Hugs for Your Jugs

In my last bra physics post , I described the forces involved in supporting your breasts and what parts of a bra are responsible for providing those forces. How can this knowledge inform our decisions when making or choosing bras? This post is part of a series and covers the bands of bras - just the stretchy part. The cradle (which surrounds the wires) will be discussed later.   As before, an e x t e n d e d v e r s i o n o f t h i s p o s t c a n b e f o u n d o n m y Ko-fi , w h e r e y o u c a n g e t i n s t a n t a c c e s s t o t h i s a n d p r e v i o u s e x t e n d e d b l o g p o s t s f o r j u s t £ 2 . I f y o u w a n t , y o u c a n become a member for £2 a month t o continue s u p p o r ting m y b l o g .  

I've realised that while there are titbits (pun intended) of information about how rib Cages can affect bra fit floating around, it's never been collated into one easy to access article. So I've tried to do that: most of the information in this post is credited to other hardworking bloggers, please check out the credits at the end to support their work! Also big thanks to my sister for the lovely diagrams. 1. Rib Cage Shapes (horizontally) There are two basic types of rib cross-sections to consider in relation to bra fitting, disregarding the sternum (we'll get onto the breastbone later): Flat vs Barrel Shaped Ribs   Flat ribs (left) - the most common rib cage shape   Barrel shaped ribs (right) - more rounded than the average rib cage shape Most bras are designed to fit best on flat ribs.