I played sports in high school: track & field, softball, and cheerleading. I distinctly remember that I was a 34 shell (top) in my cheerleading uniform but had to order a 36 because I couldn't zip it past my boobs. My mom still displays my senior year photos on her living room end table and there I am...smiling in all of my 17-year-old glory in my baggy cheerleading shell. My track and softball uniforms were fine because they weren't meant to be form fitting, but the problem was what to wear to practice. For me, it was a baggy t-shirt and two bras: a regular bra and a sports bra over it. The sports bra soaked up the dreaded underboob sweat and gave added support. Occasionally, I'd wear a racerback tank top but I had to avoid the ones with the shelf bras because they created more problems than solutions. The shelf bra didn't cover the entirety of my breasts and as a result it made my them look weird. There was an indentation just below the nipple line where the elastic band rested because there wasn't enough fabric for it to rest where it was supposed to: just under the bust. Also, the shelf bra made my chest look bunched and distorted, and I had to be sure that the neckline was high enough to cover cleavage.
As usual the trials and tribulations of my youth got the wheels turning in my adult head. Why not manufacture a racerback tank top with a shelf bra for busty ladies like myself? The shelf bra could offer light support, reduce the nipples from showing though, and catch any extra underboob sweat. For a busty woman, there's no such thing as too much support. I have since found a sports bra that is super supportive and I don't need to double up bras when I work out anymore. I also like to wear Exclusively Kristen's camisoles when I want to go braless and let the girls be free, but not too free...like when I sleep or lounge around the house on a low key day as well as underneath a suit jacket or cardigan. I don't have any kids yet, but a friend of mine with two kids said that she would've loved having Exclusively Kristen's shelf bra tank tops while nursing to ease the process and catch leakage. I am all about solving problems and I think I have cracked the code to busty girl comfort while working out, nursing, sleeping, and lounging.