quaint melody | A Malaysian's life in the bungy land

Today I would like to talk about a woman topic, so men, if you’re not interested, just read on anyway. Heh.

As women, we all know how important a good bra is. No matter you are a AA or DD, it is essential to have a bra that fits and provides good support or things will start to go down south. Which brings me to my topic today. Have you been to a bra fitting? If so, what made you do it? To tell you the truth, I’d never been to one before I came to New Zealand. I don’t think they really provide this service back home? Well, I maybe wrong but I didn’t get that offered before. Dummy here knew so little about bra back then. What type of bra is suitable? What do the numbers and alphabet mean? How long/high should the ‘girls‘ hang? Those questions circled my mind at one point or another, but I was too paiseh (shy) too ask. Well, they were all answered when I went for my bra fitting for the first time.

My first experience was a few years back when I was bra shopping. I saw the poster in one of the store that offered discounts if you get your bra fitted. I had thought about that for some time and finally decided, well why not?! We’re all girls, no need to be shy. You know, us Asian tends to be a bit shy about our body. My mama said cannot show it to others wor. So it did take a bit of courage for me to take the plunge and let some stranger help me with the fitting. And boy, was that a funny yet educational experience. Luckily, the lady was very experienced and understood my paisehness(shyness), so she did put me at ease and told me so much I didn’t know about bra. Haha.

You’d think most women know the correct bra size for ourselves since it is something essential to our everyday-life, but no! According to the fitting lazy, you’d be amazed how many people have been wearing the wrong size all their life. That, my friend, is actually quite bad for your breasts, as it may lead to pre-mature sagging, we don’t want that do we?! I learned a lot that day and asked some questions I felt shy to ask anyone before. I really highly recommend it if you feel comfortable to do so. It is really not that bad, they won’t laugh at your fat or anything. These are bra professionals who have seen hundreds of women in bras before lah. Go ahead, try and thank me later. It is very important to choose the correct size and style. Your ‘girls’ will thank you and won’t ‘let you down’!

Still not quite ready yet? Well, here I bring you some bra fitting tips.

BRA FITTING TIPS

You know you�ve picked a dud bra when�

• You spend your whole day trying to get those darn underwires to stop digging into your flesh.
• The straps are constantly falling down quicker than incy wincy spider.
• You have a not so contoured outline through your tee-shirt, otherwise known as the double decker look.
• Feel like the back-strap of the bra is riding so far up your back it�s about to come right around and blindfold your eyes
• All of the above!

The thing with underwear, lingerie if you will, is that it should feel like you�re wearing nothing at all. Beauty shouldn�t come at a cost, especially not one that involves any of the above scenarios.

Bra buying is a fairly daunting task. What it isn�t, however, is rocket science. Taking another one for the team, the nzgirls went on the hunt to find the intimate details of your intimates. We spoke with Katrina VanDijk, a bra-fitting maestro from Berlei.

Firstly, how to get the right fit

• Before you even put the bra on, ensure straps are completely loosened when first putting on bra. The straps should rest firmly and comfortably on the shoulders without cutting into the flesh. Straps should be adjusted enough to have the breasts lifted and sitting half way between the shoulder and elbow.
• Fasten the hook and eye in the middle, this will give you the option later to loosen or tighten as required.
• The back gore/strap should sit low and should be pulled down beneath the shoulder blades. If the back gore is too high it will give a saggy bustline.
• Centre the breast in the bra ensuring the nipple is in the centre of the cup, this will give a nicer shaped bustline. You can do this by leaning forward letting the breasts drop into the bra.
• Lastly put on some clothing to ensure you are happy with the shape you have created.

It�s still not quite right�

If you spend the entire day pulling up the straps, so much so you�ve developed some fairly decent biceps, then�

• Reduce cup by one size
• Straps lost elasticity time to replace bra
• Shoulders are sloped, require a bra with tapered back shoulder straps.

You feel like the backstrap is about to become a blindfold because it�s riding up so much…

• Try a tighter hook
• Loosen straps � the back gore should sit halfway between your elbow and shoulder
• Bra is too big or has lost elasticity.

You�ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders, or at least some nasty red marks…

• Loosen straps slightly
• A more supportive bra is required.
• A bra with wider or padded straps is required.

You�re not so keen on the Double-Decker look.

• Increase the cup size by one
• Try a fuller cupped bra

The cups are crinklier than Grandma�s hands or the bra isn�t sitting flat.

• Trying dropping a cup size

It feels like the underwires are attempting to dig through your chest all the way to China.

• The band or cup is too small increase size.

info from nzgirl

Here are more info for your reading pleasure:
Bra Queen
Fitting Room – Get The Right Bra Size and Fit
Bra Fitting Advice – How to measure and fit your ideal bra

woman talk bra fitting

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