Bra fitting help » band slides down in the front and rides up in the back

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Cleo » Marcie Balconnet Bra (6831) » 28H 28:11

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Suggestions (5)

• 3
  helpful

  This is not a full coverage bra, it's a balconette. Try going down two cup sizes and up one band, to 30FF. If you tried a 30 that was too loose before, it was probably due to cup too large as you have here. When the cup is too large, it destabilizes the bra, so, as you are experiencing, the wires slide down and all other sorts of havoc is wreaked. A 30FF will be about a million times more comfortable and kinder to your poor armpits. As a fitter, Cleo is one of my top recommendations for bras that actually are lower on the armpits/good for petites, so for you to get this kind of coverage really indicates to me that you need to go down in the cup and up in the band (so that the cup is not pulled quite so firmly to the side).

  what dbmamaz says about the straps is absolutely spot on as well!

  Updated on July 30, 2016 Flag this

  
  

  • 1

    Thank you melifish I have ordered a 30FF in this bra. I will try that and post pictures.

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• 2
  helpful

  So, after finding my size, it took me a little longer to realize one thing about keeping the band parallel to the floor - i totally missed it for a while. But when we are used to wearing too-loose bands, we tighten the straps up a LOT to try to get SOME support. when the band fits, we have to loosen the straps. Too-tight straps will pull the BACK up. For me, it was hard to get used to, but it really worked better, having the straps just barely tight enough to not fall off.

  Also, Marcie is very full-on-top bra, so its too open on top for some people, and for me (I am full-on-top), it fit large - when I first bought marcie, it fit a cup size smaller than my other bras. So I do wonder if it would fit better one size down?

  I cant help with the high-set issue because I'm the opposite. I"m only (almost) 5'2, but my boobs are practically in my belly-button - very low-set.

  Updated on July 30, 2016 Flag this

  
  

  • 1

    thank you for the insight on how the straps pull the back up. I am going to try loosening the straps and see the outcome.

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• 2
  helpful

  From my seat in the park, you look short-rooted. You may fit a Cleo Lily better, but I've been much more comfortable in new Curvy Kate bras. Several are designed for short-rooted breasts. With your measurements and the portion of the cup you fill in this 28H, I would not recommend a 30FF. It pains me just thinking about that size on you. Curvy Kate Dreamcatcher has low wings, short cups, and great projection. Gia, discontinued, is also fantastic for short roots amd those needing lower wings. Portia, although not as projected may fit, too. Best wishes!!!

  Updated on July 31, 2016 Flag this

  
  

  • do curvy kate have good projection? I have a pendulous breasts and they have immediate projection when lifted.

  • 1

    She may end up preferring a 30G but I fail to see why it "pains you" to think of her trying 2 cup volumes down instead of 1?! Seems a bit of an overstatement, and this is genuinely huge on her.

  • 1

    Peruse the 127+ bras I've tried; trying to find comfort and projection. Curvy Kate is the most recent brand I've tried and I'm smitten. Dreamcatcher is the most projected model I've tried. Portia won't be a favorite of yours unless you like a more minimized shape. In 2015, Curvy Kate redesigned their bras. So, the newer unlined models are more narrow and projected. Check out cupandahalf reviews. She, too, is short-rooted and projected. Both of us are thrilled with Curvy Kate. I have smaller breasts than you and fit well in 30FF/30G.

  • 1

    wendybien The recommendation I received recently to try a 30FF caused me pain, literally. Sometimes, sizing down for short-rooted, projected breasts just doesn't work. Simply offering my experience.

  • 1

    I have short-rooted, projected breasts and so do many other people--it's only one factor among many. You and OP are different people with different bodies and different boobs, you can't even properly compare breast volumes just from photos because if she is more projected, shorter in total height, or more petite than you her breasts will look proportionally a lot larger than yours when in reality they may not be. Similarly if you have wider roots or side tissue sizing down may cause you pain due to wire width even though cup volume could be correct or too large; if OP does not have the same root width she could wear that wire width without difficulties. Your experience is helpful to share but I just think you are extrapolating from your own experience in a way that makes it sound like everyone's experience will be the same.

  • ETA just as an example, I have an Empreinte Thalia that is MILES too deep for me in the cups, but the wire is so tall and narrow that it kills me at the sides of my breast roots. That doesn't make the cup too small for someone else with narrower but bigger boobs, in fact it could be perfect for her.

  • wendybien You are correct: my experience is all I have to offer.

  • 1

    Thank you for both your insights ladies. I am going to try both your suggestions to see which works best for me. Thanks!

  • Sincerely, I hope you find a great fit quickly honeybunny :-) :-)

  • 1

    Love4Pollinators I want to say that I totally respect your personal experience with bras but that mine includes fitting not only myself but hundreds of other women as a professional fitter. I interpret advice like yours in this case as a result of "reverse letterphobia," which I believe permeates r/abtf and to a lesser extent here, and many bra blogs. It is frustrating to me to spend all my time at work trying to convince women the basics of yes they need a tighter band, 34G is a perfectly average size, etc, and then come here and see this kind of bizarre advice that choosing a "bigger" band (I put this in quotes because obviously the size we are talking about in this particular case is a 30!) or a "smaller" cup (again, in this case, nothing insignificant about a FF) will only lead to ruin. No offense, but it's nuts! There's nothing short-rooted about this gal and even if there were, it would just mean she'd be a great match for Cleo, which offers lower coverage for young women, their target customer; additionally, being tall-rooted or short-rooted is one of the less significant fit problems I can think of -- it seems like everyone online thinks they're short rooted now because they're trying to fit into cups that are too large.
    Measurements -- wait for it -- are just a starting point. The only measurements I read on Bratabase are ribcage and stretched band. The only measurement I take as a fitter is ribcage. Any others are too uncertain, especially on Bratabase where there is so much wiggle room for everyone to measure everything differently. It can be useful to use the various bust measurements, but the one measurement we really need -- the ribcage at the level of the apex, without the bust -- is unavailable. Until we can measure that we will always be guessing because everyone has a different ribcage-at-apex-level to breast tissue ratio, meaning that two women with the exact same measurements and preferences will need different sizes: one will need a larger band, and the other will need a larger cup.
    A cup too large is not anodyne. It can cause pain and discomfort, and poor fit, just as a cup too small can. The wire becomes far too large and presses against the ribs. The cups provide little lift or support. The strap junction digs into the armpit at the slightest movement. Straps are overtightened to provide some lift, leading to back, shoulder and neck pain -- the very thing we are trying to avoid with better-fitting bras.

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• 1
  helpful

  I agree with the other two posters--the straps are not "too short" (you've already been able to tighten them enough to make the back of the bra ride up a mile, so that's a sign they are already more than short enough!) You have a cup problem not a strap problem-- too much empty cup is causing lack of support. Size down in the cups and while you could wear a 28 I think you'll be happier in a 30like melifish said.

  Updated on July 31, 2016 Flag this

  
  

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• 0
  helpful

  melifish I tried loosening the strap and it did help with the band riding up on the back for the 28H bra. thanks so much for the tip
  dbmamaz wendybien Love4Pollinators I got cleo marcie in 30 FF, G and GG, I am waiting on the curvy kate ones still. 30FF cups were not enough for me. So I tried 30G and 30GG here. I am comparing them to the 28H I first posted (images 1-8)
  image 9 : 30G front view, gore did not tack slightly
  image 10: band rides up in the back, even though the straps are pretty loose.
  image 11: underwire looks fine to me after adjusting the strap
  image 12: left boob looks ok to me
  image 13: right boob looks ok until(see next image)
  image 14: right boob starts quad boob'n after sometime, becos(see next image)
  image 15: underwires ride down and settles below my ribcage
  image 16: why are my boobs going left and right, do i have closed set boobs for this bra?
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  image 17,18: 30GG, front view, similar to 28H. gore tacks well and the cups are loose
  image 19: band rides up lesser than the 30G, no idea why that wud be the case.

  Updated on August 2, 2016 Flag this

  
  

  • Thanks, honeybunny . This is very helpful! :-)

  • You really want to make a separate thread for the different sizes so you can enter the measurements to be sure. However, from the photos I would say that either the 30 bizarrely has a tighter band than 28 (unlikely but possible with different colorways or new vs slightly worn bras) or (more likely) the Marcie is too wide and too shallow at the base and center for you. When you see that cup size n+1 is too big and cup size n causes quadding, that means the shape is not what you need.
    This would mean you need a narrower cup with plenty of volume to accommodate center fullness. How do you feel about trying Polish bras...? Is it important to you to find cute, low cut balconnet styles or are you open to practical full cup styles with more coverage? If you want cute and sexy with your shape, Polish brands, or Empreinte if it's in your budget, would be two typical solutions.

  • 2

    Marcie did not work for me for the same reasons it did not work for you and my fit experience was strikingly similar to yours. For low cut, Curvy Kate plunges have fit me well. If you want the shape of the Marcie with narrower shorter wires you can try the Daydreamer, size down in the band. If you want low cut balconnet the Princess was great for me. .

    Polish might also work. You can get one on Bratabase or through the original retailer and resell it here if it doesn't work as there are lots of folks on your size. if you are in the states there are places you can order Ewa Michalak or Comexim with free/cheap returns so you can try a few sizes and styles, and you can get Kris Line on eBay. Good luck!

  • I forgot to mention CK Ellace. It has great projection and the strong elastic band is the most supportive I have ever experienced. It distributes the weight of my breasts remarkably well. I will spare you my engineering explanation, but physics helps again :-) :-) It is not a perfect fit for me, but it is very projected. For instance, the 30G has a cup width of 5.8" and a depth of 11". Brastop and Ebay have the best prices on newer CK bras, in my experience.

    Like I mentioned earlier. Blake and Skye are more closed cups that *may* reduce the ruffles along the cup edge. And, fit similarly to these Marcies.

  • Thank you ladies. do you have any recommended retailers in US for polish bras. Given that I have very pendulous breasts and get immediate projection when I lift them, I think i need depth near the underwires to stop the bra from sliding down.

  • 1

    Levana Bratique was great. They specialize in nursing bras, but I didn't mind. Bra Obsessed in Canada is wonderful, too. And , Zathiya has helped many others, but I have no experience with them yet.

  • A Sophisticated Pair does Comexim. She will be taking one last set of orders right now, beginning of August and will resume again a few months later. Erica is amazing and takes great care of her customers! Wellfitting has had some customer service issues lately I believe but they also offer Comexim

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