5 Tips to Make Your Bra Last Longer

Bras for large breasts work extremely hard to keep your breasts in place and secure. The constant strain on the fabric and elastic in your bra gradually stretches the bra over time until it no longer has enough elasticity to support your breasts. All bras wear out eventually but there are things you can do to make your investment in your bras go further. Here are my top 5 tips for longer lasting bra fit:

Buy Bras That Fit
I know this might seem obvious but a bra that doesn't fit you in the band and cup will die faster than one that does. This is because you pull at bras that don't fit you which stretches out the material and if your cups are too small or your band is too big the whole bra is under excess strain that deteriorates it faster. Here's a reminder of the 5 fit checks of a well-fitting bra:

1. All your breast tissue sits inside your cups (even the tissue at your armpit).
2. The band lies parallel with the floor all the way around your body.
3. The gore sits flush with your body and is comfortable.
4. Your straps don't slip and aren't digging into your shoulders.
5. The wing is supportive and comfortable without digging into your armpit or with breast tissue spilling over the top of the wing.

How You Put On Your Bra
Lots of women don't realize that the way they put on their bra is causing it to die faster. If you hook your bra in the front then twist it around your body it puts the band elastic under huge strain. It also means you're unlikely to be wearing your best fit from the outset as you probably can't twist the correct band size around your body. These two things combined could be shaving 3 to 6 months off the life of your bra. Get hold of the two ends in front of you (do them up as a trial run then unhook again and don't move the position of your hands) pass your arms around your body and do up the hooks. Once you've got this bit done you can lean forward and place your breasts into the cups then lift the straps onto your shoulders. This takes some practice but could save you hundreds of dollars.

Washing and Drying
I've written a lot about how to wash and dry your bras to make them last longer. Here is a recap of the main points:

1. Hand washing is best but if you need to machine wash use a cool cycle and a laundry bag.
2. Never put your bras in the tumble dryer. Heat kills elastic.
3. Hang dry your bras from the center gore, don't hang them from the straps because this stretches out the straps and compromises the fit.

Buy Quality Over Quantity
Not all bras are created equal. Lots of the mall lingerie retailers offer buy 2 get 1 free specials on bras up to a DD or DDD. While this might look like a great way to pad out your lingerie draw you need to think about the quality. These deals usually appear on molded cups (a single piece of shaped fabric) where the straps are attached by one or two rows of stitching. These styles tend not to have reinforced wire tracks (the tubes the wires sit in inside your bra) which is why it's so common for the wires to pop out. You really are better investing in two or three bras of good quality (that fit you well) than having lots of cheaper bras of lesser quality. 

Cycling Your Bras
Your body heat, sweat and salts are what erode the elasticity in your bra. You need to let a bra rest for at least 24 hours and preferably 48 before wearing it again and this means you need at least 3 basic bras to cycle through the week.

The salt build up in your bra (from your sweat) needs to be washed out after every three to four wears unless you sweat a lot in which case you need to wash after every one to two wears.

While there's no guarantee as to how long a bra will last (it depends on your lifestyle, breast weight, torso shape and perspiration) by using some or all of these tips you can prolong the life of your bra investment. xx

Are You Wearing Your Bra Too Low?

When your cup isn't filled at the bottom you're probably wearing your bra too low on your body

I see a lot of women wearing their bras too low on their body. This is something that can make you uncomfortable and leave you wondering why no bras ever fit you. With this simple piece of information you can check whether your bras actually fit you much better than you thought.

Finding a bra that is the right size and style for you is fantastic but if you put your bra on too low then you may never know you have the right bra. Your bra is on too low if you have empty bra at the bottom of your cup. The easiest way to check this is to stand side-on to a mirror and look for unfilled bra cup underneath your breast.  By ensuring that your wires are flush with the bottom of your breast you are making the most of your cup volume and can prevent your boobs from spilling out of the top of your cups.

FERN BRA Left: The breast is bubbling over because the cup isn't completely full. Right: The breast is encased and the cup is full

The Curse of the Front Fasteners
One of the most common causes of wearing your bra too low is if you're a front fastener. If you fasten your bra at your front and swizzle the bra around your body then you have to pull the bra up your body and many women don't pull their bra up high enough so part of their bra is left literally unfulfilled!

How to Fill Your Cup When You're A Front Fastener
Once you have twisted your bra around to the front and pulled the straps onto your shoulders get hold of the ends of the wires of one cup (left or right it doesn't matter) and pull upwards until you feel or see that your breast is at the bottom of the cup. Repeat on the other side. You may need to adjust your straps. Don't forget to sweep your breasts away from your armpits to ensure that all your breast tissue is inside the cups.

How to Fill Your Cup When You're A Back Fastener
As you lean forward to lower your breasts into the cups pull the band towards the bottom of your breasts before fastening your bra to ensure your breasts are right at the bottom of the cups. When you stand back up check that your breasts are filling the bottom of the cup.

Exception to the Rule
Some women have one breast higher than the other (the bottom of the breasts is literally higher on one side of the body than the other) and this causes the bottom of your cup to be empty on one side but not the other. This is totally normal. The most important thing is that your breasts are encased at the top so if you find you get spillage on your higher side it's worth going up in your cup size and padding your lower side. If you don't like padding then you can have your lower side tailored to fit.

I hope this helps you discover that some of your bras actually fit you - it's always a nice surprise! xx

7 Tips to Check if Your Bra Fits

Once you know your bra size range you can start to focus on which style of bra you like. This is often determined by which shape you want your bras to give you and which kind of bras you need for you own personal style (rocking a 50s v-neck dress - you might want a good plunge bra). No matter which style you choose it's important to know how to check if your bra fits you. Here is my checklist of things to tick off when wearing a bra:

1.    ALL of your breast tissue must be inside the cup. This means the wires mustn't press against your breast tissue and your boobs shouldn't spilling out over the top of your cup.

2.    Your bra band should lie flat against your skin with room for 2 fingers to run smoothly beneath it. It’s a fallacy to think you’ll never feel your bra (it’s holding up several pounds of weight) your band should be firmly supportive without cutting into you.

3.    The band of your bra should be at the same height at the back as it is at the front – both parallel with the floor. You shouldn’t be able to pull the band very far from your body at the back. If you can pull it away more than 1-2 inches then your bra band is too big.

4.    The front centre part of your bra (the gore) should lie flat against your body between your breasts. If it is gaping and pulling away from your body then you’re in too small a cup size or too large a band.

5.    New bras should fit you on the farthest hook so you can tighten it overtime as the fabric begins to give.

6.    Adjust your bra straps so that your boobs are level. Your nipples should be at equal height and lie half way between your elbow and your shoulder.  Your straps are there for evening out; they’re not there to take a huge amount of weight. If you have your straps on their tightest position then you’re in the wrong bra (probably too big a band size and too small a cup but it could also be that you need a bra with a fully adjustable strap).

7. When you lift your arms straight up in the air your bra band shouldn't move. The cups should still encase your boobs completely.

If you can tick all these off your fitting list then you’re in the right bra, If even one of these things isn't right with your bra then you need to remeasure yourself and get your girls into a bra they will love. Our bra size calculator is a great place to start. It’s a Bra Fact that when you’re in a properly fitting bra you feel much better both physically and emotionally. xx