Totally off topic rant....

Why the heck do they put shelf bras in shirts?  They don't provide any support, so I have to wear a bra.  Plus, they smash my boobs together and ruins any shape.  THAT being said.  My boobs are absolutely HUGE right now and maybe 1/4 of them fit in this tiny shelf bra that must be meant for either 1) an A cup or 2) so that your boobs are hanging out all over the place.  I wear a lot of cardigan type stuff with tanks and all these dang danks have shelf bras.  So, I constantly have cleavage and I hate cleavage because it looks so trashy.  Ok rant over with......

I know!  I have a hell of a time finding camisoles with no shelf  bra!  The ones that have the cursed "support system" are always made of nice fabric and in cute colors, and the ones without it are flimsy and crappy and like, meant to be slept in.  I don't like uniboob - who decided it was so awesome to have shelf bras in everything??

Oh come on guys, my saggy uniboob is hot! J/K!!!!

It drives me nuts. What is that supposed to cover? My nipples? And my boobs then weigh down the shelf bra, and pull the top down in the front. Soooo unattractive!

I agree 100%!! I try to wear cute tank tops under low cut stuff, but with that stupid shelf bra everything just squishes and hangs out anyways!! and, my bra is showing b/c the shelf bra won't cover my entire boob area!!! so annoying....

And they use it as a selling point, too.
"And just in case you don't get your boobs smooshed together often enough, we've got just the thing for you!"

i usually wear a strapless bra with the shelf bra, that way i still have shape and then the strapless doesn't slide down cause the shelf holds it up! i'm actually a huge fan of the built in bra!

PS-i have also gotten lots of shelf free camisoles at the GAP outlet for all you shelf haters out there!

I agree that there is no place for a shelf bra - and I have an A cup.  Frankly, if I want to wear a tank top, I don't need a bra, so just go ahead and get rid of the aweful elastic and gathered fabric that ends up looking weird anyway.  I just go the pasty route - I never buy anything with a shelf bra in them anymore.  If they really want to provide more coverage, I would totally support a full lining in the shirt - I hate it when you can see where the shelf bra ends - yuck!

Ooo, I do love the GAP outlet, thanks for the reminder jules.

I just can't wear my strapless bra with any degree of comfort.  Damn 34DDs.  :)  My sister does, though, and she always looks cute.  Maybe I just need a new strapless bra.

I'm right there with ya purespark... I tried to wear a strapless with a cute tank top and gravity took full advantage.. it looked terrible! I'm 34DD as well...

I find it annoying because some of the cutest tanks have those stupid bras...and it's true..you either get weird shape or super cleavage!  I've just stopped buying those alltogether, which is really sad.  Now if I really want to wear a tank top alone (not cardigan on top), I wear my own bra but try to match the colour of the straps as best I can....what an annoyance! 

jettaranger have you found those bras with clear straps? They work pretty well

I HATE clear straps.. it  looks worse than no bra at all sometimes...

as far as getting a good strapless bra, Im a 42DD, and I buy mine at Lane Bryant.  They have convertible bras... they come with removeable straps, and I find that this is a great strapless bra!  it has wonderful support!  It's about $40.00 for one bra, but its totally worth it..

I hate those stupid boob smashers too. I am a 40 DD and they barely even fit in those darn things without "spilling" out. I get all my camis at Lane Bryant. They are strechy and no shelf. I LOVE them!