Bra fitting help » Lace wrinkles in cups; too big or incompatible shape?
Cleo » Marcie Balconnet Bra (6831) » 28E 28:6
Issue resolved
Adjusted straps, added an extender, and searching for bras with narrower wires.
Original problem
My most recent foray into trying to find a bra that fits, and the first Cleo/Panache bra that I've tried, it came up as recommended for me with my measurements. This bra seems decently well-fitting, aside from the pesky wrinkles that pop up around the seam/in the lace top portion. Is this bra too big in the cup or is the shape just incompatible? The wires strike me as a bit wide for me as well. Help?
Also, looking at the angled view, there's some evident tissue spillage at my side. Does anyone have any thought as to whether that might be migrated tissue or just fat? I've always had pretty squishy underarms compared to the rest of my bony-ish chest and I'm not gonna lie, I'd looove it if that tissue turned out to be runaway boob. (I'll gladly take all the boobage I can get my hands on, ha!)
Also, this is my first 28 band, which I bought after getting fed up with my old standard bra, a 30D longline OnGossamer that was too small in the cup and also liked to roam around my ribcage instead of staying put. I have scoliosis (you can see it in my back view picture), so that probably has something to do with why my bands are always riding up/down/sneaking around (or does it?) but this 28 feels solidly anchored.
Anyway, I'd really appreciate any help that you lovelies would be willing to provide!
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Suggestions (3)
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I think thats a pretty good fit, actually. I feel like it would wrinkle less if you could loosen the strap a bit, but you already have them pretty much all the way out! Marcie has an ongoing issue with 'in-cup quadding' - weirdness where the lace upper cup meets the lower cloth cup, but if its not obvious under clothing, its not worth worrying about.
Updated on March 6, 2017 Flag this
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Some of these bras have really short straps. But from years of wearing bras that didnt fit, I had gotten in the habit of over-tightening - now I push myself to only tighten enough so the straps dont fall off! Ok, maybe some bras do have more 'oomph' a little tighter than that lol
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I think you'd benefit from wearing a 28 in certain brands, but Cleos being fairly snug I think this 28 band is rather on the tight side, and this is probably contributing to some of the fit quirks you have listed. I would try an extender to add just 1/2inch to an inch of band length and examine what happens to the cups. Also, check that the straps are not overtightened--loosen them and see how that works.
It does look to me like you have a good amount of axillary (underarm) breast tissue, hence the squishiness but that does not mean it has "migrated"--it is a normal and natural place to have breast tissue
whether you want that contained in a bra is a matter of personal preference and comfort. Since it doesn't NEED to be contained, many people of your build and breast size often prefer bras that just leave it alone (fluffier ladies and ones with very ample breasts often have more of a continuous mass of "in front boob" and axillary tissue so they are more likely to prefer to try to find bras that allow all the tissue to be contained).Updated on March 6, 2017 Flag this
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Dang, I don't suppose you can migrate auxiliary breast tissue, can you? Haha joking. That's really helpful to know! What would be a bra that could contain it all, out of curiosity? I'm down to try anything and everything to learn more about what fits/is comfortable/what I like! Thank you so much for your reply!
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lol no breast tissue doesn't pick up and move. In your specific case, IF you wanted to contain it all you'd have to look at bras with very tall wings, wide or outward-tapering wires, and a very tall outer side/corner of the cup. They would probably be quite full coverage. Does the armpit/side tissue feel heavy, like it needs some support, or get in your way? If not, I'd say it is a perfectly valid choice to just leave it be. After all bras do not usually contain the top of our "front" boob tissue and that's fine too!
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Unfortunately, in a 28, you are far more resticted than I am in a 30. I think your wires could be narrower, your straps could be longer, a higher wing would be helpful, and you might benefit from stretch lace on top. Both Cleo Hettie and Kayla have stretch lace .... but that is it. Have you ever tried Comexim plunges? Their wires are narrower, their wings higher, their gores either shorter or overlaping, or both.
My recommendation would be to find an unaltered Comexim from Bra Obessessed or A Sophisticated Pair, or here I suppose, to find your size. They tend to run tight and small, but not so for every one. Once you are sure you have the right size, you can start customizing things like moving the straps inwards (NB highly advise no more than 2 cm as it alters the shape dramatically) adjusting the gore - higher, lower, overlapping, raising or reducing either wing or cup height. I'd recommend a plunge on you, but you may prefer a two or three vertical part half cup (2hc - or just hc - and the famous 3hc). Look around and see what you can find here. Note that the Elena, and to a lesser extent, the Basic has fairly visible seams. Also remember that Anna Pardal and Wellfitting are both Comexim made sub-brands, sort of. In fact, if you have the money, Wellfitting does an excellent job of introducting both standard and altered Comexims with really positive return and service policies. Comexim is famous for offering customizations free of charge - but unreturnable.
Ewa Michalak also makes narrower wires, but they are notorious for wide set straps. I have trouble with Cleos and can only wear my Ewas when I manually alter the straps and then only for a few hours. Otherwise, their SM is a wonderful Cleo Marcie like pattern, but narrower and more supported.
On another note, I'd recommend getting a couple non-elastic extenders. I use them all the time on one or two hooks because I am just between band sizes. You might find that 30s fit more comfortably, but you have to start them on a tighter hook and with wear and stretch, they don't last as long. I have a number of smaller band sized bras I wear on a single hook of an extender (1cm max) which makes a perfect fit and then I can get rid of it after the 6-10th wash.
As to the scoliosis, if you start feeling pain, at any time, talk to a doctor about it - don't let a poorly fitting bra make your back worse in the future. Otherwise, yeah, the band may rid up on one side, but I have a flared rib right under my right underwire that essentially does the same thing from the front. The more important issue from a scoliosis persepective is strap length. Believe me when I say that your bra should be able to stay up, more or less, well, the band should anyway, without the straps. So don't be afraid to loosen the straps all the way to the end. Looking at your two side photos, one of your straps is definitely too tight. With your back curved, your shoulders may not be exactly even and thus you may always need to have your two straps set at dramatically different lengths. This makes a huge difference in both fit and feel. Given how near the end of the strap you are here, it is possible that your longer shoulder may need an extended strap in some models. Straps, like bands, stretch out with time and wear so they can be tightened later. But, if the strap is not long enough when you first buy it, it may be a awful long time with a scrunched shoulder before it stretches enough to be comfortable. Though I have never seen it, I am fairly certain that Comexim could add longer straps for you if you asked.
Good luck! and keep at it, the "unicorn" perfect bra may not exist, but a reasonably good fit definitely does.
Updated on March 6, 2017 Flag this
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Thank you so much for your in-depth reply! Your comment suggesting I try making one strap longer than the other was such a good one, its never occurred to me to try that but I'll be doing that in all bras from now on. It was also helpful to hear what you had to say about your band riding up on one side—I've been convinced that my bands riding around meant they were too large, but perhaps it's just due to my shape! It specifically rides up constantly in the middle of my back (even with this bra I had to yank it down to take the photo) but I guess traditional fit markers aren't exactly one size fits all.
Also, Comexim has been sort of intimidating up til now. (I just figured out my "real" size and now I have to translate it into a different sizing system?! Haha somehow I figured that was for experts or something. Silly me.) But I trust your suggestions and I will order a few to try out.
My scoliosis has never caused pain, and it isn't reacting to the 28, but I did order some extenders to try in the next few days with this band.
I've been trying to figure out what my shape type is, do you have any insight there?
Thank you again for your help, Bratabase is really amazing and it's all thanks to people like you (and wendybien and dbmamaz and anyone else who might chime in!)
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Thank you for the suggestion! I loosened the straps up earlier this morning and lo and behold: the wrinkles greatly lessened! And if this bra had longer straps, they would've gone away completely. I've gotten too overzealous about strap-tightening recently, thinking there was no way I was supposed to be wearing them as long as I have been—but I guess I just have really long shoulders.