The Bra Fitter Diaries: When Your Bra Hurts
Sometimes, no matter how much you love your bra, the relationship is doomed. You hurt your bra, your bra hurts you, and some damage just can’t be undone. In this trying time, we’ve compiled a list of signs that you and your bra might be headed for a break-up.
Oh, Elle.
How Your Bra Hurts You
Rash
Do you find you get a rash under your breasts sometimes? This is most common in warmer months, but it can happen year round. A lot of people think that this is the underwire’s fault, but poor old underwire’s just trying to support you! The problem is likely that your underwire is in the wrong place: sitting low on your ribs instead of gently nestled in the crease where your breast meets your abdomen. When the underwire sits low like that, the skin-to-skin contact of breast to bod can result in a rash.
Sore shoulders
You might blame yourself for this one. “I’m too needy!” you cry. “I want more support than any bra could give!” Not so, my achey friend! You might need more support than your current bra can give you, though. If your bra band is too big, it can’t hold you firmly enough and it falls to your bra straps to pick up the slack. The straps (understandably stressed) will dig into your shoulders in a frantic attempt to give you the support you need. Ouch!
Sore, angry armpits
This is just straight-up incompatibility, and it’s usually down to one of two problems: either this is just too much bra for you, or your shapes don’t match. Maybe you’re petite in the space between your bust and shoulders, and your bra’s sides are too tall for you. Maybe your shoulders are small or a little sloped, and your bra’s straps are really wide set.
Stabby wires
Does it sometimes feel like your bra is literally trying to stab you through the heart? Or, uh, sternum? If the centre wires are digging into your chest between your boobs, there’s a very good chance that the cups of your bra are too big. If the wires are digging into your boobs and not touching the space between them at all, the cups could be too small or they could be the wrong shape for your body.
Never!
How You Hurt Your Bra
Stringy bits
Does your bra look like it’s let itself go? Has it gone a bit scruffy lately? If you’re noticing small white strands sticking out of the band and straps of your bra, I’m sorry to say that this one might be on you. It’s a sign that the elastic is on its last legs and has been through some stuff – stuff like hot water or the dryer. Heat breaks down elastic and makes your bra sad.
Loose straps
Where once they held you firmly and lovingly, your bra’s straps now slip off your shoulders and require constant adjustment. “But I use cold water and never put my bra in the dryer! Surely this is my bra’s fault and not mine!” Well, that depends. When you hang your bra up to dry, do you hang it by the straps, or from the centre? Hanging from the straps when wet puts a lot of strain on them and stretches them out over time. Alternatively, slippy straps can be another compatibility issue. If you’ve got petite shoulders, your straps might be too wide-set or just not fully adjustable. (Flexibility is important in a relationship, after all.)
Popped wires
This is sort of like the “stabby wires” problem we talked about earlier, but more extreme. The wires of your bra have popped right through the fabric and are making a break for it! Don’t take this as a rejection of you as a person, but rather a rejection of your treatment. Washing machines, dryers, and bra flipping all lead to popped wires.
If any of the above sounds familiar, it’s my opinion as a therapist fitter that it’s time to say goodbye to your current bra. I know it’s not easy. But Broad’s here to help you through, and when you’re ready to move on we’ll set you up with one of our (really cute) friends.
