Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Define Clean

OK, ladies, let's talk about bras. I've put a poll over there in the sidebar if you'd rather not comment publicly but still want to participate.

How many do you have?

How many times to you wear them between washes?

What colors do you have, and what determines the color that you wear?

Do your tops match your bottoms?

On special occasions?

Where do you stand on the whole wire issue?

But mainly, what are your criteria for determining if a bra is "clean" or not?

14 comments:

Sarahlynn said...

1) I have lots of bras, but only a few that I like. I have bras for pregnancy, bras for nursing, bras for when I'm not pregnant or nursing, etc. At any given moment, I like to have at least 5 bras in rotation, preferably more.

2) It depends. I have a complex matrix. I usually have a bra I wear for working out, and I'll wear that all week - just for workouts - before washing it. Ditto a sleep bra. (Note that there are no designated workout only or sleep only bras.) All day bras have a sort of formula: freshly showered = clean bra, which can be reworn on a day I don't shower, and so forth.

3) White most of the time, "nude" or black with dark shirts.

4) I match occasionally. I don't currently own any cute sets; they don't make a lot of those in my bra size, let alone in nursing bras.

5) "Special occasions" are when the occasionally kicks in, these days. I used to do it all of the time.

6) Wire - yes - but only when I'm not nursing.

Is it obvious that I'm starting to be ready to wean? Sadly, that makes just one of us in the nursing relationship. (Ada will be 2 in late January. We will revisit this issue more seriously at that time.)

Orange said...

1. Oh, probably 7 to 10 in the rotation.

2. Too many. "Until it smells funky." It's because I buy expensive structured ones that can't go in the washer without getting mashed up, and I'm too lazy to hand-wash more than a few times a year. The non-lined/padded ones go in the washer, but they're not my favorites.

3. Mostly tan, some black, a pink, and a deep purple. Tan if I'm wearing a light-colored top with show-through; black if the strap might peek out of a black top; anything goes otherwise.

4. Hell, no.

5. What are those? You mean naked time? Naked time isn't about fancy underwear.

6. I need the support, so yes.

7. Funk or visible deodorant residue, or I just sweated a lot.

Bonus confession: My current favorite is new(ish). It cost $120. And it's worth it! It's so much more flattering than any other bra I've ever worn. And it needs a washing.

grace said...

1. I'd say I have 6-7 regular bras and about the same number of sports bras.

2. In the winter, I'll wear them several times. In the season of sweat, only once. Sports bras always only once.

3. I have lots of colors--today's is red. I have blue, pink, orange, and black as well. And then a few boring white ones.

4. Never.

5. My only "special occasion" (read: push up) bra is black, and my thong underwear, which tend to be worn on special occasions, are also black, so kind of.

6. I don't do wires.

7. If it smells or has been sweated on, it's dirty. If not, it's clean unless I'm sick of it, in which case it's dirty.

keribrary said...

(1) 7

(2) Usually once, occasionally twice if I'm really lazy.

(3) Mostly nude and black. I do have one flowery one, tho, that I love. Depends if you can see through the shirt or not. :)

(4) Nope.

(5) Some are more "push up" than others.

(6) A must. I've tried both, and wire is more comfortable in the long run.

(7) Being a bit larger on top, it's more the elastic/stretch/support issue than cleanliness for me. I use special soap and handwash to keep the bras going longer.

As a side note, if you are in Chicago (or another major city) make a trip to the ladies at Intimacy. Best bra fitting and selections I ever had! They put Ann's to shame.

flatflo said...

1) Six that regularly get worn. Another 5 or so that are so pretty, but way uncomfortable that only get broken out for special occasions.

2) About 5, unless they have seen much sweating and stinkiness.

3) In order of usage:
a) light tan
b) black
c) white
d) pink
e) other white
f) dark brown

4) Not unless I crack out one of the pretty torture ones (see #1)

5) Besides the normal pretty sets, I also have a couple corset-style long-lines that have been worn under bridesmaids & formal dresses.

6) Gotta have wire. Wearing a G or H cup, I own no bras without wire. Heck, even my bikini has an underwire. All of my daily rotation bras are seamless and most have normal straps and the back is 2 hooks wide. Pretty hard to find industrial-strength bras but don't look it. I /heart/ Anne's Bra Shop!

7) Did I do massive sweating? If not, good for another go, at least until the next time I have a load of delicates to go in the washer. My bras go in the delicate wash cycle but never, ever go in the dryer.

selzach said...

I'm not sure how many regular bras I have (maybe 6). I have 3 nursing bras that I can wear without getting plugged ducts.

I usually wear them twice before washing.

White and pale pink. There's also a black push-up bra somewhere in the undie drawer. The color of my shirt determines what bra I wear. As long as it doesn't show through, I'm happy.

They rarely match unless it's a special occasion.

No underwires while nursing. Underwires = mastitis. When I'm not lactating, I always wear underwires.

If it doesn't smell or look gross, it's clean!

Amanda said...

How many do you have? Maybe 15 - but several are old and I haven't thrown them out just in case of emergency - which sounds odd until you factor in that I live in Korea, the land of the B cup, and I am an E. The easiest way for me to shop for bras is to fly to Canada.

How many times to you wear them between washes? During the summer in Korea, I wear bras for two days, max. In the winter, maybe I'd go three or four days, generally. And I just chuck 'em in washing bags and put 'em in the washer. They generally last fairly long anyway, even the expensive ones that claim to be all delicate.

What colors do you have, and what determines the color that you wear?
Black, red, hot pink, white, light pink, blue with flowers. I don't care if my straps show, so while I wear darker bras with darker clothes, I don't colour match. I tend to wear the light pink ones to work.

Do your tops match your bottoms? I almost only have black undies, so they do whenever I wear black bras, I guess. I do always buy the undies that match, though I am seldom organized enough in the mornings to care to look for the right pairs.

On special occasions? If the special occassions are planned, for sure. I find most aren't.

Where do you stand on the whole wire issue? Love wire.

But mainly, what are your criteria for determining if a bra is "clean" or not? On washing day, anything worn since the last washing day gets washed. I don't so much smell them or anything, it's more a mental tally of days seems to kick in.

Sarah with a Sweet Tooth said...

How many do you have? 6 regular wear-ers

How many times to you wear them between washes? at least 2x, probably more. I do a smell-test prior to wearing. If I can still smell the tide, it's good to wear.

What colors do you have, and what determines the color that you wear?
black, tan, brown, coral, pink... whatever won't show through.

Do your tops match your bottoms? nope.

On special occasions? not required.

Where do you stand on the whole wire issue? required. and padding too. I'm one of those "nearly b's"

But mainly, what are your criteria for determining if a bra is "clean" or not? see above.

Sarahlynn said...

Thank you all! I am learning so much!

For the record, by "special occasion," I meant dressing up to actually GO OUT of the house together WITHOUT CHILDREN. For me, that is a very special occasion. (Which reminds me that I need a sitter for this Friday afternoon/evening. Oops.) Also, attending weddings and that sort of thing.

Sexual attire is something entirely different. ;)

Amanda said...

Short of stealing small children, I have to go out of the house without them all of the time ;)

I meant out of the house special occassions too, I just don't plan them often. Which likely has a lot to do with not having kids, but also a lot to do with the nature of the Korean expat experience - I don't find people plan much of anything in advance. However, even in terms of sexual attire, I like to have someone on to be taken off :)

I'd babysit for ya, if you didn't live so far away!

Sarahlynn said...

Before kids, what would I have considered a special occasion. Hmm. At one time, it would have been going to the grocery store. (TMI redacted here.)

More recently . . . I guess special occasion stuff like birthday dinners, Christmas, that sort of thing. Any significant date night. And travel. I'm a bit more conscious of matchy matchy stuff when I'm putting together whole outfits for my suitcase. :)

I'd take you up on that babysitting offer, too, if you were closer!

Beachcomber said...

Um. Many. 5+ wearings depending.

2 white ones for everyday.
1 black lacey one for ... special
1 blue lacey one for me and me alone
1 white lacey one for ... see black

My bottoms match only with the special ones.

Special occasions? I don't have any of those lately. I have a toddler and am pregnant with a 2nd addition to the family. "Special" is getting the kid to bed before 10pm.

I need wire though I hate it. No wire=droopy boobs no matter what.

My criteria for "clean" are smell and dinge. If I've used a bra to do something sporty or physically active, it gets washed. If it's just everyday wear, then it can last a good while.

Sarahlynn said...

Beach, I thought I caught that over on The Chicken. Hooray and Congratulations!!!

Ditto on the wire, but with me there's an extra genetic component. I'm naturally set pretty far apart, so no matter how well I'm fitted, wire always digs in on the side. But I'm a DD - F/G depending (see above re: pregnant, nursing, or neither) so wire is pretty critical most of the time. But not for sleeping.

a.eye said...

I have about about 7, but mainly wear three of them

Rotate the three through a week - might wear another during the week, also

Mostly black, also tan. My skin is brown, so I like to wear the dark color -- can't stand the bra-seen-through-clothes look. Might wear a colored one - blue - if the top I'm wearing is definitely not going to have bra-peakage.

I have a lot of black panties, so sometimes they match. On special occasions, I like to match them.


I am not large, so I can do either, but I like the structure associated with wire. I really just don't like too much padding. I like to look more natural.

Sports bras might wear twice -- after a day or two to air out. Regular bras usually wear 3-4 times before wash. In the summer time or when I sweat, it may be only once.