Tight under the arms, but not in the bust

anne

This is something I am encountering a bit recently. I mean clothes feeling tight near my armhole. Is this a function of bench presses or just part and parcel of having wider shoulders?

It is certainly nothing to do with my tiny bust which is a lot lower.

11 years ago

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12 replies

Latest reply was from anne

Anonymous

I have that problem a lot, and I think it is just wider shoulders/arms/pecs.

11 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I have this sometimes, too, Anne. Wider shoulders is the reason I think. Sometimes I size up.

11 years ago

Vildy

Veteran

If it is not just a too small circumference around the actual armscye, then it is likely
a too small width across the upper back, even with the back of the set in sleeve..

11 years ago

Diana

Veteran

I get this a lot too, Anne. I actually have sloping shoulders and a narrow back so I don't think it's shoulder/back width in my case. Rather, I think it's a combo of three things:
--actually having biceps. This is the case when the item is actually too tight in the arm rather than the armhole.
--bad posture - I have a swayback which causes my shoulders to be a bit rounded and hunched especially when I slouch.
--armscye being cut too low. Pick up the shoulder and pinch off a little fabric, and see if that improves the fit. It seems counterintuitive, but sometimes if the armhole is too BIG, the sleeve starts too low on your arm and restricts movement.

11 years ago

anne

Veteran

Thanks for chiming in ladies! I had to google "armscye" - but now I know what you are talking about!!
Diana, I think it sometimes is an arm issue. I have never had skinny arms and I think they might be a larger size than the rest of me.

11 years ago

cinnamon fern

Veteran

I often get this too - tightness right under the arm, towards the back. I agree it's not a bust issue. I blame it on a big ribcage and chinups.

Size up, but if the item is then too big through the waist (I get this with dresses and buttondowns sometimes), then I think you just need to try something else.

11 years ago

Diana

Veteran

As an aside, sometimes I wonder if Michelle O. has this problem too (although she probably just has her jackets tailored...)

ETA: Personally I would kill for Mrs. O's biceps. But my mom thinks it's "not ladylike." So I wonder if some designers also still have a similar bias for skinny arms.

11 years ago

Beth

Veteran

I've encountered this more and more often over the last several years, and I have skinny arms. Sizing up rarely seems to help.

11 years ago

Thistle

Veteran

With my bust, I usually have the opposite issue. Still, I am not sure sizing up will help unless you sized up and had it tailored.

11 years ago

anne

Veteran

I forgot to say... I haven't been trying on items in shops - these are things I already own. I wonder if I just ignored the tightness when I originally bought them or if I have got bigger in that area!

11 years ago

cinnamon fern

Veteran

Have you been doing pullups, Anne?

11 years ago

anne

Veteran

Umm, I have done odd set of something similar (where you kneel on a pad that goes up as you pull down.

11 years ago

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