MYTH no. 1 – WIRES ARE POINTED TOWARDS THE MIDDLE OF THE ARMPIT

Brafitting has been present in Poland for more than 10 years already. A decade is a lot of time. We know very well that during such period a lot of things may change. For example we started to use our fingerprint for authentification or to login to our phone and a 3D printer can create even an entire house. This kind of fundamental progress can also be seen in the world of brafitting. For example, in the lingerie world a spacer bra has emerged, the size range has been extended and cup sizes of R or even S have become common.

However, it would be wise to take a closer look at how fashion works, because some things that just 10 years ago were ‘on-the-top’ and were expected to become widespread are now completely outdated and gone.

The first and foremost myth that we Brafitters usually face is that wires should always be pointed just at the middle of the armpit. A Brafitter, and even more often a Coach, needs to know how to oppose such kind of misbelief. A lot of girls who attend brafitting courses have brought these myths with them straight from the internet.

Yes, the wire points at the middle of armpit quite often, so perhaps this is the root of that myth. However, we now know there very commonly such placement of the wires won’t actually be the best. But how to judge it by yourself? The answer is simple! A wire should form a support for the breast and encase them. Just encase and as much as encase!

What does it mean in practice? Well, here some lawyer could come with his favorite sentence:

“It depends”. From what? From at least several factors.

Point 1. The detailed and exact anatomy of one’s breast

If we take a look at group of women, it comes to us that there are no two identical breasts, as there are no two identical noses. One can enjoy breasts that are closer to the center of her chest; one can also be the owner of a separated breast. And it can be also possible that the breasts are touching each other, or almost touching when the person stands. It may turn out that a bra’s center panel (also called the ‘center gore’ or ‘center bridge’) will have issues with perfect fit and probably won’t lay flat against the breastbone. Each of these cases will dictate whether the wire should be pointed for the best effect. This may vary from pointing exactly at the middle of the armpit, or maybe a little closer or just a little further. Below you will find a great illustration showing how differently it may look from a bird’s eye view and at a cross section.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/ABraThatFits/comments/4gzwfh/question_unsure_of_how_to_determinefind_the_root/

Point 2. Structure of the chest wall

Now let’s imagine a woman with athletic chest and broad shoulders. Next to her there’s a woman with sloping arms and back, looking nothing like a ‘V’ letter. Both women can have all possible breast anatomy, the points from which their breasts arise and where the excess of fatty tissue at breasts is divided from the one of their arms.

Point 3. Shape, consistency, breast setup

Let’s consider another few factors. For example, there exist full breasts, glandular, firm or drop shaped ones, lighter or heavier, with varying content of fat tissue. In addition, let’s add to each of these cases the possibility of higher or lower breast setup. And after these considerations, does the myth of ‘pointing at the middle of the armpits‘ prevail?

Point 4. Defects of posture

And now consider the case of a woman suffering, for example, from a scoliosis? Or maybe she has a chicken chest or hollow breast bone problem? All of these factors will also affect the choice of underwire shape, and the whole problem is far from being easy and obvious.

Point 5. Stages and circumstances in a woman’s life (in example: pregnancy or profession, i.e. being sportswoman, or having a pacemaker)

During and after pregnancy the breasts undergo substantial changes. They can become enlarged, heavier and more sensitive. Then the wider wire (rather aiming off the middle of the armpit) will be much better choice.

And when she enjoys an active life, spending her leisure time in a gym or sports hall? Or maybe she plays fitness bikini? And if she’s after a surgery and has a pacemaker? Then what?

Point 6. The entire silhouette

What else may matter? Of course, the whole body silhouette. She needs to feel good. I myself – having a pear shape silhouette – avoid bras with narrower wire, even if those ones fit me well. That’s because the whole silhouette looks much better when my breasts are not squeezed in the center, but rather more spread.

For comparison, a person with narrow, boyish hips and wider shoulders will try to balance the proportions by, for example, wearing a blouse with V-neckline and a plunge bra. This is truly an endless topic anyway and we will definitely go back into it.

Point 7. Preference of the woman

As my grandmother said, “one prefers oranges, the other raw eggs”…

What is wonderful in brafitting is that we have moved so much forward. Nowadays nobody doubts that apart from different sizes and cuts, we distinguish wide- and narrow wired bras. We are aware that when we want a small band and a bigger cup then the best choice would be Polish brands. Polish brands, like no others, understand the need for providing lower or narrower wires. For those women, who need 85+ band and have some extra tissue under armpit the best way is to choose among British brands. These would give her the best feel of comfort.

Certainly the primary rule in choosing a wire – is that it should encase the WHOLE breast. After taking off the bra, the signs left by the wires should be invisible on your breasts’ skin. These signs are allowed to appear only besides the breasts – where exactly, it depends on the above mentioned factors.

I strongly believe that the above brief explanation pointing out the various aspects of choosing the wire will make you erase the sentence ‘wires should always point at the middle of armpit’ from your vocabulary. As we now know, the world ALWAYS needs to be used with great care, as you may never know when it may be wrong.

At the end take a look at a few photos showing various arrangements of the wires. This photo gallery was assembled in accordance with our models and fans.