Beauty & Style

GOOD BRA, BAD BRA

Roughly 80 per cent of women wear the wrong bra size, while 70 per cent wear sizes that are too small and 10 per cent wear sizes that are too big. Wearing the wrong bra size can cause your breasts to look unflattering under your shirt and it can also put strain on your back and shoulders, causing health risks.

The first step to your proper bra size is recognising that you may not be wearing the right size to begin with. The second step is shopping for the right size.

Here are some signs that you could be wearing the wrong bra, and what you need to remedy it.

Digging Straps: When your shoulder straps feel too tight and leave an impression on the skin, the band size is too big and the cup size may be small, so the straps have been tightened by the wearer for necessary support. Get a bra with a smaller band size and bigger cups or opt for a bra with wider padded shoulder straps.

Bumpy Fit: If your breasts bulge over the top of the bra, the bra cup size is too small so get a larger cup size.

Seeing Double: If the cups dig into the breasts, creating the effect of having four breasts instead of two, it is either the cup size is too small, or you are wearing your bra the wrong way. Try the scoop and place method. Make sure you have placed the breasts comfortably in the cups so that your nipples are front and centre and facing forward. If you get a Bumpy Fit now as mentioned above, you need to get a larger cup size. If not, you were just wearing your bra incorrectly.

Back Cleavage: If your skin bulges over the top and bottom of the band, the band is too tight. Get a bra with a larger band size.

Baggy Cups: A gap between the cup and cleavage can be seen over a fitted top means the cups are too big and the breasts do not fill them out adequately. So get a smaller cup size.

Slipping Straps: Shoulder straps keep slipping off means improper adjustment of the straps, or a large cup size or improper bra style. Adjust your straps length first to make sure that they do not slip, if it's the tightest you could get and the straps still slip off, or if they do not slip off but dig into your shoulders and leave an impression after being worn for a couple of hours, you need to get a bra with a smaller cup. If this bra used to fit earlier and the straps have only recently started to slip off, it could be either because the bra is now old and the shoulder straps have lost their elasticity or because your cup size has decreased.

Back Band Rise: If the back band rides up and is not parallel to the floor, the band size is too big. Adjust hook and eye closure to tighten fit, if this does not work, get a smaller band size.