Sunday, March 11, 2012

Au au, rintaliivit sattuu / My bra hurts!

Palaan vielä Curvy Katen Romance -liiveihin käytettyäni niitä muutaman päivän. Ne sattuvat. Ei, ne eivät satu sillä tavalla miten väärän kokoiset liivit sattuvat: kaarituet ovat yhtä kohtaa lukuunottamatta ihan mukavat eivätkä paina rintakudosta. Tässä nyt on kyse siitä, että joko minä olen väärän mallinen liiveihin tai liivit väärän malliset minulle.

Oikean kokoisissa liiveissähän kaarituen keskiosa nojaa rintalastaan. Näin on tässä liivissä, mutta ai samperi kun se myös sattuu – kaarituet painavat rintalastaa. Ilmeisesti keskiosa on minulle liian leveä: kaarituet painavat joissain asennoissa myös rintakudoksen reunaa.

Olen pohtinut pientä ompelukikkaa, jolla keskiosan saa kavennettua. Epäilen kuitenkaan, auttaako tämä sillä ongelma on tuolla ihan kaaritukien yläosassa, jossa kaarituet ovat oikeastaan aika lähellä toisiaan. Toinen vaihtoehto olisi pehmustaa liivi jollain kankaalla sisäpuolelta. Suoraan sanottuna vaan vituttaa, että oikeasti oikean kokoiset liivit aiheuttavat tällaista. En kuitenkaan ole ainoa tämän ongelman kanssa painiva.

In English: I'm so annoyed. I found a right size bra and it's causing me pain and angry red marks on my skin (not just imprints). The central gore lies flar against my sternum but it also digs in to my sternum. I thought that only slim girls with little natural padding have this problem, why on earth do I have this problem? 

Actually the poking at my sternum isn't that bad. The worse problem with the central gore is that it's too wide at the top of the gore. The wires dig in at the side of my left boob leaving me marks. I'm guessing my breasts are too close together for this kind of high central gore?

I've been playing with the idea of altering the central gore but I'm just suspicious it'll work with this problem. As the problem is high on the central gore where the wires are already very close together I'm wondering if the alteration will help?

It also pisses me off that I have a perfectly right sized bra and it still hurts. My situation really isn't a lot better than it was when I used the wrong size: I still can't wait to get the bra off when I come home. I need some bra empathy, right now...

P.s. The shape of the Romance bra (which I think is exactly the same as Emily) is a bit too teardrop for my liking. Any suggestions about a rounder shape with Curvy Kates? Unfortunately they don't make the padded bras in my size.

22 comments:

  1. For me, that is a typical Curvy Kate problem. And spare yourself altering the center gore, I (or ähm, my grandma) did that but the pressure on the sternum did not subside. I wore it with a cotton pad and after some washes it was quite bearable, but I'd also try to bend the wires slightly.

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    1. Thanks for your comment! It helps to know I'm not alone... I did try to bend the wires a bit (could bend them a bit more) but it didn't help with the fact that they still poke at my breast tissue.

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  2. Oh no! So sorry to hear of your troubles with this bra. I have also struggled to find the right Curvy Kate for me and although I have by no means tried all the styles I suspect they have too shallow cups and too wide wires for me. I'm not giving up though - the designs are beautiful so I shall keep persevering until I have given them all a whirl!

    Regarding other CK styles, you might find Cheryl's blog of interest, particularly her latest post http://www.investinyourchest.co.uk/curvy-kate-springsummer-2012-season-round-up

    In the meantime, would it help if you covered the centre gore with some sort of padding? My Bravissimo Dotty Spot has a high, tight centre gore and when I am at home I tuck my top between the gore and my sternum, which helps relieve the pressure somewhat.

    Good luck! x

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    1. Thanks for the empathy! x

      I'm starting to think that I need wide underwires even though I hate having boobs at my armpits, so it might be difficult to find the right look.

      At least at the moment as I'm trying to shift my migrated breast tissue from the armpits, it seems that Ewa Michalak's are too narrow. Maybe it'll change when I get the breast tissue back in my boobs.

      I'm so jealous that EM:s bras work so well for you and are comfortable! I just love the look and uplift they give...

      I've been thinking that I'll just try to use a cotton pad or a paper tissue to soften the wires digging in. I'm just worried the other wire will soon come out as it seems to be poking the fabric also pretty badly. Somehow my left boob just twists it in a bad posiotion or something really weird...

      I do wish you'll find your CK size one day, though! Btw, have you found any bras from Freya? I've heard they have narrow underwires, too.

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  3. I'm so sorry deary! I have a similar problem with most bras digging in the sternum, the higher the gore the worse it is. What I do kind of depends, sometimes going up a cup size helps, but of course that alters your support and I would not suggest it to most people. I've also stuck a folded maxi pad or other padded material there to give some cushion. Again, it can distort the cup fit. Have you seen the blog Bras I Hate? She has a section devoted to alterations, including a post on altering the center gore. Maybe that will give you a few ideas for alterations that may make your bra more comfortable.
    http://brasihate.blogspot.com/search/label/Alterations

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    1. Aww, thanks for your comment! Made me feel better. :-)

      Yeah, I've tried a bigger cup in this bra but it was too big. So, just gonna have to live with this.

      It makes me laugh (and kinda sad, too), though, that us women have to walk around with tissues, our shirts or maxi pads tucked in our bra. :D My aim in finding the right sized bra was that I wouldn't have to be ashamed of an ugly-ass bra when I take my shirt off. We'll, now I have to start being ashamed of a maxi pad tucked in my bra. Oh, the simple pleasures of life. :D

      I actually linked to the Bras I hate blog in my text. She does some wicked alterations and that was my first resource when I discovered this problem! But I don't know if she's had this kind of problem, though.

      Thank you so much for bringing joy in this tragicomic situation! A good laugh always helps. And at least I'll never have to worry about not having a maxi pad when I need one. :-)

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  4. Curvy Katen liiveissä on jokin outo rakenteellinen jippo. Minulla 32H on täsmälleen kupista oikean kokoinen, mutta silti kaarituet kalvavat kainaloita. Miten, en vain tajua. Rinta mahtuu kuppiin, ei pullota tai purista mistään, ei jää tyhjään tilaa, mutta silti en pysty pitämään niitä liivejä tuntia pitempään.

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    1. Ah, tuo sinun ongelmasi saattaa olla helposti ratkaistavissa! Curvy Katen liiveissähän on aika leveät kaarituet. Monilla on sama ongelma, ja siihen on muutama mahdollinen ratkaisu. Kenties helpoin on taivuttaa kaaria kolmiulotteisiksi, kuten tässä kirjoituksessa:

      http://brasihate.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-to-do-with-those-pesky-wide.html

      Toivottavasti tuo auttaisi siihen tökkimiseen! Olen myös kuullut, että jotkut ompelevat pienen pehmusteen siihen kalvavaan kohtaan.

      Mikäli ongelma ei häviä, kannattaa kokeilla rintaliivejä joissa on kapeammat kaarituet. Ainakin Freyalla ja Ewa Michalakilla on kapeat kaarituet, jotka sopivat monille Curvy Katea ja Panachea paremmin.

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  5. Freyas are at least for me a better fit than CK bras. Love CK styles but they just never seem to be a perfect fit. Especially non moulded styles are very comfortable and the wire feels better than with CK bras. Arabella, Summer and Charlotte have all been very comfortable. I had a center gore issues with Masquerade Rhea, it was against my chest but far too wide and it left marks on the breast tissue. I've noticed that I never seem to have luck with full cup bras with high center gores for this reason and tend to wear plunges and balconettes.

    Tiina - Curveissa x

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    1. Thanks for sharing!

      Freya styles tend to stop at 38/85 band, but I've been thinking about trying the 85 as I've heard they run very loose.

      I've been thinking about the fact that CK calls their unpadded bras balconette but it seems that they are more of a full cup when it comes to the cup and central gore. The straps are definately balconette style, though.

      Did you try to do any alterations on the Masquerade Rhea? It seems that MANY have this issue with high central gores poking at their sternum or breast tissue.

      I just don't really know what bras to try next... Maybe I'll just wait for my trip to London and try on bras there instead of online shopping my bank account away. :D

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    2. I would say trying on is the best thing to do! (but I did not notice the Rhea issue even then cause it felt ok when I tried it on, just wearing it for a day revealed the issue...) Many, many styles I liked online just did not suit my shape and some were a surprise, also the sizes between the brands varied a lot! And the Oxford Circus Bravissimo fitter was brilliant and honest! (and gotta say that Decos always feel comfy on all day but wearing a plunge all the time isn't so great)

      Tiina - Curveissa x

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    3. Yeah, I also noticed the issue with Romance after wearing it for several hours...

      But based on the comments this is a very common problem, so at least I'm not the weird one, the bras are. :D

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    4. As an aside, I wouldn't completely rule out Freya, as I've found the bands to be quite stretchy even in 28-30 bands, esp. in some styles. I know that the famed Deco bra especially has a stretchy band and some people find the cups big, but sadly it only goes up to a G cup in 28 and 38 bands (up to a GG cup in 30-36 bands).

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    5. Thanks Christine, I'll definately try Freyas once I get my hands on them! I'll propably need H-J cup in the 38 bands, so we'll see what styles go up to those cups if the bands are ok. :-)

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  6. I've had this issue too with bras with a high central gore (like you my breasts are quite closely set together). I've always just bent the top of the wires forward slightly.

    It really is hard to get the correct size and then finding the perfect style is even harder. I hope you find something soon!

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    1. Thanks for your comment! I never thought that my boobs are close set but now I now. They are close set at the "root" where the wires end but are just east-west down from there. :D

      Do you bend just the tips of the wires or all the way of the middle of the bra?

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  7. Maybe the band is a little too tight? Have you tried using an extender?

    And then, most of my bra wires just fold over each other because there is not enough space between my breasts. Maybe it would help to sew one above the other?

    That's the only two ideas I came up with - apart from the cotton-pad-thingy which a lot of people actually do.

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    1. I don't think the band's too tight, but I'll definately try with an extender. Thanks for the tip!

      I used a cotton pad today and it did help quite a bit. I might try some risky alternations once I have some other right size bras, too. :-)

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  8. Try this trick: simply push the underwires down the canal. The canal is usually longer than the underwires, so you can make them start lower down at the center gore.

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  9. I have the same problem! There are bras that ride up my back, but still dig in or turn in at the sternum thanks to my close-set, wide-root, full on top shape! There's just too much wire when I have the right amount of cup. I've been wearing 32hh and having this issue, so I'm hoping that going to a 30j or jj will help. Plunge styles are often too low cut for me, but the center is much more comfortable. I am extremely excited about Curvy Kate's Smoothie which comes out in fall. It is a molded bra up to a j (in some bands) and it looks similar to the Freya Deco, but with a little more coverage. The center gore looks like a good height.
    http://blog.curvykate.com/the-art-of-the-mould/

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    1. Yeah, that's so annoying. I guess I'll do better with plunges too, but then I have to start all over again the finding the right size -part as Curvy Kate doesn't do plunges in my size. Phew, the pain of this all...

      I'd love the Smoothie but unfortunately it only comes up to a 38G, which is way too small in the cup, I'm afraid. I hope you get your dream bra when you try the Smoothie <3

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