If you WANT to wear a bra, that is...
By Elite Rubin
Did you know that it is estimated that between 70 and 85 percent of girls out there are not wearing a proper fitting bra.? Either they are wearing the wrong size or the wrong style for their figures. Selecting a bra may seem like a simple process, but getting a comfortable fit can be tricky. Read on to get abreast of things...
To receive the best possible fit and support from your bra, it is important to remember a few key points, and to take advantage of the expertise of the sales personnel where you are shopping. To determine your band size and cup size, you'll need to take two measurements while wearing an unpadded bra.
For the band size, measure round the body just under the arms with measuring tape. Remember to stand up straight and breath normally. If the measurement is an uneven number, round up to the next even number. To determine the cup size, you'll need to measure around your body at the fullest part of the bust. Be certain the measuring tape is secure against your back. When you have the two measurements, subtract the first measurement (the underarm measurement) from the second measurement (the bust). If the difference is 1 inch, your cup size is A; 2 inches is a B; 3 inches is a C and so forth.
Do not be alarmed if you cannot get an accurate measurement because one breast is larger than the other. All women have one breast larger than the other. Sometimes the difference is noticeable, most often it is not. If the difference is significant, try a bra with stretch fabric or adjust the strap so the larger breast strap is looser than the smaller breast strap. Always fit the cup size to the fuller breast first.
Bra Types
There are many types of bras out there; every girl can find one to fit her needs and wants. And with the many patterns and colors available, it's fun to have so many choices. Check out our list of some various types of bras and what they are:
Full Cup -This has to do with breast coverage, both structurally and for modesty. This seems to fall anywhere above the topmost swell of the breast. (It is above the demi.) It usually covers the center front, but many styles are cut very low in the center front, or may even open in the front. This seems to be the basic style meant when you read full coverage.
Demi Cup - This seems to usually mean about half-way up from the nipple or bust point in coverage. In practical terms, this seems to be about 1 inch above. Push-up bras seem to be demis, plus the pads which are often removable and are for showing cleavage. They use a much shallower underwire than the full cup styles. The design is also such that the breast is pushed toward the center being designed to lie slightly in from the side seams, allowing not only for more cleavage, but for less tissue near the underarm.
Baseball Cup - These cups are made with one seam usually across (rather than down) through the bustpoint (nipple) line and curving from some point toward center front and somewhere toward the side seam (underarm). This varies by style and design, about as ficklely as fashion. This creates a vaguely baseball-seam-like curve in the lower cup piece.
Tulip Cup -Tulip-shaped cups that are demis cut on a diagonal about 1 inch from the bustpoint. The shape is as if a tulip bloom were on a diagonal leaning toward the armpit with the tops of the petals.
Seamless Bra Cup - A bra cup made of one piece (usually of factory-molded stretch molded nylon tricot per layer or ply of fabric in each cup) with no internal seams.
Contour Cup Bra - Usually a lightly padded soft cup bra for cup sizes C and less
Bandeau Bra - This is often a strapless band around the bustline, made of a knit fabric. The wearer is at the mercy of the bra's fit and ability to remain in place, especially when moving about. These are not sports bras.
Scoop Front Bra - A bra designed with a very low cut of various shapes, on the order of a scoop neckline on a blouse.
Miracle Bra - A padded push-up bra, obviously for C-cups and smaller, with an angled demi cup, often cut quite low. The angle is such that the breast is tilted toward the center front to show off more cleavage. The push-up pads, which are usually removable, are placed on the side seam sides of the bottoms of the cups and set at an angle, pushing the breast toward the center front of the cups. Victoria's Secret carries these.
Wonder Bra - Similar to a miracle bra. Made by Playtex.
Strapless Bra - Sometimes this is a bandeau style, sometimes a convertible style.
Convertible Bra - The straps can be taken off, adjusted, and crossed, uncrossed or removed entirely and worn with a strapless garment. These are not really for anyone with a heavy or large bust. Usually underwired, sometimes with some boning in the sides, but not quite a bandeau. The straps are attached to a hooked slider (a swim hook). The strap goes through the loop in the hook, then the free end goes through a slider as usual and is stitched closed around the hook loop. The hooked end is attached to a loop at one or both ends on the bra, with a hook possibly on the far end as well.
Race Back -Any one of several styles which allow maximum movement of the back and arms -- like a high curve near the neckline with a T-strap down the center back or a lower curve with cut-outs around the shoulder.
Sports Bra - A specialized bra for wear during athletic or exercise activities. They are supposed to provide extra support. A lot of sports bras are described as having no hardware at all and being slip-on, step-in, or pullover rather than having to use any sort of closure. Some offer non-chafe seams, which means extra care has supposedly been used in manufacturing a soft feeling to the seams in some way. The Sport Top is a similar idea.
Sport Top - A kind of sports bra that is built much like a cropped spandex tank top. Some have additional support of various kinds and are pullover, front closure or back closure.
Underwire - A special wire used for supporting the cups of a bra along the bottom curve of the cup and frame from center front to side seam. Some are made of stamped sheet metal, some of heavy gauge wire, some of plastic.
Continuous Underwire - An underwire shaped a lot like a round-font lower case w used both in bras and swimsuits
V-wire - A heavy gauge underwire used in the center front of bras and swimsuits to hold the centerfront shape, especially in cutaway styles. Can also be a U-wire; both are named for their shapes.
The right bra IS out there for every body, size and shape. Enjoy trying them on in cotton, silk, mesh, and in various styles and colors. Remember, if you can't find the perfect bra right away, just take a little time to try some other styles till you do....
