BoomerGirl Diary

Lexington, Ky. — You’ve measured your torso, gagged at how wrong you were about your bra size, measured again to be sure, then tried on half a dozen new bras, feeling like a savvy consumer of underthings.

And nothing fits.

No matter how you loosen, tighten, minimize, boost, lift, separate or stuff, these bras — the ones that are supposed to fit properly — don’t work.

It’s true: Even if your bra is the correct size, that doesn’t mean it will fit. To feel comfortable in your bra, the size and style have to be right for you. A good bra that’s regularly washed and air-dried can last five to eight years, but even if your size remains the same for that long, the shape of your body can change enough to demand a new one.

A good bra is “just as important as a good pair of shoes,” says Amanda Hutchison, a sales manager at Macy’s at Fayette Mall in Lexington, Ky. “As long as you get a bra that fits, you can wear it day and night.”

Bra problems, solutions

If your bra straps fall down to your shoulders ...

Your bra doesn’t fit.

It might be the right size, but it’s not the correct shape. Look for a bra that has a shorter cut in the back; the straps will rise more like a wide U. The strap change will keep those boys from slipping, and keep your girls from sliding. Bras from Vanity Fair are made with a shorter separation in back.

If you hate the underwire ...

You probably should wear one anyway.

Little Miss Almost A can get away without the wire, but most people can’t. Instead of moaning about the metal jabbing into your sides and the wire you’ll be digging out of the washing machine, think about all the support you’re getting. And look for a bra that covers and pads the underwire, like Liz Claiborne’s Hide A Wire. Want something that looks less like your mom’s bra? Try a heat-fused bra like Victoria’s Secret’s Ipex, $42 to $47, or Wacoal’s iBra, $50.

If you need something to hold you in ...

Suck it up and buy a minimizer.

Padding and push-up seem like dirty words once you’ve met the minimizer. These ultra-tough bras, like the $29 Bali Satin Tracings minimizer, will hold in and shape breasts, while wide, gel straps won’t dig into your shoulders. If you want something more stylish, look for a minimizer like the Olga Christina or the Bali Platinum, both $34. They do the job without looking like the big, bulky, boring minimizers people expect.

If your sports bra feels more like a body cast ...

Consider what you need a sports bra to do for you.

High-impact athletes need a well-structured sports bra that binds. Lower-impact exercisers might need just a good fit and sweat-friendly fabric, like Body Breathe by Vanity Fair, $36. (The wrong fabric and fit will make you fidget with the bra — that’s not a big calorie burner.) “Are you going to the gym to pick up a guy?” Hutchison asks. “Or are you going for a hard workout?”

If you want a bra no one will notice ...

Check the straps, shape and color first.

Have a dress with an odd top? Use a bra with convertible straps, clear straps or no straps. Wearing a deep V in front? Find the same thing in a bra, like the Wonderbra. Don’t want anyone to see beneath your shirt? Step away from the white. Choose a beige or brown bra close to your skin tone. “One of the most common mistakes is the white bra,” Hutchison says. “You need nude.”

If you’re an Oprah fan with a large chest ...

Go ahead, try on the Le Mystere.

After Le Mystere bras were featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, the brand went from a back corner of Macy’s to a prominent spot on the floor. Hutchison says Le Mystere is the best bra for bigger sizes — they go up to size 44G — but they cost more than $60 at department stores. “Oprah speaks loud and clear,” Hutchison says. “Every time the episode airs, the phone rings off the hook.”

If you’ve had breast surgery ...

A standard bra might not work for you.

Check out the styles you’ve always worn and can easily find, but don’t settle for a bra that doesn’t feel comfortable. The shape and style of a bra is particularly important to support augmented or reconstructed breasts. And if you’ve had a mastectomy and use breast forms, you might be more comfortable in a bra with built-in pockets. Call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 to find more information about the bras and area businesses that can fit them.

If you’re bra shopping after having a baby ...

Don’t try to get back into a regular bra right away.

Five pounds up or down changes your bra size. Many women need a new bra after baby, but they often try to get back into a regular bra too soon, Hutchison says. The same women will be back at the store within a few months, dropping dollars on more new bras they hope will fit. It’s better to wait longer and get to a stable size; after so many changes, the bras you’ve always worn might not be the right bra for you anymore.

Measuring guide

There are a variety of methods for measuring bra size, but here’s a rough approximation of the one used at Dillard’s:

Step 1: Band size

While wearing a bra, wrap a tape measure around your chest below the bust. Pull the tape until it is taut but not tight. Round that measurement to the nearest even number. That’s your band size.

Step 2: Cup size

Now wrap the tape measure around the fullest part of your bust. If you are between whole numbers, round up to the nearest whole number. Now, subtract your even-numbered band size from Step 1 from the whole-numbered measurement in Step 2.

If the difference is less than an inch, you’re an A cup; 1-2 inches, a B; 2-3, a C; 3-4, a D; 4-5 a DD; 5-6, a DDD or an E.

In your cups

Fit guidelines

• The center section between the cups should lie flat on the chest.

• Breasts should never bulge or spill out of the cups.

• Bras should not leave lines or marks on the skin after prolonged wear.

Common problems

• If the band rides up your back, the band might be too loose.

• If your bust is bulging under the cup, go up a cup size.

• If straps dig into your shoulders, loosen the straps. If that doesn’t work, try a larger cup size.

• If straps fall off your shoulders, try a smaller band size. If you have sloped shoulders, try a racerback bra.

• If the wire in your underwire bra is poking you, try a larger cup size.

Go figure

Fun facts about the brassiere:

• Perhaps the most notorious bra ever to appear on a television show was never produced or sold. In fact, it wasn’t even for women. It was the “Bro” or “Manziere” — an item for use by men who have support issues — from Seinfeld.

• Although the modern bra was patented in 1914, cup sizes were introduced in 1938. Before 1920, bras were used to flatten and de-emphasize breasts: Think of the flapper look.

• Before the bra, corsets were used to support and shape the hips, waist and bust.

• The recent, er, blossoming of bra sizes is attributed to two factors: rich diets and the widespread use of hormone-heavy birth control pills, which can make breasts larger.