Band Size Epiphany (and Bra Nerd Origin Story)

I had an epiphany about band size and comfort after buying the Curvy Kate Thrill Me in 30HH (thanks, izzylawliet!) and the CK Fleurty in 30H. My ribcage is 30", and it is incredible how much more comfortable the 30" band bras are compared to the CK Entice I own in 32H.

I have always suffered back, neck and shoulder pain, and although I hate it, I kind of accepted it as my lot in life, as I am a nerd who spends a lot of time at the computer (and oh yeah, there's the whole part about having heavy breasts).

I first started to break out of the "bra matrix" (as Venusian Glow calls it- linked below) around winter 2011. After finding the aforementioned blog post, I decided to see if I could find something that fit better than the 36DDs from Victoria's Secret that I had been wearing for most of my life.

I went to Soma, a US chain that carries band as small as 32" and cups up to G (which, at the time, was very impressive to me). I was dismayed at the fact that most of their "larger" bras were minimizers (I *like* having big boobs, dammit! And they don't like to be squished!). Even the padded, molded, plunge, or push up models gave me a terrible east-west look and put my boobs in my armpits.

I walked out of the store with a plain black unlined 34DDD (which seemed huge to me at the time). Although it fit better than the VS 36DDDs I had been wearing, it still hurt my back, especially when I worked 10 hour shifts sitting at my desk, and the wires dug into my armpits.

Flash forward to November 2012. Finally fed up with chiropractor appointments every month, constant back pain and bra readjustment, and unsupportive, flimsy 36D's from the Gap (which, oddly enough, fit better than VS), I made the plunge. I measured myself using the Sophisticated Pair calculator, and bought the Curvy Kate Entice in 32H. At the time, I thought I'd prefer a looser band, hence choosing a 32" band when I have a 30" ribcage.

When the Entice arrive, I swear I could hear choruses of angels singing. It was so much more supportive than anything I'd worn before. And yet, after a few times wearing it, my back pain came back.

At first, I attributed this to the straps, which were too far apart for my petite frame. I'm 5"2', and my shoulders are narrower than I thought. I guess I thought they were wide because I'm an hourglass and they ARE wide compared to my waist. I wore the bra as a strapless for a while with the straps tucked in, and that helped a little. I even modified it with zipties to pull the straps closer to each other in the back, but it wasn't an ideal fix.

Then I got the Freya Deco in 30G (I know, cups too small). Although the 32" band was too loose in CK, I was disappointed that even in a "stretchy", properly fitting 30" band, the Deco's band was soooooo tight that I literally couldn't draw in a full breath. My boyfriend said that my voice even sounded different!

Now, I realize that this is probably related to a couple of factors:

1. The band is very firm for my tastes. I really like CK's showgirl line and their stretchy bands. I'm a yogini and a singer, and my ribcage can REALLY expand when I take a full breath. i had to buy an extender to make the Deco even wearable. (Shameless plug- I'm selling the Deco, check out my listing!)

2. The cups are too small. Even though theoretically a 30" band should fit, my Freya Deco is a 30G. I'm happy as a clam in a CK 30HH right now. At two cup sizes too small, the band probably feels tighter than it actually is because my breasts are being squished against my ribcage and resisting the band.

Anyways, armed with this limited data, the next time that zulily.com had a Curvy Kate sale, I jumped at the chance and bought the CK Fleurty in 30H.
While waiting for the Fleurty to arrive in the mail, I purchased the Thrill Me in 30HH from another Bratabase user. My boobs had already grown/migrated after getting the 32H Entice- initially it had empty fabric at the top of the cups, and now I fill it up nicely. If the Thrill Me's cups were a little too big, no biggie- I'd probably migrate and fill them up. If it ran true to size- great! It's a sister size to 32H.

And now flash forward again to this week. First happy bra moment of the week- my 30HH Thrill Me arrived first, and thrill me, it did! I finally understood what people mean when they say they feel like their bra is giving their boobs a hug, and that it's comfy enough to sleep in. You mean a bra can fit me in the band, hold up my boobs, make them all round and cleavage-y, and still allow me to breathe? What is this black magic!?

When I put the Entice and the Thrill Me inside of each other, the cups are (as I expected), nearly exactly the same. The bands are *almost* the same too, but, oh, what a difference 2" can make! (An aside-after nesting the two bras and stretching their bands simultaneously, it seems that the extra inches are located on the side of the band with the rows of loops, not the hooks).

And then the 30H Fleurty arrived today, and ended up being perfect! The taller, deeper cups give my full-on-the-bottom breasts the perfect lift and support.

This is the epiphany part: I realized why my back was hurting with poorly fitting bras! The too-loose bands I was wearing were causing me to unconsciously pooch out my ribcage and tummy, and "swayback" my lower back, all in an futile attempt to expand my ribcage and prevent the too-loose band from slipping down towards my waist!

Now, I know that usually when the band is too loose, the band riding up is a problem. For me, if the band is even a teeny bit too large, my bottom-heavy boobs push the wires away and push down the cups, causing the band to ride DOWN. It doesn't help that my ribcage is sort of V-shaped and gets narrower as it tapers into my waist, which encourages looser bands to slip down even more.

The moral of the story: band size is SO ESSENTIAL. And if the cup fits, the correct band size won't feel too tight. 30" only felt tight on the Deco because the cups were too small. In the Thrill Me 30HH and the Fleurty 30H, I feel like my boobs have antigravity thrusters underneath them!

Also: DON'T GIVE UP! There is a bra out there that will make your boobs and back happy!

Venusian*Glow: *Bra Matrix*

http://www.venusianglow.com/p/bra-matrix.html

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Shared on Feb 01, 2013 Flag this