How to buy the perfect bra
Want to look 5kg thinner and lose those back bulges? Get the right bra!
You’re probably wearing the wrong bra size right now.
But hey – so are 80% of us, according to Pandora Bra Studio. Being correctly fitted means you’ll be comfortable the whole day (no more sighs of relief as you get into pyjamas) – and you’ll look taller and slimmer.
‘Good underwear makes your outerwear look great,’ says Isla Lovell, founder of lingerie store Storm in A-G Cup. ‘If your underwear doesn’t fit right, it doesn’t matter how much you spend on your clothes.’
Check: Underwire
The underwire should sit flat on the chest and frame the breast. It should not dig into the breast tissue at all but rather create what Lovell calls a ‘cradle’.
Check: Shoulder straps
If the shoulder straps are falling off, either the back band is too big, or the straps are too loose, says Lovell. If tightening the bra straps causes the back band to rise, go down a band size (i.e. from 36 to 34).
Check: Back band
The back band should sit low on your back, almost below your shoulder blades. A back band that is too big for you will ride high on your torso. The right back band size will give your breasts greater lift and smooth out ‘angel wings’, which are often the result of the band biting into your back flesh and squeezing it into uncomfort-able mounds.
Check: Cup size too small
The signs:
• ‘Four boob’: when the bra cuts into your breast tissue and creates a second breast bulge.
• Skin bulging at the underarm: ‘Tuck the breast tissue from under the arm into the bra,’ advises Lovell. ‘People are scared to look past a C cup. When they a see D they think Pamela Anderson, when actually she’s a G- or an H-cup,’ explains Lovell. With the modern high-calorie diet and the increasing amount of hormones in our food, breasts are getting bigger – D and DD are the norm.
Check: Gaping cup
This can be caused by a bra that is too large, surprisingly – the breast simply can’t fit into the entire cup, or by a bra that is too small. Lovell explains that it is like trying to fit your fist into a Styrofoam cup; the cup will have a gap because your fist is too large to fill it.
Check: Popping out
If the breasts fall out underneath the bra every time you lift your arms, the bra is too small.
The perfect fit
• ‘Using measuring tape, measure your ribcage in inches.
• ‘Add 2½–5cm to whatever measurement you get. That is your band size.
• ‘Experiment with different cup sizes within that band size.
• ‘Do this annually.
Need to know
1. Increasing the band size increases the cup size. ‘Changing a cup size within a band size is fine-tuning your bra size. Changing a band size is a much more significant size change,’ explains Pandora Bra Studio. If you’re a 36C and the cup feels uncomfortable but the band fits well, do not change to a 38C because then you are increasing the cup size and the band size. Rather try a 36D.
2. Cup sizes and band sizes will differ across – and sometimes even within – brands, so being a 32B in one brand will probably not equal a 32B in another brand.
Fast fact
Most women wear six different cup sizes in their lifetime. – Pandora Bra Studio
Care for your bra
Hand wash in lukewarm water. Don’t use softener – it damages the elastic in the material. ‘Wash your bra in the bath or shower with you as soon as you’ve finished wearing it,’ recommends Lovell. This helps it to retain its shape – like jeans that are tighter after a wash. Wearing a bra two days in a row stretches
the material.
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Comments - 6 comments
shannon moonsammy
for so many years i never knew how to get the perfect fit bra like never im wearing a 34D cup switch to a 36b cause the bra was always too high in the back and my boobs looked so big and cramped like now i sit and following the way to did your client and i feel so much comfortable ... thanks alotBev
Great will re-measure as just keep on buying the same size year and and year out. Thanks for the info.bernieo
Thank you, great tips.............pleased to know its not only my bust that is getting bigger!!!!Isabel
Great tips, but it all sounds quite complicated. Could'nt you have in-store staff trained to help one find the right size?Claire
@Isabel - have you been to that lingerie store Storm in A G Cup? They are in Cape Town and they have instore staff trained to fit you into the right bra. You don't have to do a thing! If you aren't in Cape Town, they have a great website which is really easy to understand with fitting help - www.storminagcup.co.zaAnne
It's almost impossible, as you get older and your flesh 'droops' not to have some flesh bulging out from the strap. Or am I wrong? I'd love to have a clean line without any skin bulging out, but, although I think I wear the right size bra (will check now according to above)there is always a bit of a bump either above or below the strap.