The women that have come in to me have either never been fitted or have not been fitted in years. I will admit to being one of these women until I started to have a passionate interest lingerie & shapewear. In the past, every bra I picked up, no matter what brand or style it was, always had to be a 34B. That was the size I picked even if I lost weight or gained weight and even during my pregnancies. I never even used to try them on!
The majority of women that come in to me for a fitting are wearing bras that are too big in the band and too small in the cup. When the band of your bra is too big, you are missing out on valuable support and your bra straps are carrying the weight of your breasts. (You may experience red strap marks on your shoulders because of this.) The band will ride up your back causing your breasts to be resting lower than they should be.
The fitting technique that we use at Belle Blu does not involve a tape measure but instead we educate women on the qualities of a good fitting bra. One of the reasons I do not fit with a tape measure is because I believe that once a woman is given a number the tendency is not to deviate from that number because “the fitter said I am a 36D”. I was told by one customer that she was measured twice, by two different women, and they both told her the same size so of course she assumed that this was accurate. Still, she could not understand why her bras were so uncomfortable. It cannot be assumed that the size you are given by the tape measure is universal across any brand you may buy. I was the perfect example of this!
How do I know if I am wearing the wrong size bra?
Red strap marks on your shoulders
The band arches up on your back and is not laying perpendicular around your ribcage.
The wires are digging into your breast tissue and causing irritation.
The wires are not completely encasing the breast and laying flat against your rib cage.
Your breasts are coming up over of the cups causing a “double boob” effect.
What are the qualities of a good fitting bra?
The band is perpendicular around your rib cage and does not move up into an arch after you move.
The band should be secure but comfortable and you should be able to fit two fingers under the band.
For underwire bras, the wire should be completely surrounding each of the breasts and laying flat against your ribcage. They should not be poking into any breast tissue and should not be lifted up off of the body.