Fun with long line bras: A plus size round-up

Andrea D put together this helpful post detailing her search for the perfect plus size longline strapless bra. Let us learn from Andrea's trials and errors, or at least see what kind of undergarment options there are out there.

Oh and BTW: there are bra & panty pics in this post, so it may be NSFW. -Megan

I have a strapless bra. Which I tolerate, but its not ideal. It's this strapless Va Bien bra. It fits fine in the band, but the cups are a touch too big. I ordered my size — 44D. I think I got this bra from BareNecessities.com. I usually just pull my side fat into the cups and call it a day when wearing halter dresses or casual strapless styles. Lol.

But I want a bra that fits better for my wedding. I don't want to have to worry about tugging it up or worrying about a nip slip. I would also like a little more support and smoothing across the torso, and obviously a regular strapless bra isn't going to cut it.

Initially I decided to get this bra:

But I sent it back because of my short torso and big tummy combo. It almost fit around, but was just too snug down in the tummy region. The cups were perfect. Its a Valmont bra. I think I just got it in my regular bra size — 44D. The lesson I learned from this is to size up in the band size when ordering a full length longline bra. I got it from BraExperience.com. They were a little slow to ship but they have a lot of different strapless bras and longlines in plus sizes and petite sizes for you smaller chested gals. It's not the prettiest page, but they are a good place to go to find more obscure sizes.

So I ordered this Elila longline from HerRoom.com thinking that because it didn't go down to my hips and cover the entire tummy that it would work:
No Dice. I could barely get it latched closed and the cups are HUGE — like, you'd need to triple the size of my boobs to fill it out. I ordered it one band size up and one cup size down, having learned from my previous experience with the Valmont bra. Also there is wire wire everywhere. So I sent that one back to Her Room. But I think for a girl with a serious rack, this bra will keep everything locked and loaded.

So, I've decided to go back to a molded cup, because they usually fit me better, and run a little smaller (in the cup). I found this one, thinking since it's even shorter than the Elila I posted above (but longer than regular strapless), it might do the trick:
This is a Valmont bra. To be safe, I ordered it two sizes bigger in the band and two sizes smaller in the cup, and it fits perfectly! I wore a tube top with it just to see how it would work with normal every day moving about and its all good — no ride up or slip down. Also, it looks like it will cover to around the bellybutton (which is where the Spanx will take over).

Also, not a lot of places carry this style, or longlines than go up to 46, 48 or 50. I had to really scour the internet looking for "plus size strapless longlines." I am not going braless for my wedding, I don't care how well constructed my dress is! I ordered this from LaurenSilva.com.

One thing I have learned from this experience is that you need to be flexible with your size. Your bra size is only your bra size for normal bras. We all go to the store and pick out our favorite brand or style and don't even question our sizes. In specialty bras your bra size is just a starting point. I do recommend having a professional fitting if you haven't had one done recently — you might be surprised (I know I was when I had it done). Don't be afraid to size up and size down in both the cups and the bands. Every brand sizes differently! And if you are buying online make sure to double check the return policy!