The Nuances of Strap Adjustment: Troubleshooting Problems
If you're petite, have a short torso, or your breasts are simply high-set, I bet that you probably tighten the straps of every new bra on autopilot. More importantly, you probably assume that all bras will need some kind of strap adjustment and may never have tried a bra with the straps fully extended.
Up until very recently, it was my automatic reaction to adjust the straps of all my new bras to what I had already eyeballed in my head to be the "ideal length" based on my previous bras. I've certainly had my struggles over the years with bras with partially adjustable straps not going down short enough, and will occasionally shorten the straps further if it's meant to be in regular rotation in my closet. However, since I've needed to size up in my cups, I now find my self in the most dreaded of predicaments--the conundrum of small band size and cups proportioned too wide and tall for my narrow frame that send the outer cup right into armpit chafe territory.
Since my breast tissue wraps around my ribcage, I do typically need wider cups, thus I haven't really been able to relate to the small band, narrow + deep cup struggles that seem to be pretty widespread in the bra community. My wide cups and long wires never cause me pain due to their size, but as cups get taller and wider, they inevitably come up higher under the arms. There's very little vertical room on my body for this additional cup height to go except straight into the armpit, and I find this to be one of the most unbearable feelings for me as I am extremely ticklish. When I wore bras in the 30C-32B-32C range, this never happened, but now that I am in the 28E-30E range, it has become a pretty common occurrence.
One way to avoid this problem is to choose bras that are cut shorter on the outer cup. In other words, balconette and half cups are your friends, and plunges and full cups will typically be a challenge. But what if you have a style that tends to suit you well in a smaller size, but is now in side-scraper territory? When I first sized up in my beloved B.Tempt'd Ciao Bella Balconette from 30DD to 30DDD, I was astounded that the cups actually fit me so much better than the 30DD that I had been wearing, especially on my larger side. Unfortunately, the outer cup is cut so much higher that it really dug in painfully. It reminded me of the 28E Parfait Charlotte that fits me everywhere except the tall outer cups.
Relooking at this fit, I realized that my default assumption for the 30DD Ciao Bella was to shorten the straps completely because that's what I was used to doing. Ciao Bella is a style where the fit is really dictated by the shape of the cups, so the cups have to be sitting on the right place on your body or it will create a strangely deformed breast shape (unlike cup shapes that are more forgiving and mold to the shape of your breasts). Because the 30DD is actually a bit small for me in the cups, I need to really push it up and against the breasts to make the curves of the cup sit at the right place on my body. Otherwise, the fullest part of the cup is too low and I get quite a bit of overflow from the top. I am aware that this is a sure sign the cup size is too small for you, but when you're in between cup sizes, sometimes you just have to make do.
With the 30DDD, I ended up going from fully shortening the straps to almost fully extending them. In reality, when I compare the final strap length to the 30DD that I have been wearing on a regular basis, I am actually only extending the straps by about 1". Giving myself some additional room in the straps reduces the tension on the outer cup. I've also pulled the band down just a smidge to allow it to sit a bit lower, although it's important to make sure that the wires are still sitting as closely as possible to your IMF. In my case, with my chronic strap-shortening habit, I have probably been wearing many bras way too high up in the IMF than the ideal position.
I also relooked at the fit of my Cosabella Never Say Never Curvy Bralettes in P, which is a pretty snug fit across the cups. With the straps adjusted shorter, the outer upper cup elastic really digs in as that's the widest part of my frame. I extended the straps at least 1" from where I had them before, giving myself more room in the cup and reducing the tension.
It was with these Cosabellas that I came to another important conclusion: NEVER assume that the straps on the same bra style are the same length. I had 12 of these bralettes in my possession and 3 of them needed the straps fully extended but were still too short--the rest were adjusted to about halfway.
We tend to think that strap adjustment is done to adjust for various body heights and for comfort, but it's important to understand that overadjusting can cause its own fit issues.
Strap overadjustment can be a problem when:
Up until very recently, it was my automatic reaction to adjust the straps of all my new bras to what I had already eyeballed in my head to be the "ideal length" based on my previous bras. I've certainly had my struggles over the years with bras with partially adjustable straps not going down short enough, and will occasionally shorten the straps further if it's meant to be in regular rotation in my closet. However, since I've needed to size up in my cups, I now find my self in the most dreaded of predicaments--the conundrum of small band size and cups proportioned too wide and tall for my narrow frame that send the outer cup right into armpit chafe territory.
Since my breast tissue wraps around my ribcage, I do typically need wider cups, thus I haven't really been able to relate to the small band, narrow + deep cup struggles that seem to be pretty widespread in the bra community. My wide cups and long wires never cause me pain due to their size, but as cups get taller and wider, they inevitably come up higher under the arms. There's very little vertical room on my body for this additional cup height to go except straight into the armpit, and I find this to be one of the most unbearable feelings for me as I am extremely ticklish. When I wore bras in the 30C-32B-32C range, this never happened, but now that I am in the 28E-30E range, it has become a pretty common occurrence.
One way to avoid this problem is to choose bras that are cut shorter on the outer cup. In other words, balconette and half cups are your friends, and plunges and full cups will typically be a challenge. But what if you have a style that tends to suit you well in a smaller size, but is now in side-scraper territory? When I first sized up in my beloved B.Tempt'd Ciao Bella Balconette from 30DD to 30DDD, I was astounded that the cups actually fit me so much better than the 30DD that I had been wearing, especially on my larger side. Unfortunately, the outer cup is cut so much higher that it really dug in painfully. It reminded me of the 28E Parfait Charlotte that fits me everywhere except the tall outer cups.
Relooking at this fit, I realized that my default assumption for the 30DD Ciao Bella was to shorten the straps completely because that's what I was used to doing. Ciao Bella is a style where the fit is really dictated by the shape of the cups, so the cups have to be sitting on the right place on your body or it will create a strangely deformed breast shape (unlike cup shapes that are more forgiving and mold to the shape of your breasts). Because the 30DD is actually a bit small for me in the cups, I need to really push it up and against the breasts to make the curves of the cup sit at the right place on my body. Otherwise, the fullest part of the cup is too low and I get quite a bit of overflow from the top. I am aware that this is a sure sign the cup size is too small for you, but when you're in between cup sizes, sometimes you just have to make do.
With the 30DDD, I ended up going from fully shortening the straps to almost fully extending them. In reality, when I compare the final strap length to the 30DD that I have been wearing on a regular basis, I am actually only extending the straps by about 1". Giving myself some additional room in the straps reduces the tension on the outer cup. I've also pulled the band down just a smidge to allow it to sit a bit lower, although it's important to make sure that the wires are still sitting as closely as possible to your IMF. In my case, with my chronic strap-shortening habit, I have probably been wearing many bras way too high up in the IMF than the ideal position.
I also relooked at the fit of my Cosabella Never Say Never Curvy Bralettes in P, which is a pretty snug fit across the cups. With the straps adjusted shorter, the outer upper cup elastic really digs in as that's the widest part of my frame. I extended the straps at least 1" from where I had them before, giving myself more room in the cup and reducing the tension.
It was with these Cosabellas that I came to another important conclusion: NEVER assume that the straps on the same bra style are the same length. I had 12 of these bralettes in my possession and 3 of them needed the straps fully extended but were still too short--the rest were adjusted to about halfway.
We tend to think that strap adjustment is done to adjust for various body heights and for comfort, but it's important to understand that overadjusting can cause its own fit issues.
Strap overadjustment can be a problem when:
- Used to adjust a bra that gapes at the top to bring it too far IN and UP against the body.
- The cup shape is either too open (either along the axis of the cup width OR along the axis of the cup depth), or the cup height is too tall for you assuming the rest of the cup fits.
- The cup is proportioned for a wider frame than your body type even if the rest of the wires fit.
- If the overall cup is too big, this adjustment is even more inappropriate and sizing down would be the correct next step.
- Adjusting the straps to bring the upper cup closer to the body shouldn't cause the top of the cup to dig in or come up higher than intended. If this happens, stop adjusting!
- Used to make a bra that's too small in the cup "fit" when going up in cup size will improve the fit.
- Straps can be either overextended or overshortened depending on the person's breast shape:
- Bringing the cups closer to the body can help reduce the appearance of overflowing cups by smushing the breasts against the body, like a sports bra. This minimizing effect hides the fact that the cups are in fact too small.
- Overextending the straps can create more room in the cups, allowing more pendulous breasts to sit lower in the cups without obvious overflow. However, the bra will not be able to provide the lift and support it's intended to.
- Used to compensate for an overly large band by relying on the straps for support.
- Adjusting to a "standard" length you're used to.
- Adjust the straps on each individual bra separately and evaluate the fit without consideration of what you think the strap length should be based on what you normally wear.
- Do not assume that bras of the same size and style will automatically be made with the same strap length.
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