The Bra Fitter Diaries: I Saw The (Bra Fit) Sign

I’d like to start this week’s chat by getting Ace of Base’s “The Sign” stuck in your head. Just kidding! (Too late?) Let’s start with a little story.

When I was a teenager I did all my bra shopping at the mall. I always stuck to B cups, because I was sure that anything over a B was huge. If a bra felt too big or small, I’d go up or down in the band until I found something tolerable. (Sound like you? Read this.) No matter what I did, it never felt quite right. The band was always riding up, the straps often slipped off my shoulders, and the cups never stayed put – if I reached up to get something from a high shelf, the wires would move up onto my breasts. I figured bras were just supposed to be uncomfortable.

If I’d been able to work with a bra fitter back then, a) I would have had much happier boobs, and b) she would have seen immediately that my bra didn’t fit. Here’s what she would have been looking for:

Straps

Straps can slip off your shoulders if they’re too loose, or if they’re set too wide for petite shoulders.

They can dig if your band is too big, placing all the weight of your boobs onto the straps. Either way, if you’re constantly adjusting your bra straps throughout the day, something’s off.

Band

The band of your bra should sit straight across your back, parallel to the floor. If the band rides up, the cups will drop down, putting undue stress on the straps. This leads to pain, discomfort, and a less-than-ideal look. Usually when this happens, it’s because the band is larger than you need.

Left: Bad idea. Right: Good idea!

A lot of us are used to fairly loose bands, but a snugger fit is best. About 80% of the support you get from a bra should come from the band, so it needs to be snug enough to stay put!

Wires

Wires are shaped differently on different bras. Some are designed for shallow breasts, some for projected. Some come up really high under the arms, others stop fairly low.

If your wires dig at the sides, it could be that the cup size of the bra is too small, or the wires come up too high under your arms. The centre wires should (ideally) sit flush against your chest, between your breasts. A slight tilt towards your fuller side isn’t a big deal, but if the centre wires dig in or completely float away from your body, that’s a sign that something’s amiss. Centre wires digging in is often a sign of too-big cups, while floating centre wires can be a sign of too-shallow/too-small cups or too-wide wires.

Cups

The top of the cup should lie more or less flat against your breast, rather than pressing or gaping. A cup that presses in along the top can look lumpy under a shirt: the dreaded quad-boob! That press can happen for a few reasons. The cup’s shape might not be right for your boobs – if the bra is shallow and you’re projected, the cups will just smoosh your breast tissue up and over the edge of the cup. Alternatively, you might just need to go up a cup size.

Left: Bad idea. Right: Good idea!

If there’s some extra room in the cup, it might be too big for you. Before going down a cup size though, try making a small adjustment: use one hand to hold the underwire in place and reach the other hand into the cup, lifting your breast up and in. Do the same on the other side. This ensures that your boobs are fully encased in the bra, rather than having the wires sitting on breast tissue.

This is just a basic overview of bra fit signs; for a more in-depth check-up, come visit us for a fitting!