Jul 26, 2014
So I am at the very beginning of my journey with properly fitting bras. I am wondering how long really good bras, such as Chantelle, should last? I have two identical Chantelle bras I bought over 3 years ago but they are by no means everyday bras so they haven't been worn that much, especially in the last two years. They also haven't been taken care of extremely well either. Size 32B and I am still figuring out my correct size its definitely a 30 band. I always wore my bras on the tightest hook and wearing it now on the tightest hook it definitely is a little bit big but not enough to ride up. Doesn't fit correctly but definitely my best fitting bra so just curious how long they should last. Also if I were to sell it I wouldn't want to sell a bra past its life unknowingly.
Filed under Bras ups and downs
5 comments
It's not so much about how long you've had them, it's more about how many times they've been worn, how much strain they've been under (e.g. have you machine washed them or put them in the dryer--both will age them, but the dryer considerably more), and how the bras were made to begin with. Unlined seamless cups, foam padding, cheaper elastic, stretch lace, etc. don't age as well as more robust materials or construction.
A good start would be to measure the band stretched and unstretched and compare it either to the measurements on here, or to what we can assume to be within the range of "normal" for that bra. I have worn Chantelle 32 bands for over 20 years (different cup sizes) and I feel I can safely say that the Chantelles made in the past decade usually measure between 31 and 32" stretched when brand new. If yours are still in this range we can take that as an encouraging sign, if they are stretching to 34 or 35" that's an indication they are pretty worn out.
Thanks! I don't recall if I ever machine dried then (perhaps once or twice) and I have definitely machine washed them in a lingerie bag. I get about 25" unstretreched and about 28" stretched, 29" stretched as far as possible? Can that be right?
This thread has 5 comments. Log in to read them