Bra fitting help » Advice on similar support but better shape & size?
Fantasie » Susanna Side Support Bra (2402) » 32FF 32:8
Issue resolved
I got tons of useful information about breast shape and bra shape and have realized I need to do a lot more research! Especially now that I've re-measured and found I was way off! So part of my fitting issues from recommendations was definitely due to my poor measurements!
Original problem
(feel free to scroll to the dashed line and skip the backstory!)
For a woman who's had [what Victoria's Secret would have me believe were] DD's since 9th grade, I know shockingly little about bras or breasts at all - especially mine. For the past decade and a half I've basically squished my chest into the tightest compression sports bras I could squeeze into if I left the house and existed in a uniform of built-in bra tank tops the rest of the time. About once a year when I'd have to attend a wedding or something that absolutely demanded an actual bra, I'd try on every available size and cut at department stores or Victoria's secret and after hours of failure I'd end up buying an outrageously priced, not-at-all fitting 38 DD monstrosity or something like that and would go home feeling like I was somehow deformed since nothing in a store existed that fit me.2 years ago when I discovered bratabase I used the site to buy a Panache Sport that sort of fit and I wore as my "fancy" bra until it broke a few weeks ago. I've also lost some weight this year and am feeling more confident and that definitely led to feeling more like I need a properly fitting bra. The fact that my neck to nipple measurement between ages 28 and 30 increased by an entire INCH is even more reason to figure out what size I am and finally abandon the built-in bra tops!
So - I put the bratabase system to work for me again ordered a few bras based entirely on the recommendations of bratabase (from my current measurements) and glancing through reviews of the suggested bras to help weed some out. As the bras I've ordered come in I'm trying to figure out what does and doesn't fit in order to figure out what styles do fit and what shape I actually am. Many thanks, ANY help would really be appreciated!
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Fantasie Susanna Side Support Bra - 32H (US) 32FF (UK)
This bra was pretty but had the most fit issues of the three I've received thus far - I won't be able to wear this at all. The straps dug in painfully and hit a nerve or something around my shoulder blade or on my neck that I've had trouble with often but never had a bra send shooting pains through my shoulder before! I'm pretty sure the band wasn't the issue, I could easily fit two fingers under it and would have actually preferred a tighter, or more rigid, band.
My breasts definitely didn't fit into these cups on the outer edge or the top - the side view really shows the strange shape that resulted. I think I would have really liked this bra if it fit properly and if the cup shape was different - this seemed to pull my breasts down and to the sides and made a pointy shape that I really don't like. I'm mystified on what to do. If I did try another Fantasie side support bra, I'd need a larger cup right? and if I also went down a band size, would I then have to go up 2 cup sizes, to say a 30J/30GG?Thanks in advance for your advice and opinions!
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Suggestions (4)
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2
helpful
I believe the cups ar toooooo small for you and also too short. I'm no expert so hopefully others will chime in, but it looks like the apex of this cup is not near the center of your breast. You are correct, if you want to go down a band size you would increase one cup size, but if you try this bra again I'd try a 30H as that cup depth more closely matches your laying breast perimeter.
Updated on September 11, 2016 Flag this
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I think this bra is too closed on top for your shape. I think my might have a very tall root, like your breast keeps going up pretty near your collar bone. Usually this works well with open on top or half cup shapes.
if you look at the measurements, your smallest breast perimeter is 12.6 inches and the cup depth is 11.5, so thats a mis-match. You need at least 12.6 depth in the cup. So you can look at bras here and see what cup size has that measurement of depth.
Updated on September 11, 2016 Flag this
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I wouldn't go down to a 30 band yet. This bra is too small, and the wrong shape. I'd try a 32G Cleo Hettie or Kayla, and go from there! It should be a better shape match for you.
Updated on September 11, 2016 Flag this
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helpfulThank you so much for all your help so far. Since I posted this I re-measured, I think I wasn't measuring the breast perimeter far enough out to the rib, which is silly, since I need to measure all the boob that I'd want included in the cup, right!
Dvrgrl812 is the laying breast perimeter the most accurate one to use when matching with depth?
dbmamaz thanks! That helps a lot, I've struggled to know what my "shape" is, since this is all so new to me, but I think you're right, when I try on a corset for example, my cleavage is right up under my collarbones. So half cups and open on top - the third bra I got in the mail this week is a lower cut style, but doesn't fit quite right due to overflow but also the cups are sort of "down and out" but my boobs want to be "up and in". Do you know of a brand or model to look at with a half cup that is more centered and uplifted than the Parfait Kelly I added yesterday?
Anyone's suggestions for an "up and out" model or brand would be great! (Sorry my bra terminology is very, very poor, but I'm learning as quickly as possible! Please forgive "up and out" and the like for the time being!)
lcl0706 Thank you so much for your suggestions! I'll definitely look into those two specifically, but I wondered if there is some trick to knowing what shape a bra is from looking at the pictures or measurements or any feature on the site. I'm definitely new at this but I can't see any difference in the shape of the Hettie from this one! I certainly believe you but I wondered how you can tell that the shapes are different. Is it just experience?
For anyone - should I assume that all sizes mentioned on the site are UK sizes unless otherwise mentioned?
Again, thank you all so much for your help!
Updated on September 11, 2016 Flag this
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Yes sizes are UK unless otherwise noted. Example - Comexim uses EU sizing. Ewa uses EU bands and UK cup letters. Chantelle is French. You'll learn!
Shapes of cups come via trials and suggestions. Hettie is quite different in that it has stretch lace on the top so it'll be accommodating to upper fullness/taller roots & has more depth at the underwire. Maybe narrower underwires. Probably more depth at the apex. Reading all the info you can find, looking at fit pics, asking for suggestions - all good ways to learn what bra shapes are. As a general rule of thumb - half cups with more than one vertical seam tend to have more projection than single seamed ones. 3 part cut and sew balconettes like this Fantasie, the Cleos often recommended, etc are going to provide more depth than a molded single piece of foam cup but each 3 part balconette can still vary in its shape from others. If you look at measurements of bras, a bra with a bigger difference between its width and depth numbers is a "deeper" or "more projected" cup than a bra that's almost as wide as it is deep. Hope that makes sense.
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you could try a Cleo Marcie, maybe? idk