Are you wearing the right bra size? It may be that you’ve always been in the wrong size or maybe your body has changed subtly, either way 85% percent of women are wearing the wrong bra size for their body. Since you *might* be shopping for lingerie with Valentine’s Day around the corner now is a good time to make sure you are purchasing in your correct size. Don’t complete your lingerie purchase until you read this guide.
Your size can change even when your weight and dress size stay constant. Our bodies are always evolving — diet, age, exercise, and hormonal changes all can make subtle changes in your girls so it’s a good idea to have a fitting every year or so. I think most of us know the basics: measure the size of your chest just under your breasts to determine your band size. Your cup size is the difference in inches between your chest size and the measurement around the fullest part of your breasts. A one inch difference is an A cup, 2 inches a B cup and so on.
Getting the Right Fit
Getting the correct fit is just as important as making sure you are in the correct size. Here are five rules of thumb:
- The underwire sits between the breasts. // Just being honest, this seemed like a no-brainer to someone on the committee like myself but I am envisioning someone who is well-endowed may find this more challenging.
- The underwire comes back behind the breast to the underarm. // This one is less obvious. If you put your arm down by your side, your underwire should extend beyond where your arm falls.
- No cups runeth over. // Make sure you grab all that breast tissue from the side and underneath and pull it alllll in. Now check if the girls are snug as a bug in a rug. No gaping or spillage allowed.
- The band is snug and parallel to the floor. // The band anchors the bra and provides the support. When your bra is brand new, you should fasten it on the loosest hook and only have about an inch give when you pull it away from your body. Bras lose elasticity over time. By starting with a bra that fits correctly on the loosest hook you can compensate for the loss in elasticity by fastening it on the tighter hooks over time. Turn around and look at the back of your bra in a mirror. Is it parallel to the ground or does it ride up? If it’s not parallel it’s not properly supporting you.
- The straps should have 2 inches of room. // The job of the straps are to hold the bra cups in place. You should be able to slip a thumb underneath and pull it no more than 2 inches from your shoulders with a bit of effort.
Now go check yourself out in the mirror and I’ll wait right here for a minute. Did you meet the criteria?
Provide Support For Girls Who Need Support
If you are local to the D.C. area you can recycle bras in good condition at Trousseau in Vienna, Virginia. If you don’t have a store near you that accepts gently used bras you can mail yours directly to the Bra Recyclers, a company based in Arizona, that distributes gently used bras to women in need.
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