Bra fitting help » Keep or return?
Chantelle » Pont Des Arts (3946) » 70H 32:8
Issue resolved
Returned bra and ordered Chantelle Rive Gauche as recommended by one poster.
Original problem
I don't quite fill the bottom, and the bra doesn't quite lift up as much as I would like (but I might be expecting the impossible). The bottom sort of becomes the band.
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Suggestions (3)
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3
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Before you return this, check the label and see what size the label says.
Chantelle is a Continental European brand. Theoretically a UK 32FF is equal to a EU 70H.
I think you thus might already have the H-cup.
That the bra doesn't fit can have many causes.
The first thing I would like you to do is to try to put on the bra correctly. It seems to me as if you could push the wires of the bra up a lot higher than they sit now.
As for fixing that empty cup at the bottom, grab the left cup with your right hand, push the thumb into the cup and the crumble the fabric together. Push your hand down until your fingers and your thumb are next to the wire. Pull the fabric in a round motion around your breast.
If this doesn't work and you cannot push up the wires, then you are dealing with any of the following:
- too narrow wires. If the root of your breast is wider than the wires of the bra, you cannot push the wires up high enough. This phenomenon is called Orange-in-a-glass bc it resembles an orange that you cannot squeeze into a too narrow glass.
Go for a brand with wider wires or a larger cup.
- Boobs that due to old, too small bras are oddly shaped. Bras work on boobs like braces on teeth. Too small bras can cause a lot of damage to the shape of a womens boobs, to the extend that it makes it very hard for her to find bras in her right size at first. I had to deal with this, it took me 8 months of wearing bras that were 2 cupsizes too big big until my shape had normalised enough. The last picture makes me think you might be dealing with this too. The fold in the bottom cup looks like it could be caused by a permanent indention in the breast made by the wire of a too small bra.
- A cup rim that is too closed for you. If you look at your picture, I think the natural angle your breasts have from nipple to neck doesn't match the one one the bra. I think the bra wants to close the cup sooner than your breasts allow it.
Together with the too narrow wires this can indicate a cup that is too small.
However, I think you also have a long torso and boobs that sit low on your chest, yet go up to your collarbone. This makes you top heavy without having the rounded upper boobshape that is usually associated with being top-heavy. A good solution to top-heavy and relatively firm breasts is usually to go for halfcups (demi-bras). I think you could give Freya halfcups a try.
- A too big cup that you simply cannot fill out.
Updated on October 9, 2012 Flag this
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Maybe if 32 band is so tight, you could try 34?
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Could you please check what EU size is in the label? Size EU 70 ??? Chantelle is an EU brand, so the EU size is significant.
If the sides wrinkle badly and the wires are too wide this might imply a too large cup.
I would suggest trying another style with a different angle to the upper cup. I think the Panache Tango II Balconette might suit your shape if you can handle the long underwires.
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To me it seems like the bra sits too low to start with. If it's hard to pull it higher up then you need a larger band size. If the maximum amount the bra stretches is the one you've lsited here it's most likely too small in the band for you to wear it high enough. It might just be another set of hooks you need, try it with an extender.
Then you try to pull it upp as suggested before. That would give you more volume in the upper part of the cup, the part that at the moment is cutting in. And that would also make it easier to judge the actual fit of the bra.
At the moment your boobs are pushing the bra down to get more room, which also gives you less lift.
Already in the picture, without pulling the bra up, the wires look too wide for you. With an extender (one without any elastic, just to get another set of eyes and an extra cm or two) the wires won't bend as much and will be slightly narrower.
However, even then the wires might be too wide for you. In my experience this is a problem quite common in the larger cup sizes with Chantelle and similar brands that doesn't really do the larger cup sizes. They don't have the proportions needed for a larger bust, which usually is narrower and deeper.
I also think that you're full on top, but of the firmer shallower kind for a fuller bust. Quite similar to me. If you don't want to go for half cups brands that are looser in the top half of the cup might be good as well. Cleo in general could be good, as long as you avoid Lucy, which would need alterations to work, and potentially Jude also. In Freya I would also say the half cups, as mentioned before, the other ones will most likely cause you trouble along the topedge of the cup. Masquerade might be good for half cups as well... As Well as some Panache bras.
Updated on October 10, 2012 Flag this
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Thanks for pointing out that this is yet another case of reversed letterphobia, Nesoa. I feel a bit dumb now for not seeing that. :)
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I don't think it's sure this is a case of reversed letterphobia, the band could still be okay, we have to wait to see what RG says. I also think that the cups still might be too small.
Reverse Letterphobia implies going down in bands to get a larger cup size than actually needed, because wanting to have a larger cup size. I don't think this is the case here. I just think it's the wrong style worn too low and potentially a bit too tight...
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Also, the sides are wrinkled when I pull the wires up well under by breasts. When I don't, the bottom is not filled. So maybe the orange in the glass effect. I feel a smaller cup will be too small (I tried on a Chantelle a few weeks ago and was told H was too small but I didn't think much of the fitter either). So I'm thinking this is the wrong style more than anything. (I posted the sizes a minute ago but they are not there so once again FRA 85H/EU70H/ITA IIH/UK32FF/US32H.
I can fit two fingers under the band, but not my whole hand. Isn't this the right way to test? -
If the cup is too big overall, the band might feel loose. It is the same as too small cups making the band feel tight in reverse. The way to test the band is to twist the bra and put the cups on your back and close the band under your breasts. The band should then feel snug and tight enough to take the weight of your breasts. When putting on the bra, the band should be as tight as you need it for it to stay in place. Do a few jumping jacks, if the band stays in position it works. Putting two fingers/a hand under your band can be misleading. I can close a 38 band and put a hand under the band, so theoretically it is too wide. But over the course of the day I am better off with a 40 or 42 band, bc a 38 quickly becomes uncomfy.
I also think a good idea would be to post pictures of those wrinkles that you experience .
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Posting additional photo of wrinkles. I can't twist the bra around once it's on--it's that snug. And I will be returning it so I don't want to mangle it!
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You don't have to twist it. Simply put the bra on backwards and upside down. If you can close it comfortably then the band is fine. The photo you have taken from the back is actually a good fit. It looks a lot better than some other people's photos on this site. The closure on your bra is not strained, the band looks firm but not cutting in. This is a cup shape issue.
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HLA
I've come to the same conclusion. The search continues.
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THanks for the additional pics. I think the bottom cup is too big and the upper cup too closed for you. This bra assumes an almost even distribution of breast tissue between top and bottom half. You need a bra that accomodates a volume distribution that is approx 40 percent bottom and 60 percent top. Aside from the Panache Tango you could give the Cleo Marcie a try. Note that the Marcie runs tight in the band, so you could try this in a 34.
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Return! Too big and wrong shape for you. If you can, exchange it for rive gauche 3 part cup in 32f.
I think you will find the wires and comfort level on that one more to your liking.
And dont be fooled by the lace on rive gauche 3 part cup - it doesnt show through shirts.Updated on October 9, 2012 Flag this
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I think that's the one I tried on in Dallas and I needed an H or I which they didn't have. Will exchange this one for a Rive Gauche
32H maybe. -
See my latest "Adventure." I got a Rive Gauche in a 34H (UK 34FF) which fits "well enough." And sometimes, well enough will have to do. It's on the last band, but if it stretches I can alter the band, perhaps.
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Thanks for the tips--I did as you suggested and filled the bottom of the cup more but the sides then wrinkled badly. The wires wanted to slide back down a little too, back where they started. However, the band is so tight I can fit a couple of fingers but not a hand under it.
I think the crease you mention under the breast is more due to large breasts + gravity + age.
Also, no long torso here! I'm pretty compact--ribcage is about 1 inch from my hips and my breasts practically sit on my hips. And I don't think I can claim firm breasts any longer. But you are right about them sitting low yet starting high. I have tried half cups and I jiggle badly--almost like not wearing a bra. I'm guessing this is the wrong shape for me.
The bra is a US 32G.