You are not alone. 4 out of 5 women wear the wrong bra size, and as most settle with less than a stellar fit, the bracrobatic dance begins. But bracrobatics isn’t just about size - although it certainly plays a huge part in it - it’s also about picking the wrong style for your shape. Here’s everything you need to know about how to do a professional bra fitting on your self and what to look for so you can revoke your membership in the bracrobatic club.
This is one of the most infamous bracrobatics where your breasts behave like true escape artists! The breasts keep sneaking through the bottom of the cups! Here’s how to make your bra escape-proof.
The most common reason for this bracrobatic is wearing a band that’s not snug enough while the straps are too short. What gets pulled up is your bra rather than your breasts! Solve this problem by loosen the straps and tighten the band. If it is already in its tightest position, get a new bra with a smaller band size. However, before buying a new bra, make sure to measure your torso circumference properly once more because you may still wear the right size on your current bra, it just got stretched out.
If you wear a snug band and still suffer from this Bracrobatic, it’s usually a cup size problem. Most common is that the cups are not deep enough, causing the band to be pushed out, away from your ribcage so your breasts fall down. Find a style with deeper cups. Normally it is enough to just go up in cup size.
If you have a very large bust (above H-cup) with a lot of projection, a moulded cup may not be the perfect choice for you as some of them aren’t as deep as cut-and-sew cups.
Provided that you wear a big enough cup, an underwired bra will separate the breasts and provide individual support in a way that a non-wired bra usually won’t. If you are more used to wearing non-wired bras it may be worth trying on an underwired bra as it will provide better support.
The Side Squeeze happen when your bra insists on digging into your side, and you keep trying to “un-dig” it. It’s uncomfortable, annoying and sometimes quite painful! But don’t worry, everything has a solution and here’s how to find yours.
Make sure that the band size isn’t too tight. It shouldn’t leave any red marks or irritate the skin. If you feel the underwire poking into breast tissue, it means you’re wearing too small cups. Step up one or more cup-sizes while still keeping the same band-size.
Some bras, with a very thin and delicate band, may not be supportive enough. Try a bra with a wider and more supportive band and back. If you wear a larger size and have lot of “fluff” hanging over the band edge, we recommend you to try a style with an extra side wing at the armpit. The side wing smooths the transition between the bra and your skin, and can help relieve discomfort.
If the underwire poke into your torso beneath your armpit (provided that no breast tissue is squeezed, because that indicates too small cups), try a style with a lower underwire.
If you have close-set breasts with very narrow roots you may get some empty space in the cup-side. This can cause the underwire to poke into the skin beneath the armpit. In this case the cup size is too big for your breast shape even if the measure tape and size chart claim otherwise! When empty cup space appear, go down one cup size. And then try this trick – go down one band size and add an extender in the back. This will widen the back and create a fit with extra close-set cups which will better match your shape.
Your bra dig into your shoulders, to the point where red marks and dips are even visible when you’re not wearing a bra! You aren’t entirely sure if its related to your breasts or bra size, but either way you feel wearing a bra is a quite painful experiencel. Here’s how you end the pain once and for all.
One of the most common bra-related mistakes is wearing a band-size that’s too large and not supportive enough. A majority of the support should come from the band, not the straps. Go down in bandsize. If the cup has a great fit, you need to step up one cup size for each bandsize you go down, that way you will retain the same cup volume). Adjust the tightness of the straps so they won’t dig in, but not loose enough so they won’t stay up. You should be able to put in a finger between your shoulder and straps without it squeezing your finger.
If you still feel pain or if the straps leave marks, then try a style with wider straps to ensure that the pressure point will be spread across a larger area. You can also choose a bra with multiway straps that can either be hooked together in a racer-back style or as a cross-back. This makes it possible to change the straps’ pressure points throughout the day.
You spend your day pulling down the back-band. Not only is it an annoying feeling but it can also be oh so hard to reach and fix. The Hack in the Back is a classic size-related bracrobatic and quite easy to solve in just a few steps. Here’s how.
The bra riding up in the back indicates that the band size is too large and the straps are adjusted too short. Tighten the fastening in the back one or two positions. If its not enough or if it’s already at its tightest position, you will need a smaller band size. Old bras will stretch and loose its elasticity so it may also be time to buy a new bra.
If the cup fits (no squeezed tissue, no spillage), follow the rule of thumb when it comes to changing size – for each band size you go down, you need to go up one cup size to keep the same cup volume.
Do your breasts sneak out for a date with your armpits forcing you to scoop and swoop them back? This indicates you’re wearing the wrong size or style. Here’s how you make sure it won’t happen again.
When you put on your bra in the morning it’s crucial that you do the scoop and swoop to center the bust and to ensure that the breasts fit into the cups properly. But once this is done, you should not have to constantly continue with the scoop & swoop throughout the day.
It’s important that your bra band has a snug fit and that the straps are shortened enough, otherwise the cups can’t do their job properly. The most common reason for the Scoop & Swoop is that the cup is too small. The cup has to embrace the whole breast with no tissue being squeezed anywhere. It may also be the opposite –the cup size may be too large. If there are creases or empty space in the cup, it’s too big and won’t provide enough support, thus you have to regroup and center the bust.
If your breasts have wide roots or have an outward projection the Scoop & Swoop can also happen if the cup isn’t wide enough for your shape. For this, we recommend a minimizer-bra . It has wider and shallower cups than a “normal” same size bra. You can also try a bra with side support . This style has reinforced cup-sides which centers the breasts, projecting them towards the middle.
The straps constantly keeps falling down. It’s super hard to adjust them when you already wear the bra, hence the downslip up-flip continues throughout the day. With a few steps you can easily put a stop to the madness.
The straps aren’t adjusted tightly enough. Adjust your straps every morning when you put on your bra. If they still insist on getting “longer” during the day, the bra may be too worn out and need to be replaced.
Slippage sometimes occur because the straps are too wide apart for your shoulders. In this case, you may avoid Balconette styles as they traditionally tend to have the straps set far apart. Avoid using a bra extender in the back because they will increase the distance between the staps even more.
The style we recommend you to go for are bras with no-slip straps , mean the straps are sewn closer together in the back making them more likely to stay up.
If you have narrow or sloping shoulders, and no-slip straps still fall down, we recommend wearing bras where you can hook the straps together or cross them in the back making them impossible to slip down.
The shake and bake is all bracrobatics mixed into one ill fitting bra! Phew! This is a clear sizing and shape issue. And it’s really uncomfortable! But do not despair, everything has a solution and here’s how you fix it.
Did you know that a woman changes bra size about 4-5 times throughout her adult life? Even if you haven’t been pregnant, been nursing, or gained or lost a significant amount of weight, you are still likely to have changed size or proportions. Make sure to re-measure yourself before you buy a new bra. Below are tips on how to do a professional bra fitting on your own.
Is there a bra that works for everyone? Every woman is unique and so are their breasts. And because of this, no bra fits everyone. But everyone can find a bra that fits. Here are the main three areas you need to focus on when doing a fitting.
The band around your torso provides most of the support you will get from your bra, that’s why it needs to have snug fit! However it shouldn’t be so snug that it leaves red marks on the skin.
Rule of thumb – you should not be able to pull out the band in the back more than 5 cm away from your body. If you can you wear too large band size.
The band is elastic and thus will adapt to the body after about 2 weeks of use, so avoid buying a band with loose fit even if it feels more comfortable in the moment. The elasticity also means that the bra has a limited life span so when what was once a tight band size, now is ”loose” you need to invest in a new bra.
The purpose of the cup is to shape, project, lift and support the bust. Up to 30% of the bra’s support comes from the cups, but how much depends on the construction! Some styles are more supportive than others. For the cup to be able to do its work, it must enclose the whole breast and must not squeeze into the breast tissue anywhere. If the cup creases or you have empty spaces, the cup is too large. Likewise, if you have ”over-spillage” at the cup edge, the cup is too small.
HOW TO CHECK IF YOU’RE WEARING THE WRONG BRA SIZEThe straps ”only”cover 20% of the bra’s support. The most common mistake for large-busted women is to rely on the straps too much. Think of shoulder straps having the same role your shoe lace play. No matter how hard you tie the laces, they still won’t make the shoe fit if you already wear the wrong size. Straps should never be so tightly adjusted that they leave dips into your shoulders, nor should they slip down. You should be able to fit the tip of your thumb between the shoulders and straps. There are different types of straps available to accommodate your needs.
WIDE PADDED COMFORT STRAPSEven if you know your own exact bra size, you may still fit into another one or two sizes. You’ll find that these bras fit exactly or almost as well. Sometimes the wrong size is still the right size, how come? Here’s what all women should know about - the relationship between cups and band size. It will make finding a fit for you much easier.
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