Yet another bra-challenged one!

[FavadiCacao]

I found this American site useful to understand breast shape and bra types but I'm still struggling to find the right bra.

StatisticallyChallenged (or anyone else who understand bras), could you help me to finding a well fitted bra, please? I have never bought clothes/bras online before, but I'm becoming desperate as gravity has taken hold of the assets!

Recently I lost a lot of weight, so I've been wearing interim ill fitting bras and, now I've reached the end weight goal, I would like to have a properly fitting bra (especially as my breast tissue feels full and not empty like in previous weight losses). I measure 31"underbust and 40.5" bust standing and laying down, I have wide (muscular) roots with relative wide gap at the sternum and I'm bottom heavy.

Currently, I'm wearing a bra that looks ok under tops but is far from ideal. Is an M&S (I mentioned desperation!) 32G plunge bra. The band is not too bad -despite I can fit 3 fingers in, I can feel it supporting but I've not found a single 30 to try. The cup is wrong in so many ways: the wire doesn't come high enough at the sides, so there's side spillage (armpit fat?); the cup cuts in a little for the first 2" from the centre but gapes at the strap; there is a finger gap at the bottom of the between underwire and breast, although the wire sit on the skin -if I squeeze the breast down to meet the underwire, I get a four boob effect in the armpit and back fat. The centre panel (a little bigger bigger than normal plunge) sits flat.

Balconette bras tend to give me 'ski-jump slope' effect but I haven't tried ones with side support; the Playtex (and look alike) full cups make my breasts super conical; the plunge bras give a good shape but there is always a gap at the bottom of the wires, some spillage at the sides and the cups never sit right at the top. The best fit so far has been an exceptionally plain full cup 32H Fantasie in House of Fraser (the only bra they had in my size, which I can't find on line to show). The band was good, the cups fitted ok (perfect on one side, ever so slightly small on the other) but there was little lift and a lot of separation (not good at my age!) and £41 I expect to see almost a surgical lift.

It sounds like you need a bra with wide underwires, which will be why the Fantasie fitted you. Look at Freya and Curvy Kate. If you're able, you might have more luck ordering a load to try on from somewhere like brastop or Figleaves, where there is a much bigger choice of sizes (you have similar measurements to me, btw) and then you can try on at leisure and get a better idea of what brands and styles fit you well. Brastop has free returns, iirc and Figleaves has free returns as long as you have something not reduced in your order.

the 32G, btw, is almost definitely too big in the band and too small in the cup.

Thank you. I had come across Figleaves before but not the others, I'm looking forward to go browsing. I agree the bra is the wrong size and I'd like to try a smaller band; the 32 leaves a red mark -probably because the cup isn't holding everything- but it doesn't hurt. Is there any model you would suggest for me to look at?

I have narrow shoulders and get the best shape in Curvy Kate Lottie and Princess. Currently wearing 32G, as I'm a bit heavy, at the moment, though when I can where the princess in 30GG more comfortably, the shape it gives is really fantastic. I've a few other balconettes, with varying degrees of success. The ones that work best come much higher under the armpit.

I'm tempted to try a Flirtelle bra, as apparently they're made to the same shapes.

I'll keep an eye for them, thank you. Interesting to know that balconette come with side support too, I feel that might be the right shape for me.
I was somewhere today with a very big M&S, with a massive bra section and I managed to try a few shapes and a 30 band! So at least I'm getting some ideas at what I should look for.
The 30 band was perfect, shame they only had a G (apparently M&S doesn't make HH but they could order the 32H or I could try a 34G!).
The full cup 32GG was too small, the wires came too high at the front but was perfect at the sides.
The plunge bra (stiched instead of premoulded) was very silly.
The balconette 32 GG was the most comfortable but without the side support meant side spillage and ski slope shape and the cups were not flat at the front.
I'm going to try to go to John Lewis this weekend in the hope to try at least cup sizes in different in the curvy kate and freya as I feel a bit silly ordering tens of bras.

Sorry to hijack

I wear a 30hh but have abit if double boob going on. Do I try a 30j? Fuck that's huge.