Bra fitting help » cups below my IMF and painful wires
Ewa Michalak » Chp Ciasteczko (356) » 65F 30:7
Issue resolved
Try different styles
Original problem
I wore this bra all day. In the morning I swooped and scooped my breast into the cups and it felt fine. It feels like it just sitting around my boobs and not really giving any support but I am self supporting. By mid day the underwires started to dig in and the gore started to hurt. I readjusted at work but it did not help. I took photos when I arrived home to show how the bra moves downward. Then I reswooped and scooped and took photos again to show how the bra was this morning. I know the band is too tight but I don't think a extender will fix the problem of the cups shifting downward. Are CHPs not for me? would a different style or size suit me better?
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Suggestions (4)
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4
helpful
Bands tend to migrate downward when they are too tight--most people's ribcages are narrower below than above. However, this particular bra also looks like it's either too large in the cups, or just taller and more projected than your shape requires.
To me you look to have what might be called a "hybrid" breast shape which is most common in women with self-supporting boobs of medium volume: projected at the base and below the nipple, but with a tall shallow (though NOT concave or empty) shape above. This shape isn't hard to fit per se but it means molded foam bras often won't be quite right, and certainly the CHP which is comparatively shallow below and open above is literally the opposite of your natural vertical tissue distribution! I would recommend trying other designs.
Updated on May 14, 2016 Flag this
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Seconding wendybien : a too tight band can very well cause the bra to shift downwards. A too tight band also overstretches the wires, which causes the bottoms of the cups to be flattened and pulled towards the body. This on its own may be reason enough for the wire and gore discomfort: overstretchting the wires and pulling them backwards causes the gore to turn inwards against the sternum. Furtermore, too much tension on the wires also distorts the shape of the cups in another way: it brings the top edge inwards, making the cups act way more closed on top than they really are. The fact that the cups look a little bit too large really isn't helping here either: bra with too large cups simply isn't balanced: the breasts don't "push out" the cups enough to counteract the band tension, which causes the whole front to sit "wrong", quite possibly contributing to the wire and gore pain you're experiencing.
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I think we're a similar shape, and the one CHP I've tried (admittedly in the wrong size) definitely gave me the impression that it's designed for someone with a lot more upper fullness than I have. So, I could be wrong, but I think you might be better trying other half-cup options.
I don't know, as I haven't had a chance to try one on yet, but I think Comexim half-cups look to be a better shape for me, and perhaps for you as well?
Also, have you tried Freya padded half-cups, such as Patsy or Lauren? They work well on me as somehow they're quite forgiving of a more shallow upper bust.
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the CHP fits me weirdly, there is not enough space at the bottom but to much space at the top.
I place an order for Comexim for 3 part half cups but I have a feeling its going to take longer then usually because everybody is ordering from them.
The Freya half-cups I've still only tried on in store. Because I know they won't be a perfect fit I am not willing to pay much for them and also I want a 28FF which is a hard size to find. I should just buy one.
you said in the other comment about padded plunges: they actually fit me all wrong. In my size(30F) I quad out and don't fill the bottom. if I go up a cup size they fit with empty space at the top and tend to make my boobs look too far apart. But EM PL work pretty well.
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I had a similar experience with the CHP I tried. It was overall too big, but I could see that going down in the cup wouldn't work, for the reasons you describe.
I tend to think of padded plunges as my least bad fit, I suppose, as I haven't found anything perfect yet! I don't usually quad out the top of anything, unless it's several cup sizes too small, as I don't have any fullness in that part of my bust - all my fullness is on the outside, so I tend to bulge out the side of a too-small cup. But yes, padded or moulded bras in any style are often too shallow at the wire for me, but at least with plunges I don't get any gaping at the top.
I'll be interested to see how you get on with the Comexim half-cups - I hope they work for you!
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helpfulYou say the band is too tight, so that could be the problem. If the band is too tight, then the bra could be sliding down to a smaller part of your body in order to relieve some tension of the elastic (basically, trying to find a smaller spot that will fit better!) A painful gore and underwires also can be the result of a too-tight band because they are simply being pulled too tight against your body. I'd try it with an extender just to see if that is, in fact, the problem. Your band doesn't need to be as tight as humanly possible -- just tight *enough* to provide support.
Updated on May 13, 2016 Flag this
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I tried it with an extender today, it doesn't hurt as much and it helped stop the cups from moving downward some but not entirely. I think the shape is not right for me and the gore is too tall and wide. Thanks for your help.
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helpfulI'm not sure of the etiquette for bra fit help, so forgive me if I'm butting in, but wendybien, please could you make some suggestions for alternative (Polish?) styles that might work with the 'hybrid' breast shape you describe?
Updated on May 14, 2016 Flag this
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Well honestly that shape isn't a factor that will determine 100% or even 50% of someone's fit needs, so it is quite difficult to say, especially since the fit and proportions of these cuts vary between size ranges. However, a good first step would be to look for unlined, cut and sew (not foam) styles as these will conform to the natural shape of the breast a bit better; look for styles that have a nice deep projected shape in the LOWER cup (often called immediate projection); and look for cups that aren't cut super tall and super open on top (if you see a wire length shorter than cup depth, in a non-plunge bra, that usually indicates a more moderate cup height).
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Comexim Eve is a closed, Polish, full cup bra. My sister had a fabulous fit in Comexim Emily full cup, too. I tend to avoid full cups because of my shallow upper tissue, but after seeing Emily on my sister, I will try them.
The Comexim balcony, because of the design, have more room for more substaintial upper tissue than I have. Ivonne amazed me with its immediate projection: breast hammock ;-)
Because I have not yet found an Ewa Michalak unlined that remotely "fits," I have no recommendations.
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Thanks for the replies. I'm interested as I seem to have a similar shape and fit issues to the OP. To be honest, unlined styles have - with one exception (Cleo Marcie) - been a disaster on me, as they all want shorter roots or more upper fullness than I have.
I agree that styles that aren't too open at the top are the most likely to work, and I don't know about the OP, but padded plunges or Freya padded half-cups are usually my best bet. Agreed, they're often technically too shallow, but I'd rather have a gap at the bottom of the cup than the top.
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helpfulOne of the more common reasons why there is empty space at the bottom parts of the cups is because your bra is too shallow. It very well may be the case that this bra does not have enough immediate projection for you. I'm thinking that you might like to try the Cleo Lily and the Cleo Hettie. Both styles have considerable immediate projection.
Updated on May 13, 2016 Flag this
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I really want find a padded bra that works. Thanks for you suggestions.
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Everybody seems to love chp and the shape the give but I guess its not for me. Would other EMs work like the S? I own a couple pls which fit better. By I like the looks of half cups better. I am looking for something padded.
A hybrid shape sounds like me, projection at the bottom, shallow at the top.