CYNLT

DIY Bra Fitting

Most women are wearing the wrong bra size. Leads to comfort, style and even some health issues, if the fitting is effecting posture.
Here’s an easy to follow guide, to bra fittings and general style, without the use of those depressing measurement tapes.

Pick your bra type

We think its a good idea to start with what type of bra you’re looking for, before you start sizing.  Within this type of lingerie, there’s an everyday bra, or sexy bra for going out, or a bra for intimate occasions.

Here are common bra styles and what you might want them for:
- Work bra: A traditional full-cup bra, maybe with a molded cup will disappear under your work clothes and will provide maximum support.

- Going out: You need a good multifunction bra, which will let you swap between halterneck, strapless, and a regular style. If you don’t typically wear halterneck/strapless styles, a plunge bra is a great way to wear low-cut tops without showing any bra.

- Intimate occasions: Depending on your taste and cup size, a balconette or plunge bra will be perfect. Balconette is great to wear with a square or round neck to lift the breasts overall (think Jane Austen boobs), and plunge is great for low or v-necks.

Once you’ve picked your bra style, you’re ready to size!

Bra Style

Each bra will be labeled with its style (multi-way/multifunction, plunge/push-up, full-cup and shelf/balconette)

Find your test bra size

Now that you’ve chosen the style of bra, its time to start DIY Bra Fitting. Measuring tape, nope! Throw it away. It might seem like the most accurate way to get the correct size. We’ve been brought up measuring ourselves with the sewing kit measuring tape.
However, due to the variety of body shapes, different in sizes of brands, this way doesn’t always work. We prefer to take a much more DIY approach to bra sizing: all you need is your current bra size and a little bit of trial and error.

Bra sizing our way

1. Test your band size – The first step, you do is reach around and pull your bra band away from your back. Look to see if is it loose (more than an inch or so from your back)? If so, your band size might be too big. If it’s really loose, subtract two band sizes (always subtract by two, e.g., 38 to 34), if it’s just a little loose, subtract one band size (38 to 36).

2. Test your cup size – The second step is, feel under your arm for your bra’s underwire. Is the underwire directly below your armpit, or is there breast tissue poking out beyond the underwire?

3. Third Step, check your underwires at the front of the bra – do they lie flat against your skin, or do they stick out? If there is breast tissue beyond the underwire and your underwire isn’t flat, try adding two cup sizes (e.g. D to F). If the underwire is only wrong in one place, add one cup size (e.g. D to E)

4. Adding up time – Take your current bra size, do your additions/subtractions from Steps 1, 2 and 3, and that’s your new bra size to test. If your test size sounds too big, or simply, ahhh don’t think so, trust us, your only testing this bra size, it may need a few adjustments at the fitting room stage.

Ok girls, now the fun part, its shopping time!

You’ve written down your new bra size, or typed it into your phone, now pick your bra style using the guide above and locate your new size in the store. You’ll also need to take some sizes around the test size, so if you were a 36C and you’re testing out a 32E, also grab a 30F and a 34DD. All part of the testing stage.

Where to shop

If the store doesn’t have the sizes you need, don’t just take another size, make an effort to find a good lingerie store. Its worthwhile for a good fitting bra, isnt it? Once you find a store that has your size, then you can shop around to find bargains for sexy lingerie!

Changeroom Checklist

Once you have your test bra and a few similar sizes, time for the changeroom. Here is a simple changing room checklist for making sure your new bra fits:

1. Hook the bra on your middle hook (or the second one) – Right, the band needs to be snug and tight, but what your looking for here is also an idea of how the bra will feel once the bra loses some elasticity. Thus, with the middle hook, you’ll get an idea of how the bra feels with the looser fit. Also you can always swap to the first hook if you need it when the bra starts to age.

Hint: Keep your straps loose. Many women rely on the straps for support in their bra. This inst a great practice, the band should be giving support, not the straps. So pull out the straps so they sit comfortably, however aren’t bearing any real weight, this way you’ll get a true idea of how the bra actually supports you.

2. Test the fit of the bridge. It needs to lay flat on your sternum. Try this simple test: Poke the piece of fabric between your cups (that’s the bridge), does it lie flat or does your whole bra move? If it’s not lying flat, test out going up a cup size.

3. Ok, this part might sounds little weird, but works. Lean over so your breasts are pointing to the floor, reach into the cup and pull your breasts into the cup. Now stand back up, if you see a bit of flesh hanging over the top of the cup, a sign that you’re wearing the wrong style, or your cup size is too small.

4. Next weird test, jump up and down. Think about it, do the girls stay in place when you hop up and down a few times? If so, you’re doing well. If your breasts start bouncing like crazy you’ve probably got a band size too large. If you get a lot of wiggling on the top of your breast, your cup size could be too small, or you should try a fuller cup.

5. Clothes test, put a tight t-shirt on. Put this on to bring with list. Its so we can see the shape bras give us. Check out the general shape/lift. Is there not enough lift? Try a smaller band size (and maybe size up a cup to compensate). Are there bumps around the cups? Try a bigger cup size.

6. Try on your all your test bras and pay attention to:

- how much lift you get,

- how flat the bridge lies,

- how snug your band is against your back.

Compare these with the bra size you’ve been wearing. With a little trial and error, you should be able to narrow down your size pretty quickly.

If none of the bras feel or look right, try a different style of bra (full-cup is a great default style) with your test sizes and repeat the checklist. Keep experimenting until you feel well-supported!

Little note:
Your “new” size won’t be the same in every brand, and may not even be the same between different styles in the same brand (that’s why we made you pick at the beginning). The trick is to find a good base size, then adjust that size as required by using the criteria above.

You’ll soon start to learn your size range for your favorite brands and lingerie styles, and after a bit more experimentation, you’ll have a whole range of sexy bras that fit you, not a bra size!