I recently got a mail form Caitlin:
I have a not-wholly-uncommon but not-often-talked-about issue called pectus excavatus, where my sternum and ribs form a shallow concavity in the center while the lower part of my ribs sticks much farther forward. While it's not particularly severe, this is why I often feel my breasts are smaller than they actually are; because of this concavity, they don't really sit out in front of the rest of my side silhouette at all. It makes me look pretty flat-chested. This has also caused me lots of problems with bra fitting- the center gore NEVER sits flush, no matter what bra I'm wearing, and I've worn the gamut.Caitlin also mentions being petite, with highly-set tear-shaped breasts and an asymmetry.
Thanks for writing in, Caitlin. I asked around on the Lobby Biusciastych hoping that someone experienced with pectus excavatus would chime in. Basically I got some pieces of advice for you:
- You will need to try out many brands and models, and you might be very surprised at how a random model sits really well on you, while another very similar one in the same brand doesn't work at all.
- You could try plunge bras, they might sit better because the underwires go very low in the front.
- Try bras that don't have very hard underwires.
- You might have to come in terms with the fact that most of the time the underwires will not be flat on your sternum. As long as the support is good, you feel comfortable and the bra flatters you, that is ok.
I have no idea whether having pectus excavatus wouldmean that you need a looser band or not. I would be great if you could try out band 28 and 30 bras on backwards, and see how it feels. I think that in your case you should not really follow the calculator. You will need to order a bunch of bras online, from the description of the bras you have I'd suggest ate least 30DD, 30DDD(E), 28DDD(E), 28F --- if you can I would suggest even more sizes. When you try these on you will be able to determine your size. You can then return most or all of them, and order different models in the size that fits you best. I know this sounds tedious and you might have to temporarily freeze quite a bit of money, but it's totally worth it. Otherwise you will only be able to guesstimate.
Does anyone of you have Pectus Excavatus or knows anyone who has? Any tips for Caitlin?
