A Fit Tip For The Change Room

Doesn’t matter where you look – women’s bra bands are riding up. Their straps are cutting in. They are painfully uncomfortable in the one piece of clothing that should be making them look their best – their bra.

Most women don’t know how to tell if their bra is properly fit. The “trick” to any fit is the band. With the vast majority of bras, the main support for your breasts will come from the band.

However, measuring for a bra is tricky for some women. They often get the wrong band size because they are measuring themselves. There are two main reasons for this:

  1. Their arms are up and away from the sides of the body. To get the most accurate band size, your arms have to be at your sides. This is impossible if you are the one holding the measuring tape! The reason that this causes a wrong measurement is that it means that your rib cage is expanded, widening your measurement.
  2. When you take your own measurement, it is very hard to ensure that the measuring tape is level on your body. If the measuring tape must be level and situated just below your breasts, or the measurement may be wrong.

The best way to ensure an accurate band measurement is to have help! A professional fitter is a great idea. Many lingerie stores – and even large department stores – now have either fitters on staff or special events when fitters will be available.

Once you actually have a bra on, you need to look for good fit in the cups. However, a bra can fit well in the cups (no pinching, extra material, bulging, etc) but still not be the bra for you because of the band. To test the band, lift both your hands straight up while trying on a bra. If the band moves up too, then you have a bra with a band size too big. If the band stays in place without pinching or binding, you’ve got the right fit.

After all, you have to be able to move in the bra, without it moving around on your body, for it to do its job.

Sources: Times Of India; BraWise reporting