How to Wear a Bra
A Guide to Making Sure You're Getting the Best Breast Support
An essential style guide to putting on a bra (properly), including solutions to common breast support issues and bust-line fashion faux pas.
How to Put On a Bra Properly
Just because you wear a bra every day doesn't mean you know how to put one on correctly. If you put on your bra by hooking it underneath your breasts and spinning it around so that the closure is in the back, you're putting on your bra incorrectly.
According to the experts at Figleaves.com, the correct method of getting into your brassier is as follows:
- Adjust the straps to the maximum length.
- Lean forward into the cups and rest your breasts into the supports.
- Reach behind to hook the bra on the middle hooks of the closure.
- Put the straps on your shoulders.
- Position your breast in the cup by slipping a hand into the cup and lifting the breast while aligning the underwire on your ribcage along the natural crease of your breast to prevent pinching of the breast tissue.
- Tighten the straps so that they support the breasts lightly without cutting into the skin or putting too much strain on the shoulders.
- Adjust the straps every time you put on a bra.
Signs that Your Bra Doesn't Fit or Needs Adjusting
When helping women find the right bra, lingerie specialists at LaSenza, Victoria's Secret and Figleaves.com most frequently troubleshoot these problems for their customers:
- Front Band Falling Down: The center front of your bra should lie flat against your breastbone. If the underwire is being pulled down far below the crease of your breast, this is a sign that you are wearing too small a band size.
- Back Band Riding Up: This common problem happens when a band is too big, and in an effort to compensate for the lack of primary support, the straps are tightened too much. Remember, it is the band that provides 80 percent of the bra's support; it should sit firmly against your body so that it does not slide or move away from the chest during your daily activities.
- Asymmetrical Breasts: Most women are at least a little bit asymmetrical, with one breast being larger than the other. If this is the case, fit the bra to the larger cup, then adjust straps individually, tightening the strap a bit more on the smaller side.
- False Back Fat: Also known as boobs in the back, false back fat occurs when the band is too tight. Fix this problem by loosening the back strap or choosing a wider band size.
- Cups Runneth Over: When your cup size is too small, your breasts bulge or spill over the top or sides of the bra. Fix this problem by going up a cup size or choosing a style that offers more coverage.
- Bumpy Boobs: Loose wrinkled cups with unsightly bumps that show through your shirt occur when your cup size is too big. Remedy this faux pas by going down a cup size or choosing a more flattering demi-cup style.
- Seeing Red Marks: If you've got red marks on your shoulders and back after you remove your bra, your straps are too tight. Get over this pain in the back by loosening your straps or choosing a more supportive bra with wider, padded straps.
- Slip and Slide Straps: If you find that your bra straps are always slipping off your shoulders, you should either tighten your straps or choose an alternative style, such as racer-back or convertible styles that can be worn traditionally, crossed in the back, or as a halter style.
Get a head start at fixing all of these problems by finding your correct bra size.
The copyright of the article How to Wear a Bra in Women's Lingere/Swimwear is owned by Johneen Manning. Permission to republish How to Wear a Bra must be granted by the author in writing.
