Troubleshooting Common Bra Fitting Problems |
| The Bra Cups Pucker |
| | Cause: | Your cup size is too large. |
| | Resolution: | Go down one cup size, while keeping the same band size, or tighten your bra straps.
|
| My
Breasts are "Bulging" Over the Top of the Bra |
| | Cause: | Cup size is either too small or cut too low for the size of your breasts.
|
| | Resolution: | Try going up one cup size, while keeping the same band size, or choose a style of bra that has more fabric in the cup. For example, try a full coverage cup rather than a demi cup. |
| One Cup Fits Fine, but the Other One Puckers |
| | Cause:
| One breast
is larger than the other. Don't panic, this is
very common. |
| | Resolution: | Most
often the difference is not noticeable. However, if
yours is significant, you do have options. You can
try a bra with a stretchy fabric in the cup so that
it conforms more to your own differences. You can also
try a bra with a fiberfill, light padding or molded
cups to help hide the differences. Finally, you can
purchase bra inserts to use to build up the smaller
breast or bras with removable inserts that you can
take out of the larger side. |
| I Have Rashes or Redness Underneath the Breasts |
| | Cause: | Your cup is too small, your underwire is not in the breast crease, and your bra does not give enough support to lift your breasts off your ribcage. Consequently, your breast skin is overlapping and rubbing on your ribcage skin and irritation is occurring. |
| | Resolution: | Increase your cup size until you find the right underwire that fits within your breast crease comfortably. Choose a bra that has a band on the bottom. This band will give additional support and insure your breast tissue does not come in contact with your ribcage skin. Select a bra with a supportive cup design such as 2 to 3 section cups, contains support panels at the bottom, along the sides and possibly all the way around your breast. Finally, consider a wireless bra with a band and good supporting cup design. |
| My Bra Size is Correct, but Breast Tissues Falls Out Near the Underarms |
| | Cause: | You have the wrong style of bra. |
| | Resolution: | Triangle
bra styles and other skimpy bras are probably not for you.
Such styles are more for women who don't need much
bra support. Remember, not all bra styles will work on
your figure - even if they come in your size. |
| The Underwires Pop Out of My Bras |
| | Cause: | Your band size is probably too large. If your band is moving around your body, this friction wears down the casing covering of your underwire and ultimately causes a hole for the wire to pop out. In a really bad fit, this hole can occur within a matter of hours. The fabric sewn over underwires inside a bra, called channeling, is sometimes made of cotton. Washing in hot water can shrink the channeling and force the underwire to pop out. The manufacturer may not have sewn enough stitches to close the underwire channel and the underwire has been able to pop out. |
| | Resolution: | Try a smaller band size and a larger cup size (for example, go from a 38D to a 36DD) and see if your bra stays in place better. Never wash your lingerie in hot water or put in a dryer. If your wire popped out due to a sewing error, it can be fixed with an alteration. |
| The Underwire is Uncomfortable and Poking Underneath the Arm |
| | Cause: | The cup size is too small and places the underwire right on the tender breast tissue and too far forward on the body. The style of the bra is not providing a wide enough cup to support your breast, or the design of the bra is placing the cups too close together. |
| | Resolution: | Try going up a cup size and see if the underwire fits more comfortably (e.g.: 36C to a 36D). Or try a different style bra with fuller cup coverage and/or a larger center panel in front. A large-breasted woman can still experience poking on the sides, even in a bra that is the correct size. Therefore, she should look for a bra that has side support panels. These panels will push your breast tissue towards the front and away from under your arms. Also, if this problem is occurring with a minimizer, you should probably stop wearing a minimizer. A minimizer works by flattening your breasts and moving the tissue more under your arms and up your chest. Too much tissue under the arms will get in the way of comfortable movement. |
| The Underwires are Poking Me in the Armpit |
| | Cause: | You are probably petite in build, and/or have a short torso, or have breasts that are high-set on your ribcage. Petite women have this problem because average bras are not made for women with short torsos. Therefore, the underwire is too tall and pokes into their armpit. |
| | Resolution: | Consider a demi style bra, or a bra style with less cup coverage and thus shorter underwires. This shorter underwire should reduce poking. Also, consider petite bras. They are designed to have closer cups, shorter wires, and shorter bra straps. |
| The Underwires Tip Away from my Body Between the Breasts |
| | Cause: | Your
bra cups are not deep enough and/or the center panel is
too narrow at its bottom. The underwire is not sitting
in your "breast crease" and therefore is not
laying flat against your chest. Your bra may also be a
minimizer. |
| | Resolution: | Try on a larger cup size or select a bra with a different shaped center panel. Your breasts may also be unusually wide and not rest in underwires well. Consider wearing a wireless bra. Minimizer underwire bras work by compressing breast tissue. One side effect is that sometimes the center wires tip outwards. Try another minimizer or forgo a minimizer all together. |
| I
Can't Find an Underwire that Fits |
| | Cause: | Your breast shape may not be suited for underwires. Some women have breast tissue that extends around their chest and under their arms. An underwire is going to press into breast tissue and feel very uncomfortable. |
| | Resolution: | Forego an underwire and find comfort in a wire-free bra. |
|
My
Breasts Sag Even Though I'm Wearing A Bra |
| | Cause: | Your bra does not have enough support, the cup fabric is too stretchy and flimsy for your breasts, or your band size is too large. You may also have heavy breasts that are becoming pendulous due to lack of proper support. |
| | Resolution: | The apex of your breasts should fall half way between your elbow and shoulder. To get there, you need a bra with good support. Features of great supporting bras include a 3-section cup, support panels built into the cup, a band all the way around the bottom of the bra, and 3 or more hooks in the back. Avoid single layer molded cup bras. Going down a band size and up a cup size may also solve this problem (e.g. 38C to a 36D). |
| The Center Bra Panel has a Gap |
| | Cause: | The style of bra does not work with your figure. |
| | Resolution: | Try a different style of bra or have the bra altered.
|
| My Bra Rides Up in the Back |
| | Cause: | Your band size is too large.
|
| | Resolution: | Try
hooking your bra on a tighter setting and loosening the
straps. If this doesn't work, your band size is too
big and you need to buy a smaller band size. If your cups
fit fine, in order to keep the same cup size when you go
down on the band size, you must go up a cup size (for example,
go from a 36C to a 34D). |
| My Bra Size is Correct,but It Still Rides Up in the Back |
| | Cause: | Your torso does not get narrower at the waist and in fact might be wider, and /or your breasts are large and heavy. Both these body characteristics predispose your bra back to riding up. |
| | Resolution: | Make sure your bra back has the leotard back strap styling, 4-7 hook back closure, and wide elastic sewn along the bottom edge. Also, when you put on your bra, make sure your bra back is pulled down under your back bones - this will also help anchor your bra. |
| My Bra is Uncomfortable, Cutting and Pinching Whenever I Move |
| | Cause: | Your bra is hooked too tightly, your band size is too small, or the sides of your bra are too narrow for your figure type. |
| | Resolution: | Try hooking your bra on a looser setting or adding a back extender. It may also be that the bra style is inappropriate for your figure. Consider a style with wider sides and a three-hook closure in back. |
| My Shoulder Straps Keep Falling Off |
| | Cause: | If
tightening the strap is not working, the problem could
be that your cup size is too big. You're not filling out the top of your cup and this is causing your straps to slide down your shoulders. You are using bra extenders which are basically causing the same problem as a band being too big. When putting on your bra, you are not making certain your bra's
back is pulled down and under your shoulder blades. Your
band may not be tight enough or a size too large and the
straps in the back are thus too close to the edge of your
shoulders. The bra style could also be the problem -wide-set
straps are very popular. If you have small or sloping shoulders,
this style is not for you. |
| | Resolution: | There
are several solutions. Try your bra style in a smaller
cup size or select a different style bra. Try wearing
your bra on the tightest back hooks - and make sure
you have pulled the bra down in back so that it is
level with your bra front. Racer and Leopard back
bras are great solutions for falling straps. If you're
using bra extenders, remove them and buy the bra
in a larger band size and one cup size smaller to
maintain the same cup fit. Go down a band size and
up a cup size and see if your bra fits better. There
are also accessories that help to keep your straps
in place. |
| My Shoulder Straps Dig Into My Shoulders |
| | Cause: |
Your bra is not giving you enough
support, so your shoulder straps are being forced to do too
much work,
or your straps are too tight or too narrow. Straps should
carry no more than 10% of the breast's weight. |
| | Resolution: | If you drop your shoulder straps off your shoulders, your bra should stay in place. If this is not the case, your band size is too large and you should go down a band size and up a cup size - if your cups fit correctly (e.g. from a 42D to a 40DD or 40E). Bra straps should never create dents in your shoulders; straps should carry only minimal breast weight. A wider bra strap is also a good idea for breast sizes larger than a D cup. |