Fit Check Tips
Here is our step by step guide to help you carry out your own Fit Check (Please Note : This is only ever general advice, for more detailed help please speak to us on Facebook).
Step 1 : The Band Test
A bra cannot fit the cups but not the band! It is a common misconception, but you must check the band first.
Put the bra on backwards on the LOOSEST hook (unless you are under 18 or pregnant, then you start on the tightest), just the band, and tuck it right up under your boobs like you would wear the bra normally.
Whilst in place pull the band firmly away (but not so it will ping back) – the ideal amount you want the band to pull, for best support, is around 1 inch.
Band pulls more than an inch and a half?
Unless there is a medical condition that may benefit from a larger band, try down a band and up one and two cups
Band pulls less than 2 fingers flat against your body?
Try up a band in this bra and down one and two cups.
If the band is spot on then move on to the cups
Step 2 : The Cups
There can be lots of things going on with the cups that may appear to suggest that the band doesn’t fit or that they are the wrong size.
Ensure the gore (the bit between the cups) is sitting flat against your chest on any wired bras (flexiwire and unwired bras are unlikely to in most cases). If not, try up a cup as your next step.
Back Fat is the most noticeable and most commented issue we find on the group. Many think it is down to the band being too tight – Anything below the band we can’t change, but above the band can be a sign the cups are too small.
Have you scooped and swooped from as far round as you can reach? (Have a look in the fit check section of the pinned post to find out more)
If this doesn’t make a difference then check the list below to see if there are any other issues you need to also address.
Troubleshooting
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Not filling the bottom of the cup
Make sure you have scooped & swooped, and your boobs are sitting in the bottom of the cup if possible. The wires should sit right in your boob crease. (light purple line)
If your boobs don’t sit properly in the bottom of the cup
If you’re getting overspill elsewhere – go up in the cup size
If you are filling the cup elsewhere but not getting overspill – look at styles with more projection, particularly in the lower half of the cup. The group will be able to give you some ideas on bras to try.
If you’re not filling the cup and when you pull the cup up your boobs drop to the bottom of the cup – go down a cup, it sounds like it might well be too big.
Uncomfortable Wires
Discomfort under your arm is often caused by issues with the width of the wires.
If you are finding you are filling the cup properly, but the wires are digging in under your arm then the best place to start is seeing whether the wires are correctly cupping your breast tissue under your arm.
With your side on shot, see if you can see space between the wires and your breast. This means the wires are too wide for you.
If you can see breast tissue under your arm past the wire, then the wires are too narrow for you.
Moulded and padded cups are more likely to hide these issues, than a purely soft cup.
Once you have worked out what your issue might be, then the group will be able to help with bra ideas. Please ensure you include the bra you have tried with the issue you have found in your post.
Cups Gaping
There are 2 main reasons for cups to gape :
- The Cups are too big
- The Cups are too tall
Although these aren’t always easy to distinguish there are some key things to check.
Are the cups too big?
It is unlikely this is your issue if you are
- Getting any back fat above the band
- Getting overspill under your arm
- Getting overspill at the gore (in a plunge bra)
The cups may be too big if
- You are getting folds in the fabric in the cup
- You aren’t filling the whole cup (not just the top 1/3rd – 1/2)
Are the cups too tall?
If you find you are getting any of the “unlikely” issues above, but also filling the cups without overspill, you may find the cups are too tall.
To get suggestions of bras to try, please post in the group with details of the bras you have found and any other fit issues you have noticed.
Visit our Facebook Group
If you need more help with a Fit Check