Grokette went braless, should us lady PBers go too? page 9

[Gravyboat]

i've never like drapes or curtains because the natural light is so nice and when shopping for this place i rejected about a zillion others because of the lack of windows.

Something I've done in the past that blocks the view from the street but does not block sunlight coming in: Get some posterboard (you can get the black or colored kind) or some fabric and tape/secure it to the bottom pane. That way the sunlight from above can shine in but anyone looking up will only see your ceiling.

You can also get nice blinds that start at the bottom and close upward if you're fancy and made of money.

i am on the 4th floor, but across the street from a a bar and one parking lot away from a homeless shelter. (trust me, lol, nicer than it sounds!) i can easily see in my windows from the street. just not wanting to tempt fate, i guess.

Eh yeah, if I lived near a homeless shelter where people could just camp out on the street and watch me, I would probably be a little less blase. It becomes a personal safety issue at that point.

[Saoirse]

The bra stays.

Going without is just flat uncomfortable. Nipples get all irritated rubbing against my shirt. They get de-sensitized and who wants unresponsive nipples? LOL. Maybe it's just conditioning since I grew them, but my boobs like their bras. Getting properly fitted is half the battle. Years of wearing poorly fitting bras can ruin it for anyone. I've always been a D cup and never had a problem with underwires, strangely, it was the non-UW bras I could never stand. Ah well. To each, her own.

i can't stand the non-underwire kind, and the bratanks give me a headache after 2 hours. nope, too much weight to be poorly supported. i know it's time for a new bra when mine starts to get uncomfortable. i let my lymphatic system have freedom for around 10-12 hours per day when i change into PJs and no bra.

People keep talking about sagging in National Geographic. Just curious- how many of those women have breast-fed? My understanding is that can do a number on the girls. (Haven't myself, so I don't have an n=1)

wanted to point out, it's pregnancy (at the end when breasts swell in preparation for nursing) that can contribute to sagging, not breastfeeding itself. seems like a trite point, but just wanted to point out that choosing to bottle feed wouldn't prevent the laxity because your body is still prepping for lactation during your third trimester and for a week or so postpartum.

wrt laxity caused by bras (from wikipedia entry about Cooper ligaments):

Dr. Christine Haycock, a respected surgeon at the New Jersey Medical School and an expert in sports medicine,[9] said that "Cooper's ligaments have nothing to do with supporting breast tissue... They just serve to divide the breast into compartments." She noted that most women's breasts begin to droop with age and that extremely large-breasted women are generally more affected. However, sagging is not related to ligaments or dependent on breast size.

it seems that pectoral muscles will effect the look of cleavage, but i don't see how they would make your breasts less saggy.

[JackieKessler]

Without my bra, my 32Ds become 32 longs. My bra stays!

[bloodorchid]

by taking up more skin room, pec muscles puff up and the skin has more to cover, boobs.. look better or get better iunno fer shure

[Saoirse]

ah i see. i'd think you'd have to have really big pec muscles to make a difference, but who knows.

[primalTatoolover]

Just to have at least one man commenting in a logical way, i really cant see how a bra could contribute to breast cancer, unless its somehow made out of a carcinogenic/chemical substance thats leeching into your breasts or something..i cant believe i just wrote that lol.
But i agree with the other ladies, if you have Ds and up(D stands for DAMNNNNNNNN btw..just thought id let you know) its def. a safer bet to keep the bra on, at least in public, funny question, cool of you to wonder tho, keep it up!

[Heathen]

Pic’s or it didn’t happen.

Just spend 5 days in the woods, mostly naked. Loved it.

FWIW, I would not do this in the regular world.

[Sandra in BC]

Can you pass the pencil test? This is the dividing line between braless (or shelf tank) and full bra.

If there's not enough overhang in the underboob crease to hold a pencil, you get a pass. If you can hold one or more pencils under your boob, you need a bra. I can hold a stapler.

[Gravyboat]

Can you pass the pencil test? This is the dividing line between braless (or shelf tank) and full bra.

If there's not enough overhang in the underboob crease to hold a pencil, you get a pass. If you can hold one or more pencils under your boob, you need a bra. I can hold a stapler.

Oh hell yeah, I always throw my phone under a tit when I'm heading to bed with stuff in my hands. It's a good place to keep your ipod when you're cleaning the house naked, too.

I'm still going to not wear a bra whenever I don't feel like it though.

[Owly]

Can you pass the pencil test? This is the dividing line between braless (or shelf tank) and full bra.

If there's not enough overhang in the underboob crease to hold a pencil, you get a pass. If you can hold one or more pencils under your boob, you need a bra. I can hold a stapler.

Apparently I get to be braless then! I don't go out of the house without a bra, though. But I have switched to very minimalist bras, more like the shelf out of a shelf tank (sort of ultra-light sport bra?). At 32C heading toward B and fairly perky still at almost 35, I don't really need more than that for a normal day. As for the more usual underwire type, I have some pretty ones for dressing up, with matching undies 'cause sometimes it's fun to wear schmancy underthings.