Snug Bands vs Tight Bands

Recently I've been on a bit of an Amazon kick, looking for potential hidden gems from random brands actively promoted on the site (spoiler: I haven't found any yet).  Brands like Mae, Deyllo, Wingslove, Sharicca, etc. have styles that have piqued my interest, but I'm skeptical of the sizing, so I make sure to read as many reviews as possible before placing an order even if they're returnable.

One thing you will find when reading reviews is that at least 90% of the women are wearing the wrong size, making statements like "I'm a 36C and _____" or "I'm a 38B and _____."  Of course, this is no surprise if you're aware of the bra matrix, but I've also noticed that many of these women complain about bands being too tight even though it's pretty obvious they are in a band that's too loose and a cup too small.  This got me thinking about the difference between  a snug band and a tight band, and thus inspired me to write this post.

When you spend most of your life wearing bras that are too loose in the band, it's hard to understand how the band is actually supposed to fit.  Since the band provides most of the support of the bra, it's really important to make sure that it is snug and stays in place.  However, the common advice telling wearers to gauge the band size by pulling it away from the body has never worked for me, as it is not designed for people with no squish and very rigid ribcages.  If I follow this advice, the band is so tight that the wires become distorted and dig in painfully.  Technically, all the bands I wear would pretty much fail the pull away test.  Thus, I propose a different test for the proper band fit: wear the bra and move around.  The bra should flex horizontally with your body but stay in place vertically.  Simple as that!

To examine why this works, let's discuss the mechanics of what makes a snug band different from a tight band.  There are two primary factors that contribute to band fit: ability to stretch out and ability to compress back in. A bra must be able to stretch to the necessary size of your expanded ribcage while providing compression to keep the bra in place.


Let's look at a number of factors that contribute to this ability:
  • High stretch content: Lycra/Spandex/elastane fibers provide most of the mechanical stretch in the wing fabric.  The fabric must have a high enough content of these stretch fibers in order to stretch out and provide compression.
  • Band/wing width: The band must be tall enough to remain stable while stretching
  • Appropriate elastic stretch: The elastic must also be strong enough to stretch and compress along with the band
  • Appropriate stitch tension: The stitching attaching elastic to band must stretch in tandem with the elastic and wings
  • All these factors work in tandem to ensure the band retains its integrity when stretched to accommodate the body

Common problems in many bras:
  • Not enough stretch content: Using the wrong fabrication for the wings means that the wing fabric either doesn't stretch enough or only stretches out and doesn't compress
  • Band/wings too narrow: The narrower the band, the more the band's integrity is compromised and exacerbates issues in all the other elements contributing to the band fit.  This is super common especially in inexpensive or mass-market bras, and also contributes to digging in and back fat
  • Flimsy elastic: The elastic is often too narrow or too weak to provide adequate compression and shape retention
  • Poor stitch tension: Stitching that's too tight restricts the inherent stretch of the band
  • With any of the above issues, the wearer ends up sizing down to get a band snug enough to fit the ribcage, but as the band lacks compression ability, the wearer ends up with a band that stretches out to its max to accommodate the ribcage but doesn't allow for natural movement.  The band digs in and is uncomfortable.  This can also result in distorted and painful underwires.

This means when the wearer sizes down to the appropriate size for their ribcage, the bra band is actually too tight for them, thus leading to a distrust of wearing the proper band size, and perpetuating the cycle of large band / small cup.  With poorly-designed bras, wearers actually do have to size up for comfort at the expense of compromising support.

Imagine the difference between tying a piece of 1" wide, firm elastic around your ribcage and tying a 1/4" wide piece of shoelace around your ribcage to get a snug fit and then wearing them throughout the day.  Which do you think would work out better?

To summarize, a properly-fitted snug band should stretch to accommodate horizontal movement but stay in place vertically throughout the day.  That is the only criteria that is necessary to evaluate the fit.

A band that is too tight is already stretched to its max and doesn't have the ability to stretch further.  It will stay in place on your body but restrict movement.  Sizing up in the band will not fix the issue.  The only solution is to choose bras that are properly designed and constructed to provide support!



Comments

  1. These are interesting facts I've never been aware of. Thanks for a well written article. Really good to know!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Dariana, I’m glad this was interesting and helpful to you! I’m planning to write a few more posts like this that hopefully offer a slightly different perspective from the bra advice that is already out there :)

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