Ever since I had a fitting at Nordstroms 3 years ago and found Bravissimo, I have been a preacher on the importance of a properly fitting bra. It is amazing to me how long I went before I found that having a bra fit is one of the most important things in the world. It not only cures back pain, but does wonders for your figure. The most common mistake that women make when buying a bra, is buying a bra that is too big around with a cup that is too small. You can see when a woman has made this mistake because the back of her bra rides high, giving her back fat a lift, she may acquire 2 more breasts, and her shoulders are hunched over. I decided this mistake was made because of the thought that she needs to fit the 36-24-36 model that was ingrained into our heards by Marilyn Monroe and Men's magazines (and the fact that Victoria Secret rarely stocks a bra over a C cup). In fact, in the States I noticed that most average department stores rarely display a bra that is over a D cup and when they do, the back size is a 36 at minimum and is terribly ugly. In the UK it is common to find a bra into the G cups, but the band size is still in excess of a 36. I bet you that most women find they should be wearing a bigger cup and a smaller band size (shouldn't that be better than the other way around?). Here is what you need to consider when assessing if you are wearing the right bra size (from Bravissimo.com):
Step One – Check to ensure that you are wearing the correct back size.
Step Two – Check to ensure the wires sit flat between your boobs and aren't being pushed away from your body.
Step Three – Check to ensure you are wearing the right cup size.
Now I will reveal my bra size when I am not pregnant...34 E (or a 34 DDD for the Americans). Before I was properly fitted, I compensated by wearing a 36 D. It was not comfortable. My back hurt and I couldn't sit properly because my band was not sitting at the correct place on my back and the cups were not supporting the weight of my breasts. This is not good for your back...and not good for your shape. Come on ladies! Not only do we want our bras to look pretty, but we want them to make US look pretty (as well as be comfortable...how long do we wear bras anyway? Most of us from around 13 until we die), and they can do this if they fit properly.
Now, I am bringing this up because pregnancy has completely messed up my whole perfect bra fitting situation. I am at the point where my underwires dig into my belly, but buying a bigger size band isn't going to work, because that area of me is still small. Therefore, I had to start messing around with non-underwire (or soft cup if you will). I hate these! They just don't give the nice lift under my shirt and my breasts end up mushing over my still tiny waist. I clutched onto my underwire bras as long as I could, going through 3 sizes and about £75.
Today I recieved my newest bra in the mail. I went for a nursing bra, so I could use it later, even though my breasts are bound to grow and extra size (holy moley!! I don't even want to think about it) I will be able to come back to this one eventually, bras are expensive. I decided to get it in the same size as my last underwire which was a band size below a previous soft cup I was fitted for (they didn't do a very good job). So far (I have been wearing it for about 5 hrs now, this time with the tags still on) it is doing pretty well. The band is staying in place and I only have a slight uni-boob (one of the other downfalls of a soft cup bra).
So for my pregnant, big breasted friends out there, I suggest looking into the Royce Sadie bra (I do believe it comes in maternity and nursing, sizes 28DD-40J). I also have some advise. I bought a bra band extender, and it was worth it for the time being. However, I found that because the bra was made to be smaller around, my shoulder straps fall off. So I recommend buying one of these only for a temporary solution while you find out what your rib cage and cups are going to do. Also, for me (I know everyone is different) the majority of my breast growth was in my first trimester, then tapered out (so the back extension was good instead of buying a bra with the next band size up because that was too big), then a one cup increase at the end of my second trimester. Only now (at 34 weeks) has my underwire become uncomfortable meaning that a maternity bra would be a good choice at this stage because they tend to have more closures at the back, so you can accomidate for your organs moving way above the bump without having to buy a band size up (which leads you to spend another £25+ on something you will never wear again after the baby is born). They say your rib cage will go back to normal when the baby drops at the end of your third trimester. I am expecting things to really take off at the end of the pregnancy and into the breast feeding stage in which I will buy a proper fitting nursing bra. Babycentre has a good guide on buying maternity bras.
I hope this has helped my pregnant friends so that they don't waste money on an item pregnant lady articles tend to forget about and that it has helped all the other ladies realize that they need to GO OUT AND GET A PROPER FITTING BRA ALREADY!! It is worth the money, I promise!
6 comments:
Bras suck! First off, they itch. I don't care what they are made of or how much you pay for them - they itch! Thanks for the buying guide. I never needed one until now. I mostly wore them for other people's sake. For the smaller breasted readers out there, the support tank tops are lot less itchy and a lot less expensive.
D
Another tip - you should not wear the same bra 2 days in a row. Apparently they last longer if you allow the elastic materials to "rest". This doesn't necessarily mean you need to wash them between wearing, just to give them the rest and rotate. I learned this when I went for my Nordie's fitting. Thanks Jess!
I didn't know about the resting thing. I am bad and tend to buy black bras so I don't have to wash them very often, but because they are handling so much weight, I can see how letting them sit would benefit the fit and longevity of the garment.
D you are sooooo lucky!! But I am sure you will have fun with them now. Who knows maybe you will get to keep them.
I wear a Royce nursing bra too - the only decent non-underwired one I have found. But I much preferred my Anita underwired nursing bras - they are really good.
Nice post. I am trying to create a site which pulls in the best Maternity Underwear
so that us mummies can see all the choice under one site. Would be interested to hear your views on it.
I have always got my bras fitted when I bought new ones. I hate getting them and getting good ones are so expensive that I figure I might as well make sure they fit properly. I get fitted in Marks and Spencers (only british people will know that shop i guess) and they are always really good and helpful and after a lot of prodding and changing I always get the right size and type of bra I need.
I also didnt know about the resting thing, I am going to try that.
Im jealous of Darby too, I would love for them to be smaller!
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