Are bras really necessary?

I'm seriously considering not wearing one anymore except when I go to the gym. I'm fairly small - a flat, wide B-cup with almost no perk left - and I don't see the point. I can no longer find bras that fit well anyway. C is too large, and B cups simply are too narrow, even though they're usually the right volume.

Assuming that I found a sensible solution for work, like wearing a snug T-shirt under my work shirt, is there any reason to bother wearing a bra when one doesn't own any shirts sheer enough to need the extra fabric and isn't big enough to need the support?

It is, of course, a personal choice.  My breasts are too big to go braless, but I wish I could.  If it were possible, I'd probably just wear camisoles with built-in shelf bras - they provide a little coverage to avoid that "Is it cold in here?" raisin-smuggling look.

I have the same problem - and I only wear bras to work and sports bras to workout in but the first thing I take off when I walk in the door is any bra.  I will also wear dark t-shirts that are a little big to wear when I need to run to a store to pick up something quick.  

i think its hanes brand...but they make "almost c" cup size.
like its actually for inbetween sizes.

victoria secret bras that are full coverage and stretchy (like second skin satin) are also good for inbetween sizes.

you could also do sports bras. they are very comfy too.

personally..i think its a little tacky when people dont wear a bra.
and i thinks its gross when men dont wear a t-shirt under thier dress shirts.

i dont want to see anyones nipple. lol

i think its ok if you cant tell...otherwise it could be sending out the wrong message...and almost a c cup...i think you should wear one.
i dont think the tshirt is going to cut it.

Haha, camisoles with the built-in shelf bra are my FAVORITE! :D but then again, those stupid "nearly A" bras have too much of a cup, so...I really REALLY don't need a bra. I'm happy with my size, though, every woman I've met with big boobs complains of how uncomfortable they are or how they worry about them getting saggy or whatever. I don't have to worry about that! I do, however, ALWAYS wear a bra in public....simply because I get embarassed when I "smuggle raisins."

Oh god I am so jealous right now.

What I would give to be able to go braless for a day without extreme pain...

Honey, if you can do it, do it for all of us. :)

No, I'm not almost a C cup - C's are much too big. It's that my breasts are wider (and actually flatter/thinner) than a B-cup, so I have to squish them inside to get them to settle properly into the cup, and it doesn't feel very nice.

I've been handling this by wearing sports bras almost exclusively, and that gets rid of the problem to an extent, but I just don't like wearing them, period. Right now I only wear bras to work and to working out and SOMETIMES to the store, but I would like to leave 'em for gym-only. I'd wear something else underneath my work polo, though, not because I think there's anything wrong with nipples (not that they'd even show since all my shirts are big, and opaque and thick), but because I'd rather not get chewed out for it just in case.

Thanks for your comments... I think I'll try it, with the T-shirt, and see how it goes. I could always go back to the sports bras if it doesn't work out, but I figure if I have to lose my boobs, then what's left might as well be comfy and not squished.

No matter what your size I recommend you wear a bra. The problem for you sounds not like the bra as a garment itself but the sizing of it. You say you are being squished. If that's the case you are not wearing the correct size {could be band and/or cup size which is the problem(s)}. Get yourself well fitted. See this thread in the Lounge which is active right now for some fitting recommendations.

http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/5012 9.html

My grandmother never wore a bra and she was a tiny petite thin woman - small chested. By the end of her life I am told her breasts were incredibly saggy. Do yourself a favor and protect your chest now so that when you are older (after kids and all that) you won't have to suffer perhaps as badly. You might be surprised by how saggy even smaller breasts can become.

Honestly, if I had to choose between wearing a constricting garment every day of my life or having my boobs sag an extra inch at the end of it (it's not like wearing a bra means they will face your chin at 80!), I'd deal with the sag. (If it's a little-boob sag, then it's not likely to be physically painful.)

At that point, I'll be sleeping with other old people - and if I can bear to look at them, they can damn well bear to look at me. Heck, if we care for each other we might even move past that and actually see each other as beautiful.  :)

Good point trustwomen, hopefully we will all be with people in our elder years who love us unconditionally and vice versa.

In any case, my point to the OP was not about beauty or partner's perception of our breast etc but rather that a bra can be comfortable and not constricting when it is fitted properly - you literally don't even feel it. I just wanted OP to realize that with a good fit all her problems of squishing would disappear so she can make a choice to wear one or not based on a good fit rather than merely squooshed parts.

There's a bra called "Thank Goodness It Fits" that comes in half sizes. Since I've lost some weight (most of it in the chest, it seems) I've had to switch to these. I'm too big for an A, but too small for a B. I guess that makes me an A+ or a B-, LOL...

Well, I don't give a fig what other people think about their shape, so I'm not concerned about sagging. Nobody sees my boobs but me and my doctor and I'm sure he's seen far worse than whatever I've got.

I had a properly fitting bra when I was 23 pounds heavier, but now they're much, much too large in the cup, although I still have the same band size (sounds weird, but I measured, and my ribcage has only shrunk one inch; there wasn't much fat there to begin with, most of it being in my limbs and hips). Online calculators measure me as a 34AA but even 34A is too small. It just seems like so much trouble for nothing.

i'm small (32a) and went braless for a couple of years when younger. i wish i hadn't, cause it made me less perky (even with my small boobs!). i personally care about the looks of my boobs, not everyone does about their own. so if you don't care, then don't bother, you'll be more comfy without one. if you do care, but think you can get away with it because of your size, don't be fooled! they can sag! trust me! get yourself a good bra fitting, victoria's secret is where i went.

thanks for bra tip, blackthorne... will look into that one.

This may not be the answer that you are looking for, but I understand that JC Penney's has someone that will actually fit you for a bra.  I think that they measure you everywhere and get you the perfect fitting bra.  Don't know, haven't tried it because I can't afford good bras...I'm Walmart all the way!

Back in the 60's, when so many women wanted to go braless, they discovered the "pencil test".  Take a pencil, put it under your breast.  If it falls to the floor, you can go braless.  If your breast holds it up, you need some support.  I think it is still a good rule of thumb.  Not all women need bras.  Me, I'm a DD and I need the support.  My mom had reduction surgery and went from a DD to an A.  She hasn't needed a bra since.  I also want to mention that seeing the occasional nipple isn't a sign of the appocolypse.  Everybody has them.  Even with my bra on, sometimes I look like a "raisin smuggler" too.  (And that name just made me lol!)

If you're a B cup and have lost some perk I would definetly wear a bra while exercising - a snug-fitting, boob-squashing exercise bra at that! NOT a regular bra - there's not enough support. The squashier, the better, IMO. You want no jiggle or movement when you run and hop around.

When I had my babies my breasts went up to a D cup, then back down to their normal B/C (When I'm a 32 I'm a C, when I'm a 34 I'm a B). But they were very saggy, after all the breastfeeding.

I have spent the last 14 years never going without a bra, except at home at night. In particular, I always wear a proper exercise bra when exercising. After 14 years of this, my breasts aren't saggy anymore. Sure, they aren't quite as perky as a 20 year old who's never had kids... but they are far less saggier than they were after my babies and pretty darn good-looking for a 40-something woman.

Also doesn't it simply hurt to exercise without a bra??? I couldn't imagine running without one!! I'd be in agony.

If you're an A, perhaps... but B and above, I don't think so.

I find that bras are not necessary ;)

For me, I mean.
Not for everyone. ;)

The pencil fell. :)

Worked last night with a tank top under my shirt, and it was fine. No fussing with the straps eight times a day, no dealing with shifting seams, anything. Unless I miraculously develop into a larger size at the same weight, which is pretty unlikely ;)

Just bought new bras yesterday - first time in over 5 years.

I hate them. Lovingly call them "medieval torture devices."

No reason except cultural standards to wear one unless you need one actually for support and shaping.  Just like shaving is optional.

I look forward to when I can go without wearing them again.

( If I am remembering correctly) Medically it has been proven that women who wear bras for over 12 hours a day have increased risk for lymphatic cancer.

If women have to wear bras all the time, I think guys should need to wear a jock strap  - you know hold their thing in place.  They should have a nice smooth image too - don't you think.

Haha! Agreeing with the jock strap idea.

About that jock strap idea, do really tight briefs count?