choosing a bra

Size Matters

It’s a month to Christmas. If you are one of those very organised people, chances are that you’ve started on your Christmas shopping list. You inspire me! I am a scrambler – yes one of those loons trekking down Oxford Street on Christmas Eve searching for at least one dodgy Christmas jumper and the mandatory pair of socks for an unsuspecting, and admittedly unlucky relative.

This year, for a change, why not treat yourself to possibly a much needed, “To me, from me”. This year, “to save yourself from (future) tears”, how about taking a simple exercise to determine whether you are wearing the right size bra. Perhaps the first item on your Christmas list should be to get fitted for a new bra. A high street department store in the UK, recently reported that according to their statistics, about 80% of women are wearing the wrong size bra!

The problem with wearing an ill-fitting bra, is that this can lead to back pain, poor posture, restricted breathing, rashes, and breast pain during exercise.

One patient recently said when asked if she had ever been fitted for a bra, “I haven’t really seen the need. My mom was a 34C and we have been sharing clothes since I was 25, so I guessed that I must be a 34C too”. Sounds familiar?

Here are a few hot tips to gauge whether you are wearing the wrong size bra:

  1. Spillage: Your breasts spill over the top of your bra, or at the sides of your bra
  2. Wrinkling: The cups of your bra wrinkle
  3. The back strap does not sit in a horizontal line to the front of your bra
  4. The straps leave indent lines after you have removed your bra
  5. You are able to pull the back strap more than 2-3cm away from your back whilst wearing your bra
  6. Your straps fall off your shoulders
  7. The centre support does not lay flat on your chest bone (sternum)

This simple exercise will take less than a minute. If you answered yes to at least one of the above questions, chances are that you need to be fitted. Weight gain/loss, pregnancy, and time, all contribute to changes in bra size. Most lingerie shops will give you a free fitting. And remember that different shops and brands have different size references. So be sure to fit your new bra prior to purchasing.