Five signs your bra does not fit

Discomfort is not something you are supposed to get used to. If any of these sound familiar, your bra is the wrong size — not your body.

1. The band rides up your back

The band should sit level, straight across. If it creeps upward, it is too loose and the straps are doing work they were never designed to do. Go down a band size and up a cup.

2. The straps dig into your shoulders

Straps should carry roughly ten percent of the weight. Red grooves mean the band is too loose. Tightening the straps is a patch, not a fix.

3. The cups gape at the top

Extra space at the top edge means the cup is too big, or the style is wrong for your shape. Try a smaller cup or a moulded style with more structure.

4. You spill over the sides or the top

The opposite problem. Tissue escaping at the underarm or over the cup edge means you need a larger cup, not a larger band.

5. You adjust it all day

If you are constantly pulling, shifting or readjusting, the fit is wrong somewhere. A bra that fits should be forgettable.

What to do next

Measure yourself properly — it takes five minutes. Then check our size guide and order the size the numbers give you, not the size you have always bought. Bodies change; so should the number on the label.