Bra fitting help » First bravissimo half cup try, I am disapointed, almost no lift/shape
Bravissimo » Tanzania Stripe (AU41) » 30DD 30:5
Issue resolved
Really thank you for you help !
Finally, I have choose to alter the bra (cups shallower around the central seam, and center gore more narrow). And I think it works ! Maybe it is not THE official good fitted bra, but it works very well on my body, even if I have half of my breast outsite the top of the cup, every thing is confortable,no quadrabbob, no need to re-adjust, feels a lot more supportive than before. I think I prefer that "too low coverage" than a bigger bra, I feel more free (=more naked ?).
I think before alteration I didn't have enough room near the gore, but too much on the side, and also too much room just at the bottom of the cups.
Here photos after alteration if you are curious :
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cPFTkUbc5Ro/UgyqQyUPfeI/AAAAAAAAAw8/vEiW3bu0K6I/s1600/SIRENEALT3.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wSKmcInofIc/UgyqRPGddMI/AAAAAAAAAxE/NZLBRbO70DA/s1600/SIRENEALT4.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QYpRGVWCzpY/UgyqRKvLyCI/AAAAAAAAAxA/1A1dk78p4Oc/s1600/SIRENEALT5.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uX05UNi3Fnw/UgyqRo5M-DI/AAAAAAAAAxM/WthAUSbp6mY/s1600/SIRENEALT6.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mwyI21himhU/UgyqR6fDFDI/AAAAAAAAAxY/VrqR3NueBk0/s1600/SIRENEALT7.jpg
and I also have a good shape under clothes ! :
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LRx5SO32hss/UgyqSIXrt2I/AAAAAAAAAxg/IXNp1aD558s/s1600/SIRENEALT8.jpg
Original problem
Hi, it is me again in the fitting help...
This bra is very strange, I don't feel it shape my breasts, it is more like a decorative mini top than a bra. I don't have the "bra" feeling.
The band don't ride up, straps are perfect, center gore is too wide so it isn't perfectly flat but is not painfull, wires are perfect too, not too wide (but it doesn't follow exactly my crease at the bottom-side, my breasts go up earlier than the underwire, but on the top-side they are well together).
I think the problem is on the cup volume/shape, but it is hard to understand.
The top of the cup is well filled. I tried this bra when I had my very big PMS breasts, and the top was cutting in. I also tried it with normal breasts, and the top was not gaping at all.
But : the side of the cup is wrinkling even if the wire widht is not too wide ! If I try to tight the strap, I have cutting at the top of the cup and a bad unconfortable pointy shape full on top that point down and still wrinkles on the sides.I think cup volume is too big with my normal size, ok with in between size and too small with PMS size. I have the less wrinkes when I am in my in between size, and took photos at this time.
But the very strange thing is the "too big" is on sides ! Strange strange strange...When I push the cup up an against my body, to make it more tall and shallow, the shape is way better, and wrinkles almost disapear.
What do you think ?
ps : here is a photo of me wearing the Taneania stripe, braless and with my best fitted bra (only her plunge) under a shirt http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ravvmEVXGLQ/UgTCSTaRSpI/AAAAAAAAAwE/6PjGivu5LrM/s1600/Comparaisonsirene.jpg
You can see my shape in Tanzania strip is closer to the braless look, just a bit more centered and projected but really not much...
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Suggestions (9)
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helpfulThis cut of the half-cup is more "natural" as you said. The Bravissimo Paradiso Plume Bra (LN141) /Bravissimo Sweet Bon Bon Bra (LN163) cut is more lifted.
28FF - Bravissimo » Paradiso Plume Bra (LN141) vs 28FF - Bravissimo » Mademoiselle Bra (LN110) (Sorry about the picture quality. I really should retake those.)
That being said. I think this is about a cup too small for you and the straps look really long. It might just be that you have a taller distance between you boobs and your shoulders or that you've let them out because if you tighten them up you get quadboob. Have you tried this in a 30E?
Updated on August 9, 2013 Flag this
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Quick link, I might take a better look at this fit request in the future, but it seems go did get some help: http://www.bratabase.com/browse/bravissimo/cuts/
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helpfulI've had the same issue. It seems like the cup is too big because it gaps at the top and wrinkles at the side and/or bottom, but actually it's because the cups are much too small. This was my previous fit request or a similar problem, http://www.bratabase.com/troubleshoot/dhu9t/
The one user responds with a great image to help understand how because the cup is too small, the breasts kind of round away from the bra, creating the gap. Also, in your side profile photos, the underwire at the side seems to be too low for you. If you get a 30E, or try one on if possible, do you swoop and scoop?
Hope this helps
Updated on August 9, 2013 Flag this
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Yes, I am scooped and swooped.
It is possible my breasts round the cups down, but I am not really sure...
I am sure it is what happened when I tried the bra with my PMS big breasts, but here, I don't have the same felling, it is more like having no bra. ( with the wrinkles because of a too small bra, breasts are more compressed ? what did you feel with your too small bra ?)I don't have the occasion to try a 30E easily, maybe if one appears in listing I will try to get it, but if wires get wider with a cup size up, it don't really worth the effort I think...
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helpfulWelcome to the mystery that is the Bravissimo half cup. I have tried a Mademoiselle and I own a Rococo Charm -- photos of the latter here: http://www.bratabase.com/bra/dhz4a/ -- (both cut similar to this Tanzania Stripe, I think) and they act pretty much the same on me as they do on you, although on me they obviously come up higher, as I am ultra short where you are tall
It's not outright bad in the sense that it is unwearable, but it definitely isn't 'wow' either. The wires in these bras are so incredibly flexible that they distort even with little band tension. I think that is what causes the wrinkling -- especially if one has relatively shallow, self-supporting breasts that don't put a lot of weight in the cups. I'm not sure a larger cup will do the trick, although you can of course always try. I personally think the wires will just end wider and the wrinkling will be worse ...
Updated on August 9, 2013 Flag this
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The wires are also pretty flat on the half-cups and don't bend around the body well which takes up space in the cup pulling them flatter. I know I tend to bend them slightly where my ribcage curves to my back which works well for me. The only Bravissimo half-cup I have problems doing this with is the red Mademoiselle. It's an older version and the wires are much more inflexible.
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I also bent the wires, but they're so flimsy they still happily do their S-torque thing.
I forgot to mention that in those photos I linked to the wrinkling really looks horrible -- it actually got a bit better after I had washed the bra as that significantly softened up the fabrics. However, it's still not entirely smooth and the shape too is still not great. I've been toying with the idea of adding boning to the seam that runs across the apex as pulling the cup edge up at that point seems to improve things.
One reason why I think that sizing up may not work for you in this bra is the fact that the wrinkling I get is actually worse on my SMALLER side. But I may be wrong of course :)
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The weight thing makes sense. I'm not in that large a cup size at 28FF but my boobs are fairly dense and heavy for their size so even when I tried on a Tanzania Stripe that was too large, it didn't really wrinkle on me it was just too tall.
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What you say about the weight and pression on the cups make sense to me. I also have this feeling, that's why I took a photo with the cup pulled up : the volume is the same, but their is enought pression to shape the breast (and strangely, I don't quadraboob when I do it, it is why I have difficulties to belive I need a bigger cup size). Also : the wrinkling get worst when my breasts are at their smallest size, is more or less ok with my "transition" size (like in the photos), and get worst again with my biggest PMS size and here it is clearly an orange in a glass effect.
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helpfulSeconding (thirding?) MilkAndHoney and Hejhej. I have exactly the same problems in this bra (and indeed all the Bravissimo half cups I've tried - most recently the sweet bon bon. I have to go up 2 cup sizes to get the depth (and I do have shallow breasts), and then the wires are literally behind my armpits. And the shape still looks terrible. I agree that this looks too small, and you should definitely try an E cup, but be prepared for it not to work.
It's interesting to see someone who has as low set breasts as me, but you're obviously much taller (I'm only 5'4). I think we have a similar shape and size, so I'm going to check out your fit successes! I know you're looking for a half cup, but the Bravissimo Satine (in a 28F rather than my usual 30DD/E) works really well on me.
Updated on August 9, 2013 Flag this
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It is cool if I am not alone with every bra too short under the armpit :D .
Thank you for the suggestion, I will remember it if I need a plunge bra one day..
I am mourning bravissimo half cup bras... So sad, because I have never found a non padded bra that works for me.
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helpfulI don't know how to explain it, but this bra looks like it fits, but it also looks too small and too big. Crazy! It's not necessarily cup size that seems to fit/not fit. That band is so short the bra encompasses only the bottoms of your breasts, and it's so low on you, it's below your side tissue. Bigger cups may make the band taller, allowing for more tissue to be supported/lifted? However, the wide cups may still miss tissue on the side-bottom. Also, the center gore is so wide, rather than giving you lift, it seems to be pushing your breasts to the sides, but higher up than the bottom of the cups.
Try shortening the straps, then, while leaning forward hike the whole thing up on your torso. Then stand up and yank upward on the center gore and "shimmy" a little. (This is my ultra-glam way of finding my underbust and and "settling". Don't be afraid to groan and grunt, it seems to help).
I really like the shape of this bra, and I think it looks so close to fitting you. Maybe a tweak here and there will do the trick?
Updated on August 9, 2013 Flag this
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I did it, it is interesting :
- the shape is better (more lifted and round) but still not spectacular,
-wrinkles on my bigger breast have disapear but stay on my smallest breast,
- now, the center gore is painfull and unconforable, my breasts are squished under it, but I don't quadraboob. I think you are right when you say "Also, the center gore is so wide, rather than giving you lift, it seems to be pushing your breasts to the sides, but higher up than the bottom of the cups. "
- the wings looks better too,
- I have to close the band one or two hook tighter, and straps are now at the really limit of too tight.Conclusion : I really feel my bra with your method. I think I would wear my bras like this if I was big busted and my breasts were heavy, but here, it is strange, I feel the pressure of the elastics, but my breasts weight exactly the same as when I wear everything loose : light weight. What is the interest of feeling too much my bra for such small breasts ?
Conclusion 2 : I gain in shape, but loose in confort -
Galactica - I'm very small as well, but I REALLY need support from my bras. Also, I need tall sides or my soft tissue escapes everywhere. When I pack it all into my bra cups, and it can't get out, my breasts absolutely feel heavier. However, after my bras are "broken in" I actually think my breasts feel lighter when they're supported. Maybe what I think is "heavier" is just "different" because of tissue distribution. When the cups actually hold in and support all the tissue, by bra doesn't get pulled down throughout the day, so, overall it's a "lighter" feeling.
I learned the hard way about center gores. For years I wore them literally digging into my breasts and sitting on them, because I didn't know bras weren't supposed to fit that way. If the center gore hurts - get a different bra! It does NOT have to hurt.
I think if you got bigger cups, you would have that extra room, so you wouldn't fall out of the bottoms of the cups when you pulled up the bra. The center gore would stay in the right place as well, because your breasts would fit inside the cups.
Sizing "up" in cups is a very different way of thinking for those of us who are "small". I'm not used to it either. I had an Andorra in 28D that fit me similarly to the way your Tanzania is fitting you. When I tried to wear it, it was obvious it didn't fit, but I spent my time trying to analyze where it was "too big" because it felt so (very) snug. Today I'm wearing a Just Peachy Unpadded Balconette in 30DD and it, too is "snug" but it hugs me properly. Going up the band size wasn't as hard as getting used to the idea of DD and even E cups. When you put on the larger cups, still having the support of the proper band size, it's like a cartoon light-bulb illuminates in your head, lol.
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helpfulCan you pull it up? I think you're wearing the bra too low.
Updated on August 9, 2013 Flag this
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I absolutely cannot pull the bra up, it is really just under my crease .
But, on the bottom-side of the bra, the underwire don't follow my crease, so here, the underwire should be higher, but I can't pull it up because I would squish badly the bottom of my breasts in the bottom-center.
Edit : I tried to wear the bra higher : the cup over my bigger breast do not wrinkle anymore but the smaller side still do. I have a better lift, nothing exeptionnal, but I look "in a bra". But, the bad thing is the center gore is painful because it is too wide and squish my breasts under it.
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helpful30E or 28F
Updated on August 10, 2013 Flag this
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helpfulOften I find that the problem of a bra not offering any/enough lift can be solved by sizing down in the band and up in the cup. But I've never tried this brand, so I don't know if that would work here.
Updated on August 11, 2013 Flag this
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helpfulI read all your suggestiocns, all are very interesting, I think I undrerstand better what happens with my bra :
- it is too short for me, a lot. Sizing up in cup can help me a bit, but I will get at most one cm taller, that is definitely not enough. I need at least a bra 2 or 3 cm taller to make a real difference, that is around the size 30FF and that will be too big in the cup depth and width.
- the center gore is too wide. If I don't want it to sit on my breasts tissue, I have to wear it lower, that make the bra even more short, and underwires on the side do not match with my breast root
- cups are too roomy. They look too small because they are too short, but what I have is just too much space at the bottom of the cups for my breasts, they "fall" in the cups but can't be shaped because the cups don't put enought pression on my breast to lift them up.So, I came to the conclusion the shape is incompatible with me. Sizing up to a 30E can be a good idea at first, but, the center gore will still be too wide and sit lower than where it should be, so the bra will still be too short, plus underwires will be too wide and give me even less support.
I think me biggest problem is the center gore. If the center gore were narrower, I would be able to wear the bra higher, so underwires would follw my crease better on the side, without being painfull in the center. So, I altered it. Really, it is better, the bra looks a bit taller than before, and now it feels like a confortable bra, not like a decorative thing.
After that, I tried to pinch the cup on the bottom and on the side, to try to get lifting. Pinching the cup on the middle seam was the best : my boob is now supported but not squished, the breast tissue is now pushed up and miracle : the side wrinkle a lot less because I think my boob now "need" the space on the side and take it. I altered the cup that way : http://www.bratabase.com/profile/36j/adventures/2092/
Photos :
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lbVrB5DN5Os/UgjUpsIdSKI/AAAAAAAAAwU/BA-BjlB1B0M/s1600/SIRENEALT1.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IELNzGvTrgk/UgjUphDmS-I/AAAAAAAAAwY/qFwG3ZDmfBw/s1600/SIRENEALT2.jpg
(the altered cup is the one of my bigger breast, so i don't have to worry about potential uadraboob if i do the other side).I have worn the altered bra this morning during 3 hours, nothing spill over the altered cup, and it is more confortable. I think I should make the gore narrower, it is still too wide.
what do you think ?
Updated on August 12, 2013 Flag this
Oh, not all the half cup are cut the same ? I didn't know... How do you know which one have which cut before trying it ?
I really have a big distance between my shoulders and boobs, it is one of my biggest characteristics (all clothes are cutted too short in the shoulder area for me). I am very tall, and tall everywhere, not just in the legs.
If I tight the straps more, I have quadraboob and unconfortable too much pression on my shoulders. I think even without the quadraboob, I wouldn't tight the straps more than they are now.
I agree there is something too small in this bra (maybe more "too short" ? ) but I am very afraid I can't fill properly a 30E ...
edit : even with a bra too big in the cups, my straps always look super long : http://www.bratabase.com/browse/ewa-michalak/3d-czarus-342/70DD/ and http://www.bratabase.com/browse/marks-spencer/unknown-model/30F/ (I am the one with the red and white bra with broader shoulder than the other in the same bra. )