Guest post by Jj from Bratabase

It’s a risk to get shoes, blouses or jeans without trying them on. The same applies for bras and even then, when having them on, it is still not easy to know if the bra fits right. I wish there was a formula or a rule on what to measure so you can go to a store and get the perfect bra that fits you just like that.

You’ve probably heard that a “lots percent” of women wear the wrong bra, and I wouldn’t be surprised that it is actually much closer to “all percent” of them. It is just that with smaller breasts the issue is not as noticeable and causes less problems, even A cups can wear wrong bras and they may not know.

There is misinformation and no sizing standard to guide or help anybody understand what’s going on. So in order to find a proper bra the best technique I’ve found is, sadly, trial and error. I’ll try to help you figure out what to try next and how to spot an error ;).

You could start off with any bra, the closest the better, so what you’re currently wearing even if it doesn’t fit quite right, it’s a good start. The key is to know how should a proper bra fit and what to check when you’re wearing it. You should check for the band, the cups, the underwires and the straps. Pretty much each important part of the bra should fit correctly.

The Fifi Bra

Checking the band

Proper support from your bra band is the most important, since the fit of rest of the bra will depend on this and this will be holding the weight of your breasts. The band of your bra should be tight across your torso hooked on the loosest hook. Tight enough that you should not be able to “twist” the bra around. Tight enough that only a pair of fingers is allowed between you and the band. Tight enough that going the next size down would not close. This may feel quite uncomfortable at first, but keep in mind that all bras stretch out so it will be better after wearing it some days. It is fine to have red marks from your bra as you take it off as long as they’re in the same kind of red marks your panties leave on your hip or your socks leave on your leg. It is natural for undergarments to be tight against the body.

When trying on bras, try going down to the next band until it feels like this.

The Dream Bra

Checking the wires and cup

You should check that both ends of the underwire are in the right place and that the entire wire lies flat against your body. The inner part of the wire should be laying flat against your sternum, if it isn’t you should try a larger cup. Make sure the outer end of the wire isn’t digging under your armpit. Common sense won’t let you allow it since it’ll be painful to have the under wire stabbing you ;). If it stabs you in the armpit it is likely that the specific model’s underwire is too big for your body shape, that’s perfectly fine. You should try a different model. If it’s stabbing you in the outer breast near your armpit then the cup is too small, you should go for the next cup up, whatever that is in the current brand you’re wearing. Now that you chose the correct underwire the cup’s fabric should enclose your breast with a smooth line between the cup and your boob. This means no spilling out of the cups neither on top or the bottom.

This is the most complicated part of the fit. There are zillions of factors affecting here going from brands, models and sizes. Don’t be afraid to try a different model or a different manufacturer in order to find a proper fit.

Cups normally don’t stretch out, so don’t expect this fit to give in :)

Checking the straps

Now, the straps are the easy part. Just make sure they’re tight enough to your shoulders so they don’t slip down. Keep in mind that they should not be holding your breast weight, that’s the band’s job. To test this you should be able to wear the bra without the straps and the fit of the band should feel the same.

Bratabase Bio
I got interested in bras around the year 2000 while reading a very old web log of a busty british girl complaining about her DD boobs and tough to get bras. A very active GuestBook got replaced by a forum where a nice group of people joined and we started to talk about boobs and bras everyday until year 2005 where after several efforts to maintain the forum clear from trolls and to keep the conversation clean, people just decided to move on. 6 years of boob talk was enough for most of them :)

At some point between years 2003 or 2004 a fellow member mentioned the idea of a page where other forum members could add their bras so we could compare them and have a better idea on what to get. She did put a file up with her list of bras. But that was all there was to it. That was when Bratabase was born.

Bratabase is a crowdsourced website that aims to help you find bra similarities and compare them to other user’s bras.