7 bra mistakes you might not know you’re making

Do get professionally fitted and measured for your bra size at least once every six months, otherwise, you could just be wearing the wrong bra size without even knowing it. Your bra size does fluctuate as you might just lose or gain a bit weight due to your hormones, which in turn affects your bra size. The shop assistants at speciality stores will be able to recommend suitable styles for you, based on your bust shape and size too.

Just like the size of clothes you shop for, bra sizes vary from brand to brand; they aren’t really as uniformly standardised, as much as you think they might be. So it’s best to try the different styles on in-store if you can, before buying it. Besides getting the size wrong, you also risk buying a bra with an uncomfortable fit when you shop from an unfamiliar brand.

You know the drill: Either hand-wash your bras or put them into a washing bag, at a gentle cycle when you machine-wash them. But you still risk ruining your bras when you do all that right and then decide to rub them vigorously, wringing and squeezing your bras in misguided attempts to dry them. So handle them gently and always air dry your bras; clothes dryers will stretch your bras out of shape.

This too will distort and damage the shape of your bras by stretching them. Uta advises hanging the bras at the centre band, so that the water will drip out naturally when you air dry your lingerie.

Make sure to shape your bras after you’ve washed and dried them. Smoothen the shape by gently brushing your fingers in an outward motion over the fabric from the cups to the back band.

Even when you think you’re doing everything else right, this vital step you’re missing can still make your bras go out of shape.

Contrary to popular belief, a white bra is not the best ‘invisible’ everyday bra; this is why your bra is still showing under your dress or shirt. To find the best bra for you that’s close to a ‘nude’ shade for you, shop for bras in the colour that best matches your skin tone.

Yes, bras do have their use-by dates, especially if you’re wearing the same few bras weekly. You should shop for these bras as often as you get measured and fitted for your bra size; which is an average of six months or so, depending on how often you wear and re-wear the same bra.