Cup Spilling Reason #1 - CUPS
It's a painfully obvious one... Your cups are too small. A lot of women don't know that cup sizes go beyond a D cup or don't realize that the tissue at their armpit is actually breast tissue and not fat and wants to live inside the cup rather than be forced out. A well fitting bra cup will encircle the breast either all the way around (full cup) or in a semi-circle at the bottom leaving the top exposed (demi cups, balconettes and plunges). Whatever the style, where the cup comes into contact with the breast the cups want to go around the outside edge of the breast not sit on it.
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| This image from Thin and Curvy demonstrates how your cups sag at the front when your band is too big |
Cup Spilling Reason #2 - BAND
Your band is too loose. My old favourite, the band! You may actually be wearing a cup volume that's right for you but the band is too big (remember that the cup volume is different from the cup letter - a 38E, 36F and 34FF have the same cup volume but different cup letters). When your band is too big for you the whole bra is tilted at an angle which tips forward under the weight of your breasts. When the angle is tipped forward like this it skews the angle of your cups and your breasts can fall out of the cups even when the cup volume is big enough for you. You need the band to keep your whole bra in place so that the cups can work effectively. If your band rides up your back then you need a smaller band and a larger cup letter, possibly even a larger cup volume.
Cup Spilling Reason #3 - STYLE
The style is wrong for you. You may find that in some bras that no matter which size you try you still spill out of the cups and that simply means that the style isn't right for you. If you have very close-set breasts or very full on top breasts you may come across this more often than other breast shapes. If the style of the bra cuts very acutely across the place where you have full breast tissue then you will always get some quadraboobing. Once you figure out which styles of bras work well with your shape you'll know how to spot a style that just isn't right for your breasts.
Our bra calculator is an easy and quick place to start figuring out your bra size and to stop your cups spilling xx
So if I check the bra I'm wearing (36 F), all of your criteria for good fit seem to work... except that I am spilling out of the sides. I think that it might have to do with where the wire comes up, but I guess that could be the cups? The trouble is that I have several bras that are all 36F and they each seem to fit differently (and are all about 9 months old)- on some the cup seems too big, on others the band seems too tight. Is that mostly a style thing, or should I be looking at a different size again?
ReplyDeleteHi Anna - bra fit definitely varies from style to style (and more obviously from brand to brand). You might be a 36F in one brand and a 34F in another depending on how tight the band is and how generous the cups are.
DeleteCup shape and material are vital in whether your cups fit. A cup made of softer material (perhaps with some flex in them) will fit to your shape better than a fixed molded cup. It's worth putting on your bras one by one and see if you can spot similarities in the ones that fit you well (for example, they're all from just one or two brands, the cups are soft and come up high at the side) This should help you narrow down which style work for you.
Once you have a good idea of style then it should be easier to adjust your size. If you try on a bra that fits your shape well, doesn't spill in the cup but feels loose in the band you'll know to come down one band size and go up one cup letter to keep the cup volume the same.
I hope that helps! xx
This helps tremendously! I'll go home and do as you suggest- and as I peruse your archives, it occurs to me that some of them may have simply given up the ghost. Either way, I guess it's time to treat myself to a couple new bras.
DeleteThanks so much for all your information and suggestions ^_^