Bra fitting help » Bra fits poorly, don't know what else to try

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Betsey Johnson Intimates » Zipper Stripe Lightly Lined Demi Underwire (723100) » 30DD 30:5

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Suggestions (5)

• 4
  helpful

  Hi, you said you measured yourself and arrived at a 30DD.

  Could you please measure yourself again and let me know the following:

  underbust loose on skin
  underbust as tight as possible
  bust standing
  bust lying flat on your back
  bust bowed forward at 90 degree angle

  all without a bra and if possible in cms, alternatively accurate to half an inch

  I've been advising women online on their bra size for over 2 years now, my success rate is quite good.

  As to your problems: since you say the band is too tight, the tight band might be pulling the cup flat, causing quadboobs and too wide wires. In this case inserting an exentension usually helps a bit. I also agree with you that the shape is completely wrong for you. That the cups cut in is (apart from the band pulling the cup flat issue) probably plunge-related quadboob. My advice would be to stay away from plunges and stick with proper halfcups; not plunges that call itself demi-bras like this one. On a proper halfcup/demi-bra the rim of the cups form an almost horizontal line from right to left. Look at the Cleo Juna or the Curvy Kate Tease Me.

  I also agree with the suggestion that you try the Cleo Lucy.

  Updated on October 26, 2012 Flag this

  
  

  • Here is what I came up with for measurements:

    underbust loose on skin: 77.5
    underbust tight as possible: 73.7
    bust standing: 90
    bust lying flat on back: 90.9
    bust bowed forward at 90 degrees: 96.5

    I admittedly didn't know until five seconds ago that I'd have to avoid certain styles. :) But yeah that seems obvious. Thank you for your help!

  • 4

    It is as you guessed: the band is too tight, but the cup is actually too small.

    I would say that you need a 32 band in most brands, cupsize is theoretically between 32D and 32F(UK). I think you could experiment with 32DD, maybe a 32E.

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    Hey rosina,
    I'm totally with t_maja here, I just wanted to add that you could check out my bras. I've got similar boobs (other size) and maybe my bras will be helpful for you!
    Juna/Sadie in the right size might be an option, I think Cleo Marcie could be nice too :)
    And Halfcup bras with no vertical seams :)

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• 1
  helpful

  I'm going to venture a guess that the cup is too shallow for you so it pushes the bra down. The quadboob is from the shape not working for you and cutting in since it's not sitting where it should.

  Have you tried a half cup or balconette style? I know this says a demi cup but it looks more like a plunge on you. You could try the Cleo Lucy since it looks like your breasts are pretty separate, the Cleo Sadie/Juna/Ellie/Etc cuts, or one of the Freya half cups as a starting point.

  Updated on October 26, 2012 Flag this

  
  

  • Thank you for those suggestions... yes, I have had balconette styles in the past but they were all (I think) the incorrect size so it's hard to gauge if that was better for me.

    My breasts are extremely separate! :(

    Thanks :)

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• 0
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  Sometimes, red marks aren't necessarily a bad thing, but if the band feels too tight for you, I would try a balconette in 32DD and 32E if they carry that in that particular brand.

  I get red marks from bras that fit me well. It's really about what you're comfortable in, and since my red marks don't irritate, hurt, or bother me in any way, I'm fine with them.

  Updated on October 27, 2012 Flag this

  

  Jillsas

  2719 reputation

  63 bras

  
  

  • I know, and I originally thought the red marks were a sign of fitting well (or better than my old bras) because it was firm against my body. But they do hurt me, so in this instance I guess the band is too tight.

    Thank you for your suggestions! I think this brand does carry those sizes, so I will take a look.

  • Another thing, upon looking at the measurements of this bra, I think you would probably do better in different 30 bands as well. It appears that in this bra, the 30 band runs small. You might feel better in Freya, because their bands run a tad large (in the case of the Deco, a full size large). Base on your shape, I think I would recommend the Curvy Kate Tease Me and Thrill Me in 30E.

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• 0
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  The cups are too close together, the entire construction is flimsy (I haven't seen this bra look good on anyone). It looks like a $10 bra from Target.

  Anything that has elastic in it is going to leave marks! (Heck, even I have them from wearing a size 34 bra on my 24.5" ribcage!!) If they disappear soon after taking the bra off, this is acceptable and NORMAL. If they stay with you hours after taking the bra off, then it's too tight. Because the band is a single piece (from what I can tell) - meaning there are no side wings with sturdy, non-stretch fabric - this causes the cups to be pulled more because they are not built on a very strong base. Right now this is fitting you no different than what a wireless bra would probably accomplish.

  My suggestion for you would be to try a bra with a wider, taller gore. A proper full band style that has side wings attached to the back band portion. I would estimate you would need about a 30E (DDD), maybe an F after some time. You also need to learn how to scoop properly. The fact that you say you tighten the straps to get the cups to support and then you end up with underarm fat tells me that the band is too big, when it rides up it cuts in and you haven't scooped any of this "underarm fat" into the cup where it belongs, because it's migrated tissue. 32 would be too big, but you could get away with it in brands that fit smaller, such as Ella Macpherson. When cups are too small it can make the band feel tight. How is this band sitting on you in the back? You need better photos, and ones that are a little further away. It's hard to estimate really well some of the fit issues otherwise.

  In terms of cup shape...you can wear demis (or half-cups as some companies call them), but you look like your more full on top so you may experience them to fit small in the cup and close too soon resulting in quad-boob, even when the rest of the cup fits. This bra is not a true plunge either, it's more in between a plunge and demi. The new Freya Gem half-cup might be worth a try.

  Updated on October 31, 2012 Flag this

  
  

  • Sadly it wasn't $10. I wish I wouldn't have listened to the "bra fitter" when she told me it looked good.

    So in all fairness, nothing is scooped in this photo. I took it mid-day after I had been wearing it for about five hours. It probably fit better in the morning after I put it on "properly" (scooping and all) but I wanted to sort of capture what happens to it naturally since it's not very helpful to put on a bra correctly if it's just going to go to crap hours later. That said, I have trouble getting the "underarm fat" into this bra so maybe a) I do not know how to scoop correctly or b) this bra is just so bad for me that it just doesn't work.

    Band sits about level with my breasts. It does not move throughout the day, but that is likely due to the fact that it's too tight?

    I'm not sure, but I don't think I'm full on top. I think this bra is just too small so I'm spilling out? Nonetheless I will definitely give your suggestions a try. This bra calls itself a demi, I think, but as another commenter noted it seems more like a plunge on me for whatever reason.

    Sorry for the poor pictures. I took them myself and tried to reach out my arms as far as I could while getting everything in the picture. When I'm able to get a new (and hopefully better fitting) bra I will post it up here, hopefully with better photos.

    Thanks for your suggestions, I really appreciate it! I will look at that Freya. Oh and yes - Elle Macpherson seems to be ok with 32 on me, so that's good.

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• -2
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  This bra is too streached out on your body to tell - tha band is too tight and it pulls the wires flat.
  You, my friend, are the perfect panache confetti and harmony candidate if I ewer saw one
  Cleo lucy and bonnie could also do.
  You should be comfortable in a 30 band in all those styles as they run a bit loose except lucy - Id suggest going for the 28 band there cause it's superstreachy and superloose.
  Those are all really cheap bras widely available on ebay and I think that may be a good start with determening your UK size. A place to stard would be a 30dd as i think all those styles are more generous in the cups.
  There are 2 curvy kate thrill me's here on bratabase in 30E - I think those could work for you pretty well
  

  Updated on October 27, 2012 Flag this

  
  

  • A 28 band for those measurements? Sorry, I disagree. Yeah, Lucy can be a bit loose, and yes going down in bandsize in Lucy can make sense. But to a 28 band? No. I did some comparisions with the bra shown and some known Cleo models

    http://www.bratabase.com/compare/dhhz8/
    http://www.bratabase.com/compare/dhhzg/

    This clearly indicates that rosina would be better off with a 30 band in the Lucy.

    I also disagree with the suggestion of the Harmony and the Confetti. The wires on the Betsy Johnson are too wide for rosina, I thus think the Cleo Juna/Martha/Sadie cut would be a better choice. This cut actually has relatively narrow wires compared to Confetti and Harmony.

    The reason the Confetti and Harmony have such wide wires is because they also have a wide center gore, while the Juna/Sadie/Martha/Darcy/etc cut has a narrow center gore. The wide center gore makes the overall wire width (how far back the wires extend) larger.

  • I know, but I think in the gore confetti and harmony would suit rosina much better, and their soft lace on top I think would work great with her shape.. As for the wire width - I cant tell if they would be too wide from this pictures.
    As for lucy - I do speak from experience. I think we have about the same size ribcage and amount of padding. I have a lucy in 32 and 30 - both way too big - As I said - it not only runs loose, It does streach out considerably with wear. So Id rather go with the 28 + extender for 3 days - I guarantee that's how much it needs to stretch out.
    I know we generally disagree on the band thing by one size, but I hope you will confirm the suggestion on a 30 band at least in showgirl range - they do run loose ;)

  • Yup, 30 band for the bras of the CK showgirl range. :)

    I am not against a tight band, but if the cup gets pulled flat, thus negatively affecting fit I like to step in.

    BTW, bras stretch out more and faster if you intentionally cram yourself into a too tight band. So a loose band can become a self-fullfilling prophesy.

  • That's a point I never thought about before, the band pulling the cup flat. I guess it seems rather obvious, but I kept reading about too-loose bands and so 30 seemed like the way to go. It still seems like it is in certain brands.

    I'm going to look into the bra styles you both mentioned... I'm going to Nordstrom tomorrow. I don't know what (if anything) they carry in my local store in those sizes, but maybe I'll find something interesting.

  • t_maia - I know and you are right. Rosina probably can wear the 32 band comfortably as her breasts aren't that large. But would you agree that the larger sizes, when inbetween band sizes should probably go for a smaller?
    I sometimes feel like I could wear a 32 band if my boobs were smaller. This way it seems that they are dragging the bra down with their weight, and thus the band rides up.

  • With larger cup sizes above a 32FF or a 30G I would definitely recommend a 32 band and a 30 band in comparision and taking into account the required wire width. "Those measurements" referred to all of rosina's measurements, including her bust circumference.

    The english-speaking brafitting community IMO puts too much emphasis on the tightness of the band; a mistake that the polish and german speaking communities grew out a few years ago.
    This attitude totally neglects the important role the wires play for the stability and supportiveness of a bra. If the wires and the cup are a perfect fit, you can wear a bra even with a slightly too large band.

    So a woman who needs narrow wires might opt to go for the 32FF instead of the 30G bc in 32FF the wires fit her better and aren't pulled as wide as in the 30G.

  • I second t_maia's post!

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