Bra digging in

[sewbee50]

My new bra 34 F is digging in madly under my armpit at the top of my ribcage. I've measured correctly but there seems to be an inch of fabric past the end of the wire under my arm.

The ideal size would have been a 34E but they squashed my bosom at the top.

Yep, no band udner the wire. This one.

Yeah, they tend to give a more obvious mark on me - nothing wrong with it though.

There's another nice high-end independent underwear shop in Cambridge. If you go to the Market Square then up Peas Hill and then follow the road round to Bene't Street, it's half way up there. Another in All Saint's Passage.

Money refunded at M&S so that was good. Fitted at Bravissimo and I'm a 32FF in Panache - bras too pricey for my pocket though so went to John Lewis and ended up in one of their own brands at 34E.

Turns out I'm between sizes so I have to try all of them on - I hate that and got fed-up very quickly. Managed to stay interested long enough to buy a white one and that was it.

Thanks for your advice

My bra straps fall down constantly. I'm always tightening them and it drives me mad. It's embarrassing too.
I know my cup size is wrong but I'm a 44 back so it's difficult to find nice bras. I measured 52 doing the bending over thing so I guess I should be in a 44DD which is the size of the bra I'm wearing but you could fit another boob in each cup. There's loads of room!

Anyone have any suggestions where I can get a bra that fits and doesn't slide off my shoulders?
Bravissimo doesn't got bigger than 38, M&S goes up to 42, Debenhams goes up to 40

Thanks

is your under bust, tight measurement actually 44? Straps falling down are usually a sign of too big band. If you put the bra on backwards, is it still tight?

And 44 and 52 would actually be about 44FF

Yup, can you actually check your measurements please? That size doesn't really add up

Measure your underbust with the bra off, tightly, in inches. Overbust we've got already.

I've tightened the straps and the band today.
I read up a bit more and did the scooping thing. Bra cups are now full! Straps have fallen down less today.
This crappy bra I'm wearing, the straps seems to work loose, I hadn't realised how much!
The only shop I've found that sells my size is Evans but the quality isn't great.

Please, please check your measurements. I really doubt this is the correct sized bra for you.

I will definitely check my measurements. I did it a few times. Should the measurement round the boobs be tight too?

No, the measurement around your boobs shouldn't be compressing your tissue.

Measured again. Definitely 44 for the bra band but 50 for round boobs. I tried the lying down method and got the same.

Ok, that would put you at a base of a 44E. However it's really, really common for ladies who are a bit "squidgier" to need to wear a band size which is smaller than they actually measure to get enough support. The band needs to be firm and that often means going down 1-2 band sizes to achieve that - both because the body is softer (sorry, I'm really not trying to be rude I promise, I'm rather squidgy myself!) and because the total band length is longer which means it can stretch further. So a 30" band might measure 27" unstretched and 31" stretched for example, but the same bra in a 44 might measure 41" unstretched but 48" stretched. And it's the stretched measurement that matters most.

Given that you've had to tighten the band and are finding your straps falling down, I would suggest trying a 42F/FF. Your band should be firm - if you can pull it more than a couple of inches from your body you need to go down. You might even want to try a 40FF/G. Have you looked at Brastop? They do up to a 46 in brands like Curvy Kate, Panache and Elomi.

Thank you so much for the advice. I will definitely try a smaller band

You will need to go up in the cup if you go down in the band though, even to maintain the same cup volume - cup volume is proportionate to band size

Oh right now I get it I'll try a few

Ordered 2 lovely bras from brastop, a 42F and a 40FF

That should give you a good idea of whether going down in the band will work. Try them on back to front first as that way you can see how the band fits without the cups causing problems. If it feels ok back to front but feels too tight once you put it the right way, it normally means the cups are a bit small and are nicking fabric from the band.

Bras are funny!

Thank you so much for your help. Just doing the scooping has helped- I've got better cleavage! I never would have thought of tightening the band.
I measured it and it stretches to 48" so no wonder it was too big!