The Current State of Wear

So often you hear that you should get about 6-9 months of wear out of your bra before the elastic goes bad and you stop getting support. Increase time for smaller busts and potentially shorten that time for larger busts. Obviously other factors such as the quality of the bra, how you wash it, and how often you wear the bra will certainly impact the life of your bra.

Over the last two days, I have found myself needing to step into the second row of hooks on both of my Elomi Abi and my Curvy Kate Emily bras. I honestly went through almost an ENTIRE day of work, tugging on the band of my Abi (it kept riding up) and noticing that I was getting rubbed raw under my breasts from the band sliding around BEFORE I ADJUSTED IT. What? WHY did I wait so long? As soon as I hooked tighter, the bra instantly felt better. The same goes for my Emily, today. I started the day wearing my Elomi Hermione and switched to my Emily because I changed outfits (yay going out for dinner and not wearing a t-shirt). Fortunately, it only took me about a half hour to realize that I needed to go tighter on the band of my Emily....

Then I started thinking.... how long have I had both of these bras? Am I going to get a good lifespan out of them if I am already heading into the middle ground???

The Current State of Wear:

• Curvy Kate Emily - First worn on August 8th; Almost two months before hooking tighter  **Projected life span: 6 months


• Elomi Abi - First worn on August 28th; Not even one month before hooking tighter **Projected life span: 3 months

Unfortunately this means that I am probably going to have to invest in another Abi after the new year, because I really do love the bra.

Factors that Affect Wear:

• I wear my Abi every. other. day. Because it is the most comfortable for my long days of work.


• The Abi was probably too big in a 40 to begin with


• My beige CK Emily gets more wear than any of my other "fancy" lace bras - even moreso than my Andorras


• I've always felt as though the band in the beige Emily was pretty stretchy


• I hand wash a batch of bras per week; I only wear each bra that I have maybe 2-3 times before it goes into the "must wash pile"


• I have a heavy bust

So....when do you know that you need to hook in and go tighter? The following signs apply to a bra that you know was the right size when you first purchased it

Signs that your band is getting too stretchy:

• The band used to sit level but now starts to ride up as the day goes on


• You're not getting the same support and uplift that you did when you first got the bra


• You get chafed, or are uncomfortable because the wires are sliding around under your breasts and you didn't have this problem before


• Your shoulders are hurting because the band is not supporting the weight of your breasts well enough and the weight is being transferred to your straps

On average, you should try to have at least 3-5 bras that you rotate throughout the week. I have four (Briony, Abi, Emily and Hermione) that I rotate throughout the week, and I save my Andorras for specific outfits, or when I know I want that extra boost.

**How many bras do you have? What's the projected lifespan of your bras?? Please respond in the comments and be sure to take part in the poll!**

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