For any woman who finds traditional bras too confining, pinching, itchy, cutting, wiry, etc., I have found the answer:

Bra-lelluia!

The "Bra-lelluia" is a bra made completely from durable panty-hose material by Spanx (www.spanx.com) and comes in beige and black and a wide range of sizes. It is one piece, with no hooks or wires or those little slider things that make you look like you have boils on your shoulder blades. You step in and pull it over your hips, then slip your arms into the soft, wide straps.

I have even slept with this bra on and was entirely comfortable.

If the senior retro-feminist finds "regular" bras too constricting (either physically or to her feminist ideals), the Bra-lelluia offers a reasonable amount of figure-shaping without the man-designed torture.

By the way, Spanx was founded by Sara Blakely, a young woman who had no business experience at all, just an idea for a line of comfortable undergarments and a passion for making women look better and feel better at the same time. She is now running a hugely successful company and has appeared on CNBC and "Oprah". (No, I do not work for Spanx - I'm just a highly satisfied customer and admirer of Ms. Blakely's career.)

...and I have to say that anyone who claims that bras are uncomfortable has never owned one that fits correctly. Every woman should be professionally fitted at least once a year, because the body is constantly changing.

Be prepared to spend some money and have a learning experience. Once someone has fitted you correctly, you can take that to department stores, etc., find what you need and be happy with the results.

Spanx are no better than girdles for the lazy. Better to buy clothes that fit correctly without any help.

I submit that girdling my lazy boobs with Spanx makes my figure a lot more appealing than that of those women who never bother to either go with a more comfortable choice OR get properly fitted. I may be a do-nothing slob, but I don't make people cringe when they see me in a thin summer t-shirt. (At least, not because of my mammaries...)

There's very little appealing about a woman who crams her flabby torso into an ill-fitting bra so that her flesh bulges out of the top, sides, and bottom of some standard-issue piece of crap that she probably hates and is painful anyway. But she only does that because it's cheaper and easier than taking the time to be fitted and/or buy the correct size and type of bra. Do you really think that women who don't even bother to take a tape measure to their own breasts before they pick a bra (most seem to think they're still the size they were in high school) are going to take one day a year (as is recommended due to physical changes) to get professionally fitted?

At least with Spanx, those of us who do not have either the time, the access, or the money for custom undergear are able to walk the streets in comfort without grossing people out. If that makes me the poster girl for laziness, so be it.

anyone who claims that bras are uncomfortable has never owned one that fits correctly.

Well, technically, I don't own any at all. I just wear one of my wife's when ... you know, when I want to feel pretty.

T-shirts can be a bitch, can't they? Ya gotta do something...If it works, go for it. I just find that spandex makes me sweat ridiculously and the girdle thing just makes me want to pee all the time.

I flatly refuse to don any form of support garment, and I won't even buy control top pantyhose. I wear stockings instead. I dress around my flaws. I figure as long as I go to the gym, I can stay away from all that.

The women that bulge out the sides are making a classic mistake. They don't understand that they need to go up a CUP size instead of a BAND size. They walk around with the band crawling up to the backs of their necks, not realizing that they're wearing the wrong size bra.

is Spanx?

Personally, if I were a woman with medium-sized breasts or smaller, I would never wear a bra. I don't care who would think what.

MessyONE:

...Spanx are no better than girdles for the lazy. Better to buy clothes that fit correctly without any help.

I'm at a loss to understand why a spanx bra (which is just a bra, after all, however differently manufactured) that fits correctly and is comfortable is something other, or lesser, than any other bra that fits correctly. Why is it lazy to wear a spanx bra in the right size, but not lazy to wear some other kind of bra in the right size?

Tom_Tildrum: ... when I want to feel pretty.

Lucky you, for you and your wife to be the same size! (Or unfortunate wife...) My question is: Does she know? Or does she think that her lacy unmentionables get stretched out like that in the wash? ;)

its yggy:

Personally, if I were a woman with medium-sized breasts or smaller, I would never wear a bra. I don't care who would think what.

Until you realized just what the perfect-fitting bra could do for you, that is!

Seriously, though, I've gotten quite a lesson in support lately, and while I may like to be bra-less, I realize that it is not the healthiest approach in terms of long-term breast care. I guess for an A it might work, but for anything bigger, it just doesn't fly.

They're two entirely different creatures - lay'em out side by side.

The trouble with the stretch only thing is that it just straps the girls down without a whole lot of hoist, which is pretty important even for us Cs. Shape is everything. A correctly fitted bra is going to look better under clothing every single time.

MessyONE: ...spandex makes me sweat...

I must correct the impression that the Spanx bra is "spandex" - it's not. It's actually nylon/lycra, just like control-top panty hose. As for the heat, I haven't had a problem feeling too warm in a Spanx bra - in fact, it makes me sweat less than some of the multi-layer, soft-cup, even cotton bras I've worn. And I'm one of those people who finds a balmy 70-degree day far too hot for comfort; my A/C goes on the first time the mercury hits 75 and stays on until the daily high returns to around 70.

I, too, rely on the gym to keep myself in generally good shape, but I have found that no amount of Cardio-Pump or sculpting with weights will completely eliminate cellulite, back rolls, or belly flop. I would guess you haven't reached the age yet where those CT panty hose suddenly look a lot more appealing than attending a family wedding sans undergarment to avoid muffin top or VPLs. Enjoy it while you can!

MessyONE: ...A correctly fitted bra is going to look better under clothing every single time.

No dispute about that, but again, not everyone is going to make the time or take the effort or spend the money to do that, for whatever reason. Stretch-only is a reasonable, if not the most desirable, alternative to the crappy $10 p.o.s. most women buy in bulk in the wrong size, and suffer with, and makes onlookers cringe.

I'd still rather stick a fork in my eye. I'm 44 now, and so far, so good. Also, I have no kids, so I'm not contending with any pregnancy related stuff. I think if the day comes for me that heavy duty undergarments are called for, I'll revive the sack dress and wear good jewelry and red lipstick to distract people.

Cotton bras get soggy in hot weather. I'm having good luck with some of the breathable polyester fabrics. They're wicking, so you don't ever feel damp.

I'm constantly in search of the right boxer briefs to give my enormous man package the support yet the room I need to be me. ha!

How the pregnancy going? Are you to the point yet that you just want the damn thing out! But you're not due until late summer right?

My mistake! I have you beat by a year! :) I'm also child-free, but thanks to "peasant" genes it's been many years since I could get away with merely stockings and a smile. And because I've managed to keep a decent figure, I like wearing stuff that shows it off a little, even if I need a bit of help to make the eye candy more appealing. I'll cop to owning a few of those sack dresses, though, for the days when I simply can't face the prospect of cramming my PMS-bloated belly into a shaper...