Do you really know whether you are wearing the right bra fitting? Amazing as it may seem three quarters of women in the UK are not wearing the correct bra fitting and are unaware as to their accurate measurements. Very often women are only made aware of this fact when they are measured for their wedding lingerie, with this occasion being one of the only times your average woman will arrange for a professional bra fitting to be carried out. The fact is that a correct fitting should be carried out at regular intervals throughout your life as the size of the breasts can change considerably due to weight loss or gain, pregnancy, and so on. Poorly fitted bras can actually cause damage to the breasts (particularly breast tendons) over a period of time. In addition, wearing the wrong bra fitting can also make your outer clothing appear ill fitting.

Below we offer some tips on how you can tell whether you are wearing the correct bra fitting…..

• Your bra should not ride up your back and instead should fit comfortably around your rib cage ~ if your bra is riding up your back then the bra size* is too big for you. In this case you should choose a smaller bra size or try tightening the band by adjusting the hook and eye clasp
• Your bra should not leave red indents on the skin around your rib cage ~ if you do find red marks on your rib cage then the bra size is too small for you. You should therefore opt for a larger bra size or choose a bra that has a wider band
• Your bra straps should not dig in to your shoulders in such a way as to cause you discomfort ~ if this happens to you your bra straps are possibly too short, and should be loosened. A longer term solution would be to opt for a bra that has wider straps or even padded straps for comfort
• Bra straps should not slip ~ if this is the case, straps are too loose, and should be tightened. Alternatively you could select a style that has wider straps
• Your bra should enclose your breasts with the fabric around the cups feeling smooth with no slackness ~ if this is not the case then your bra cup size** is too large for you
• Your bust line should not droop ~ if this occurs, then usually your straps are too long. Straps should be adjusted accordingly, and in the longer term you should choose a style of bra that has more support with rigid straps
• The front of your bra and any wires in the bra should sit flat against your chest ~ if this is not the case then your bra cup size is too small for you. If wires stick in to your skin so as to cause discomfort, then you may think about choosing a non under wired cup in future
• The cups of your bra should not overflow ~ if this is a common occurrence for you then the chances are your bra cup size is too small, and/or your bra size is too small
• The sides of your bra should not bulge ~ if this the case then the bra size is probably too small, and you should choose a larger bra size or a style of bra that offers more coverage in the cups

Also bear in mind that if you regularly machine wash a bra then it's shape will change and the chances are that within 6 months you will need to replace it, as it may no longer fit you in the same way.

How to check your correct bra fitting
Remember there is no substitute for a professional and regular bra fitting. However if you want to check your size for yourself then there are two measurements that you will need:

i) Measurement under the bust to obtain 'bra size':
- Take this measurement in inches.
- If your measurement is an odd number, add on 5 inches. If your measurement is an even number, add on 4 inches.
- Example; a woman with an under bust measurement of 34 inches will add on 4 inches to reach a *bra size of '38.'

ii) Measurement over the bust to obtain 'cup size':
- Take the measurement around the fullest circumference of your bust in inches.
- Your **cup size is determined as follows:

The combination of the bra size and cup size then gives the correct fitting, for example, '32C', '30A', '38DD', '34B', and so on.