Bra fitting help » HH gapping and quadboob same bra; 36 is too tight but 38 is too loose
Elomi » Kim Plunge Bra (4340) » 36HH 36:12
Issue resolved
I went down from a 38H to a 34HH and found that although this bra still isn't the right shape for me, I at least know my main problem was trying bras that were too large in the band AND cup.
Original problem
Update 3/20/21: Trying the 34H made me realize this bra just isn't the right shape for me BUT I at least know that my size is a 34HH in most bras. I've been trying other brands and styles in 34HH and they fit MUCH better than the 36HH. I also have been getting used to what a snug band really feels like. Thanks for your help everyone!
Update 3/18/21: Going down in cup (and band) helped EVERYTHING! I was super skeptical but went down to a 34HH and the fit is MUCH better. I may even be a 34H. The elastic top still gives me a lot of overspill, but the rest of the cup fits so much better and I think I can carefully remove the elastic strip to stop that muffining. And no gore putting intense pressure on my sternum. Woo hoo! Will update with the final verdict. Thanks for your help everyone!
Update: It seems I may benefit from going down a cup size, but I'm afraid that would make the issue of the underwire cutting into my underarm breast tissue even worse. Also, is intense pressure from a gore (leaving bruising) a sign of anything that I can fix (style, cup size, band size, bending wires)?
TL;DR: I don't know what size or style to try next since this Elomi Kim 36HH feels too tight in the band with cups that feel too shallow and narrow while the 38H Elomi Kim band feels too loose with cups that feel wide enough but still too shallow.
I'm looking for a practical every day bra to be lifted front and center. I originally ordered about 15 bras and the Elomi Kim seemed to fit the best, so I've been trying to find my correct size in that bra. I tried Elomi Kim style in 38H, 38GG, 40G and now this 36HH and can't seem to get a good fit. I don't know if I need a new size, brand, or style. Advice please!
My breasts are very projected and pendulous with wide roots, tall roots, soft tissue, even fullness top and bottom, center fullness, are close-set and one breast is slightly larger than the other. I'm 5'1" and 180 pounds with a high tummy.
ABTF calculator measurements as of 3/10/21:
1. 37.5" loose underbust
2. 35" snug underbust
3. 33" super tight underbust
4. 47" standing bust (braless)
5. 53" leaning bust (braless)
6. 48" lying down (braless)
7. 49" bust when wearing my best fitting unpadded braThis Elomi Kim 36HH: Band is difficult to fasten and feels like it may be too tight. But based on 38s feeling too loose with a few hours of wear, do I just have to break it in? I also noticed that this 36HH seemed to be more contoured to my underbust than the 38 bras which felt kind of unwieldy in the front. I have slight muffin top along the inner top cup. There is gapping where the strap meets the cup. I feel like the cup does not keep my breast tissue in front of my body as much as the other sizes did. I can kind of catch some of my breast tissue when I raise my arms in front of me, whereas the other sizes took all that tissue from under my arm and put it up and center. The cup also feels like it comes up too high in front of my arm in the area from the strap to the underarm. There is some wrinkling on the bottom of the cup. The underwire on the outside of the right cup cuts into my breast tissue (this is my larger breast). When trying it on, this bra felt tight all over.
Other sizes of the same Elomi Kim that I tried and how they fit:
38GG: Band felt perfectly snug at first, but after a few hours of wear it started riding up my back on the loosest setting. The cups were too small with overspill and the wire was not wide enough to encapsulate my breast tissue under my arm. The wire came closer to my IMF than the 38H. During the day the bra would slip down and the underwires would push into my tummy.
38H: The band felt a little too loose with some wear. The wires are actually wide enough to encompass all my breast tissue. There is some occasional spilling out at the top/inner and some gapping at the strap. I think there was some gapping at the base of the cup. The wire rested about an inch below my IMF. When I first tried it on, I had pre-existing bruising on my sternum from wearing an Elomi Cate in 38H. I switched to the Kim in hopes the lower gore would fix the sternum pain, but found the gore still angled inward to my breast tissue painfully. It's possible I only felt sensitive because of the existing bruise and I'd be willing to try it again.
40G: The band was way too big, so I didn't really take note of any other fit issues. I don't remember how the cup felt but I could try it back on if that's helpful.
At this point I've tried at least 20 bras and I don't know what size, brand, or style to try next and I'm feeling pretty discouraged.
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helpful
I have almost identical measurements to you except I have an 8-inch difference in my standing and leaning bust, so I really do get the struggle!
Quick edit: I'm confused how this bra is cutting into your tissue under your arms and wrinkling so incredibly much at the same time. Are you just swooping and scooping? Past like a size F you have to scoop, swoop, shimmy, shake, lift, and separate to get things in the right place. Breast tissue can also be more likely to slip past the wire when your band is too big, in my experience. I have the same UB measurements as you, and I have that issue with a couple of Elomi 38 bands, so my guess would be that's the reason.
Also, maybe try the Elomi Matilda in 36G and 36GG—it runs pretty big for size but is extremely projected.
I got really annoyed when people told me my identical fit issues were due to the cups being too big, but it's a real thing! I'm always amazed when I have more and more room and better shape the smaller my cup size goes. I have some pictures on my profile to illustrate, especially the 36J - Elomi » Eugenie Plunge (EL4470). 36J (UK) is my calculator size, but I wear a 36G (also UK) or 36GG in Elomi bras! It's really weird and I know it doesn't make sense at first, but large-letter, projected breasts will fit cups VERY differently than smaller breasts.
This bra is actually objectively pretty big on you, but you're projected (like me), so it counterintuitively looks too small on top. This is because the bra is sitting too low on your torso. The 36HH is designed for someone with breasts that are both bigger volume and wider and longer roots than yours, so the wires are sitting quite a bit lower and wider than your breast, resulting in lack of support, folding, gapping, wrinkling, but also tightness and cutting in on top. I may or may not have pictures demonstrating this on my profile, but how this bra fits on you is basically how the Elomi Morgan fits me in 36HH. I have to size down about two sizes from that to get a good fit, because projection.
Projected breasts will expand to fill almost any volume cup, so what we actually need to check for too-big-ness is how close the wires fit our roots. To check this, you'll need to lift your arms up in the mirror. A little wrinkling on the sides is okay, but you have a ton and it's going to hurt after a few hours. I'd aim for more like half an inch max too wide, if possible. The really critical aspect of fit is wire under your breast, AKA in your IMF. A too-small or too-shallow bra will almost always lift away or cut into breast tissue long before it ever slides down your IMF. I'm not sure why people keep saying it's "lack of immediate projection," but some fellow large-boob owners have helped me test this, and it's simply not true at all! It's from the wire being too big for your breast root.
What is true is that you will want to keep trying really projected bras, because you will need to go down a few sizes and that can be tricky with a lot of forward volume. But again, I know it sounds weird, but I think you may be delighted by the results if you give a 36GG or 38G a try (also maybe one size up and down from there).
Updated on March 16, 2021 Flag this
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Adler613 You were spot on. Thank you thank you thank you for helping me solve this issue. I was definitely skeptical, but I finally bit the bullet and went to Nordstrom. They didn't have a lot of sizes/styles in stock so there's still some guesswork involved, but it looks like I'm a 36HH in the Elomi Charley lace plunge and a 36GG in the Elomi Cate. I also found that the 36 band was slightly too stretchy on the loosest hook and I can actually wear the sister sizes in the 34 band.
Based on the above, what sizes do you recommend I try in the Elomi Kim, Freya Offbeat Side Support, and Panache Jasmine?
Thank you so much! I'm SO excited to be moving forward with this! Yay!
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I think you might try the 36GG plus 36G and 36H in the Kim, but I’m not super familiar with that one. Definitely 36G and 36GG for Matilda based on the Cate size.
For the Panache Jasmine, I would try 36GG and 36H. I don’t know the Freya one enough to advise you, sorry!
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Adler613 I just tried on the 36HH Elomi Kim again and the major issues were:
-intense pressure from the gore
-underwire cutting into side of larger breast
-Still wrinkling along the bottom of the cupMy questions are:
1. Does the gore pressure indicate a size issue, style issue, or my rib shape?
2. Would going down a cup size further cut into my underarm breast tissue?
3. Would going up a cup size make bottom of the cup wrinkling worse? Is that maybe something I should just ignore?I was all excited this morning feeling like I finally had some direction, but when I looked at the bra sizes I already tried and ordered, I realized that maybe my quick store fitting wasn't enough to really gauge how those bras actually fit me.
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You absolutely cannot guess your fit issues from too-large bras, is all I can really tell you. They will dig and fold and cut in weirdly and land in the completely wrong places, so you will end up thinking you have freakishly wide/narrow/tall/short/high/low roots or skewed top/bottom/inner/outer/fullness when in reality the bra is just too big, lol. Projected breasts frequently make too-big bras act too small for a huge chunk of us.
When the bra is too big, the wires are obviously also too big. In addition to what we talked about re: the wires sitting too low on your ribs and not supporting you properly, overly big wires will also poke and pinch the wrong places. They will be too long for you so they will hurt you in the gore or under the arms or do all sorts of painful things.
So unfortunately, I can't really tell you why you're having shape issues beyond "the bra is too big." But 36HH is objectively too big for you, and yes, too big can cause a lot of pain, and yes, a bigger size will just make everything worse. You may not have folding, but only because you'll have a boob net lying over the top instead!
I also have no idea what your specific root situation is, I'm sorry! You mention it's cutting into your breast tissue, but you also have massive amounts of side wrinkling, so I'm really not sure what's going on there. I don't know if it's like an opposite omega situation or you need to swoop and scoop much more aggressively or maybe these wires are just so big on you that they're somehow coming away from you and then landing on tissue?
tl;dr you're probably going to be a 36G, GG, or H in most brands, and those are the three sizes I'd recommend ordering for diagnostic bras like the Jasmine, Envy, and Matilda as you try to find your size. It's actually IMO easier to diagnose fit issues in a bra that's slightly too small than slightly too big, so I would pick one or two bras you think might work and try them in those three sizes as a starting point.
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So glad I could help!!! Best of luck trying future bras!
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helpfulI just ordered a 36J.
Updated on March 12, 2021 Flag this
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helpfulDid you try loosening the straps? That might help both with the gapping and the cup fabric feeling tight.
Updated on March 13, 2021 Flag this
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Yes I played with the straps a lot because the cup felt both too big and too small. Thank you for the suggestion though because I honestly do forget that adjusting the straps can make a big difference. The biggest issue with this bra is the wire cutting off my breast tissue on my larger breast. I'm really hoping going up a cup size will do the trick.
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helpfulIf it seems like I’m between sizes my first thing I try is a bra extender! Maybe that will improve the fit of the 36??
Updated on March 14, 2021 Flag this
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confused Thanks for the extender suggestion! I forget to try those! I'll have to find it in my drawer and see if that helps in the future.
I do have to say that I wonder if I'm just not used to wearing snug fitting bras anymore. When I first tried on the 38 bands, I was so excited about how "perfectly tight" they were, but after measuring myself again and getting smaller numbers, I tried the 38s on again and actually tested how much stretch there was and when I swung my arms around, I saw they were actually pretty loose on the loosest hook with riding up.
The 36J came in and I think it's the best fit yet. The band doesn't feel too tight and the cups are no longer gapping. I do notice insane pressure from the gore (I had to stuff a baby sock in there yesterday to help) and the bra slips down during the day.
So I'm thinking that I'm just going to call it quits on the Elomi Kim and try to find another bra with more projection while still keeping the wide wires.
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Good insight!