• The Aerie Hannah does not run too small in total volume, although it is probably too small for you. The Hannah, along with the Blakely and the Bridget, were made for non-tall rooted types. Therefore, even if you sized up to a 30D, you still run the risk of quadding.

  Like I stated in the fit request, the Sunnie and the Sunnie Push-up are the only two Aerie 30-band styles that have more space in the top parts of the cups. Even with those two styles, you might find that 30D fits you better.

• Saskia_C Thank you for mentioning that! I never knew my bras were too small and according to my measurements I end up a 30C (because they say if you get an odd number for your band size, you round it up to an even number) :(

add a comment

• Thank you for this helpful review! I'll keep the small cup issue in mind. At least at Aerie you can try on bras though I'm not sure how small a band size they carry in store. I think I have the same issue as you do - my right breast is also about .5" larger than the left which is so confusing. Do you tend to buy to fit your smaller or larger breast? I guess since I'm also shallow I can get away with buying a smaller cup. I don't tend to quadraboob as easily and I'd rather it be fuller on one side then have gapping be visible under my clothes.

• 1

  Glad it was helpful! Aerie only carries 32s and up in the store, but if you order online you can return them in store for free (which is what I ended up doing). When I went, they actually had a couple of 30s in the stockroom from other online returns so I did get to try a couple other styles on in the store and got the "Sunnie". Their cups seem to run a little small, but the bands run a little big.

  To answer your question: I used to buy bras to fit my smaller breast without realizing it. I'd constantly be readjusting but thought that this was because my breasts were just too small for any bra that was wide enough for my frame. When I realized that the band size was way off (34 haha), I tried cinching the bands on all of my old bras and suddenly discovered that most were too small on one side and that the bras would actually start to pull in that direction! Meaning more annoying readjusting :(

  So basically, I wouldn't recommend getting bras to fit your smaller side in a comfortably snug band size (and I'm shallow as well). I totally understand your fear of visible gapping though. Please forgive me if this is creepy, but I looked at your profile and reviews and we seem to have very similar upper body types, so basically I feel like I can commiserate here for a minute...I've found that being thin, uneven, wide, shallow, and small unfortunately means that options will always be on the limited side. The best solution that I've found so far is finding brands (like aerie) that run a tad small in the cup but have wider wires and also picking styles that are generally wider set. I find that balconette bras (demis, not 3/4s) often work well for me.

  Have you tried any Natori bras? They're expensive but 100% worth it in terms of style, comfort and fit. Also, you can find them on ebay for pretty cheap! They run a bit small in the cup depth compared to other brands but have wide wires, so they're comfortable and kind of even me out a bit. I too measure at 28DD according to my measurements, but have found that 30Cs generally fit better and are more comfortable.

  Wow that was long! Like a lifetime of bra advice that I've never been able to give anyone since I've never had any friends with similar boob problems hah

• Ahh thank you so much for the great info! Haha and I'm glad you went through some of my reviews it makes things so helpful. It's good to find people of similar size it makes shopping so much easier. I have not heard or tried Natori bras. I've heard good things about Mimi Holiday but I guess I have two brands to save up for. Thanks for the Ebay tip! I have been browsing through it but it can be such a time suck haha.

  Currently I've been sticking to the balconette style when purchasing bras. I just got a 30C today and the cups and band fit much better. A few of the 28DDs I got the wires started to hurt my ribs after a while. The cups also gapped so much that it would show through shirts which is very unappealing. It gets confusing because when you scoop and tuck it might fill a 28DD cup but it definitely doesn't stay that way when you're upright. Happy to make a new bosom buddy! :P

• Haha oh my god amazing pun (bosom buddy) :) Glad to hear that 30Cs are working out for you. I have one 28D (cleo Maddy) which fits me alright, though I'd rather it were a little wider. After the first day of wear I felt like I'd been punched in the ribs, so I made an extender and wore it that way a couple of times. Now I can wear it comfortably without the extender, though it's still not my favorite. But if you have any bras lying around that work in the cup but have overly tight bands, that might be a good solution.

  When I thought about it, I realized that a band that stretches to ~30 in makes more sense in a way. My rib cage is 27.5 very snug and 28 comfortably snug, but I was following the directions and exhaling. When I take a crazy deep breath, it expands to about 29.5. It makes sense to me that an article of clothing that prevents deep breathing would be uncomfortable haha.

  The other potential explanation is that the point of a tight band is to provide support by distributing the weight of your breasts around your body. So I think that for women who have breasts so large that they get back pain etc, a super tight band provides relief. I don't know about you, but I don't get back pain from my bust size (just from bad posture haha). Basically what I'm saying is, when there's less weight to be leveraged by the band, the more the band is just ehhhh tight? Does that make sense? Haha I suck at all math/science-related things, but I read a similar explanation on a lingerie blog and it made a lot of sense to me considering my own experiences.

  As far as Mimi Holliday goes, I hope that they work for you but sadly they don't really seem to for me. Keep in mind (if you haven't noticed this already) that they changed the sizing after AW 12 I think (http://oflambsandlace.blogspot.com/2014/08/an-announcement-about-mimi-holliday.html) so measurements from bras before that season won't be relevant. Which sucks because I think that some of their bras from before the change might've worked for me! And they're soooo pretty. I think one of their balcony styles might still work for me, but they don't seem to have many at the moment unfortunately. The other downside for me was that their panties seem to run weirdly large. Like I usually wear an XS or S in underwear, and the XS in two different styles was too big! I have 34.5 in hips if that helps.

  Natori unfortunately doesn't make that many options in 30C, but I've been kinda lazy and bought a couple 32Bs on ebay (totally a time suck haha) for $20 and I'm so happy with the way that the cups fit that I honestly don't care that I have to wear them on the middle or smallest hook. Would definitely not pay full price for that, but for $20 I won't hate myself if they don't last as long. Definitely try the "feathers" though--it's gorgeous and comfortable and the stretch mesh at the top makes things really even! I actually think that their 30Cs run a bit smaller in the cup than their 32bs, so I'm considering trying a 30D. It'd be great if that worked out since there are a few more styles available in that size I think.

  Aaah another epic response! Sorry, I tend to get a bit carried away haha. Hope some of it is helpful anyhow :)

• Oh man we have basically the same measurements haha nice nice. The band explanation makes sense to me as well. I never got back pain from my boobs either which is why I got away with wearing the wrong band size for so long.

  After I heard about Mimi holiday's sizing change I'm probably less likely to get anything from them. It really is a shame because a lot of their products are very cute!

  And yes to ebay being an amazing and time sucking place to find cheap bras. It's currently my go-to along with the clearance section of figleaves haha.

add a comment