As the press keep telling us many ladies within the UK are currently wearing the wrong size bra.  It is not only important to wear the correct size bra to make you look and feel your best, it is also important as a poorly fitting bra can cause poor posture, which will lead to neck, shoulder and back ache. 

 Below are some common bra fit issues and what they mean – however to make sure you are wearing the best bra for you please visit a lingerie stockist for a professional fitting

The Bra Band

The band of the bra should be firm on you as this is where all the support of the bra comes from.

 The band should be level all the way around your body, as a guide you should only be able to fit 2 fingers inside the band when you are wearing the bra.  If the back of your bra is riding up then it means that the band is too big and you should go down a size.

When you try your new bra make sure you secure it to the loosest hook and eye, so that as the bra stretches through wash and wear you can more it along to the other fastenings.

If a bra is fitting correctly you may experience ‘back fat’ or overhang. To get the support you need, as stated above the band of the bra does need to be firm fitting and once you are dressed any overhang will not be noticeable.

The Straps

The shoulder straps should not be doing all the work of the bra, and if you have indents on your shoulders this is a common sign that the bra is not fitting correctly and the likely cause is the band being too big. 

The shoulder straps should be distributing the weight of the bust, and again you should only be able to fit 2 fingers under the straps. 

Another sign of the bra not fitting correctly is the shoulder straps slipping off; a lot of people think this is because they have slopping shoulders, but it is actually because their bra band is too loose

The Cups

The breasts should be fully encased within the cups of the bra, so you do not have any overspill at all.  If you look sideways onto the mirror the bra should sit flat against your chest, there should be no digging in on the breast at all.  If this happens the cups are too small.  If you have puckering in the cup, this means the cups are too big and you need to go down a cup size.

The Underwire

If you are wearing an underwired bra, the middle of the bra (the centre gore) should sit flat against the chest wall and separate the breasts.  The underwire should then follow the line of the bust, and sit behind the breast tissue, not on it. 

To check this you can push the end of the underwire, if you press it and it is hard you know it is sitting on the rib cage and fitting correctly.  If you push the underwire and it is soft and making your breast move, it means that the wire is sitting on the breast tissue and you need to go up a cup size.