Bra fitting help » Alter into a strapless?

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Claudette » Sophia Icon Padded Bra (101001) » 30DD 30:5

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Suggestions (3)

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  Personally, I think you're having problems because this bra is at least one cup size too small. But it hurts no one to experiment, so if you want to, go for it!

  Updated on April 20, 2014 Flag this

  
  

  • Quixii, thanks for the input. I forgot to mention that I do have the 30E and strangely, it's REALLY huge. The wire is unbelievably wide and huge, with the arms being nearly cut off by the very high sides. Yet I still have the quad boob effect when I lean over. That's why I was completely surprised. This is the link to the larger cup's public profile: http://www.bratabase.com/bra/dl8ah/

    Any thoughts?

  • Oh, how odd! I'd guess that means this bra just isn't cut in a complementary way for you.

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  I understand your yearning for a good strapless bra. Your experience with the Icon with the straps tucked in is promising. I tried that bra, and while the fit was good, I didn't achieve any kind of sexy cakes on a plate or cleavage valley sexiness because the gore was pretty high and wide. It makes sense that it looks so sexy on you with the gore not tacking.

  Before you do anything non-reversible, ask yourself what you're trying to achieve when wearing a strapless. Are you merely trying to expose your shoulders and enough of your chest to look good in a particular dress? Are you likely to dance or be otherwise active enough to require support and prevent popouts?

  I think the bra looks great with the straps tucked in. It does expose a lot of tissue, though. Does it feel rigid enough to stay in place without the 10-20% of stability provided by straps?

  Do you know why the underwires sit so low below your fold when you have the straps on and the gore tacking? Is it possible you could get the wires up into the fold a band size up?

  I'm not saying don't do the alteration experiment, and I'm not saying it's the wrong size. Just brainstorming here.

  Updated on April 20, 2014 Flag this

  
  

  • Ah, good points!

    What does it mean to have the gores tacking?

    I just need a strapless for some halter tops/halter dresses that I have. Won't be dancing in them. :) But I will try it on again to see if I can move around easily without concern.

    The wires sit low with the straps on because the sides of the cups are cut so high and wide. They end up digging into my arm pits and push down the bra/cup.

    I'm not sure what you mean by "getting the wires up into the fold." Do you mean get the wires higher up on the sides of the breasts? I have the size up 30E and the wires are far too big and wide for me. You can see it here: http://www.bratabase.com/bra/dl8ah/

    As for how much is exposed, I'm okay with that as long as the bra can support. I have a hard time buying strapless bras because they either squash me up at the top or cause the tissues from beneath my arms to fold over onto the bra. This makeshift "strapless," however, seems not to suffer from either problem, which is what spurred the alteration idea.

    The gore of this bra is unusually wide, isn't it? It's good to know that it wasn't just me.
    

  • The center gore is the part between the cups in the center of your chest. When it lies flat against your body, that's called tacking.

    I suggest testing the bra under your halters by sitting down, turning as if to get something out of your purse next to you, reaching up as if to adjust a car visor or rear view mirror, and leaning over slightly as if to pass the salt.

    Okay, I understand better why you're wearing the wires so low. Stabbing under the arms isn't a problem for me because of my high roots. Having the sides low may also matter to keep the bra invisible under halter tops and dresses.

    The wires at the bottom of each cup are meant to rest in the fold under each breast. That's where your breast tissue ends and your rib cage begins. I was concerned you're not wearing the wires in the right place. If the sides tend to stab you, though, you won't tolerate pulling the bra up any higher.

    Anna of Bras and Body Image did a great post on this fit issue:
    http://brasandbodyimage.com/2012/09/05/putting-your-bra-on-properly/

    I feel your strapless bra search pain. Someone is trying to exchange an Ewa Michalak 30DD beige strapless bra on Bratabase:
    http://www.bratabase.com/listings/dhoq6/

    You may want to ask her if she'd sell it instead.

    Good luck with the strapless journey!

  • Thanks for the suggestions on testing out the bra's functionality. That's so smart.

    Yup, the underwires here with the straps on poked and also just wouldn't go any higher because of the shape of the cup and the center gore. It wasn't intentional on my part. It's remarkable to me that just eliminating the shoulder strap/side cup issue allowed the underwires to sit where they're supposed to since I would have thought the center gore would have remained a problem.

    Anyhow, thanks for your suggestions and recommendations.

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  Hmm, since you mentioned using the strapless for some halter tops, I'm thinking you might have better luck converting your 30E into a halter bra. The 30DD exposes a *lot* of top tissue, and I have the feeling you'd have to adjust it quite a bit throughout the day

  Updated on April 21, 2014 Flag this

  
  

  • I've decided to just return the bra. Too much hassle. There's still time til summer, so the search for the strapless can wait. Thank you for the input.

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