Bra fitting help » Strange things a foot...

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Cleo » Darcy Padded Balconette (6821) » 30F 30:7

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Suggestions (6)

• 1
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  The straps appear to be adjusted very short and that could be contributing to the quadboob affect and the band riding up, however the straps don't appear to be digging in an awful lot...are the straps comfortable adjusted so short? Also in the first 4 pics the lace is tucked into the top of the cup, however in the later pics where the lace is where it should be there is no apparent quadboob.

  As for the centre gore shifting, I get this in every bra I own and I believe it is because the centre gore is too wide for me. In my case I don't think there is anything I can do as I only have a gap of about 3-4mm between my boobs and I've never seen a bra with a centre gore that narrow.

  Updated on November 4, 2012 Flag this

  
  

  • That's how tight they have to be to have the underwires flush with the base of my chest. Any looser, and the bra slides down over an inch below my breasts. Like this: http://brasandbodyimage.wordpress.com/2012/09/05/putting-your-bra-on-properly/

  • Also, as soon as I move, it all unscoops. The first set of pics (without lace) are the only ones I managed to show properly swoop and scooped. No idea where it's going, but I did notice that the straps keep lengthening themselves with the bra sinking lower, so I have an idea that the straps can't take the weight and everything is shifting back down to the original 1"-1.5" too low, where I actually do measure 30". Sort of like sticking a scrunchy around a vase.

  • Is the band tight enough? It should hold itself up since the band is where you should be getting the support from.

  • I'm pretty sure I should have gotten a 28". But now I'm wondering if I should get a different cup than FF, since I seem to get quite a lot of overspill, as long as I can keep the band in the right spot.

  • It does sound like you could go down to a 28 band, that might help with the scooped tissue escaping.

  • 1

    If you can, I would order both the 28FF and the 28G to see what works better. It is hard to tell with the lace tucked in how many cup sizes you need to go up or if it is even necessary at all.

  • You probably can hold the tissue in because of your arms. The you lift them up the tissue is back again.

    If the band are not tight enough the tissue will sneak out. If the wires are not high enough the tissue will sneak out as well.

    But you did try 28G in the past right? And you had terrible gaping back then. Was the wires lower in that bra?

  • I did try a 28G, but that was in the Natasha. I didn't even bother to measure the 28G. But look at how low I was wearing the 28F!

    The wires should have been higher than the Juna on that one.

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• 1
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  What about leaning over from the waist, allowing your bra-free boobs to hang down, and then measuring your band from there?

  My first thought with the migrating boobs is that your band is not tight enough by far, so the wires can't adequately contain the boobs. Another consideration is that your wires aren't wide enough for your breasts.

  Updated on November 4, 2012 Flag this

  

  NeverTookHomeEc

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• 1
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  If the bra slides down and sits lower than it is supposed to be, one possible explanation could be that the wires are too narrow for you.

  Too narrow wires would also explain why you have issues 2) and 3).

  Going for a bigger cup might help you get wider wires.

  It also seems like you have a lot of volume near the center gore. The Freya halfcups of the Summer/Monet/Teagan family allow more volume near the center gore, also their centergore is narrower and the wires wider. I think you could try one of those Freya halfcups one cupsize up. Sadly the Freya halfcups are not available in a 28 band.

  I also think that the centergore on the Darcy is too wide for you, especially at the end where the bow sits. The Freya halfcups could help you with this, their centergore is slightly lower.

  You could alter the centergore and sew it narrower, but I am afraid this can only be done if the wires are wide enough. (Which rules out the Darcy.) Altering the centergore makes the wires narrower overall, because it brings them closer together. (I hope my explanation makes sense to you.)

  Another possible issue you could be dealing with is breast migration. When I started to wear correctly fitted bras my breasts looked similar to yours, I also had this bulge of tissue near the centergore. It was my breasts taking revenge for wearing bras that were too small for decades. With my old bras a lot of tissue had migrated to my back, under my arms and also up to my cleavage and collarbone. Thanks to gravity the tissue in my cleavage came down to my breasts first. In the beginning I needed bras with very high center gores to seperate all that tissue and get it into the cups, also the wires had to be very wide to catch all that migrated tissue from the back. I started out wearing bras in 40J and 40JJ, despite the fact that the cup was actually too big. It took me approx 6 months until I could switch to smaller cupsizes (40H, 40GG) with much lower centergores.

  I would say the issues you have are a combination of migration and a bra that doesn't quite fit yet.

  As concerning the bulges near the centergore, you can either try a lower center gore or you could go for bra with a higher, more seperating centergore. Cleo Marcie would be a good bra to try, also Panache Eliza, Panache Tango II Balconette, Panache Andorra.

  Updated on November 4, 2012 Flag this

  
  

  • I disagree on the Freya halfcups. The center gores are just as empty as the rest of their bras. I've got 4 of them, I know. They focus more on outer tissue to bring it forward, rather than inner.

    Also there is only a 0.25" of difference between the Cleo gore heights and Freyas, Cleo's being the taller. That is not going to have that much of an effect unless you're changing sizes drastically.

  • I have 4 girls in the 30F/FF/G range tell me that the Freya halfcups allow more volume near the centergore than the Cleo halfcups, just repeating what I know. Do you at least agree with the rest?

  • 1

    Not really. I don't think wider wires would be the answer here. Look at how far into her arm itself the cups are pushed! Not to mention the fact the straps are nearly adjusted as short as they can go. I think this is a good case of "these cups are too big, but hey, making the straps super short gives me lift, quad-boob and now the band is riding up".

  • Yeah, if I could get the gore tissue to stay in the cups, you could see what I mean, easier, but it is so migrated, I can't even tell which cup to swoop it into, so I've been trying to do it more or less evenly, even though it won't stay. It is most definitely breast tissue. I can feel it. I am aware of a lot more displaced tissue near my arms and back now that I'm wearing the bra higher, too, so I think that's another sign I was wearing it too low when I bought it.

  • @HLA: So if shortening the straps isn't the answer, how do I fix the wires being so far below my bustline?

    Believe me, I'd rather have a too big cup and just buy a cutlet than cinch it this far up. It's killing my shoulders.

  • Different shape. Cleo focuses more on round rather than projected. I could be wrong on this but you don't appear to have a wide width to your breasts. But there also isn't too much projection (kids and age can affect this though). So do the straps still bother your shoulders in a larger cup, or only smaller?

    ETA*Ok this edit option is driving me nuts!! Not working very well on an HTC.

  • Well I only figured out that everything was sitting too low with this bra, so I'm not really sure.

  • 1

    VintageVixen, could you please add a side shot that shows the wire? Like the shirt picture but without the shirt? Also for future reference, the front and 45 degree angle shots are a bit too close up/too cropped, it would be nice to see the whole bra. Just above the belly button to the chin for at least one shot is a good guideline. Thanks. :)

  • I just took it off, but I will do that tomorrow. Also, for reference, the under wire marks on the left were exactly in the right place, on the right, they are partially on breast tissue, which means that side should have been slightly lower, but vertically, they are in approximately the right place.

  • 1

    Sounds like you do need a narrower centergore. Try altering the centergore anyway regardless what it does to the cups right and left. You can always change it back.

    http://boobiusmaximus.livejournal.com/1474.html

    If you need a very narrow centergore you can also sew the wires on top of each other to make it even narrower.

  • Sewing wires on top of one another would result in one cup not sitting flush against the skin at the gore. Bad idea.

  • 1

    My left cup never sits flush against the skin anyway, so I had no qualms to stitch it up that way permanently to keep end of the wire from rubbing and poking me. :) Wear what is comfortable, not what you are "supposed" to wear.

  • Yes, I know this gore problem too. I think I don't have any space at nipple height between my boobs. I stitched the wires of my Curvy Kate on each other. But it's still poking in breast tissue. Quite a problem to be wide-rooted and close-set at the same time.

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• 1
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  This bra is supposed to fit like a balconette, not a full coverage, because it's a balconette style. Not to mention the cup depth is an entire inch large than your perimeter. No offense, but this would be kind of a "duh" moment. The F is too big and so is the 30. I would suggest you try for a 28 F in this bra and no larger. FF would just be utterly ridiculous, nevermind G.

  Your nip to neck measurement is similar to mine so there would be no reason to wear your bras as high as you are. The straps are in fact adjusted way too short. What happens when you put the adjuster about halfway in between either end of the strap? Does it make the cups feel too loose? Also what do you mean by "subtract for breast"? When you measure for band size you do that before measuring for bust circumference and depth. Your ribcage measurement should be taken below the breasts without inhaling or exhaling and pulled only a little snug. What do you end up with if you try it this way?

  The fact that you say the gore turns sideways tells me you may be scooping yourself incorrectly and not evenly into the cups. Perhaps you need narrower wires as well. If you're slipping back out a too large band, cup and cup width can all cause this. Have you tried anything from Freya yet?

  Updated on November 4, 2012 Flag this

  
  

  • I am not expecting it to fit full coverage, I am also not expecting it to go from having 1/4 of my breast tissue falling out the side to being too big, the second I move my arms. If you look at my fit request for the 30E Juna (clone cut), I had overspill, even when I was wearing it too low, which is why I ordered the F.
    When I lower the straps on this, the entire bra sinks down well below the actual start of my breast tissue. The underwire marks appear 1"-1.50" too low.

    Are you saying that the depth is an " too deep based on the photos or on my personal measurements at the top? Because, like I noted in the beginning, I don't think those are correct.

  • http://www.bratabase.com/troubleshoot/dhkiu/

  • It looks like it's fitting you full coverage because the cups come up really tall on you.

    If those aren't the measurements you put in for the bra you should list that as well. But 9" does fit with that size. I'm saying the cup depth listed is larger than your perimeter listed. The Juna actually looks like a better fit than this one. I think what you should have done with that size is scoop yourself into the yea while holding the wires in place. You should not be yanking them up higher because this can result in them resting on breast tissue.

    When a band is worn too tight it sinks lower because it gravitates to the next smallest area. Keeping the straps super tight, whether the band be too small or too big will ALWAYS cause it to ride up. Do you have any (good) shops around you where you can be professionally fitted?

  • I would need to go to a different state to be properly fitted. The story here is that as soon as I figured out the underwire marks were too low and tried the bra on again, with them in the right place, the band felt incredibly loose, so I put it on the tightest hook, but the underwires kept sliding down to the same very low spot, so I tightened the straps. I am only five foot and apparently high on chest, and that is part of the reason I was wearing the bra so low, because this seemed too high, until you actually look at where my breast tissue starts.

  • Wearing the bra too low is a common trick to make it look ok when it is actually several cupsizes too small. My mother used to cram herself into 42D when she actually needs a 36GG. I told her for years she needed a bigger cup, but she never believed me bc she had worn her bras this way all her live and you couldn't see any quadboob. It was only when I put her into a big enough cup and made sure she put on the bra correctly (touching her in ways I hadn't done since she nursed me) that she agreed that maybe her 42D was too wide for her.

    Nip to neck measurement doesn't say much about breast position on chest, it only says how far the nipple is from the collarbone without a bra. Pendolous breasts that are high on chest might have the same measurement as non-pendolous breasts that are low on chest, yet both might need totally different bras in totally different sizes.

    EDIT: Short torso and boobs high on chest sounds like a good description of my mother too. Vintage Vixen, you you have pendolous breasts?

  • Yep!

  • 1

    I think I agree with HLA mostly - I do think the wires are wide enough and high enough on this ones and this is not orange in the glass issue. The wires sliding down might be caused by band being too small or too big, but can also be the shape of your torso.
    But t_maia is right on nip to neck telling us nothing. I think it would be much more useful to measure how much does a breast droop down under the crease while standing up without a bra.
    Please remeassure yourself.

    As for this bra - I say, IF its comfortable (I can't stress enough the IF), keep wearing it because I think there will be some migration going on and this bra can take it. just keep on scooping when you put it on.
    For future references, I would start looking at bras with so called "spacer foam". It's supercomfy and superforgiving material that I think will work great on you and will fix your asimetry issue.
    http://www.herroom.com/search2.aspx?terms=spacer+foam&new=yes

    I am personally very jealous of every woman that fits in spacerfoam styles range because it's like having your boobs held in clouds. :)

  • Every experience I've ever had with moulded cups has been torture. I literally feel like I'm being sliced all over!

  • I know, hate moulds too... But this is something really different. Its love at first touch :)

  • I second what Vlatka mentioned about keeping the bra IF it is comfortable. Personally I think this is not the case since you mentioned further down that the straps were killing your shoulders and TBH it does look like the quadboob and band riding up is the result of too tight straps. If you really need to tighten the straps that much to have the band sitting in the correct position then by all means go down in band size. Remember that with a better fitting band you should not need to tighten the straps so much to get adequate support...and without so much tension on the straps you shouldn't have quadboob/band riding up, so in turn you should not need a much bigger cup - 28ff should be sufficient unless you are overstretching the band and pulling the cups flat and if that is the case then the band is likely too small anyway.

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• 0
  helpful

  I honestly think that this bra is just way too big in the back and too small in the cup. When the band is too big breast tissue easily escapes under the band. What happens is that it escapes back under your arm when you move, because the wires are not close enough to your body to keep the breast tissue in them, plus the cup is pushing the breast tissue out of them as it just can't contain it...

  In your case even a 28-band might be too big, but a 28GG is probably my best bet for you in this sort of style (the Juna clones).

  Updated on November 5, 2012 Flag this

  
  

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  Okay, so I added 2 new pictures of the side, but since I had to move my arms to take the picture, all of the swooped tissue moved back to Never Never Land...

  Which begs the question, if the tissue won't stay put, do I even need to be concerned with finding a cup to accommodate it??

  Updated on November 5, 2012 Flag this

  
  

  • 1

    After reading all the comments I mostly wonder: What do you want to achieve with a bra?

    Is it important for you to get migrated tissue back? Then go with a tighter band and bigger cups, even if the cups are too big in the beginning.

    Having a cup that fit and at the same time scoping and trying to take care of migration isn't always gonna work. You maybe simply have to choose :)

    I still think we might expect too much from a bra.

    But I also must say this; bra fitting is hard and migration is even harder and making it end up on photo is even more difficult. So the only thing I can say is I do share your frustration. And here's some hugs.

  • Do you see the vertical line that is created from the bottom of the strap that continues down to the bottom of the cup? In photo 3 of 11 it is present as a visible dent and in photo 7 of 11 there is a mild dent though not as noticeable. Lifting your arms does exaggerate it in the 3rd photo. It comes from having the straps pulled too tight, it causes the cup to also fit smaller and pushes breast tissue toward the center creating the illusion that you have quad-boob from too small of a cup (the mistake is to increase cup size and thus you end up with a worse dent AND wrinkles). It can also move tissue back to the outer part of the cup.

    Here are a couple of things for you to try:

    1. Put the bra on backwards and upside down so the cups will be on your back with the straps hanging down. Right sides out. Close it on all hooks, seeing how just the band itself fits you. You want the bottom of the band to sit where you would where it when it's on the correct way. Is the band extremely loose? Can you close it comfortable on only the loosest set of eyes or on all of them? How far can you pull it away from the front of your ribcage? (in inches please!)

    2. Put the bra on as you normally would, as you have it in these photos. Now slide the straps off your shoulders. If they don't slide very easily and you can't fit more than 1 finger underneath the strap at the top of your shoulder, then they are in fact too tight. If your bra slides down when they're off your shoulders, you lose all support and the cups feel massive (slight gapping is understandable but if it's more than half an inch then there is a problem) then the problem lies in the cups being too large and the band as well. A correct band size will stay in place, it may slide down just a tiny bit, but anymore than an inch and it's too large. If the cups gap more than half an inch, they too need to be sized down.

    Let me know what you end up with =)

  • When I put it on backwards and upside down, on the loosest hook, I can fit four fingers between the strap and my skin, but I tried measured at a 90" angle, I still get 30"... I wonder if my odd curve in my back has something to do with it?

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