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Who has had bras with straps set too narrow?
I always see people talking about (and experience myself) bras with straps that are set too wide, especially on smaller band sizes, so I was wondering if there was a reason more companies didn't make narrower straps.
Filed under Bras ups and downs
I can only speak from experience, but from what I can tell there are two kinds of wide set straps. Wide set in the front and wide set in the back.
For the back, I believe bra companies believe we want straps that don't show under lower cut shirts in the back. It also probably has to do with scaling. Supposedly U backs keep the straps up better, but I think V backs are the best to keep straps up. So far only Sculptresse bras (plus sized) have those kinds of backs in the brands that I've tried.
For the front there is a true design reason why straps are set wider. Bras with center pull straps (straps set closet to the center of the cup) HAVE to be closed on top and have less center room. Take one of your own bras and pull the front of the strap attachment towards the center. You'll notice if you sewed the edge of the bra to the strap there, the cup gets more closed off and there's less room at the center. If you check out one of my latest bra alterations, 40JJ - Elomi » Rita Multiway Banded Bra (8011) you'll see this happen. When I first got the bra it was too closed on top and too tall. Once I cut off the elastic and mesh top, the straps were set way wider. That's because the elasticized cup edge was pulling the straps towards the center of the cup. Without that edge, the straps are now pretty widely set. I will probably remedy it by creating a strappy back, like I did with the 38JJ - Curvy Kate » Ellace Balcony Bra (CK4401).