Signs of Good and Poor Fit
As with most other steps in this process, you can either tackle this by yourself or make a post on our subreddit.
Please see here for some information/guidelines on making “Fit Check” posts. Also if you plan on making a post, please be sure to read the section of this guide on interacting in our community.
To determine if a bra fits well or not, you must look at each part of the bra. This includes the band, the straps, the cups, the wires, and the gore (which is the piece in between the cups, over your sternum).
Please note that the most important aspect of bra fit is comfort; if you are not comfortable in a bra, even if it meets all of the below standards, it is not a good fit. If you find this is the case for you, our members may be able to provide some insight on why you are uncomfortable and what you can do to fix it.
Good Fit: Does not ride up the back (or front) and is not uncomfortably tight.
Poor Fit: Rides up in the back or is uncomfortably tight
Notes: Red marks from a band are normal when it is tight enough, as long as the band is not painful. Too small cups can make a band feel tighter than it really is - to test the fit of a band by itself, put the bra on upside down and/or backwards so that the cups are not over your breasts.
Good Fit: Are not painful and do not fall off the shoulders
Poor Fit: Dig into or fall off of the shoulders
Notes: People with very narrow or sloping shoulders may find that their straps fall off even in a well fitting bra - racerback clips are a possible solution to this.
Good Fit: Are filled completely but not overflowing
Poor Fit: Have wrinkles, or spill out on the top, sides or middle to create “quadboob”
Notes: If your cups do show signs of poor fit, be aware that this could be due to either a size or shape issue. Try the exact same bra in a size up or down, depending on the fit issue, to see which is the problem.
Good Fit: Follow the root of the breast (where your breast tissue attaches to your chest wall)
Poor Fit: Have empty space on the outsides (are too wide), sit on breast tissue (are too narrow) or sit below the breast root.
GORE - the bit between the cups
Good Fit: Tacks (touches your sternum)
Poor Fit: Floats (does not touch your sternum)
Notes: People with very close set breasts or with medical conditions such as pectus excavatum may not get a tacking gore even with a properly fitting bra. Close set women may need to stick to plunges, and women with PE may need to accept a floating gore as an unavoidable fit issue.
We also like this article by Breakout Bras that discusses signs of good and poor fit.
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