Find your breast root and right underwire bra

For this exercise in finding your breast root, you will need a pen, a bendy ruler (or tin foil if you haven’t a bendy ruler)

You will already know that the bra size you are, you won’t fit into all bras that size. Eg if you are 32C every 32C bra will not fit you, likewise if you are a 34FF not every 34FF bra will fit you.

You are probably brand loyal in that you know if you buy a new style bra from a brand that fits you, most likely (though not always) it will fit you.

This is because of the shape of breast they are fitting to. Even if they haven’t actively sourced out a woman who has a narrow root of breast with a standard projection, but have fitted on this type of woman than that is what their bra style will fit.

So let me go back a couple of sentences, and explain what breast root and projection is in case you have absolutely no idea what I am talking about.

Breast root: Simple terms - it’s where you breast attaches to your torso.

It's the curved line that runs around your under-bust and it's typically where your underwire should sit.

It differs between everyone, but this is the reason why if you have a wider breast root, try on a bra and the underwires dig in and lie on your boobs, you are trying on a bra that has been designed for women with a narrower breast root.

Projection: Simple terms - this is how much your breast sticks out from the chest wall.

The cause for most breast pain comes from the wire, there are so many different wire shapes, if you try a bra on and say the 32DD, and it is too small and the wire doesn’t encase the breast tissue, but then you try a 32E on and the wire is more comfortable buy the cup is too big, that is a clear sign that, that bra is not the right style for you. RTW brands often assume that the breast root and breast projection get bigger and smaller equally, so if you are buying RTW bras (which most of us will be) then find a brand that suits you.

To be honest I only have two brands ( many brands do fit but not exactly how I like)I know which I can buy off the peg and 90% chance of it fitting the way I like, and this is all down to the shapes of my breasts not the brands out there.

So how do you know your breast root size?

Easiest way is at the end of the day is to take off your bra, lift your breast up and in and with your hands feel where there is soft tissue and where there is chest wall.

If you need to get a pen to draw it on it may be easier

I say wait until the end of the day you may see if there is a line that the bra has left. Then you can check if the bra you have been wearing is the correct wire for your breast shape. If you have a wire indentation on your breast then the wires are too small, if you have an indentation sticking out towards the back then you have a wire that is too wide.

If your wire indentation follows your breast root call yourself baby bear because you have got it just right.

If you have one of those bendy rulers lift your boobs away from your chest wall and follow the pen line (easier to do pen first then ruler afterwards). If you don’t have a bendy ruler then fear not it’s time to crafty, so get grab some tin foil roll it up tightly and then voila you have a bendy ruler so go trace around your pen mark with this new ruler.

If you have large breasts/pendulous breast or simply can’t move your breasts out of the way and bendy the ruler/foil round with one hand either go grab a friend!! Or lean forward so both hands are free.

Once you have your shape copy it to a piece of paper (and you all thought you would be reading this all sat down eh?) this is your breast root. Now you can compare underwire bras (my laying the bra over the curve or if you have cut the curve out then placing the curve on top) to make sure you get the correct wired bra.

The edge of the breast root curve near the underarm will sit approx 1.5-2cm inside the bra cup as bras are usually designed to splay approx 1.5cm to hold the breast in place. This is not always a solid science but if you root of your breast os way off from the underwire than that underwire bra is not right for your shape.

So what to look out for bras,

Wide breast roots take up more surface of the chest (look wider) over a C cup if you are finding shirt buttons gape then a minimiser bra will suit as these have a shallow and wider cup. Under a C cup there isn’t as much volume so the flatter and rounder the cup shape the better fit you will get.

Wider breast roots also suit balconette bras.

If you have a wide breast root and a high projection, ensure that you are wearing the right cup size, quite a lot of women wearing this size wear a size too small, because they haven’t done the ‘swoop and scoop’ which means they haven’t leant forward and scooped all of their breast tissue form the sides forward into the bra.

If the underwire doesn’t sit flat against your body and the breast push it away from your body you cup size is too small. Bras with side supports are good as this pushes the breast tissue forward.

If you have a narrow root breast, you have a smaller base attached to the chest wall. If you have a narrower breast root and high projection boobs, you may find that your breasts naturally sit closer together and some underwires can be uncomfortable as they come up between the breast, if this is the case opt for underwire bras that are plunge shape which the wire sits lower and doesn’t go up in between the breasts.

If you have a narrow breast root and shallow projection then you may be left with empty spaces in your bra, investing in non wire bras can solved this problem, or plunge bras or -shirt bras.

If wearing the correct size you find your underwires come too far on your body then most likely you have a narrow breast root, and if you find the wires dig into your breast tissue you most likely have a wide breast root.

If you are standard then you’ll find that most bra companies cater for this.

I hope this steers you in the right direction of demystifying bra fits if they are troubling you and gives you that bit more knowledge.

PS don’t use permanent pen for your breast root marking.