Bra fitting help » What's wrong here -- too large, too small, wrong shape?

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Freya » Patsy Padded Longline Bra (1222) » 36G 36:9

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Suggestions (5)

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  The cup depth is not enough if you are getting gore float and quadding. Two signs of a too small cup. Looking at your perimeters and taking into account shape and firmness of tissue it does not look like ABTF is far off their estimates of sizing. 36H cups are just about 13" in depth and your horizontal is 14 and average of all is about 13. It still may not be enough depth though and you may need the HH/J depending on the bra. Do not be afraid of the cup sizes....they are just sizes. Once you fit in a bra your comfort is most important and that is secondary. Hoping others will chime in too!

  Updated on March 16, 2017 Flag this

  
  

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    Thanks so much -- this process is still really disorienting. I need to go try some higher sizes on this weekend.

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    It really is so hang in there :)

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    Thank you so much! By the way, I tried to upvote this comment and the arrow is red, for some reason... so if I inadvertently downvoted it please know it was a rookie error.

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    Hi Elodie - no worries and it looks like it was up voted - I have done that inadvertently too and I think if you click again it's fine.

  • Argh, this is an insanely frustrating process indeed! I tried a GG in @Elomi yesterday and I think it was enough cup volume, but looked a bit unflattering and it still doesn't tack. Thoroughly unpleasant conversation with the bra fitter who felt challenged and insisted that it didn't have to in order to fit, putting a bad taste in my mouth for shopping in the only brick and mortar store in town to carry my size. :/

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    Ewww, no, they should not be condescending like that! If you are still not tacking it's still not the right size. Some shops will try to force you into a size they have in stock...it's a bit annoying but did you get closer to knowing what size may fit you? You can try ordering online where there's an easy return policy to help sort that for yourself. How much quad were you getting in the GG? I think an H is a better starting point but I suspect they didn't stock that right?

  • I wasn't getting any quad at all... but it was still kind of an odd shape like the Freya in the picture. Not uncomfortable but oddly looking like my breasts were... flat? A bit on the sides/under my arms? The woman was VERY emphatic that she thought I did not need an H, that the 36GG was perfect. When I told her I didn't like the fit, she brought me a couple of 34G's and hit the road, which did not increase my confidence. :/ I did find a 36HH full cup Elomi on my own; that was definitely too big.

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  Hi Elodie !

  I was in the same place last fall, unsure about sizes, brands and terminology and I was so lucky to find this site and the extremely patient and helpful people here! So, I'm still a newbie myself, but I wanted to add the little bit of help that I can and then I'm sure others will chime in with more specific advice.

  The quadding at the center and gaping at the sides of the cup also happened to me with the non-longline version of this bra. It seems that this particular freya, at least (the padded patsy is the only one I've owned personally) is not very projected at all, and you appear to have the same projection and center fullness that make bra fitting an issue for so many of us here.

  I want to point you towards this blog post on the topic of center fullness. It's one cited often around here so you may have seen it already, but if not I'd definitely check out https://brasticmeasures.wordpress.com/2015/01/04/fit-issues-center-heaviness-is-a-dominant-shape-trait/

  At the bottom the author talks about narrowing gores and shows some examples. I took in the gore on my Patsy and bent the wires some to make more of a U shape. To be honest this bra still doesn't fit me well, but in case it's useful at all for you, here's the bra before I altered it: http://www.bratabase.com/bra/di93q/
  and after alterations:
  http://www.bratabase.com/bra/dinfs/
  (please excuse my terrible sewing!)

  At any rate, you may find that this bra becomes more comfortable if you test out narrowing the gore, which could help until you find something that really fits you well!

  I know you had more questions in your fit check and hopefully others can give you more feedback on the calculator sizes. I've had such varied results and luck with those, and I like a tight band. One piece of advice that I picked up here - if you have softer tissue (and I do!) - your laying perimeter is probably the one to pay the most attention to when comparing to bra depth. So your 12" laying perimeter and the 12.3" depth of your patsy's cups suggests that the cup is probably the right size for you, it's more likely that there are other aspects - like cup shape, gore width, etc... that aren't compatible with your shape. Perhaps the gore not tacking is a sign that in this bra you do need to size up in the cup, but I don't think an additional cup size will solve your fit problems here.
  Best of luck!

  Updated on March 16, 2017 Flag this

  
  

  • Thanks so much for your really complete response! I think you are absolutely right that this style is just not going to work unaltered in any size... I think I am inclined to pass it on, but I will keep your gore recommendation for something closer to right.

    There's a lot here to respond to -- I am going to digest and continue. :)

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  Hello and thanks for posting the fit check! I want to ask about your measurements. As chirality mentioned, you laying perimeter is the best measure for cup depth. Unfortunately, the larger one gets, the harder it is to get an acurate measure. The goal is to use gravity as your bra and compress all your tissue to your chest. Consequently, puddling into your arm pits, as we often do flat on our back, is not helpful. Additionally, you need to make sure that you start measuring right at the outside edge of the root which is harder to find lying down. What I do, is find my root edge standing in the mirror (the outside crease when you push your breast out - like the crease underneath it) and then I put the end of the measuring tape on the root edge in the mirror. Then I lie down on my opposite side - not my back, still holding the tape. From there I roll towards my back until all the tissue "balances" and no puddling anywhere. Usually, this means the nipple is pointing at the ceiling, but not always depending on shape. Then, having held the end of the measuring tape at my root edge for the whole process, I take the measurement over the largest point (which might not be where the nipple sits) and measure to the breast bone. I took the average measure of three attempts on several days in order to get the best number. Again, this is because it tends to indicate cup depth most accuractely. As fabulouslyfullfigure mentions, you may surprise yourself with a number closer to the 14 of your standing measurement. Laying is usually smaller than standing, but I wonder if you included the whole of your wide root in the measurement because this cup definitely does not fit - whether it is a shape mismatch or a cup volume issue is harder to tell without accurate measures. If your laying measurement is acurate now, the big difference between laying and standing indicates a more projected shape, and this size might be close in a more centre fullness friendly shape - like anything not made by Freya (in my experience anyway). If you remeasure you laying measurement and find it closer to your standing (which also is dependant on finding the root edge accurately) you may need to increase your cup volume. As to sticker/letter fears, look at this site for some realistic images.

  http://www.brabandproject.com/

  Plus, I would ask why you think you are full on top? If it is primarily because your nipples are low set, then you can't go by nipple position. The way you "sink into" this half cup would indicate that you might be more even to full on bottom. I definitely second the centre fullness vote, though. I am constantly quading in the middle and gaping at the strap attachment. If you are centre full, the blog Chirality mentioned is my favourite, but I would add that narrowing or shortening centre gores is not the only solution. I have super soft tissue and fall out without a tall gore to keep me in place and, fortunately, having a gore rest on what appears to be breast tissue doesn't cause me any pain. Pain is the best way to determine where your root and breast tissue are. I have average set breasts and so have enough room for a normal gore, but my centre fullness "overlaps" my breast bone area and is not "flat" at the root edge yet. Centre fullness can often be called centre projection, and everyone who has it mentions it in their reviews. Keep at it and try to enjoy the otherwise frustrating process - think of it as a quest, and try to have fun with it!

  Updated on March 16, 2017 Flag this

  
  

  • This is so interesting... I measured my lying perimeter again and did get a 13, but I wasn't sure whether you meant to go to the end of the obvious inner swell (which I did), or to the actual center of the breastbone... I am also not completely confident about having truly found the edge of the root yet. I am going to take your advice and measure over several days and average. It's quite difficult not to pull tight, and of course soft tissue will distort obligingly and give you as small a number as you like!

    Your mention of pain resonates. I think I may have often been wearing what I thought were overly tight bands and actually had wires sitting on breast tissue.

    If tissue above and below the nipple is not an accurate way to determine fullness on top or bottom, I am not sure how to go about it. I think my breasts may be comparatively empty, at least at present. In what I thought was a well-fitting bra, they tend to pile up to a very round shape. Clearly I need to learn more....

    Thank so much for taking the time to share. This is so helpful!

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  I think the first step will be to avoid Freya half-cups and similar styles, which are notoriously shallow. VERY few people in your size range have genuinely shallow breasts--unless you are a 7 foot tall glamazon, it's just hard with 12-14" boobs to have enough room on your torso for the tissue to be widely and thinly distributed, lol. A bra cup can be deep enough in total perimeter, while still failing to fit and failing to tack if it lacks adequate depth at key places like the inner quadrant near the gore.

  It's hard to assess your breast shape but if you are correct in thinking that you have wide roots, Elomi could be a good brand to try next. See what you can find and then look the model up on bratabase to find the adequate cup depth (which could be anywhere between 12 and 13 inches IMO).

  Updated on March 16, 2017 Flag this

  
  

  • This is a very good point. I have tried on Freyas in the past but never bought one because they were always strange-looking on. This bra will definitely go on to someone else. Thanks for helping. :)

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    You're welcome! There are several cuts that Freya makes--these half-cups are the only ones that are really shallow, the other cuts are usually quite a bit deeper, so don't write the whole brand off!

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  I am interested to hear what others with more knowledge than me have to say. I think it looks great.

  Updated on March 17, 2017 Flag this

  
  

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    Aww, thank you! For myself I think I've looked better in other bras but I've changed size/shape since then. I will update when I find something that I'm happier with.

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