Five signs your bra size is wrong

From the HACI fit desk

Sizing surveys have said for decades that the majority of women wear the wrong bra size. The reasons are boring: bodies change, elastics stretch, and nobody remeasures. The signs, though, are easy to read once you know them.

1. The band rides up your back

A band that sits higher between your shoulder blades than under your bust is too big. It cannot support from below, so the straps take over, and the whole geometry tilts. The band should run level around your body, parallel to the floor.

2. Straps dig in or slide off

Straps digging in means they are carrying weight the band should carry: the band is too loose. Straps sliding off usually means the cut is too wide for your shoulders, which a racerback or front-closure style fixes outright.

3. The centre panel floats

The small panel between the cups should rest against your sternum. If it floats a centimetre off your skin, the cups are too small and the underwire is sitting on breast tissue instead of around it.

4. Spillage or gaping

Tissue spilling over the top or under the arm means the cup is too small, even if the tag says your letter. Fabric wrinkling and gaping means too big. Both get blamed on the bra model; both are usually the size.

5. Red marks that outlast the day

Light marks from a snug band fade in minutes. Grooves in your shoulders or welts under the band that are still there at bedtime are a size problem, full stop.

Two or more signs sound familiar? Take a tape measure to our size helper and get a fresh starting point. It costs a minute.