You have probably experienced this -- the cup doesn't fit right, so you reach for a smaller one which tuns out to definitely be too small. When you try a bigger one, it fits even worse.
That's when the problem is the shape of the cup, not the size.
That's when the problem is the shape of the cup, not the size.
There are lots of different shapes of breasts, and of course firmness plays it's role too. The most important breast shapes are: full on top, full on bottom and of course "medium", which you see below. And then there are what I call shallow breasts.
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| From the wonderful Bras I Hate |
Recently a reader sent in this photo with a cup fit issue:
As you can see the bottom of the cup is wrinkled, and on the top of the cup there is empty space. Here you can see it more clearly:
So what happened here?
First of all -- don't blame your breasts for this! I have heard women getting upset about how their breasts don't allow them to wear x and y and z. But the fact is -- we all have different bodies that look good in different things. There is no person in the world that looks good in all colours and all clothing styles. If you can think of someone that "looks good in everything", it means that they are very good at knowing what they don't look good in and carefully avoiding it. So if you find a bra that doesn't work with your body, then simply think of it as a bra meant for another person, and continue looking for bra styles meant for you.
The wrinkling on the bottom is usually caused by lack of projection near the wires. This means that the cup is shallow in that area, and not designed for breasts that have a lot of fullness in the bottom.
Another reason for wrinkling of the fabric at the bottom of the cup can be very broad underwires. Very broad underwires usually make the bottom of the cup shallow. Soft (bendy) underwires that get pulled apart by the band can also make the bottom of the cup shallow.
Notice the top edges of the cup. The cups are closed off, kind of like the top edges of a wine glass that sort of curl inwards.. The top of the cup doesn't accommodate for the full on top shape.
This is my analysis of the fit problem, but I'd love to hear what you think. Do you have similar fit issues? How did you resolve them?
This is my analysis of the fit problem, but I'd love to hear what you think. Do you have similar fit issues? How did you resolve them?
For the interested, the bra is a Curvy Kate Bardot, in 30E.
Her measurements are:
Loose underbust 76 cm (29,9 in)Snug varies between 71-70 cm (27,9-27,5 in)BTT 69 (27,1 in)Bust standing varies between 88-89cm (34,6-35 in)Bust leaning varies between 93-94 cm (36,6-37 in)Bust laying down varies between 87-88 cm (34,2-34,6)
She also writes: "Also they're taken using ABraThatFits new calculator which put me either at a 28f or at a 28ff. As for shape I'm having a hard time finding it because my tissue is super soft, I can basically sculpt my breasts any way I want, so I wouldn't take the photos as a reference."
A huge thanks to S for sending me the photos! If you have fit questions, you can send me photos at eternalvoyageur ((at)) gmail.com, and let me know if I can publish them.
Also: I decided to censor the nipples even though I am very much against nipples having to be censored. I just don't want my blog images to be tagged NSFW by search engines.
