so, I custom make most of my binders myself (because ive done research and know how to sew and tailor clothing do not do that yourself please unless you k ow what youre doing)
but i do own a store bought binder from spencers which is shockingly comfy and works well for me (i have an average sized chest so i cant vouch for larger cup sizes) (also its one of the few binders you can buy inperson without shipping it to your house to hide if from parents, but you do need to measure yourself beforehand, also this wasnt a problem for me (because im bery wide so my measurements are larger than my actual size) but a lot of people complain about it being a bit tight so purchase up a size for sefety please and thank u)
theres also a sewing turtorial i have tried if you do want to make one yourself, and good news its non compressive so its comfy and can be wron for longer amounts of time, i persaonlly havent made one for myself (no time and i neeed to finish the other one im making for my other friend) but i made one ad a gift for my younger sister (she still wants to be called sister at the moment) who was wanting a binder but i didnt want her to accidentally injure herself, the turtorial is by ‘dorian gay ‘ on youtube and it works really well! You do need to know how to sew or operate a sewing machiene tho, also for boning i used ridgline cuz its hella cheap on amazon i think i bought 6 mm, and it worked just fine.
But i also do use tape it gets me th flattest and best shaped but its kinda wxpensive , i mainly use it for all day events (speech tournaments mainly for me, but it can also be worn during sports and exercise, i personally havent tried it while swiming yet (because freediving weather ended right as i finally got confident enough with ky taping skills to actually wear it places) so i cant vouch for it there but everyone else says it works) ive never actually tried transtape (im not out so i cant order trans stuff online) but kiensiology (i cant spell) tape also with the brand name KT tape works for me, its kinda expensive tho (hence why i use it on specual occasion and all day events like speech tournaments or travel) can buy a roll woth like 5 ish uses (depending on your chest size and how good youre at applying it) at your local drugstore for like 10 bucks i get mine at cvs,
for taping theres plenty torutorials on youtube, and dont worry if you dont get it right the first time it took me like 20$ worth if tape before i got the hang of it. And som forrnotes on taping from me: 1 you may need to wear a sports bra over it because for me atleast it likes to roll up at my armpits and cause rashes, 2 when removing it use a shitton of conditioner/oil/soap/something and go slow to get the glue off or else you WILL tear off your skin, i have dien this a lot it hurts ans stings be smart, be careful, 3 wear nipple covers, either a circle of fabric cut to size, a bandaid, or a torn in hakf cottonpad (i also put a bit of lotion on it to help it stay down untill i tape over it also to prevent accidential tape stickage to the area)pleas put someting over your nip first because peeling tape off it will be hell.
final notes! Sorry this is messy, please do more research than just me and know proper binder saftey befoe diving in, i havent tried too many purchased cloth binders so sorry im not that good a recommending stuff in that department, but i hope this helps anyways
I AM NOT AN EXPERT SO IF SOMEONE READS THIS ND IS LIKE “(x thing sound dangerous/incorrect)” PLEASE TELL ME, I DONT WANT TO ACCIDENTALLY RECOMMEND DANGEROUS PRCTICES.
