Bra fitting help » bra wires too wide, sides too tall & more

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Elomi » Rita Multiway Banded Bra (8011) » 34K 34:15

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  When you say "I had to shorten the straps so much", what does this mean, i.e. what happened when the straps were not shortened as much as this?

  To me it looks like the cup is too large for you. This is partly concealed by the fact that the space at the side is "wasted" (you're using all the depth, but not all of the width of the cup). However we can still see from the amount of wrinkling and excess fabric on your sides that you do not need this much cup!

  The band is also riding up--could be because you overtightened the straps (often you are forced to do this to create some lift despite too-big cups) or because the the band is too loose. If you loosen the straps and wear this for 20 minutes and the band still rides up, I'm sorry to say this will mean you're not within Elomi's size range--it'll mean you are too petite around the ribcage :-/

  When women experience breast growth as adults, typically the breast root does not increase hugely in height or width. You gain mostly depth. So if you recently grew, this means you are probably more projected than before, but with pretty much the same breast root area. You now need to look for deep cups with narrower wires. Have you tried any Polish bras?

  Updated on October 6, 2014 Flag this

  
  

  • Thanks for your input. I shortened the straps to get "lift" and support. I just tried the bra back on and loosened the straps so that they have just a little tension on my shoulders but don't fall off. At this length, my breasts (which are large, heavy and pendulous without a bra) sag down and the undersides of my breasts just barely touch my rib cage. The strap adjuster buckle is still too high on my back for the racerback option to work. There's still extra fabric on the sides and also extra fabric in the upper cup indicating a too large cup which is what I had figured.

    The band is not riding up. This is the height that I wear my bras, level from where the band goes under my breasts in front. I think that I must have high-set breasts because most of the bras that I've been trying in the last few months are really high on the sides in into my armpits. The band is very snug, almost too snug/comfortable, but it was OK for the few hours that I wore it yesterday. In the summer when I'm hot, it might be too tight because I can't stand tight clothing when I'm hot.

    I do have wide breast roots. They go from beyond the sides of my body to almost touching my other breast. I even have a little breast tissue between the breasts but nothing that sticks out really far. So finding bras where the gore fits right and separates my breasts is a challenge.

    As time goes on, my breasts have gotten "longer". LOL! I use to have a hormonal problem that caused them to grow suddenly. I've had the tumor that was secreting the hormone removed and am tested regularly to make sure it hasn't grown back but my breasts keep growing. I've also put on a good bit of weight in the last 7-10 years.

    The bras that I'm currently wearing - but the cups are now too small and the gore no longer touches my sternum - are Fantasia Belle in 32J. When I bought them (4 of them) I had to return some in the exact same style and size because they didn't tack where the ones that I bought did. I also bought the same style in black in 32H that fit like the 32J in Bamboo fit. When I purchased them, the tip at HerRoom was to buy a smaller band size (so 32 instead of 34) than normal because of how they were sized. The bands still feel good on them but the cups are too small now.

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    Yes my boobs also seem to get longer with the passage of time, wonder what's up with that? ;-) LOL!

    I think I worded my comment about width and size change misleadingly. I wasn't saying that your breast width had decreased and become narrow (as in, narrower than most women with your breast volume). That obviously does not seem to be the case. I meant that, since you have acquired more breast tissue and more projection due to this growth, your proportions have likely changed. Let's say your true root width is around, I dunno, for example 6.4". If when your boobs were smaller, you used to be able to wear 10" deep cups that would qualify as being able to wear cups that are very much wider than average. But now that you need cups that are about 14" deep, that width of 6.4" would be more like a middle of the road, average width (within the demographic of women with the same breast volume that you currently have). Does that make any sense?

    Anyway, if your lying down breast perimeter is accurate I would guesstimate that a 34J might work.

  • Thanks again for your input, wendybien. I left the bra on for about an hour after I adjusted the straps as you suggested. It does feel better that way but doesn't have the lift that I need. While wearing it again, I realized that it is a bit on the tight side. I'll try a 34J and 34JJ as you and xelestrial suggested. I'll also try 36J, 36JJ and maybe 36HH. Hopefully one of them will work because I really like this bra style and how well it tacks for me.

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  elomi is known for extremely wide wires (that is causing the extra cup space you describe), so it sounds like you may have average sized roots if most bras are fine or even too narrow. You probably have what is called high set breasts like me, or are just in general shorter torso'd. I have the issue with the poking underwires a lot too. I find that the elomi Rita/Caitlyn are easy fits on mostly everyone although the wires are wide and bit on the long side.

  I would say that if you are comfortable in the 34 don't even bother with the 36 - unless you are experiencing any discomfort, a bigger band is just going to ride up. Sizing down is not going help wire width because then the cup will be too small. Wire width is generally something that varies greatest by brand, instead of by size (though it does vary by size, its such a small difference that you would be in a cup size that is laughably small before you got the wire width you desired).

  I wear this bra in your size, and I personally can only wear Bravissimo bras comfortably - they're the only wires that don't dig into me and are a lot less wide than elomi, but they are pretty expensive for shipping back and forth for people to start with. If you do check them out and decide you'd like to try them, I suggest a 36K for their balconette style and a 36JJ or 36K for their full cup styles.

  Updated on October 6, 2014 Flag this

  
  

  • Normally I have trouble with wires being too narrow for my breasts. My breast roots are wide since they go beyond my sides to almost touching my other breast. Since Elomi are known for wider wires, I thought it would work for me.

    I've tried on lots of bras in the last several weeks and am keeping notes. Only this Elomi Rita, Elomi Caitlyn and Fantasia Salsa had wires that went too far back and seemed extra wide. For this particular bra, I feel it's because the cup size is too big. So I'm trying to juggle cup size and band size to find something that works.

    I have only ever worn underwire bras and haven't had a problem with wires poking in the past. . . but it takes me forever to find bras that fit when it's time to get new ones. I buy 6-7 at a time when I find a style & size that works for me.

    I like the construction, simplicity and color options of this Rita bra and am hoping to figure out what sizes I need to order next to try. Definitely smaller cups. Maybe it won't make enough difference like you suggest.

    Thanks for your input.

    You said that you wear this bra in my size (34K). Would you mind sharing, if it's OK for me to ask, your comfortably snug rib measurement and bust measurement? (Mine are 33" and 45".) That might help me to see the differences between what I am and what size person needs to fit this style/size.

  • Wide root refers to how far your breast tissue goes on your side, so it would depend on how far it goes under your armpit, I guess. Elomi's wires tend to be on my back because I have very narrow roots that don't continue much under my arm, if at all.

    I don't know how Fantasie runs but elomi is really only not wide on people with very wide roots as far as I've heard. That's why I was just presuming your roots were average. I wear this bra size because they don't go up to my cup size, which would be a 32KK. My underbust is 31" and my overbust is 46". So technically this bra band is a size too big for me though I can wear it without too much ride up. It sounds and looks to me like you are in a pretty good size.

    Out of elomi bras, I've only tried the Caitlyn, the Rita and the Izzy, but I can't really suggest the Izzy. I respect and understand your bra buying preferences, I should really do the same thing. I would suggest Goddess as a similar brand but I don't think they go up quite as high...I think it's a possibility you could try a 34JJ if you're curious about your limits, just to be sure. If you could wear JJs, a whole 'nother set of elomi models would be open to you, if you want to continue trying elomi. I don't know of any other K cup elomi bras and can't seem to find any in Bratabase.

    EDIT - Looking at the Rita and Caitlyn's wire length measurement, it seems on the longer side to me. But I always have this issue with Panache bras which are even longer.

  • Xelestial, thanks again for your input. Yes, my breast tissue wraps around the sides of my body which is why a lot of bra wires feel too narrow, I think.

    I'll order a 34JJ as you suggest and try that as well as 34J. I'll also order some similar cup sizes in 36 band because when I put the bra on again to adjust the straps as wendybien suggested, I left it on for a little over an hour and noticed that it did feel tighter than the bras I normally wear.

    I've tried various styles in Goddess, Fantasia, Elomi, Elila, Glamorise, Leading Lady and Curvy Kate (waiting for 2 that are on backorder). This Rita is the one that I like best so far because of the breast separation so I'll keep plugging away at it until I figure it out. Thank you for your help.

    P.S. I also like the Goddess Kayla Banded Underwire in Black Tropical but need to try a different size for it.

  • I would suggest Panache as a potential brand if you're ever looking to try another one just because they have average to wide wires and tend to all have a lot of cup separation in the gore. They just also tend to poke under the arm for me. If you ever want a model to start with, try the Tango II. However it's not as comfortable as elomi, but you know, just throwing out options for the future.

    Good luck and happy bra hunting! :)

  • Thanks again for your suggestion. I received a Panache Tango II in my current order and it didn't fit. The size I ordered (34K UK) didn't work for me. My notes on that one say: Band is slightly too tight. Wires poke into armpit / arm. Extra fabric in cups. Don’t like how high cups go up breasts. Underwire digs into ribs. 3 hooks. Do not try again!

    I'm going to keep working with the Elomi Rita and Goddess Kayla in different sizes to see if I can get one to work. Thanks.
    

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  UPDATE:

  I tried a 36HH. The band was looser than I'd prefer but the gore was flat. I didn't judge it more than that because the band seemed too loose. I returned it.

  Then I tried 34J and 34JJ. I actually bought them in several colors because I was so sure one size or the other would work. For all of them (two sizes in the various colors), they had much tighter bands than the 34K I had previously tried on that had fit so well in the band. I wore one of them for less than 10 minutes and it was so tight it was hurting me and hurt for a while after I took it off. Both sizes also pushed my breasts together and the gore didn't touch my sternum. I returned them.

  So, I'm still trying to figure this out. I'm going to try 36HH again and 36H because I seem to recall a little extra fabric on top when I reached forward. I'm thinking/hoping that maybe it wouldn't be too loose if I wore it on the middle or tightest hooks.

  The search continues. The most important aspects for me are for the gore to lay flat and separate my breasts (to prevent a rash) and for it to give enough support so my shoulders don't hurt. Once I find the right size, I'll buy 7 or 8 of them. Just need to find the right size and style. I hope this is the style because it's simple, pretty and comes in many colors.

  Updated on November 1, 2014 Flag this

  
  

  • I tried 36H and 36HH in this style.

    The bands were much better than the 34 band for me. 36H was too small in the cup (breasts were touching and gore wasn't anywhere near touching my sternum). 36HH gore laid nicely against my sternum but the wires went too far back to my sides (actually to my back) and hurt. I've given up on this style working for me. :(

    Interestingly, I tried it in several colors (Iris, Poppy, Black and Honey) in these two sizes. In both sizes, the Poppy (red) had much tighter (too tight) bands than the others colors in the exact same sizes. I couldn't even fasten them behind my back. Yet the other colors I could.

    So, it's not really "resolved" other than to think this bra style isn't going to work for me and give up trying.

  • I honestly would try another style in Elomi, I find this style to have super wide wires, and only fits certain women. Have you tried anything else yet?

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    Thanks for your input, Jadekitty.

    I've tried dozens and dozens of bras over the last several months. I really wanted the Rita to work but the wires were just too wide and too tall at the sides for me so I've given up on it.

    The only bra out of all of them that I'm keeping is "elomi Etta Underwire Convertible Bandless Bra EL8840." The cups in sister sizes 36J and 38HH fit very well. These are UK sizes. Unfortunately, the 36 band is uncomfortably snug and the 38 band is too loose. I'm keeping both to try the 36 with an extender and the 38 on tighter hooks. I may even sew the 38 band to make it tighter.

    For both Etta sizes the wires go too far up my side and dig into my fat tissue. I'm going to have to cut the wires shorter because it really hurts. I'm not petite at 5 ft 4-1/2 inches but must have high set breast since most of the bras I've tried are too high in that area. (I just measured. I'm 8-1/2 inches from the top of my sternum to my underbust.)

    I wish Fantasie Belle style 6001 (that I've been wearing for years in 32J that is too small now in both band and cup) came in more colors and without the gaudy looking lace.

  • I have the same issues with panache wires, they are painful, they must curve in at the top, and they right up in my arm pit. We are the same height and close in bust and ribs, I am a tight 30.5 comfortable 32, I love the gem bra by Freya for being low in the underarm and it has a K cup and soft underwires, but I wore it as a 28hh, Although I have never truly had a centre gore stay flat yet after the first few wears, I think because I need more depth in the cup.

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