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...
Measuring For Proper Fit
Bra Types
Click here for a real girl's story about her
first bra!
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.
Measuring For Proper Fit
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:
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....
MY FIRST BRA
I started wearing a bra, on my eleventh birthday, in June, 1970. I had wanted a
bra ever since the start of grade six, when my best friend Judy started wearing
one. When we started back to school in September, Judy had a bra. It wasn't a
training bra, either, but a real grown-up A cup brassiere.
Judy was an early bloomer. She had started developing, in the fifth grade. She hated being the first girl in grade six to have breasts and wear a bra, She didn't like the attention it brought her, from the other girls and especially boys. Once she lifted her blouse, to show me her bra. She said she hated it and that her mother made her wear it.
I was the opposite. I couldn't wait to get breasts and have a bra. Over the summer, my nipples had started to get bigger and darker, but my chest was still perfectly flat. By October, my chest had some puffiness and my nipples showed through my T shirt. I hated this, especially in Gym class. Once I even tried to flatten my nipples, with Band-Aids, to hide them. It didn't work! Often, I would stand in front of my bedroom mirror, staring at my chest, wondering when they would start to grow.
By Christmas, the puffiness had turned into two small, but definite bumps. By now, several girls, who were not much bigger than me, were wearing training bras. From then on, I really wanted a bra. A few times, I started to ask my mom for one, but I always chickened out. I was afraid she would laugh, or say I didn't need one yet. Over the next several months, my bumps as I called them now, continued to grow, but at a painfully slow rate.
The night before my birthday, I was in my bedroom, putting on my pajamas. I didn't have my top on yet. I was looking at my chest, checking out the progress of my bumps. I heard my mom coming up the stairs. She knocked once on my door and came in. I grabbed my top and covered my chest, but not before she'd seen my bumps. She smiled and pretended she hadn't noticed.
"Tomorrow morning, we should go shopping. There's a sale on, at Bettman's.” Usually, on my birthday, my mom took me shopping for new clothes. But the new pajamas puzzled me. The ones I had were fine. I had just gotten them at Christmas. I started to ask about a bra, but as usual, the words wouldn't come out. By the time I figured out what to say, she was gone. I found out afterwards, that the pajamas had been a bit of a ruse. She didn't know how to talk to me about a bra, either!
The next morning, at breakfast she reminded me about shopping and told me not to take off. She told me she wanted to leave by ten and told me to be ready. My little brother started talking about what he was going buy. My mom told him that he'd have to stay home, this time. "This is just shopping for Martina and me.” He whined for a few minutes and then went outside to play.
At quarter after ten we were in the car heading downtown. When we got to Bettman's Department Store, we spent the next two hours, looking at stuff. First we checked out the pajamas, but we didn't buy any. Next, we looked at some running shoes, for me and my brother, but didn't get any. We looked at some tops and a jumper for me, but still didn't buy anything. Finally, I did get three pairs of socks, that were on sale. Two hours of shopping and all I got was some lousy socks! My mom said that we should head home soon, but first she wanted to check out some bedding, on the fifth floor.
When we got to the fifth floor, we walked right past the bedding. We accidentally wandered into the lingerie department. We walked past rows and rows of bras, girdles and underwear. We came to a stop in front of the Teenform display rack. Here were all the training bras, in neat little, pink boxes. "Maybe you should get one of these," she said, curtly. I don't remember what I said, but I think I blushed and grinned, at the same time! She told me to wait there, while she went to talk to the saleslady.
She explained that we wanted a bra for me. The saleslady came over and smiled at me. "Is this your first one?" shook my head, Yes. "We'll have to see what size you are, Dear.” Before I knew what was happening, she took the tape from her neck and was pulling it tightly around my chest. For a moment, I wished I was invisible! "You're a 34 band, Dear, but you don't need a cup, yet.” I could have died! I felt that the whole store had heard her. I was really glad that my brother wasn't with us now!
She reached for one of the pink boxes and opened it. She pulled out a bra and showed it to my mom. This is a Teenform "Pretty Please. It's a 34 AAA. It's very popular with girls, her age.” I started to feel ignored, as she explained to my mom, how the stretch elastic cups would grow with me and how the straps were adjustable. I was the one who was going to wear it! My mom liked it. The saleslady turned to me. "You'll have to try it on, Dear.”
Before I could say anything, she was leading into the fitting room. We went inside, while my mom waited outside. I felt awkward as I removed my top and my undershirt. I covered my bare chest with my hands. "There, there, Dear. It's OK. We all go through this. Put your hands down and turn around.” I turned around and took my hands away. She held the bra in front of me and I put my arms through the straps. I tried to fasten the back, but couldn't. She fastened the back, for me. Then she showed me where to put my fingers, so I could do it myself. She snugged up the shoulder straps until they were almost too tight.
When I had the bra on, my mom came in. "How does it feel?"
"It's OK," I answered. Actually, it felt kind of strange, but good, at the same time. I looked in the mirror. It was great! My bumps looked a little higher and bigger. The elastic cups pulled against my chest and my nipples didn't show through! My mom told the saleslady that we'd take the one I had on and two others. She told me to get dressed, while she paid for the bras.
On the way home we talked about me and about growing up. I told her that I had wanted a bra for months. She said If I'd asked, she 'd have gotten me one sooner. I told her that I'd been too embarrassed to ask. She said she hadn't known, how, or when, to raise the subject with me. We both laughed.
When we got home, I went to my room and put on my thinnest, cotton T shirt. I loved it! You could tell I had a bra on, underneath, and my nipples didn't show. After lunch, I ran over to Judy's to show her my bra. After a while, the novelty of wearing a bra, wore off a bit. By the end of the summer, wearing a bra, everyday, even became a bit of a nuisance. The training bras worked well for me, though. My bumps gradually became breasts. The grow cups grew with me, like the saleslady said they would. I wore those three bras for almost seven months, until they were all but worn out. By then, wearing a bra, was no big deal and I started wearing real grown up bras, like Judy.
by M. Suter (from Canada)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Contour Cup Bra
Usually a lightly padded soft cup bra for cup sizes C and less
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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.
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Scoop Front Bra
A bra designed with a very low cut of various shapes, on the order of a scoop neckline on a blouse.
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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.
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Wonder Bra
Similar to a miracle bra. Made by Playtex.
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Strapless Bra
Sometimes this is a bandeau style, sometimes a convertible style.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Continuous Underwire
An underwire shaped a lot like a round-font lower case w used both in bras and swimsuits
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V-wire
A heavy gauge underwire used in the center front of bras and swimsuits to hold the center front shape, especially in cutaway styles. Can also be a U-wire; both are named for their shapes.
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