Pages

Infolinks

It's Your Band Size, And Your Choice


You might have noticed me mentioning in recent posts that I’ve started including 30 bands in my possible sizes. That’s not because my measurements have changed but because I had a realization, one that felt a bit mischievous at first: I don’t have to wear a 28 band if I don’t want to.

I’ve been wearing one for the past few seasons because it matches my measurement (28 inches around the underbust) and I didn’t want to risk having back pain or other problems from wearing a too-loose band. But I hadn’t had many problems with 30 bands before that, unless they ran unusually loose, and I had a host of new problems with 28 bands—painful underwires, sharp edges cutting in, and that weird constricted feeling that comes from wearing something very tight for hours. So I recently decided to do a small trial of wearing 30 bands again. I figured if it didn’t work, I would go straight back to 28s, but ultimately, the 30 bands were a success for me based on the criteria I had chosen. The way I see it, there are three important tests for whether the band size you are wearing is too big:

First of all, and I’m sure you’ve all heard this before, but your bra band should not ride up. It should sit horizontally around your body. However, it’s important to note that a few bras have bands that just sit that way, angled a bit up, so they look like they are riding up when they are actually the right size or even too small. This is one of the most annoying things ever in my opinion, because it makes it difficult to distinguish between a correct or too-big band, hence why I’m mentioning two other tests.

Second, if you have back pain at the end of the day from your boobs, definitely try a smaller band.It might not solve the problem, in which case you need not bother to size down, but if it does help, you owe it to yourself to wear the smaller size.

Third, if you have to readjust your boobs a lot throughout the day, that’s a sign that something may be amiss with your size. Ideally, a well-fitting bra should stay more or less in place—you shouldn’t feel like you are constantly tucking and pulling. If you are, you may need to reevaluate what size you should wear. It could be that you need to change your cup size, or it could be that you need to wear a tighter band.

If you don’t have these problems with a slightly larger band size, though, I personally feel that you should choose the band that feels most comfortable, which may not necessarily be the tighter one. For me, I had a lot of comfort issues with 28 bands, so I’m moving away from them. Of course, I was never a small 28, and this is just my experience—I’m not suggesting that people abandon their sizes willy-nilly on my advice. I just don’t want people to feel trapped in a band size that is only best for them in theory. I have met some people with larger underbust measurements who prefer to subtract inches from their measurement to get the most comfortable band size, and I think that it’s also okay to add a couple of inches if that is the most comfortable option and if it is still equally supportive.

I’m pretty convinced that it’s not a good idea to add more than 2 inches to your measurement to get your band size, nor would most people have success subtracting more than that, but again, I’m sure there are some exceptions and outliers to this rule of thumb. Only you can decide what feels most comfortable for you. Just be informed about the right and wrong reasons to wear a band size slightly bigger than your measurements. For instance, no bra fitter in a store should encourage you to add inches—especially not the standard, pathetic American system of adding up to SIX inches. It is your right to decide to add inches, but MOST people will fare best in a band size that is close to their measurements.

I also don’t think it’s a good idea to make the choice to upsize just because of increased options in larger band sizes, although I understand why some people might find this a massive relief. Wearing a 30 band, I have many, many more options than wearing a 28 band, but that isn’t reason enough to size up in the band. If I was uncomfortable in the 30 band, all the options in the world wouldn’t mean anything--because all of them would cause me pain. Upsizing just so you can find something in shops, when you wouldn’t do so otherwise, means you are being bullied by the companies and inadvertently voting for the wrong sizes with your wallet.

However, you also shouldn’t feel that you need to wear the smallest possible band size if you are actually more comfortable in one size up. The best method is to take some time to experiment and try out a few different sizes. Most people will still find they are most comfortable in a band size that nearly matches their measurements, but trust your own instincts—if you’ve tried all the sizes you can (and that means more than just the ones available on the high street), you’ll know which one is best.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Labels

18 hour 2 hook 3 hook extensions 34dd 3pack 45500 962031X42 962033X46 96203Large38 96203Small34 aa accessories adhesive bra affordable Alexander Allure American American Apparel American Apparel Stretch Bull Denim anita Apparel Apparel America Around Arthritis as seen on tv Assorted athlete Atlantis baby baby shower gift back backless Bali bandeau bra Bankrs bare lifts barely there Beautiful BellyLady Beloved best bra Bestsellers Big Chill Women's Scuba BirthandBaby bra bra - strapless bra extender bra extenders bra extension bra insert bra inserts bra size bra solutions bra strap bra strap concealer bra strap cushion bra strap holder bra strap holders bra-extenders-3 -hook-3-colors bra-soft comfortable braless bralette bras Bravado braza breast breast feeding Breast Feeding Bra breast pump breast pump accessories breast pump accessory bridal bride bridesmaid busty Calvin calvin klein calvin klein collection camí camisole camisoles Capris Cavity champion cheap cleavage cleavage enhancers Closure clothes Cocktail Colors Comfort comfortable comfortable bra comfy concealers converter convertible Corset costume costumes Cotton cotton bra CottonSpandex Cover Coverage Crochet crossdress Crotchless dance Daywear ddd Delivery Demi Bra demicup Design Designer Designs Discount Dress dresses Ecoland Empire enhancer enhancers Essential everyday bra everyday bras exercise Extreme Fancee fashion tape Feather felina Flower France front hook front opening bra fruit of the loom full figure full-bust sportswear G-String Gilligan go2 bra go2 bras goddess hands free hanes high impact inexpensive Inserts International Intimate Apparel intimates jezebel jogging Lace lace bra Lamaze Leading League Leisure leisure bra lilyette Lingerie lingerie sets lipo in a box Long Sleeve Lounge Lowest maidenform Malley maternity maternity bra maternity bras MaternityNursing Maximizer medela MEDIUM microfiber Mini Dress Minimizer minimizer bras minimizers modest Molded Motherhood motion control moving comfort moving comfort maia bra multipack extender Natural Nightime nipple nipple cover nipple covers nipples nursing nursing bra nursing bras Nursing Bras 34dd Nursing Bras 34g Nursing Bras 38f Nursing Bras for Large Breast nursing cover up nursing mothers nursing tank NurtureWear nylon olga OMalley open cup bra Order Organic Original padded padded sport bra Panache panties Passion Perfectly personal care petite pink Playtex Pleated PlumGrey Plunge Plus Size plus size bra poor quality posture posture bra pregnancy pretty Printed Products Promotions Protector Pullover pumping push up push-up pushup racerback reusable Ruffles running running bra Satin Scarf Sculpt seamless Secret sexy sexy bra Sexy Lingerie Shaper Shapers sheer shelf bra ShirtTank shock absorber Showing silicon bra inserts silicone silicone bra silicone nipple covers Silver sissy basics skirts sleep bra sleep nursing bra SleepLeisure Sleeveless smooth smoothing Softcup Spandex spanx bras Sports sports bra sports bras sportswear strap holder strap perfect strapless strapless bra Stretch Stripe super sexy Supima support Surgery Tailored Tank Top And Matching Traditional Tribal Tropical Ultimate Undercover underwear underwire underwire bra underwire bras underwire support Underworks Unique Unlined uplift Valentine vanity fair Velcro Versatile vk Vneck wacoal wacoal bra warners wedding wire free wire-free wirefree wireless wireless bra women Women's womens Wonder wonderbra yoga zip-front