Meet the bra guru

She was born in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape but has lived in Gauteng from the age of six and has a lot of answers to questions thousands of women ask concerning bras. Taryn Palacios shares a little knowledge.

Why is it important for women to wear the right bra sizes?

It is important for women to wear the right size bra because having the correct fit not only makes you more comfortable but you are getting the right support and lift which not only enhances your outerwear but gives you overall confidence.

A few tips on how women can choose the right bras

Finding the right bra is not only about size but more importantly about style. Sometimes the size is right but because the style is wrong and then fit does not work. There are a lucky few who can wear various styles comfortably but some of us can’t and that is the value in seeing a specialist who can offer you a variety of options.

The basics to look for are as follows:

If you are bulging out of your cup or if your wire comes away from your body and your breasts are “spilling out” from the bottom this indicates that your cup-size is wrong

If you are fastening your bra on the last set of hooks or your back strap is riding up your back this indicates that the back-size is too big

If your breasts are not lifted and the bra has zero effect when you put it on, this means that you are most certainly in the wrong size and style.

What problems do women usually face when choosing bras?

There can be many problems when choosing bras and the biggest is style selection and no information. We seem to believe that what is available to us on the shelf is all that there is. If the size doesn’t work then we can either decide to just wear it even if it’s wrong or we can choose to feel that we are not normal. The latter is the biggest problem, our bodies are unique and we have different requirements. We need a place that can cater for our individual needs and this is where specialised fitting can help.

Do thin bra straps still provide support?

This is a really good question and an opportunity to bust a myth. The support should not come from your strap, the support must come from the band around the bra. This is why it is so important for you to have your bra size right. The straps are there to hold the bra up and can be tightened to give you a more lifted look. If you have bad support around your body then the straps have to do all the work and this puts a lot of strain on the shoulders. The strain is not so bad in a smaller cup but you will definitely experience serious discomfort in an F-H cup. This discomfort can result in headaches and permanent shoulder indentations.

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