Mid Brains muses:
We’ve blogged before about Titillating Tidbits About Bras so, although it’s not exactly cosmetic science, I thought our Beauty Brains community would be interested in these bra-boosting tips from Tomima Edmark, the creator of HerRoom.com.
1. Slippery straps
Your straps are not tight enough. This may seem obvious but many women simply don’t adjust their straps. Straps are only supposed to support about 10% of your breast’s weight. But they need to be providing some support or they will just fall off your shoulders. Make sure your straps are tight enough to provide support, but not so tight that they pull up your bra back.
2. Your cup runneth over
Your cup size is too big. Many women, with age, lose their breast volume along the tops of their breasts. This loss of volume along the top of your breasts creates an empty space in the top of your cup. Without the cup being completely filled, the straps will tend to slip. Either go down a cup size, or make sure you lift and place your breasts into your cups so that the cup is properly filled.
3. Over extended
You’re using bra extenders. A bra extender is an accessory that adds more length to the back of your bra. They can create additional problems, and shoulder straps falling off is one of them. When you expand the length of the bra back, you move the straps farther apart and closer to the edge of your arms. This increases the chances that your straps will fall off your shoulders. Instead of an extender, consider going up a band size and down a cup size. This will give you 2 more inches around your chest while keeping your cup volume the same.
4. Bad bra back
Your bra back is not in the proper position. I know we’re all in a hurry when we’re getting dressed in the morning. But making sure you put your bra on correctly and getting it in the proper place is critical to your comfort the rest of the day. The final thing you should do after putting your bra on is reach back and pull it down so that it’s under your shoulder blades and even with the front of your bra. When you don’t do this, and your bra is left too high on your back, the front of your bra slumps, and the straps fall off. I can’t tell you how many times suggesting this simple thing to women has solved their strap slipping problem.
5. Big band, bra style
Your bra band is too large. Similar to the back extender problem, if your band size is too large, your straps will be further apart. This too can cause your straps to fall off your shoulders. A loose band also causes the back of your bra to hike up. If you are experiencing both these symptoms, try going down a band size and up a cup size. This will tighten your band size while keeping your cup volume the same.
6. Style council
Wrong bra style for you. Not all bra styles are for everyone. Women with very square shoulders can wear the popular bras with wide-set straps. Women with slopping shoulders will have trouble. Women with narrow shoulders need to carefully look at the strap placement to make sure they are not too far apart for her frame. The bottom line is to know your body style and what styles do and do not work well.
Tomima Edmark is an entrepreneur with a series of unconventional successes. As the creator of HerRoom.com and the inventor of the successful TopsyTail hair accessory, she has fine-tuned the lingerie business to offer women high quality, good design, comfort, fit and value. Tomima has been featured on Good Morning America and Oprah and in Forbes Magazine and The Wall Street Journal. Visit her at www.Tomima.com.
What do YOU think? Do you have any bra sizing secrets you’d like to share with the rest of the Beauty Brains community? Leave a comment!
Photo credit: Everythingweird.com
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I knew it, bras are rocket science!
Sigh…as a small breasted um, healthy-sized woman, I hoped to get some good advice, but I really can’t from this article. Straps falling off? Get a smaller cup size! Band too big? Get a smaller cup size! Well, I’m a 44B with that lack-of-volume-due-to-aging problem. It’s not a very common size and going down a cup would be impossible. In fact, most places I’ve shopped recommend going up a cup and stuffing the bottoms with air-filled pouches. Then I get funky lines and an odd 3rd boob when the ‘balloon’ slips. I’ve gone through multiple fittings, shopped specialty stores. I don’t want froth and lace, I just want a supportive bra for my size. What I really want is for manufacturers to make realize women’s bodies come in a variety of sizes, not just the 3 stores want to sell.
This is a challenge for manufacturers because it becomes too expensive to make custom bras for all people.
I agree. I am a 40B and it is harder to find pretty bras in my size.
But manufacturer have to adjust to demand!!!
Bra fitting advice doesn’t help the woman who has the apparent “deformity” of needing a larger band size with a smaller cup size.
You’re told to go up a band size and down cup size only to find that size probably out there! Who’s looking out for us! Manufacturers don’t really seem to care. Wouldn’t they be surprised to find out that there might be some great market potential if they made these sizes readily available?
There isn’t a bra manufactured to fit me. I am an E cup, but have narrow shoulders. The wide-set straps actually miss my shoulders. If I tighten the straps (they keep slipping down) then the bulk of the cups is partly under my armpits so I can’t move my arms forward. Surely manufacturers could make a style that doesn’t have the wide set straps, as not everyone wants a plungine neckline.