If you dont mind i need advice

[LilKittyCatZoey]

I ask you guys because you were forced to be girls(or weren't forced) so will know a lot better than me  Well when you had to first wear a bra how did you know or how did your parents know when? sorry to ask i really just need to know!! oh and best bras that would conceal them best  please give advice on this to thank you!!

EDIT: getting properly measured is no option and i like talking with the guys once in a while thats why i asked here 

[Da Monkey]

I was about 9 or 10 when I got them, I tried so hard to go the longest I could without getting one. But my mom forced me when I was 10 or 11 can't really remember. She just dragged me and my twin sister and made us try on a bunch. Even though I felt like I hated it in a different way than my twin it was still nice to have someone to suffer with me hahah.

A lot of MTF develop breasts and will know a lot about cup sizes. You can actually ask people at stores to measure you if you're really stuck.

Since the best things to conceal them for us FTMs is an underworks binder but obviously that's not what you're asking hahah.

[Nygeel]

I wasn't forced to be a girl. My mother said it was time to get a bra when I was 16 and about a C cup.

Sports bras can mush 'em down.

[malinkibear]

From what I remember, my mother just bought me training bras for a while, until I told her that girls at school were making fun of me for not wearing a proper one. She just guessed my size, comfort be damned.

[Annah]

I ask you guys because you were forced to be girls(or weren't forced) so will know a lot better than me  Well when you had to first wear a bra how did you know or how did your parents know when? sorry to ask i really just need to know!! oh and best bras that would conceal them best  please give advice on this to thank you!!

EDIT: getting properly measured is no option and i like talking with the guys once in a while thats why i asked here 

get your mom to measure ya since she is sympathetic to your transition.

Also, for MTF, you will know when you will start to need a bra. Plus, having your mom or friend measure your sizes such as your band size, it is a much easier experience.

At JC Penney, we do a lot of measurements so Im a pro at it.

[Alexmakenoise]

I started to develop around the same time as other girls I knew.  I asked my mom for a training bra because it seemed like the thing to do.  Then my mom started buying me bras, but they were always too small because she was uncomfortable with the fact that I had a large chest.

Once I started buying bras on my own, I just tried on different sizes until I found the best fit.  This is pretty easy to do if you have an hour to spend at a store that carries a wide range of bra sizes, like a department store.

If trying on bras in a store isn't an option, and getting professionally measured isn't an option, maybe you could measure yourself with a tape measure (or have someone help).  Google could probably help you find a chart translating measurements to bra sizes.

[LordKAT]

When I had to cross my arms on my chest to keep em from painfully bouncing, my mom asked my dad if I could get one. I have weird parents. I never got a say in the if or size. Certainly not ever measured for one. I didn't know they even did that until reading it on this site. but then my sister had a kid before I ever knew what a sanitary belt was.

[Lee]

I'm sure there's a sizing guide somewhere online if you would like to measure it yourself.

I'm not sure how my mother decided when I needed bras.  One day a bunch of sports bras showed up, and a couple of years later they were replaced with regular ones.  Sorry I'm not much help. 

As for hiding them you could try a tight sports bra or some extra layers.

[Arch]

My mother decided I needed a bra when I was...I'm not sure how old, but I was in junior high. Maybe twelve or thirteen. I just remember the horror of being in the lingerie department at Sears, and she was passing the things in to me while I was in the changing room. I was mortified.

I got teased a lot in the locker room in seventh grade because I didn't wear a bra and because...apparently the ultimate insult...I was so underdeveloped that didn't need one yet. Then, when I started wearing one, I was harassed because I wore a bra that I didn't need. You can't freaking win.

How did my mother know I needed a bra? She didn't. She just thought it was inappropriate for me not to wear one at that age. I needed a bra like I needed a hole in my head. I could easily have waited another year or two, but it wasn't about that. It was about "propriety."

[LilKittyCatZoey]

Thanks i am pretty sure i need but ug i dont feel like being harassed or getting enough guts to ask my mom or friend to help. But thanks for the tips i will use them eventually.

[Julian]

From what I can remember, one day my mom guessed my size, and went out and bought me one. 

[Natkat]

I feel kinda funny cause I just realise I never have wore a bra in my life...

[LilKittyCatZoey]

I feel kinda funny cause I just realise I never have wore a bra in my life...

[Devyn]

I was around a B cup in 4th or 5th grade, but didn't get a bra until 6th grade because I didn't want one but my mom forced me to.

My mom just sort of dragged me into the store eventually and got me measured.

I never bought my own bras. That was humiliation to the extreme in my opinion, my mom always bought my bras and underwear, I bought my clothes. I've bought my binders and boxers since then, of course. Like my mom will buy that stuff for me. haha

[Sharky]

When I was about 8 my mom got me a bunch of wife beaters and to
ld me to wear them under everything. Then when I was about 10 she did the same with sport bras. I was completely obliviousthat i was growing boobs. Pretty sure they are just small/medium/large. Some how a few of these wife beaters survived and when I was looking for something red white and blue to wear on the 4th I came across them. I didn't clean up after myself when I was done rummaging and my grandma washed them and stuck them with the ones I wear now. The when I was getting ready for work I unknowingly grabbed a kids sized one and was all confused.

[emil]

I never knew what a sanitary belt is until i just googled it oO. Where i live the pads have double-sided tape to hold them in place....

back on topic: since you're quite sure you'll need one, you can just go to a store  by yourself, and take the smallest five sizes to the fitting room.
another option would be to measure yourself before you go bra shopping. there's bra size generators on the web. all you need to do is measure around the widest part of your boobs and then measure the circumference right below your boobs (the latter gives you the size as in 32 inches, 34 inches etc.). The cup size (A, B, C..) depends on the difference between the two numbers (e.g. 36 inches - 34 inches).

Band    inch    0    <1    1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10    11    12    13    14    15    16
Cupsize    U.S.    AA    A    B    C    D    DD    DDD/E/F    DDDD/F/G    G/H/J    I/J/K    J    K    L    M    N    -    -    -
Cupsize    UK/Austr.    A    AA    B    C    D    DD    E    F    FF    G    GG    H    HH    J    JJ    K    KK    L

.....once you have found your size, e.g. 32 A, you have a rough idea of what size to buy. unfortunately most bras run small or run large, so if you measured yourself as a 32 A, you should also try on a 30 A, 32 AA, 32 B, 34 AA and 34 A. I know, it's a hassle, but you want your first bra to fit.

I'd go for a place like target rather than victoria's secret etc. because they carry more different sizes (for girls in their early teens and such) and shapes.
For your first bra you might want to get something that's mostly cotton and maybe doesn't have an underwire. At least that's what's recommended for young teens.

A sports bra does keep them down a little bit, but they're kinda hard to find in small sizes. maybe a teen sports apparel department would be a place to find one - or else, H&M carries XS sports bras.

[Devyn]

I never knew what a sanitary belt is until i just googled it oO. Where i live the pads have double-sided tape to hold them in place....

I know, right? I had to google it too. xD

[wheat thins are delicious]

My mom made me start wearing a bra when I was 11 because I was going to a new school where we had to wear white uniform shirts and I guess she thought I might start developing soon. 

[Adio]

My mom made me start wearing bras in 5th grade.  I didn't mind wearing them so much, but I was absolutely mortified when she pointed out I need one in the middle of a shop.  I was incredibly embarrassed, especially because I hadn't been aware I needed one.

I wonder if this question would have been better asked in the mtf subforum.  With HRT many women need bras.  It seems odd to ask men a question about bras, but that's just my opinion.

[wheat thins are delicious]

I wonder if this question would have been better asked in the mtf subforum.  With HRT many women need bras.  It seems odd to ask men a question about bras, but that's just my opinion.

I think she figures because we were born female we have some idea about bras but honestly we were either unaware of and/or hated our bodies so we didn't know much about that, or were young enough to not remember.  I mean I was 11, so that was about 13 years ago, I can barely remember what happened a few weeks ago.  It would be better for her to post on the MTF forum as it would be more helpful, they probably remember more/have more experience with this.  And a lot less ->-bleeped-<-ty than asking a bunch of men to remember something from a past they would rather not relive.