BRAS AND BODY TYPES

Do you know that understanding your body type increases your chance of getting your best bras? The combination of breast and body type and lifestyle activities inform where to do your shopping and what to look out for.

In this blog, I explain the broad categories of body types manufacturers generally base their sizing on. Even with this, there is still so much inconsistency within brands and designs, however, a broad knowledge of the distinct body types is a good place to start from.

PETITE:

Being petite does not necessarily mean a small body in the bra industry, this refers to small breasts which are A-cup size or less. While this term can be used for teenagers who are in the breast development stage, it is also used to describe older women with smaller boobs whether they have slim body frames or not.

The most common fit challenge is finding bras with well-sized cups and band sizes coming together in a bra. Some women have been embarrassed at the stores by being referred to the junior sections to look for their bras. However, small does not mean young just as young nowadays does not mean small and some brands exist to serve this body type.

STANDARD:

Standard sizes are the sizes found in many mainstream lingerie stores. Women of these sizes have bands ranging from 32 to 38 with cup sizes from B to DD. Being the most popular, there are lots of options in this category to choose from as long as they fit properly.

They have been so well projected in advertising and marketing over the years that curvier women tend to think that these sizes are all that are available and that if they do not find their sizes among them, then something must be wrong with them instead.

You can absolutely find your best bras here if your estimated bra size falls within the group but if you consider yourself busty at all, then you may not be in the category at all.

FULL-BUSTED:

This describes women with slim backs and large breasts needing bands from 28 to 38 and cup sizes bigger than DD. The major fit challenge for these groups of women is getting a bra that fits their sizes and encloses their large breasts at the same time. Usually, they tend to go for bigger bands because the bigger the band size, the bigger the corresponding cup size.

Of course, the danger of wearing bras with bands that are too big is lack of support which transfers the weight of the heavy breasts to the shoulders and cause the band to ride up at the back. A long-term effect of this bad fit is posture distortion where the back curves out into a hunch due to the constant pull downward pull of the breasts on the shoulders.

FULL-FIGURED:

A bold body frame with medium to large boobs describes this category of women. They could still have narrow shoulders which makes getting bras with straps attached to the bra at the middle point is great to prevent straps slippage. The common fit error with these women is assuming that the tighter the bra, the more support they will get, largely because their focus is on their body size. You then see some part of the breasts spilling out of the cups.

Here is a little piece of advice, if you have a short waist, you can go for bandless bras. These bras are made without extra fabric below the band to prevent digging in. It is recommended to always go for at least three hook and eye fasteners to get comfortable support from your bras.

You can click here for some bras for full-busted and full-figured women.

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