Be Your Breast Self {Title Nine Giveaway}

Up until last year, I thought sports bras came in three sizes – small, medium and large. Or, for the fancy stores, there were five or six with sizes on either spectrum getting an "x" in front of the letter.

It was when I got pregnant for the second time that I not only learned that there as many sizes as there are styles but there is such a need. Going from a 34A to 34D seemingly overnight, I could no longer wear the minimum support styles tjhat I had bought more for fashion than function. After all, wearing a bra at that size was more of a formality and social convention than anything else.

I felt a bit lost when looking for a new style but it was the kind followers on Facebook who directed me to Moving Comfort, specifically to the Juno and Fiona styles. I found some on sale online and guessed my size.

Yes, guessed – because that's how you size bras.

Most women wear the wrong size sports bra and the average size is 36C. A number and a letter, ladies – not small, medium and large. But more than that, most sports bras are made for A/B cups.

To get in the right bra, it is so important to go to your running store and get fitted just as you would for a pair of shoes. After all, why would you treat your feet better than your boobs?

That's where Title Nine comes in.

Title Nine is a retailer with brick-and-mortar stores in more than 20 cities and an impressive website, offering not just sports bras but everything the active woman needs. They’ve tested thousands of bras and found just the right ones to support our workouts and our curves, whether you’re a 32AA or a 40EEE. Title Nine uses their expert bra fit specialists ­– bravangelists ­– to get women in the right bras.

The company recently offered me the chance to speak with one of their bravangelists. As there are no Title Nine stores near me, I spoke with Marsha over the phone. She and I had set up a time via email (8:30 p.m., a time I appreciated as both kids were in bed) and she called me promptly. We chatted about what bras I was wearing, what size I had been buying (and how it felt), what activities I participated in and what my needs were.

Sports bra shoppers can also go to Title Nine's Bra Genie to find the right bra.

In short order: Juno (x2), Fiona (x1) and Vixen (x1); 34D and good (I had later measured via a tutorial); running; and nursing.

One might not think about factoring in breastfeeding but as Marsha and I discussed, it plays a big part. My size is not consistent – not just day to day but from the start of the run to the end. I also need to be available to offer some "swoob" (sweaty boob) the minute I walk in the door.

Marsha was prepared to help me and, as fate would have it, she was ready to suggest the Juno. But, as I have two, she wanted to give me the chance to try something different. While I love the Juno, I really appreciated the option to go in a different direction. It can be tough, she said, to find something in the D-DD range that will keep you in place but she had ideas. Among her suggestions were the Tech Athena and the Moving Comfort Jubralee.

Just one thing – she didn't actually call it the Jubralee but rather the Booby Trap. As those who have shopped at Title Nine have discovered, the store doesn't list the styles in the same way as the manufacturers. I think this is a bit confusing but Marsha said it was to avoid copyright/licensing/legal mumbo jumbo-type issues. (That last part is all me, not her.)

There were merits to each bra but the features she stressed for me were adjustable straps to accommodate size fluctuations and compression/support. Racerback styles, like the Juno, offer more front compression than a sports bra with two straps like a traditional bra. The Jubralee offers three rows of hook-and-eye closures to adjust band size and the straps can be adjusted thanks to Velcro and a loop on the front of the bra.

The strap feature might seem different given how we adjust traditional bras but it is so awesome. Seriously. One, if you feel chafing during a run, you can stop, pause your GPS and adjust quickly and discretely. There's no struggle to reach behind your back. Two, you can release the cups of the bra from the straps and fold it down for easy nursing. It's swoob for days, I tell you. And, I can nurse Si at daycare before a pre-work run without showing a room full of 5-year-olds the goods.

Just keeping it real, y'all.

Before you think it's silly to invest in a good sports bra when I won't be nursing forever (hopefully), think on this: your sports bra shouldn't have a birthday. If you bought one last summer and are still wearing it now, you might want to think about getting another one. And if you are still wearing the sports bra you bought when you first started running, you really need to get a new one.

Like now.

And I can help.

Title Nine is offering one reader a chance to have her own bra fitting and receive the proper bra. Yes, that's a free sports bra for you.

Enter using the widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Please note that readers living near a Title Nine store will do the fitting there. If there's not a Title Nine near you, you will have the chance to do a fitting chat and order from the website.

Disclosure: I received a free sports bra in exchange for this post but I did receive additional compensation. All opinions are my own.