One of the biggest problems with most females which go unnoticed by them only is the choice of bra. The right bra type and the right bra size according to their body and breast type is something to be thought of, understood, and calculated so that the bra complements the breast shape and size in every way while supporting whatever apparel the female is wearing outside.

The dress doesn’t look as good as you thought of.

While choosing a dress, buying it readymade or getting it tailor-made, every female visualizes how she would look in that dress. Whether it’s modern wear, ethnic wear, or fusion wear, or anything that’s in the trend, the wearer builds an imagination of how she would look finally in that dress with all her accessories. But disappointment often sinks in when she finds her imagination and the reality clashing.

Dresses may not suit you and bring on this kind of a disappointment for you for many reasons. One of the significant reasons, which goes unnoticed, is the choice of the bra. Either the bra type is wrong according to the dress, or the size is wrongly selected. That’s why you fail to cultivate that exact look you planned for with the garment. Luckily, the solution, in this case, is in our own hands! Just the right choice of bra type and size can give you what exactly you yearned for. You can get that perfect look you always wanted in the dress. And to implement this, you must develop a good understanding of selecting your bra type and size.

Is there a right bra type?

You may be asking it to yourself now, is there a right bra type? You were always buying one or two types of bras from the store ever since you matured as a lady, and have been continuing pretty well in this way till date. Then why do you have to be so much conscious about your bra type? Well, the answer to these is, yes, of course, there are types of bras which are designed to suit you as per the occasion, activity, age, breast type, your dress type, etc. Therefore, you must learn to understand which bra type would best suit your activity and appearance on a day, and wear that.

The role of a bra is to pamper your breasts caringly to protect their shape and elasticity, and also give you a comfortable feel through the day. Depending on the activity type and dressing pattern, the bra design needs adaptation to give you the best of care, looks, and feel.

What’s my bra size?

Gone are the days when you would go to a local shop and tell them a size or they would show you the right bra size as per their idea and study of your body. Now things have moved far ahead, and women have a plethora of choices in bra sizes to spoil themselves for accuracy. You can find out your bra size by merely taking two measurements. The underbust and overbust measurements by a plain measuring tape is all you need to get the size.

The difference between the overbust and underbust measurements you get gives you the cup size, which you must feed to a cup size calculator you get online, or tally with a cup size chart, to get the exact cup size. Cup sizes are denoted in alphabets. The underbust measurement you get gives you the bra band size. Any bra band size that is in an odd number needs to be added with one to get the right size. And if the size is an even number, then you take that only. It’s very important to know here that the bra size of various brands differ because different brands refer to a different chart.

Hence while buying a bra, you must refer to the bra size chart used by that brand to get the exact size you need from that brand. While your body size won’t change overnight, the bra size brand specifically may change from one manufacturer to another, especially if they are from different countries. Hence this is a must checkpoint.

Underbust measurement

Underbust is that part of the body, where the crease under your breast meets the rib cage. You need to wind the measuring tape horizontally around this part, just under the breasts around the highest part of the upper abdomen. Take the measurement in inches or convert the measurement into inches.

Overbust measurement

Overbust measurement is taken by measuring around the breasts there, where the breasts are fullest. And there is a trick about taking it. Breasts take their original shape under gravitational pull without a bra, which is a little droopy. Hence, you have to wear a bra which gives you the best fit. The best-fit bra will provide the breasts with the right full shape to help you take a close to accurate measurement. Therefore, measure around your breasts at their fullest part while wearing the best-fit bra you have.

The various bra types

There are various bra types. Every bra making brand specifies their types with some names they give to its brand specifically. However, in an overview, the bra is generally of the following types:

• Push up bra
• Padded Bra
• T-shirt bra
• Convertible Bra
• Strapless Bra
• Balconette bra
• Bralette
• Sports bra
• Plunge bra
• Stick-on bra
• Maternity bra
• Minimizer Bra
• Full cup bra
• Cami Bra
• Longline Bra
• Demi cup bra
• Bandeau
• Underwired Bra

Now you would get more types with a different name, and lesser types from brand to brand. But you get an overall idea of what the various bra types are generally available in the global market.

Finally

When you know the correct size and type of bra to wear, you can purchase your bras sensibly to pair them up with the dress type. And then you will no more have a problem creating that look which you imagined with a dress. Therefore you must start with measuring your breasts now to make the best selection.