Archive for the 'Bra Fitting' Category
Do Your Underwires Poke Your Underarms? Here’s a Possible Solution
October 08, 2009
The industry answer to women complaining about underwires poking into their underarm is usually to say their cup size is too small. The theory here is that the underwire is not wide enough to totally wrap around your breast and the cup is not deep enough. Thus the wire is resting on breast tissue too far forward on your torso – the result being the underwire tip is getting in the way and hitting your underarm. A larger cup size comes with a wider underwire and deeper cup that will rest further back under your arm and not rest on your breast tissue. Thus you will no longer be poked. In many situations, I would agree with this recommendation. However, I own bras where this symptom has occurred, and I have been able to solve the problem without having to size up. Want to know how?
First, you need to put your geometry cap on. Think of your torso as a cylinder. As a cylinder, your torso has no flat horizontal surfaces – only curved surfaces. If you held a ruler horizontally to your torso, the center of the ruler would touch you, but the ends would not. They would be extending away from your torso.
A bra’s underwire is cut from a flat sheet of metal. It’s basically a smiley face shape, but flat. So, the ends of an underwire can have the same effect as the ends of a ruler. However, if you bend your underwire a little in the center of its smile, the underwire takes on a shape better suited to your cylindrical torso. (See image above.)
Personally, I give all my underwires this subtle bend. It’s not very much, but I’ve found that the fit is better and my underwires are more comfortable. And, when I try on a bra in my size and notice the underwire ends under my arm are protruding or resting on breast tissue instead of where they need to be, I’ll give them a little bend in the middle. This always seems to solve the problem. Again, it’s not much of a bend, but it can make a big difference.
Let me also share with you that there is sort of a moral to this story: don’t be afraid to manipulate your underwires. Underwires can get bent out of shape in a number of ways – during washing, mishandling in your lingerie drawer etc. So, don’t be afraid to work with them until they fit you. You have to put a lot of stress on an underwire before it will break. And, it’s been my experience that if I don’t like the bend, underwires are easy to manipulate back to the beginning position.
Learn more about underwires and bra fitting.
Find underwire bras at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
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Posted by Tomima at 11:09am
1 Comment »
What Is The Average Bra Size?
July 14, 2009
Today, my customer service team forwarded to me this inquiry from a customer named Denise:
"When I was young, my mother told me the average and also perfect bra size was 34B. Now I have noticed a lot of 34B in pictures, and the basis of your fitters measurements. What is it that is so special about 34B? So is 34B really the average size? Or was it at some point, the average size and we’ve now outgrown it? Thank you!"
Well Denise, you ask a very good question. First, let me address why HerRoom uses 34B as the basic average bra size for photography and measurements.
The reason HerRoom uses 34B bras and thus 34B models is because in the lingerie industry, the established sample size is 34B. Months before a new item is displayed on our site, my buyers go to market where they are shown the new styles by each vendor. With the exception of manufacturers who specialize in larger sizes, all the samples the buyers are shown are in 34B. We take those samples, photograph them, and measure them before they are shown on the site. So, it’s not our choice, but rather, 34B is the only size we can get our hands on.
Now, this sort of answers your second inquiry which is why are there so many 34B mentions on the Internet, and is it the average bra size. No, it is not the average bra size. Today, U.S. manufacturers tell us that 36C is the average bra size in America, and that it is trending towards 38C becoming the new average U.S. bra size. Yup, we are getting bigger. Again, because everyone makes their samples in a 34B, we are somewhat forced to photograph that size on our site.
Denise, I’m also glad you asked this question because it gives me an opportunity to point out something we do at HerRoom that no one else does. From reading years of customer comments, it was clear that larger busted women find it very difficult to make a decision about a bra unless they see it on a model with a fuller figure. To address this, any bra that comes in DD cup sizing or larger at HerRoom will have an alternate image shot titled "36DD". That’s right, once we have inventory of a bra, we pull the 36DD and bring in a model of that size and have her photographed. So, a full figured woman can now see a bra at least close to her size on a more voluptuous model. She will also be able to see if the manufacturer makes any design changes to accommodate the large cup sizes.
Great question. Thank you Denise.
Find bras at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
Plus-Size Lingerie
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Posted by Tomima at 7:16am
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Creating Cleavage – It Could Mean Wearing the Wrong Size Bra
December 19, 2008
I was in a boutique on Rodeo Drive years ago, and trying on a pair of pumps. The sales person remarked on how fabulous my toe cleavage looked. What? I thought. Toe cleavage? Well, now I’m in the bra business, and breast cleavage is a constant topic. Women and men have differing options on what is attractive breast cleavage.
Let’s first define cleavage. In general, cleavage refers to a separation or division of form. In science, it’s the process where a cell divides into two cells after mitosis. In geology, it’s the partial opening caused after a split or rupture. And, in politics, it’s when there is a split within the political system along ideological or ethnic lines. But, when it comes to a woman’s body, our culture defines cleavage as the exposed area between a woman’s breasts.
Bra manufacturers work very hard to give women separation between their breasts. They mostly design bras with a center panel that lays against a woman’s sternum. But, there are also a lot of women walking around with D cup size breasts and larger wearing low necklines that expose breasts touching one another. And it is this look that men tend to favor. So, how is this look achieved?
By way of example, Felicia, one of our buyers’ assistants, agreed to take one for the team and posed with a couple of different bra sizes to show you what I’m talking about. Before being fitted in our office, Felicia was walking around wearing a size 44D. Now, most women would think this bra fit her correctly. But, as you can see from the front and top down view, her breasts are touching one another.
After a proper fitting, Felicia was found to be a 40G. In these two photographs, you can see her breasts are separated, and the center of the bra rests on her sternum. Felicia agreed that the new size was more comfortable and flattering to wear, but commented that her husband preferred the look of her breasts in the size 44D. By-the-way, Felicia is wearing the Le Mystere 9155 in both of these photos.
So, here’s the rub. Do women really want separation? Or do they want that line of cleavage that men like to look at? I think the answer is both. I then sent Felicia through our catalog to try and find a bra in her correct size that would give the same look to her breasts as her 44D. The closest she could find was this Panache 3606. In this photo she is wearing a size 38G with a bra 
extender on the back because this bra did not come in a 40 band size. The reviews by customers about this bra are mixed – some love it, and many 32 band size women don’t. I can sympathize with Panache. In order to get a low plunge in front, they must have larger cups to give support – otherwise women will complain about falling out. But now, women are complaining that they don’t like the shape of the bra!
Here’s my suggestion for a solution. For women wanting that cleavage line (and are a D cup or larger), first look at the plunge bras available in your size. There are several on the market that do a great job such as the Panache bra, the Prima Donna Menton Plunge 016-1564,and the Felina Jennifer Deep Plunge Bra 29885. Also, if you have implants and thus don’t need the support of a bra, you could wear a NuBra and attach the clasp to pull your breasts in. Finally, if you really want that look, go up a band size and down 1 cup size in your bra and see if you get the desired look. In Felicia’s example, she went up two band sizes and down 3 cup sizes to get her look. Again, this is not a bra size you would want to wear all day, but if you want this look for a special outfit or evening, it’s something to consider until a bra manufacturer actually makes a bra that gives women this cleavage look.
Before signing off, I need to comment to the C cup and smaller women that this cleavage look is almost impossible to obtain for you. I for one am a C cup, and my breasts have never touched regardless of the push up and cleavage enhancing bras I have tried on. I just don’t have enough breast tissue. The closest I’ve come is with a NuBra. But take heart; as any full figured woman will tell you, we get to wear a lot more variety of clothing styles and look good in it. So, it really is a trade off.
Find plunge bras at HerRoom in these departments:
Bras
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Posted by Tomima at 9:18am
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