Bra Intervention Question

[SayraT]

Hello,

I have seen other people getting great advice on bra fittings etc so wondered if anyone would be able to help me.

I have recently lost some weight so my bras don't fit as well as they used to, the cup is now too large. I measured myself following the guide here and my measurements were:

Underbust: 39 inches
Bust: 50 inches (as measured in guide)
Bust: 47 inches (measured with bra on)

I am now confused as according to the guide that means that I should be a 38H or a 40HH because my underbust is in the middle? Is that correct?

The reason I am confused is because the bras I have just now and which used to fit perfectly until I lost weight are all 38F These are the bras which are too big in the cup, I thought that I would have been going down a cup size maybe but staying the same back size?

Can anyone help?

On the face of it that looks too big in the cup, but it's doing absolutely no lifting at all. I think it's sitting too far down your body - it's hard to tell but it looks like it's just sitting on your boobs and like the wires aren't where they should be i.e. they're not right underneath where breast tissue meets torso. The band is also a fair bit too big.Also, the shape of it underneath your bust is off - I can quite work out what's going on but the dramatic v shape doesn't seem right for the style of bra.

Could you double check the underbust measurement? It should be really quite firm. Also, when you get a chance, take an additional overbust measurement - bra off, lying on your back. This one is sometimes useful for people who have lost volume thanks to babies or weight loss.

Also, where is the end of the wire sitting (the outside edge under your armpit) i.e. how high up is it?

What this is putting me in mind of is the bra M&S tried to fit me in. I'm a 30HHish, and they put a 36f on me. It just sort of sat there - I don't think the position of my breasts was any different with it on than off. I didn't seem to fill the cups at all because it was just kind of hanging there.

Thanks will get onto that as soon as I can. Funnily enough when I looked at pictures I thought to myself that the bra didn't look like it was doing anything, it is just around my boobs and not really supporting them.

Hello, just had a quick look at your pics, most helpful

You appear to need a cup with a shorter apex and relatively widely spaced as you have less volume needed in the centre and top of the cup.
I suspect Panache might dig you under the arms.

I'd try some Fantasie and maybe Curvy Kate styles but my first thought was the. Bravissimo Satine.

Pics really do help don't they Married. Feels a bit awkward asking for a picture of a stranger's bra though! Agree, shape looks all wrong to me too - I think even in a totally different size that bra wouldn't be a good match.

Thanks SC i did try on freyas at bravissimo before, but i will try again. i have a relatively small bust and due to one side being bigger i need a bit of a pad to even me out. i love the lacey ones but they do me no favours under clothes. i'm currently bfing again so have i enormanork and one fried egg (and am wearing a generic nursing crop top stylee). when my boobs are back to 'normal' i will try more bras again.

Perhaps, if you don't mind, i will do a pic too and then if you have time you could suggest where i'm going wrong. Thanks again.

Yup, pics definitely help so no problem there! The Freya Patsy half cup is lightly padded, most of tutti rouge and some of the Bravissimo half cups are too. Not sure about Marvel, will check. Married will probably be able to suggest some better styles too

Thank you so much, I have just looked up Bravissimo to see if there is one near me. There is

After looking at my pictures again and reading you comments I realise that all my bras sit below my boobs, I thought it was just because I am fat and squidgy. Maybe not! Do you think I would be better with a banded bra rather than bandless (is that what I have on?).

Does the measuring lying on you back work if you boobs migrate into your armpits!!

Pretty much everybody's do that! But especially for recent weight loss it can be good as you don't get the full impact of loose skin.

I think you need a bra with much shorter cups - I'm guessing you can't pull them up under your boobs because the wires would then be embedded in your armpits?

Can I just ask a quickie please? I've got a size 30hh in curvy kate smooth one not sure of name. Have terrible double boobs going on. What size should I try? Think the 30 back is ok. Have a tiny bit of back fat under the band and sometimes at the outside edge of the strap.

If the double boobs are terrible you are probably needing to go up a couple of cups at least

Would I go for 30j or Jj first?

I think probably a JJ. On me a single cup too small is relatively subtle - either a bit of armpit pudge or a wee bit of quad boob which is only really visible under a tight top. Yours sounds more than that to me. Brastop are free returns as are amazon and both sell the smoothie so you could order a couple of sizes and return, it's often easier to tell what fits best when you have several adjacent sizes to compare.

Hello, I am back. Mum and her friend (my visitors) are off to church so I have been able to measure undisturbed I re-did all of my measurements and I have written them down here again with the size that the guide gives me.

Underbust: 39 inches

Bust (90 deg): 50 inches 38 GG
Bust (upright, no bra): 46 inches 38 EE
Bust (lying down): 48 inches 38 FF
Bust (bra on): 47 inches 38 F

So a bit of difference there....

Yes, if I pull them up then the wires dig in, I have one bra I don't really wear (Freya I think) as it seriously digs in. The Gorgeous bras are better, I think.

I just tried on some of my bras and tried to look at them with different eyes, my older bras (38F) from before I put weight on seem to fit better, they sit more under my boobs and I have less back fat (I took pictures) than my newer bras (40F). Do you think that I am maybe still a 38F but just need a different style of bra as described above?

Thank you so much for all of your help and advice, hopefully I can get at least one bra that fits...don't want to buy loads as I intend on losing more weight. I will probably be back when I get to my goal

Try 38F and 38G.

My boobs are a similar shape to yours. I measure a 32G, which is generally spot on with Curvy Kate (and 30GG works better in some styles when my weight's down a bit) but 32FF seems better in Freya and Fantasie (which I don't wear because the straps are too wide set for my shoulders). Panache and Cleo Juna don't work on me at all, because I need a wide, shallow cup that goes right around under my armpits.

Have a look at Brastop and Figleaves - if you have a credit card, you can buy a load to try on then send back the ones that are no good. Figleaves have free returns so long as you put something on your order that's not in the sale. It's a good way to experiment.

38FF, duh!

I think Married is correct that the style of the bra you have is quite wrong for you. The bra has too much fabric in the middle and at the top so you're getting gaping. It's very hard to accurately assess how it fits.

There are Curvy Kate bras which might work well - I'm thinking of those like the Tease me/Thrill me/Fleurty/Entice/Ritzy which are relatively low under the arms, and have a wider, squarer cup. It looks from the picture like the wires on the Gorgeous one aren't a good match for your breast shape - the wires are too deep so they're sitting way below your boobs and you can't pull them up because then the end of the wire stabs your armpit! The Bravissimo Satine is much lower too. The Freya Patsy Half Cup (which has a very different shape to most Freyas) could be a potential option too. I'd be surprised if that Gorgeous bra fits well even in a different size.

It could be that you still need something around a 38f - I'd probably try sizes in the 38F-38G/GG range in the ones mentioned, making sure you do a lot of scooping. I think once you are in a bra which is lifting you, you might find you need more cup space. It's always easier to spot a good fit if you compare the same bra in multiple sizes as sometimes a bra can look OK, then you try the next cup up and it's a case of "oh, no, that's better!"

Thanks, think a big bra shopping trip is on the cards or as ouryve suggested order a load and try them at home.

I am going shopping with my mum on Thursday, for jeans and other stuff with last years birthday money so maybe we can go bra shopping as well.

Thanks again everyone, statistically if only there was a way you could set up a donation thing so we can all donate to those that help us I'd have to donate to oyu for bra help and to BIWI for weight loss help.