Bra fitting help » Am I missing something? Particularly with strap separation?

• #1
• #2
• #3
• #4

Natori » Lush Demi Contour Underwire (711309) » 30D 30:4

---

You must be logged in to leave suggestions

• New user?

  Get an account

• Have an account?

  Sign in

---

Suggestions (1)

• 2
  helpful

  The first thing I would do is loosen the straps a good couple inches at least. Don't hesitate to loosen them WAY up, as needed: they shouldn't be flopping all over the place but you should not feel like they're doing any meaningful lifting... the goal is to completely eliminate any slight indent on your shoulders--that's a sign of excessive tension. Then readjust everything, walk around, lift your arms a few times, lean over and stand up again, do some jumping jacks... and see what happens.

  If loosening the straps leads to them immediately falling off with normal activity, it probably means the straps are either too wide-set on this particular bra design, or that the band is too small for you i.e. everything including the straps is being forced too far out laterally. (For future reference, some, but not all Natori bras run very small or very "firm" --not stretchy enough-- in the band)

  If the straps stay put and it FEELS comfy and the band stays put and you eventually forget about the gore, it may be ok.
  However if the straps fall off, or if the band starts to inch downward, away from the underboob crease and toward your waist... I would return it. Just as it's not good to have to rely on overtightened straps to compensate for a band that's too loose, you also don't want to be forced to overtighten them just to keep a too-snug band up where it belongs!

  My 3 main observations, just based on pics:
  (1) straps digging in, which may just be due to them being too tight as currently adjusted
  (2) straps sitting quite far apart, which reduces stability and often messes with cup fit, although can be workable in some cases
  (3) band looks on the tight side for you and the "overly present" gore is a typical symptom of that. I know bra-fitting doctrine gives people the idea that there is a single formula to find a band size, but the truth is, the degree of snugness needed can vary quite a lot. People with lighter, small/medium busts and a lean ribcage usually tend to find their best fit in a less-snug band: there's no super heavy bosom to worry about, and they literally don't have the ribcage "padding" to protect sensitive nerves and muscles from an elasticated band digging into them!

  Updated on September 4, 2023 Flag this

  
  

  • This is very helpful! Especially noting the source of unpleasant gore feelings. I have always assumed this was from the gore being too high. The choices in "how it fits" here give an option for it being uncomfortable based on wires too high or low, but I've never been sure why it's uncomfortable. Too tight band might be right. Maybe I shouldn't be writing off 32 bands as quickly as I have.

    ! I loosened the straps and it does seem to stay up still. Also tried an extender and it helped with the gore pressure a bit, but I'm not sure if it's enough. I'll have to give it a longer wear, but really leaning toward calling it a no, after all. Thank you for the assessment and info!

  • SlowKoala you're very welcome! Yes, in your size range "band is too tight/small" is the most common reason for wires to be painful despite sitting flat on the torso. Given your measurements and current size range, I would expect you to prefer the 32 band in designs that run tight/small.
    Bra-science note: technically it is possible for a too-tall gore to cause discomfort, just like very tall wings/outer wires. Tall gores are mainly used to ensure 100% coverage to stabilize very large cup sizes though. So you're not likely to face this problem in your size range, except in wired sports bras where sometimes they're used to ensure super full coverage and high stability .

  add a comment

  Use @ to mention users, brands, models and more

  You need to sign in to comment