Searching for the perfect bra has been a never-ending struggle for women across the globe. Each of us are created differently with a variety of bra sizes and preferences with a limited amount of bra types and features. Although women have different needs and preferences, all of us can agree that the ideal aspects of the best bras for women are support, comfort, and versatility when shopping for the perfect fit.
Instead of endlessly browsing the internet for what we believe to be the best bras for women on the market, we turned to real women with a range of cup sizes to get personal recommendations of brands and go-to undergarments that comfortably uplift and support their active lifestyles all while boosting self-confidence throughout the day. Each of these women have different needs and levels of support so let's take a look at what they have in common when on the hunt for the best bras ever.
Terrie, 36A
Courtesy of Terrie
"Being a member of the IBTC (Itty Bitty Titty Committee) for the last 27 years, it's a waste of time and effort to wear a bra as well as investing in so many when I don't have much breast-to-bra ratio. I look for bras focused more on seamlessness, comfortability, and versatility that have very minimal to no wiring (ex. sports bra, lounge bra, etc.). I know when I've found the perfect bra when I live in it and then proceed to buy in bulk and multiple colors."
Best 36A Bra Recommendations:
Aerie - Seamless
Colsie, Target - Lounge Bra
Gabrielle, 32B
Courtesy of Gabrielle
"I love a bra that isn't bulky or a bra that is seamless so it won't show through my clothing. At the moment, I love Aerie brand bras. I can go through the whole day without adjusting it and it doesn't show through my clothing."
Best 32B Bra Recommendation:
Aerie - Lightly Lined Bra
Julia, 34C
Courtesy of Julia
"I look for comfortability, little to no padding, breathable fabric and something I can easily maneuver to pull down for my son when breastfeeding. I know I've found the perfect bra when it feels like I don't have one on."
Best 34C Bra Recommendations:
True and Co - Seamless True Body Scoop Neck
Pansy Co - Seamless
Tyteana, 34D
Courtesy of Tyteana
"When shopping, I look for comfortable wire bras in a range of cute colors."
Best 34D Bra Recommendation:
Victoria Secret Pink - Lightly Lined T Shirt Bra
AK, 42DD
Courtesy of AK
"When shopping for a bra, support, lift, and most of all comfortability in the band is important. Most people don't realize that your breasts may not be as big, but your cup [or] band size is determined by your overall chest size. I'm bigger around my midriff area so I need a seamless bra that doesn't feel as tight. I know I've found the perfect bra when I achieve an amazing lift, it's versatile and comfortable!"
Best 34D Bra Recommendation:
Auden, Target brand - Lightly Lined Strapless
Kayla Sharayne, 44DDD
Courtesy of Kayla Sharayne
"I look for a bra that will support, minimize, and lift my girls up! I usually prefer a wire bra, but I'm on the hunt for a seamless bra that will be super comfortable while supporting my size. My favorite brand right now is Savage X Fenty—because of the affordable, all-inclusive sizes Rihanna provides—and Lane Bryant/Cacique Lifestyle. I know I've found the perfect bra when I feel and look my best in my clothes! That's when I can really tell my bra is doing what it needs to do."
Best 42DDD Bra Recommendations:
Savage X Fenty - Flocked Logo Unlined
Cacique, Lane Bryant - Lightly Lined Full Coverage
Candice, 38H
Courtesy of Candice
"My bra size fluctuates. I typically wear a 38H, but I also find myself in G or I cups so when shopping for bras, I tend to prefer the breathable fabrics like lace and full supportive accurate cup sizing. In leisure activities and exercise, I prefer seamless and breathable, however I favor wire bras for the look it provides and enhancing the overall shape and fullness of my breasts. I know I have found an amazing bra when I forget I am wearing one altogether. I have an obsession with bras from Parfait Lingerie. They are available in my size and have lots of flirty, supportive looks."
Best 38H Bra Recommendation:
Parfait Lingerie - Padded Bra
Featured image courtesy of Julia
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Among the many individuals who battle severe asthma, Black women face a unique set of challenges. It's not uncommon for us to go years without a proper diagnosis, and finding the right treatment often requires some trial and error. Thankfully, all hope is not lost for those who may be fighting to get their severe asthma under control. We spoke with Juanita Brown Ingram, Esq. and Jania Watson, two inspiring Black women who have been living with severe asthma and have found strength, resilience, and a sense of purpose in their journeys.
Juanita Brown Ingram, Esq.
Juanita Ingram has a resume that would make anyone’s jaw drop. On top of being recently crowned Mrs. Universe, she’s also an accomplished attorney, filmmaker, and philanthropist. From the outside, it seems there’s nothing this talented woman won’t try, and likely succeed at. In her everyday life, however, Juanita exercises a lot more caution. From a young age, Juanita has struggled with severe asthma. Her symptoms were always exacerbated by common illnesses like a cold or flu. “I've heard these stories of my breathing struggles, but I remember distinctly when I was younger not being able to breathe every time I got a virus,” says Ingram. “I remember missing a lot of school and crying a lot because asthma is painful. I [was taken] to see my doctor often if I got sick with anything so I was hypervigilant as a child, and I still am.”
Today, Juanita says her symptoms are best managed when she’s working closely with her care team, avoiding getting sick and staying ahead of any symptoms. Ingram said she’s been blessed with skilled doctors who are just as vigilant of her symptoms as she is. While competing in the Mrs. Universe competition, Juanita took extra care to stay clear of other competitors to ensure she didn’t catch a cold or virus that would trigger her severe asthma. “I would stand off to the side and sometimes that could be taken as ‘oh, she thinks she's better than everybody else.’ But if I get sick during a pageant, I'm done. I had to compete with that in mind because my sickness doesn't look like everybody else's sickness.”
Even when her symptoms are under control, living with severe asthma still presents challenges. Juanita relies on her strong support system to overcome the hurdles caused by a lack of understanding from the public, “I think that there's a lot of lack of awareness about how serious severe asthma is. I would [also] tell women to advocate and to trust their intuition and not to allow someone to dismiss what you're experiencing.”
Jania Watson
Jania, a content creator from Atlanta, Georgia, has been living with severe asthma for many years. Thanks to early testing by asthma specialists, Jania was diagnosed with severe asthma as a child after experiencing frequent flare-ups and challenges in her day-to-day life. “I specifically remember, I was starting school, and we were moving into a new house. One of the triggers for me and my younger sister at the time were certain types of carpets. We had just moved into this new house and within weeks of us being there, my parents literally had to pay for all new carpet in the house.”
As Jania grew older, she was suffering from fewer flare-ups and thought her asthma was well under control. However, a trip back to her doctor during high school revealed that her severe asthma was affecting her more than she realized. “That was the first time in a long time I had to do a breathing test,” she describes. “The doctor had me take a deep breath in and blow into a machine to test my breathing. They told me to blow as hard as I could. And I was doing it. I was giving everything I got. [My dad and the doctor] were looking at me like ‘girl, stop playing.’ And at that point [it confirmed] I still have severe asthma because I've given it all I got. It doesn't really go away, but I just learned how to help manage it better.”
Jania recognizes that people who aren’t living with asthma, may not understand the disease and mistake it for something less serious. Or there could be others who think their symptoms are minor, and not worth bringing up. So, for Jania, communicating with others about her diagnosis is key. “Having severe asthma [flare-ups] in some cases looks very similar to being out of shape,” she said. “But this is a chronic illness that I was born with. This is just something that I live with that I've been dealing with. And I think it's important for people to know because that determines the next steps. [They might ask] ‘Do you need a bottle of water, or do you need an inhaler? Do you need to take a break, or do we need to take you to the hospital?’ So, I think letting the people around you know what's going on, just in case anything were to happen plays a lot into it as well.”
Like Juanita, Jania’s journey has been marked by ups and downs, but she remains an unwavering advocate for asthma awareness and support within the Black community. She hopes that her story can be an inspiration to other women with asthma who may not yet have their symptoms under control. “There's still life to be lived outside of having severe asthma. It is always going to be there, but it's not meant to stop you from living your life. That’s why learning how to manage it and also having that support system around you, is so important.”
By sharing their journeys, Juanita and Jania hope to encourage others to embrace their conditions, obtain a proper management plan from a doctor or asthma specialist like a pulmonologist or allergist, and contribute to the improvement of asthma awareness and support, not only within the Black community, but for all individuals living with severe asthma.
Read more stories from others like Juanita and Jania on Amgen.com, or visit Uncontrolled Asthma In Black Women | BREAK THE CYCLE to find support and resources.
And there’s more where that came from. The Love and Marriage: Huntsville reality star is expanding Canvas Beauty by including cosmetics and possibly products for the home. While she will still use TikTok, Stormi is also looking to create long-form content on YouTube. Stormi says Canvas Beauty is a lifestyle brand and will continue to listen to its customers to fulfill their needs. “I feel like just by listening to the consumer and becoming and building this lifestyle brand like we're just gonna slowly enter, you know, home spaces. Cosmetics,” she reveals. “Me and my colleague, we were talking about skincare just last night, so there's a lot of things that we have in the works because I really want to bring products to the market that is for a person's entire canvas, like anything that is canvas related.”
After seeing astronomical success with Body Glaze on TikTok, Stormi is paying it forward by sharing her four tips on how to market products on the popular platform.
@iamstormisteele BODY GLAZE SOLD OUT IN 8 minutes 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
Storytelling
Stormi’s first tip is storytelling because, according to her, people enjoy watching your journey. “TikTok is like one of the most friendliest platform as it comes to just people and authenticity,” she says. “So I will tell an entrepreneur, especially if their hands on with their brand, like show people the heart behind it, storytell.”
Build a Community Versus Selling
While selling products is the name of the game for any product-based business, the Canvas Beauty CEO shares the best way to do it. “Behind the scenes are always great and focus on like building a community and not more so just selling a product. So for us, like, I was selling the product, but I wasn’t saying like, ‘oh, go buy this’ or ‘buy this,’” she explains.
“I'm more so taking people on a journey with the growth of our brand and I think people resonate with that more so than, you know, just saying sell, sell, sell, and TikTok platform is very conducive to very like low-fi and just organic, real content.”
Stormi SteelePhoto courtesy Authenticity is Key
Stormi implores that sharing your journey is optimal in growing your brand on TikTok, and one of the ways to do that is by being authentic. “I would tell people, you don't have to overthink it. You don't have to think ‘oh, I don't have this type of aesthetic’ or ‘I don't have this type of setup’ because it's (TikTok) very friendly to the growing and scaling entrepreneur,” Stormi says.
“So like realistic type of content, not the type of content that's like, you know, like overly glamorized people just love to see people in their journey. So I would tell any entrepreneur, especially if you're hands on, you’re the face of your brand, just show your journey, tell your story. And this is the one platform that highlights that and celebrates that.”
Don’t Count Yourself Out
Last but not least, the hairstylist turned beauty entrepreneur encourages others not to get discouraged. “Don't ever think that even if you're a small business, what you're doing is not big enough because it's big enough to someone, and on the TikTok platform, it’s like so perfect for the Gen-Z audience,” she explains. “They love to see that type of stuff.”
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