[SpyralBound]

I'm 38DD and the Mika Tula "Curvaceous" top did not work for me by itself. I have to wear it over a regular bra. Granted, on the site it says it only goes up to 36DD, so I knew I was taking a risk when I bought it that it wouldn't fit me. It technically "fit" ok, but offered NO support and exposed a bit more skin than I was comfortable with. 

[SpyralBound]

chelle2pole, welcome!

In regards to your last question, it takes more than one practice session to "conquer" a move, even the beginner moves. Transitions, walking around the pole and doing body waves and such, will likely not take very long to pick up. But as you move into spins, holds and climbs, you might find you can't get the hang of them right away. Or you might find one variation easier than another – I learned the Back Hook Spin much easier than the Front Hook, it took several months for my Front Hook to look as nice as the Back.

You will also find some moves HURT quite a bit and it takes time to get used to the pain. Your first time doing a pole sit or pole climb will likely hurt a lot, and you won't be able to stay up there for very long. Don't let that discourage you! If you keep practicing, before you know it you won't even notice the pain of a Pole Sit.

I'm an intermediate dancer and I still have to remind myself when learning new moves that hurt, to keep practicing them until they don't hurt. It's a "mind over matter" thing in most cases. That said, if something REALLY hurts, and I mean more than just the ache of your skin being pulled on but like deep muscular pain, shooting pain in your arms and wrists, stop what you're doing. Rest periods are very important to the beginning pole dancer; you don't want to seriously injure yourself because that could mean you're off the pole for weeks or even months. 

So in short, pay attention to what your body is telling you, take your time progressing through the lessons, and don't get discouraged by things you 'can't do.' Because it's not that you can't do them, it's that you can't do them…YET. 🙂 

 

[SpyralBound]

Ninja … I have a few choice words for Victoria's Secret for that very reason. I got measured at JCPenney as a teen and they put me at a 36DD verging on DDD. Since then I'ved moved up a band size and can generally wear a DD, only certain styles do I need a DDD. But this is a good reminder, I should go to a proper lingerie store and get measured again. I'm pursuing breast reduction surgery and any measurements I can get to send to the insurance company will be helpful for me to get coverage. 

I ordered the largest size of Mika's "Curvaceous Tula Top" last month. It technically "fit" but it did not offer anything in the way of support (how could it, with those teeny-tiny straps?), and I was uncomfortable with the amount of skin it left exposed, though I probably should have been able to guess that from the photo of the model on the site. 

I've pretty much resorted to layering bras. I'm going to keep the Tula top and wear it over some of my plain black sports bras. Trouble is, those things are old and stretched out so I need to replace them anyway. 

The sad conclusion I've reached is that as a DD+ lady I can't get away with just a "fashion" top, I need something with structure and support. And you just don't see that from pole clothing lines, you pretty much have to look at specialty sports bras and hope they either come in a cute pattern (unlikely – the clothing industry does not like the idea of cute clothes on busty ladies) or otherwise are easily layerable.

And the sports bras aren't always flattering, I've found that a lot of them mash the boobs into weird shapes and create no separation or pleasant lines. I've found that for me, any bra with a round "scoop" neckline makes it look like my boobs are hanging from my neck in a grocery bag. 

[SpyralBound]

I use Windows Movie Maker. It's free from Microsoft. If you have Windows 7 or above you might already have it on your machine; otherwise, you can download it from the Microsoft website. 

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/get-movie-maker-download

I've been shopping around for better ones, though, because I'd like to get more creative than WMM lets me. But it's been fine for my normal videos here. 

MAKE SURE before you do this, though, that the file format that your phone uses is compatible with Microsoft progress. Apple and Microsoft like to screw you over on that! 

[SpyralBound]

You can make pole into a cardio workout too, just freestyle and keep moving instead of working on tricks only. Put on some high-paced music and just go! That's the nice thing about pole, it's pretty versatile. You get out of it what you put into it. 

I have a scale at home that *supposedly* calculates your body fat and water percentage. For the past at least six months (I wasn't weighing in regularly before that) it's been telling me my body fat percentage is 16.9% and water was 56.6% (some tiny variations here or there; my fat this morning was 17.1% for the first time in forever). I am 5'5" and 170lbs give or take a couple. So that measurement seems … off to me. Even looking at me I feel I'm more than 17% fat – mostly in my chest! 

Buuuuuut I'm too cheap to shell out for a better measurer. 

[SpyralBound]

My concern is that when I'm smaller, my tummy flub is going to be harder to ignore. That's why I've resolved to try to get my body in great shape before I go in for surgery. For one, I won't be able to pole for several months during recovery (the push/pull movements of pole are a super no-no) and for two, I don't want to be like "Well, OK, now the boobs are right but the rest is all wrong!" 

[SpyralBound]

I LOVE BustyGirlComics! Been a while since I visited. Thanks for linking! 

Karencanclimb – Acceptable but industrial/sturdy – I think you hit the nail on the head there. I had a bikini like that once. Did the job, and was a nice color, but the design – well, the underwire was visible and it clipped in the back like a bra. Ugh. 

Lyme, I could be wrong but I thought you read you'd had an explantation? Or am I thinking of Tarah?

Ninja, I'll have to check it out. I think for now I'm done spending money on myself, though. Holidays and all that. But maybe for summertime… 

[SpyralBound]

I think it's worth noting, too, that a lot of amateur dancers don't upload their sexiest stuff to YouTube, or don't make it publicly visible. (I know I set all my videos to Unlisted, so only people whom I give the link can see it, and I turn off comments.) YouTube can be a vicious, vicious place. 

Another reason we're all so glad for StudioVeena! Rare to see any viciousness around here. 

[SpyralBound]

OK, the Curvaceous Tula Top from Mika came in the mail yesterday. And…did not fit. 🙁 It was great around the ribs, but still not enough material to hold everything in. I thought I'd take a chance because it said the XL could fit up to 36DD, and I'm 38… but no. 

I'm still going to hang onto it, though, because I think I could layer it over one of my aging, fading sports bras, and it matches my pole shorts. And who knows, when I get the reduction, I might be able to use it by itself. 

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. At least now I know a Mika XL is not XL enough. *Sigh* back to the drawing board… wish I knew how to sew…

[SpyralBound]

Everyone brings their own flair to pole dancing – whether that be sexy, poetic/artistic, athletic, or any combination of the above.

Perhaps you are seeing a lot of non-sexy videos because pole dancing has become so accessible to "laypeople," to women (and men!) of all ages, backgrounds, and physical abilities. For many, this is primarily a fitness activity, and the sexy side of it holds no appeal. To each her own, I say. 

I definitely wouldn't say the sexy is gone from pole dance. It's definitely still there. And the abundance of non-exotic dancers is actually a good thing – it's chipping away at the public stigma around pole dancing, giving our ladies the space to be sexy and unashamed. 

[SpyralBound]

I've definitely gotten reactions like those you describe, Ninja. Usually I'm quick to point out to the disadvantages associated with my chest size. 

"I wish I had boobs as big as yours!"
"You say that now, but come swimsuit shopping with me sometime." 

I try to be sensitive, though. For many women, curves are a symbol of femininity. I can understand how women who have string-bean bodies or who aren't well-endowed in the breast department feel less feminine because of it. (That's a big part of the problem I have with the "real women have curves" campaigns; non-curvy women are real women too.)

I know what it's like to not feel feminine. Before pole, I was not very in touch with my feminine side and often felt I had trouble relating to women because I didn't feel, well, woman enough. Even with huge breasts and a decent ass! I did not feel very "female" on the inside. 

Not only that, but there is sexual/social status involved with having large breasts. In our "bigger is better" culture, it's assumed that women with big tits have better luck with men. They get more attention, are more desirable, and stand out in crowds. What some women who have never experienced large-breastitude don't always realize is that, well, we don't necessarily want all that extra attention. Sure, we might have an advantage getting that cute guy across the bar to notice us, but not before every other creeper in the place has undressed us with his eyes, touched or groped us, or made some sort of comment to let us know he noticed our boobs before anything else on us. 

It's a grass is always greener thing for sure. 

I admit I've had some fun with it, too, though. I have a guy friend who has motorboating privileges. 😉 And at parties in college, I used to stick a bottle of drink in my cleavage and lean back to drink it with no hands. A couple weeks ago I attended a drag show, and BOY did the drag queens give a lot of attention to my boobs (to be fair, I was wearing them high and tight – cleavage ahoy!). 

I've been thinking about a reduction since I was still a teen, but it wasn't until this past summer that I actually *decided* to go for it, after Husband and I decided we're not planning to have kids. I was sort of shocked to feel a little panicky after I made the choice – I didn't realize I'd come to identify with my breasts. I'm used to being a woman with big boobs, used to the comments and attention (welcome or unwelcome), used to commiserating with my well-breasted sisters… I'd been so focused on the physical benefits of the surgery, I'd not considered that it could affect my identity and sense of self. 

Like, if you woke up tomorrow and were a B cup, you'd probably be physically and emotionally relieved – but wouldn't it be strange to see yourself that way? Would you recognize yourself without your boobs? Might you miss them, even a little bit? 

[SpyralBound]

I feel sad, Glitter, that you've been on the receiving end of so much rudeness in the pole community. You don't deserve it. (None of us does.) 

You'd think that a leading provider of clothes for pole dancers would understand the importance of boobal coverage and support. I can't help thinking of strippers with implants that push them into the D+ sizes. I mean, maybe it's a little less important to have adequate coverage and support when you're just gonna take it off anyway, but still, these ladies have to get their costumes somewhere, right? 

I can kinda see the point in limiting the selection to certain sizes – after all, it does cost money to produce and stock all the different sizes in all the different colors, so if you want to make a profit, you narrow things down to the stuff you'll sell the most of. And we curvy girls are in the minority among polers, at least from my perspective – I've seen more dancers who have, say, Veena's body type than I've seen those who share mine. (No hate or disrespect, V!) 

So I get it from a business perspective. But there's *opportunity* here. There's an entire underserved market with money to spend. How this escapes the attention of so many retailers is beyond me. 

[SpyralBound]

Wow, Glitter, I'd agree that that was pretty rude! "Most polers"… most polers where? That's what I wanna know. 

If you're gonna make a line of clothes just for pole dancers, then it's on you to spend some time out in the world with pole dancers. This means, NOT just at competitions. NOT just around advanced dancers. NOT just at one studio or in one city. Otherwise, you're not really making clothes for pole dancers; you're making clothes for your friends, who happen to pole dance. 

I don't intend to compete, ever. (Competition brings out the worst in me.) I'd like to perform in showcases, but even that isn't a big deal to me. But even if I am dancing in my living room for the rest of my poling life, I still want cute clothes, dammit! Just because I'm "invisible" to the pole community doesn't mean I don't count and don't deserve to look hawt. 

Ugh. Obviously touched a nerve there. 

[SpyralBound]

It is pretty sad how all the specialty pole wear seems designed for leggy, size zero girls with no boobs – but that's probably because most of the famous pole dancers who run the companies are petite and have athletic frames. It would be fantastic for an average sized person to design a pole fitness/costume line – I would totally buy it!

Hear, hear! For all the celebration of body types and sizes and abilities and such in the pole dancing world, it certainly doesn't show up in our pole-specific clothing lines. 

Every once in a while the little Green Monster of Envy pops up when I visit the studio or hang out with my pole friends, because I'm pretty much the only one with my body type. They are slim, leggy, some petite and some tall, and none of them very busty. They're all beautiful – I love them and I love how they dance! But they can carry off a look that I can't because of their body type. I mean, even getting away from breasts for a second, platform heels look way different on a woman who's 5'11" and lean with long legs than they do on someone 5'5" with stocky, short legs. 

I'll have to try that questionairre. Along with bowling-ball boobs, I also have a pretty short torso. I don't have a lot of space between the bottom of my bust and my waist. I have to be very cautious wearing anything belted across the middle so it doesn't visually chop me in half. So a questionnaire that factors in everything going on around the boobs sounds like a good idea. 

[SpyralBound]

Preach it, Lulu! Nothing pisses me off more than sifting through the XLs in sportswear and still not being able to find something cute the covers the girls. I'd love to see more sportswear for busty women – not just bras, but cute tops like the Bad Kitty one that pantherchild linked to. We want to be cute and sexy too! I'm sure if you did do a clothing line like that, you'd have little trouble finding a following for it – especially if there was a way to make them more affordable. It drives me up the wall that b-cup women can grab something cute and sexy off the rack for $15 while I'm a couple aisles over bargaining with myself over how many $50-60 bras I can justify buying in one trip. 

The Panache one looks pretty awesome, actually! I like how there is definition between the breasts, not just a band of fabric spanning the gap, or the dreaded Uniboob. I've had sports bras in the past that made the girls look *bigger* and that's the last thing I need. 

While we're on the topic, can we talk about boob sweat? I swear I sweat more between and under my breasts than anywhere else on my body. And it STINKS – at the end of the day, my boobs often smell kinda yeasty and gross. I've seen differing opinions about this but the consensus seems to be that it's not really a good idea to use antiperspirant anywhere but your armpits (though I've used it myself on my inner thighs to prevent chafing if I'm wearing a skirt with no hose or something).