A personal story about breast forms

I’ve talked previously in my blogs about fitting room revelations and lightbulb moments. This one has to do with my own asymmetry. It involves a combination of events over time really, so here goes the story...

To begin with I’ve had a 2-3 cup breast size difference since my first pregnancy. I was told that asymmetry is very common and normal. It was with my second pregnancy though that a lactation consultant diagnosed tubular or hypoplastic breasts due to the multiple cup size difference that I had. Around this time I was wearing 36C and using a single “push-up” form on one side for balance. Pictured below, these are lightweight foam or silicone shapes that “mostly” worked. I still had the typical gap at the top of the cup that comes from wearing a bra too wide for my frame. This is why I was so thrilled with the fit of my first 34D. With the switch from 36C to the sister size of 34D the proportions of the bra changed and suddenly my little bump form didn’t work as well. Happily, I found one that was a bit bigger and that once again, “mostly”worked.

In a 34D I was so happy not to be fighting my straps anymore and was happy that I wasn’t fighting to keep everything in place all day. I’m sure most women who’ve ever worn the wrong size know what I mean! The riding up in the back and the coming out of the bottom in the front...don’t miss those days at all! The downside to the better fit though was that the wire under my arm on my left and smaller side would poke me more than I liked. I mostly suffered through this occasional discomfort since the benefits of the better fit were more than worth it to me!

This brings me to the revelation event. I was helping a customer with a double mastectomy bra fitting. I hadn’t done one of these fittings before and we didn’t work a lot with prosthetics at my store but I was helping out at another store and the person who normally did those fittings was out that day. When I determined the correct size and inserted the breast forms in the pocketed bra I was a little surprised at the weight of them while holding the bra. It gave me a new understanding of just how much breast tissue weighs. As a relatively small breasted woman some of you might be shaking your head like...”tell me about it!” It definitely better informed my bra fitting from then on. In my own situation I suddenly realized why I was getting poked all the time on my left side! There was just not enough weight in my breast form to pull the bra down and forward. It was just floating too much on that side. Thus began my search for a true prosthetic that matched my right side. Luckily for me I worked for a generous owner because these prosthetics are pretty expensive for a lot of trial and error. I literally cried when she provided me with one that gave me the symmetry and weight to make my bra fit so much more comfortably. I‘ve since acquired a couple more and will get a bit more into different types of prosthetics in a future blog post.

All of these experiences have given me such great insight and understanding of fit and design and function and I hope to be able to share with more women. If I have helped you gain a better understanding of bra fitting issues or if you know of someone who might benefit please connect with me. I’d love to hear comments and of course any suggestions! I still plan to open for virtual appointments eventually but it is on hold until I meet with an oncologist to find out what my treatment plan will look like. Until then I am open for complimentary consultation or just informal Q&A and in the meantime I hope you will subscribe, and share my blog. You can also give my pages on social media a “like” and a follow! I post on them daily. Your support is much appreciated! 🧑🏻‍💼