Beware, bra pics--- is this side boob or a good fit? - YouLookFab Forum

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Beware, bra pics--- is this side boob or a good fit?

Elly

Veteran

Hey ladies--

continuing on my bra fit saga I have decided to scar your retinas. I am going to temporarily post two photos of me in a new bra. I am having problems deciding if the little bit of fat in the arm crease is just normal fat/a product of broad shoulders or if it means that the bra is too small/not the right cut. I have been having this problem with all the styles and sizes I've tried, but the cups tend to be too big in the size up.

Also, I think #1is a bad picture because I swear I don't normally have muffin top.

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22 replies

Latest reply was from Elly

cheryle (Dianthus)

(website)

Veteran

Try loosening up the strap a bit. You should be able to easily slide your finger under the strap as it is the band that gives most of the support. I'm wearing my favorite bra and if I pull up on the strap, I get that bit of fluff too.

Kafe

I went to Intimacy about a month ago for a fitting and.... well, I'm hoping this helps.... The fitter pulled the bra cup out a bit, used her hands, and kind of brought that "stuff" into the cup so it was where it needed to be. Also, make sure you are bending over and jiggle a bit to get everything in place before you hook in the back. I might delete this once your pictures are gone. ; )

mrseccentric

(website)

Veteran

agree with dianthus. i get a bit of fluff there as well with broad shoulders (altho i would not have noticed it if you hadn't pointed it out). i find that i'm not exposing that area in most of my outfits so it's usually not an issue for me. Good luck! steph

ironkurtin

Veteran

First, you are skinny and gorgeous *and* have boobs and a waist, so rock that figure, woman! (As someone without boobs *or* a waist - howdy all your rectangles out there - I am a little bit envious!) I agree you can release the hoist a tiny bit. If that still creates overflow, then I think you need a different size or style.

Elly

Veteran

Ok-- lengthened the straps several inches and pulled as much as possible into the cup. Still looks the same. It doesn't show under clothing. It seems to be the light fat layer over my pec (which sticks out from the rib cage there). Is that breast tissue/needing to go in the cup?

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

Here is my opinion and you can take it or leave it. I would go with a bigger band size. A smaller band centers the girls more closely together. You need more width on your chest to accommodate the width of your girls. The cup size looks a tad big to me, as well, but that could just be the photo.

I know the common wisdom around here is to go with the smallest band size possible. I have been told to wear a 28 or 30 because I measure 28 but I am most comfortable in a 32. So for me, the adding inches method works. Although they used to try to get me in a 34 and that is def too wide.

Elly

Veteran

Thanks Coco-- I may need to try one band size up and adjust the cups accordingly. I can put my hand under this band rather than my fist. The adding inches method probably isn't the best guidance for me-- I tried it and was able to put my small dog in the band with me like it was a baby carrier. LOL-- I actually use my small dog as a unit of measurement quite often. Started when my little brother was a teenager as a way to gauge whether his own pants were too big/baggy. *kicks brother in behind and tells him "Get back in that dressing room-- you could fit a Roo in you pants."* LOL

I suppose I am confused by this because even without a bra my breast tissue doesn't move outward past the widest part of my ribcage. The only tissue that does is this pec muscle with "fluff".

esenin

Not that I know much about bras (being unable to find myself a decently fitting one) but I'd try on bras by different brands-some have wider underwires, some further apart ect.

The website bratabase.com may be of help to you. You get an account and record what bras you own and how they fit you. I noticed several trends that were brand-wide on me- Calvin Klein bras have too little room right where you have trouble too.

Another idea is to try on seamed bras. I've found that high quality seams work far better than any molded cup (until I outgrew mine that is...)

elpgal

Veteran

I have the same issue and am broad-shouldered. I posted pics on a bra forum and this is what I was told - armpit or back fat is 'migrated breast tissue' and you have to scoop it into the cup. It is caused by wearing improperly fitting bras and can be mitigated slowly, over time with the correct bra'.

I am not sure how much of this is true, but I figured I'd put it out there.

vesperholly

First... is that the Freya Deco? How do you like it? I'm trying to get my hands on one as we speak...

It looks to me like some of your breast tissue has migrated under your arm, possibly due to bad bras in the past. It sounds crazy, but if you wear a bra with higher sides temporarily, and firmly scoop all the extra tissue under your arm into the cups, it will rejoin the rest of your boobs after about a month or so. I used to have that same bulge, and it has almost entirely disappeared -- and I went up almost a cup size in the process. There's a good post about it at this wonderful blog, Venusian Glow http://venusianglow.blogspot.c.....conds.html (she calls it the breasts "returning to the motherland", lol) and, for those of you who read Polish, The Bra Lobby is apparently full of stories of women who have seen this happen when wearing the right size.

P.s. After looking at it again, I wonder if the underwire itself isn't wide enough for you. Does it extend far enough back under your arm to support all your breast tissue, or is the wire kind of cutting into the side of your boob? If it is, don't despair, some brands are made to fit wider breasts than others. You shouldn't need to change your band size regardless.

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

So it sounds like you're in the right band size because I don't think your dog wants to ride around in your bra all day. ; )

The others are right in saying try another bra with a different/wider underwire shape. That is probably the best solution. FWIW, I have been liking the Natori brand a lot lately, which you get get at Nordstrom.

mrseccentric

(website)

Veteran

just popped into my head - try a bra with 'side support'. this is a bra that has a bone inserted vertically in the side bands of the bra. especially when combined with a three-seamed cup, these features provide the best 'projection' (the keep the breast tissue out in front). most pictures won't show the side boning but will say 'side boning' or 'side support' in the description (that's why i took this pic - the seaming to the side of the cup conceals the bone).

there's a reason everyone is suggesting you try a seamed cup....just sayin' good luck! it's so aggravating shopping for a decent bra, steph

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mrseccentric

(website)

Veteran

hi Cocolion! i should have read your post - Natori makes beautiful, long lasting bras. i had a grey/pink lace bra from that brand (3 seam cup with side boning, as it happened) that gave good support and was just lovely. lasted for years, too! steph

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Nice advice from our astute forum members.

Elly, from me, two things:

One, you have a beautiful body!

Two, may I suggest that you get on the line with a bra specialist from barenecessities.com. It's the next best thing to being professionally fitted, which I know is very hard in your neck of the woods. BN houses all the brands that you have tried and many more. They also specialize in non-regular sizes. It could be a meaningful conversation

modgrl

(website)

Veteran

Elly, you are so brave for posting these pictures. You have an amazing body. Holy smokes! Are we looking at the same pictures? You are gorgeous! I have big pillows of fat under my arms, so I always get what you're showing here (mine are a lot bigger). For me it is a part of life, I just try to wear clothes that don't cut me off right there and accentuate it. Maybe a bra expert can help you out with that like the other suggest, but I think the bra you are wearing is very nice.

bj1111

Veteran

props to a VERY brave girl.

i do the hokey pokey with them...put them in and shake'm all about. whatever's left over, i leave be and go about my day. hubs has (thankfully) never exclaimed "omg, is that side boob or what?!?"

MsMary

Veteran

Good Lord!

You. Are. Gorgeous.

That is all.

Maya

Veteran

Ah, the Freya Deco. Good choice.

It looks like you just need to scoop-and-swoop a bit and get everything in there. This is where moulded cups aren't the greatest though. A seamed bra with side support panels would probably be better.

Kari

Veteran

Elly, you are so beautiful. (And brave! I'm reasonably happy with my boobs but I'd still probably be too shy to post a picture of me in my bra, even on YLF. I've also got a few chickenpox scars on my torso that no one here needs to see!)

My thoughts are in line with Steph and Maya's - in molded cup bras like this one, my breasts do the exact same thing. The cups are somehow too "deep" and not "wide" enough in most molded up bras (with the rare exception) and my breast tissue ends up migrating under my arms & outside of the underwire. And also, at the end of the day, that *hurts!*
My favorite bras these days are seamed bras with the exact same cut that Steph posted a picture of - a curved side seam, and a diagonal seam that runs from the middle outer edge of the side seam across the nipple to the center gore. That type of bra gives me a *ton* of support and also gives me a cup shape that I find more natural than how the molded cups look on my rack.

Kari

Veteran

Also, bj1111, your comment had me laughing out loud. My put-on-the-bra routine is quite hokey-pokey like too - fasten the bra backwards, scooch the bra around my torso so that it's fitting the right way and try not to stab myself in the side with the underwire, center the bra, wiggle it up to my chest, make sure the band isn't riding too high in back, and then scoop and shake until everything is locked and loaded in place.
Thank goodness my SO has the sense to know that one does not laugh at a lady while she's dressing (or undressing), no matter how undignified she may look in the process! I have to wonder what some of the ladies at my gym must think, though.

ButterflyLady

(website)

Veteran

You do have a lovely figure, Elly.

I find this happens to me with these kind of moulded bras - I get a better shape with a seamed bra. But I do find under knits I need to have the smooth moulded cup kind otherwise the seams show through.

I can see hardly any 'fluff' there in your pics, to be honest ....

Elly

Veteran

Thank you ladies!

I think I am going to try a few different styles, perhaps some with a seamed cup and higher underwire under the arm-- thanks for the recommendations.

Where the underwire fits on this bra it sits on my ribs, not on tissue, but it just doesn't seem to go up high enough near the strap or under the arm to trap any of the fluff under it. I have problems with fuller-coverage bras coming up too high in the bridge and having the cups cover more chest than just breasts. So, I guess it is time to expand my search past t-shirt bras since I have tried most of them made in my size. I was looking for something molded specifically because I do wear a lot of thin knits and ts.

Thank you all for the lovely compliments on my figure! Fat isn't meant in a negative or derogatorily way here (I am NOT fat, but I do have fat-- so does my hard bodied 19-year-old athlete brother!). You made me blush---