even so far as having to sit out practices. Because of all of this, I finally saw the other side of the scenario and began to see that the grass wasn't always greener, particularly when it comes to "the girls" (even if they could totally fill out their Prom dresses, while I couldn't).
Fast forward to the present time, and I now find myself running marathons (I've upped the ante a bit!). And, each time I slip on my thinly-lined sports tank, I feel a wave of gratitude for the body that I was given to do what I love, in a pain-free way. (You can imagine how great that feeling is when I cross the finish line!)
Why I'm Grateful I Never Got a Boob Job
By Theresa Gonzalez
I was the first one in my fourth grade class to wear a training bra and it was the WORST. The attention from boys, and frankly girls, was too much to bear for my 9-year-old self and I wished every day for my boobs to stop growing — and then THEY DID. Over time I never really thought about them as other girls moved on to B, and Cs and Ds while I barely filled an A. But then I started to care about fashion.
Shopping for bras and bathing suits was a constant reminder that my body didn't fit the perfect mold defined by a very exclusive industry. This was in the early 90s before inclusive lingerie and bathing suits were a thing and the only shape that mattered was hourglass 36–24–36. I didn't measure up, literally. One day, months before summer was going to hit, I decided not to face another frustrating shopping season and explore plastic surgery. I met with a plastic surgeon in her crisp white San Francisco office and she explained the different types of incisions and implants, depending on your breast, and then examined me. "Oh, they're perfect," she said, meaning perfectly symmetrical, for surgery. In my head, I ran out of there like Meryl Streep in "It's Complicated" but I simply walked out and left her card on my nightstand knowing I'd never go through it. I had to go there in order not to go there.
Eventually I met A who told me early on in our relationship, "I love your breasts!" after I expressed some insecurity about them. My small-boob guy and I went on to get pregnant with our daughter. I gained some baby weight and with it a little boobage and my breasts were perfect. There was some relief knowing that I didn't have something artificial in them while feeding my baby and they were no longer on my mind in that way. And now, a little baby weight still holding on, I fill an A, sometimes B, and I love that they don't sag even as I get older. I finally love them.
