Fit

Signs of a bad fit

Each symptom points at one component. Read the symptom, change one thing, and check again. Changing two things at once means learning nothing.

A badly fitting bra is not subtle once the signs are known. The trouble is that most of them get attributed to the wrong part: sore shoulders get blamed on the straps, when the straps are only carrying the load because the band has stopped. This page takes the eleven common symptoms in turn.

Band symptoms

The band rides up at the back: The band is too loose. It is the clearest signal there is. Go down a band size and up a cup letter to keep the volume: 36C becomes 34D.
The band can be pulled far away from the back: More than a couple of centimetres of give on the loosest hook means the same thing. A new band should be firm on the loosest hook so there is somewhere to go as the elastic ages.
The band leaves a deep welt or restricts breathing: Too tight, or the wrong shape for the ribcage. Move up a band size and down a cup letter, and check whether a wider band distributes the same tension more comfortably.
The band rolls or folds on itself: Usually a narrow band on a soft or curved torso, or elastic that has lost its recovery. A wider band with a firm underband elastic solves the first. The second is terminal: see when to retire a bra.

Cup symptoms

The top edge of the cup wrinkles or gapes: Too much volume, or the wrong shape. Drop one cup letter and keep the band. If it still gapes at the top while fitting at the bottom, the cup is too deep and a shallower cut is needed.
Tissue spills over the top or under the arm: Not enough volume. Add one cup letter and keep the band. A visible line across the breast under a t-shirt is the same message in a quieter voice.
The wire sits on breast tissue at the side: The wire is too narrow for the root of the breast. Widen the wire by going up a band and down a cup, or change to a style cut wider. This one causes real soreness and should not be tolerated.
The centre panel lifts away from the breastbone: On a wired bra the gore should sit flat. Lifting means the cups are too small, too shallow, or too narrow for the root. Try one cup up first, then a different shape.

Strap symptoms

Straps dig into the shoulders: Almost always a band problem. Loosen the straps until they are barely doing anything. If the bra still supports, the band was right and the straps were over tightened. If it collapses, the band is too loose and has been passing its job upwards.
Straps slide off constantly: Sloping shoulders, straps set too wide, or a band so loose that the whole garment is shifting. Check the band first, then look for a style with straps set closer to the neck or a leotard back.
Straps are on the tightest setting and still loose: The elastic is finished. Straps are the first component to lose recovery because they carry a constant load through the whole life of the garment.

Loosen the straps almost completely. Whatever support remains is the band doing its job. That number is the honest measure of whether the band fits.

The sequence for fixing it

Fasten on the loosest hook and confirm the band is firm and level.
Loosen both straps to slack, then tighten only until they stop slipping.
Scoop each breast forward and up into the cup from the side, then settle the wire behind the tissue rather than on it.
Check the top edge, the side and the centre panel in that order.
Change exactly one variable, then repeat.

If several sizes are close, wear the candidate at home for an hour before deciding. Fit problems that are invisible in a shop become obvious after forty minutes of sitting down, and a garment that is only comfortable while standing still is not a garment that fits. The related pages on band and cup and skin and friction cover what happens when a fit problem is left alone for months.