Oct 28, 2012 Just when you think you know your shape...
This really is a learning curve. I thought I knew my shape and breast type. Unfortunately I think I made a few wrong assumptions on the way and now I think I need to totally rethink everything.
1. I am short therefore I have a short torso. Actually I think my torso is about average in length, but relative to my height (153 cm) it could probably be considered long. I have noticed I have had a number of the fit complaints noted here http://www.bralessinbrasil.com/2012/07/torso-length-height-underarm-fit-and.html in relation to a long torso. Conversely I have never experienced any of the fit issues noted by petite/short torso women such as straps that can't be shortened enough (in fact I usually adjust my straps as long as possible) or underwires poking into armpits.
2. I have been through a couple of pregnancies and rounds of breastfeeding so I must have soft breast tissue. I don't know why I thought this really, but it could not be more wrong. I am actually quite firm and now see why push up bras were all so wrong for me...I don't have a lot of squish factor! It seems like my boobs are all glandular tissue and not much else, so they dislike being squished too much and refuse to conform to some shapes altogether.
3. I have shallow boobs therefore no breast tissue on my upper chest. And I do still have shallow boobs but it seems my breast tissue goes much higher on my chest than I imagined. I seem to be suffering from the PMS FROM HELL right now and I am swelling everywhere. Parts of my chest that I did not think had breast tissue are spilling out. This is particularly noticeable in my Panache Porcelain which has a tightly closed upper cup. It is not so bad in the Rhea which is more open. In my defense I can only say that I don't normally get much pre-menstrual swelling so I have not noticed much of a problem before. While I do not get sore breasts before my period they do usually feel denser and heavier and I can now see that this is going on quite a bit higher than I've noticed before. So my conclusion is that maybe my breast tissue goes a little higher than I thought previously, but that said it's fairly shallow and doesn't need to all be contained in a bra cup, but at this time of the month I maybe need a bra cup that will allow a bit more room to move.
4. I have wide spread boobs so they are widely spaced in the middle. Not so, I thought this for a long time but if I place my pinky finger between my boobs both sides of my finger is pressing on breast tissue. I don't think there is a solution for this since there is only 2-3mm between my boobs and most underwire casings are around 5mm = never going to work.
So there it is I thought I knew my shape but maybe I really didn't. And I still have never found an answer to wide set bra straps which are all wrong for me but it seems that is all that is available. The only bra straps I have seen centred over the cup are full cups and they will never fit me.
21 comments
I understand exactly what you're saying. When I first started my adventure in bras I too had many misconceptions about my boobs and their shape. The biggest realisation for me too was realising that my boobs were by no means wide-set, just splayed and narrow. I too also made the mistake of shallowness. The torso thing through me for a loop at first as well. ;) I'm tall but my upper torso is actually average sized. lol About the only thing I had right in the beginning was the firmness of my breast tissue. I've no children but have always had soft breast tissue. lol go figure I was wrong with just about everything at first.
elfin! I'm laughing out loud here in front of my screen because I recognise myself so much :D
It's so easy misunderstanding ones shape.
I've ran back and forth like a mad person this summer and autumn. I still am.
I think it's also due to the fact that there always is more than one explanation for a shape issue.
So June got hers - "long torso" - while Nesoa says "high on chest". But to me it seems they describes about the same issue - struggling with getting lift.
And in the bra fitting word I think most people would see "I'm struggling to get lift" as an issue of vanity or want for a better shape rather than actually be about neck pain.
I might as well go without a bra if the bra just gives me support because if I have support I will on top of me being weighed down by my boobs have them resting on my shoulders. A tighter band wont ever help if it's not even down to a 30 band. And with a 30 band I cannot breath and the wires will be pulled back and the Germans will say reversed "letterphobia" and it will still be about the same issue as June talked about from the beginning but they will say a looser band is the solution.
She will need a longline bra while I will need cups with all the volume on top and next to none on the bottom. So that's why I've even slept in Tease Me even if it's too small and the center gore isn't flat, because my boobs are probably fuller in the middle than on the sides and I have no separation between them and I am just splayed.
And so it goes on and on and on :D
The only thing I end up with is that it's all a real mess :D
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