Spilling at the Side, or Gaping at the Top?

The short answer: spilling at the side or over the top means the cup is too small: go up one or two cups, and choose a wide-coverage style. Gaping at the top means the cup is too big, or the right size in the wrong shape for your bust. Both are size and cut problems. Neither is a body problem.

"Side diye ber hoye jay" is the way most women describe it to us. In our survey, 36 percent ticked cup spillage. Our founder's rule: the cup is supposed to cover you just enough, and if it spills, it is too small, whatever the label says.

Spilling: the cup is too small

• At the side, under the arm. Go up a cup, and choose a style with side coverage: Signature Seamless Bra (M to 2XL), Sure Cover Bra (M to 3XL), Seamless Contour Bra (M to 3XL), Plus Size Sculpting Bra (XL to 5XL). Their cups extend further round the side, which is what "wide coverage" means (wide coverage or lean cut).
• Over the top, the "four" look. Same cause. Go up one or two cups. Do not go up a band to get more cup; the band then loosens and the bra sags (why a bra sags by evening).
• On the SHAPE chart, a bigger cup usually means the next letter: 34C is L, 34D is XL (the SHAPE size chart).

Gaping: the cup is too big, or the wrong shape

• Gap at the top on both sides. The cup is too big. Go down a cup, or on a seamless style, one letter down.
• Gap on one side only. Most women have one side slightly fuller. Fit the fuller side; a seamless knit adapts on the other.
• Gap at the top, snug at the bottom. The cup is the right volume but the wrong shape: the bust sits lower or wider than the cup expects. A moulded, rounder cup (Seamless Contour Bra) or a softer, unlined cup (Un-Lined Bra, M to XL) usually fixes this, not a size change.

East-west: neither spill nor gap

If the bust points outward and you want it brought to the centre, that is a third thing. The Contour, the Signature Seamless and the Un-Lined centre the bust; the lightest styles, Air and VLite, do not, because they follow the shape they are given (the fuller bust guide).

Questions women ask us

Can I just tighten the straps to stop the spill?

No. Straps move the cup up; they do not make it bigger. The spill stays and the shoulders mark (straps digging).

Which SHAPE bra has the deepest cup?

The Plus Size Sculpting Bra: deep sculpted cups for DD and above, XL to 5XL (the Plus Size Sculpting guide).

I spill in one brand and gap in another at the same size. Why?

Because cup shapes differ more than cup sizes. Two 36C bras can hold different volumes in different places. Send two measurements and tell us which bra does what; we will match the cut.

Is padding the answer to a gap?

Sometimes, for a smaller bust: heavier padding fills the cup and gives shape. Sure Cover and Plus Size Sculpting carry the heaviest pads; the lightest styles will look flatter (padded or non-padded).

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