The racerback nursing bra. Does this exist?

June 1, 2009 5:30 PM

(ahem) Women of MeFi: Seeking information on nursing bras. Difficulty level: racerback.

Google-fu has failed Mrs. Q. in her quest for a racerback nursing bra.

Racerback, because it's summer here and lots of sleeveless tops are on offer and nursing, because, well, she's still nursing.

The only one that keeps coming up is from Bravado, which she has tried and hates because it lacks support (the wide elastic band that runs across the bottom front has a tendency to fold).

She picked up a 6-pack of widgets earlier today that (purports) to turn regular ol' bras into racerbacks via a little thingie that pulls the straps together in the back. I wonder if such a thing will be comfortable since it seems like it'll pull in a way not designed for the apparatus, but I'm only the husband here and the whole thing is a bit out of my milieu.

A single (dated) reference to an alternative has popped up in web searches but the company seems to have stopped making them.

I've gone through a few of the older threads on the subject but have come up dry so far. Does such a thing exist, or will the widget have to suffice?

posted by jquinby to clothing, beauty, & fashion (8 comments total)

Motherhood sells them. There's also a convertible nursing bra from Japanese Weekend, a brand lots of my mom-friends adore.

Racerback bras are also called "t-back" so that may help your Google-Fu. Don't forget to try "racer back" and "racing back" as well.
posted by Sidhedevil at 5:40 PM on June 1

I'll be damned. I think she had checked Motherhood, but didn't find them there awhile back. The Japanese Weekend stuff intrigues her. Thanks!
posted by jquinby at 6:01 PM on June 1

For an all-cotton, but still lots of support version that's custom made to measurements and still reasonable, price-wise, I love Decent Exposures. A billion colors, lots of different permutations of back style, flap style, rib-elastic style, plus any imaginable size combination or custom hack. If you call or email, the makers are crazy helpful through every step or question. Plus, they're non sweat-shop made in Seattle. Love, love, love for an everyday bra (maybe not for fancier dressing, but awesome for active and every day).
posted by rumposinc at 6:11 PM on June 1

How old is the little one? Once my son reached about 7 or 8 months and wasn't nursing 24/7, I stopped using nursing bras. It was much easier to wear a regular (and more attractive) bra and just pop it up when the boy needed to nurse. Alternately, depending on her cup size, she could purchase a demi cup from Victoria Secret and just pull it down a bit to nurse.

And don't doubt the confidence that comes with a good (NON NURSING) bra. I felt "real" when I gave them up.

Of course, I hated finagling the hooks on nursing bras, so I managed to make this work fairly quickly and effectively. HMMV.
posted by Lullen at 6:21 PM on June 1

Medela's Comfort Maternity Nursing Bra. I have a couple of these. Very comfortable. Might not be supportive enough without defined cups. My only complaint is that the straps ride very close to my neck, so many necklines don't hide them.
posted by cocoagirl at 7:00 PM on June 1

I came in here to say what Lullen did. I wear them out in a bit of a hurry from all the pulling it aside, but it works a lot better overall for me.
posted by kmennie at 11:17 PM on June 1

Awesome, thank you one and all for the feedback! It looks like some stuff is on order from Japanese Weekend (which, I have to say sounds more like the name of a band than a line of bras).
posted by jquinby at 5:37 AM on June 2

seconding Decent Exposures.

i love them and their bras keep my tits happy.
posted by rmd1023 at 9:58 AM on June 2