Thread: Big, hard bra cups... HELP!

OK - I just received my Desert Swirl, which I am so excited about, but I am totally confused as to how the bra is supposed to work. Every costume that I've had before this I made myself out of a lingere bra, so I was actually........cupped into the bra. When I put this bra on, it seems - just not right. It's hard to explain, but there's nowhere for the girls to go. I should mention that I'm normally like a DD, and this bra is a DDD.

Bet it is flat as a dinner plate and just as big around. huh?

LOL! ..l;,

Yep - you guessed it! ..g.:

Regretably, this is a big problem with costume designers. They think big cup sizes should be just bigger around and give no thought to depth. In most cases, depth is what is needed. You may find that you need to rebuild this bra using the exisisting materials onto a firm cupped regular bra. There have been alot of people here that have had to deal with this particular cup problem. Hopefully some of them will chime in.

DANG....

That's what i was hoping to aviod. ..cr.:

My instructor says she has some ideas for me, too, so we'll see what happens!

This is not for the faint of heart, remove bra fabric, place on realistic bra, amputate band and straps, reassemble.

Version 2... if there is an underwire... put on bra, have friend you trust place her hands on either side of b oobs one at a time and squeeze in, moulding the wire to make a deaper cup.

I agree with reassembling...

and

wow I never thought of version 2.

I had a desert swirl once. I had to do a lot of tweaking. For me it's not the depth of the cups that threw me off, it was the shape and overall skimpy feel. I suppose I needed a bigger cup size, but I am not sure that would've changed anything. I think it was a quality issue. Both of my Pharonics have shallow cups, but I think they work well with my ta-tas.

ETA: You know what I think it was...The Desert Swirl cups are shaped like triangles and I need more of an oval shape.

Originally Posted by anala

Version 2... if there is an underwire... put on bra, have friend you trust place her hands on either side of b oobs one at a time and squeeze in, moulding the wire to make a deaper cup.

this kind of worked with a costume i had. ugly triangle boobs....

you could ball up some socks around a big old tennis ball, mold the cups into the shape you would want them to keep and then store this way for like a month.

good luck

Something a friend did for me: had me measure the distance from nipple to nipple at the bottom part of the cup while wearing the bra and cut a piece of elastic that size. She covered the elastic with matching material and sewed the elastic into the cups at the aforementioned spots. This had the effect of bringing in the bra to hug the body more and lifted up the girls a bit so they sat nicely in their homes. Hard to explain, but it really did help. This was also with a hard Egyptian cup, DD, very similar to the Swirls.

Good Lord - - - I don't know if I should laugh or cry!

On the plus side, everything else fits really well, and I'm really pleased considering it was "off-the-rack."

Has anyone tried blocking cups --- i.e. steaming them and reshaping like you do with hats? I figured you could do this with buckram but what about other types of cups?

These bad boys are usually plastic (think cheap football)

I have done the nipple to nipple tension trick as well, but I am vastly more stupid. I put on the bra, I have a needle with 4 runs of carpet thread, I poke a hole with the needle at the bottom of the cup on the inside to the outside. I run the thread over to the exact same position and poke myself till I bleed. I tighten the thread until the angle of the cups changes enough to provide more support and a more flattering "seat" for the old gals I then make that angle permanent.

This is unbelievable what one has to do to make a costume fit! Even after having paid the sum that is being charged, one still has to alter and remake them. I don't think I have yet had a costume that I didn't have to redo.

Originally Posted by Nebula

This is unbelievable what one has to do to make a costume fit! Even after having paid the sum that is being charged, one still has to alter and remake them. I don't think I have yet had a costume that I didn't have to redo.

It is true. I usually buy them used so I don't feel guilty tearing them apart. ..l;,

I have some lingerie bras that have wide pieces of elastic sewn inside the cups attached at the top and bottom of the cup and unsewn between. Their purpose is to help push the girls together.

Originally Posted by roguepen

Has anyone tried blocking cups --- i.e. steaming them and reshaping like you do with hats? I figured you could do this with buckram but what about other types of cups?

Steaming! Brilliant! Have an Eman with cups that need to be adjusted. Reluctant to submerse in water, the quality of stones are questionable. Steaming...will try it.

Sorry for the hijacking, back to the regular program.

This just seems to be a problem with newer Egyptian costumes in general. Though I have sort of the opposite problem, I find the shape of the cups borderline impossible to work with. It's like no amount of padding or strap angling does the trick and I always have to either disassemble them completely or otherwise sell them. The hardness of the cup makes them more resistant to alterations.

I've NEVER had this problem with a Turkish costume. I think softer cups are just a lot more forgiving for everyone.

Originally Posted by anala

These bad boys are usually plastic (think cheap football)

I have done the nipple to nipple tension trick as well, but I am vastly more stupid. I put on the bra, I have a needle with 4 runs of carpet thread, I poke a hole with the needle at the bottom of the cup on the inside to the outside. I run the thread over to the exact same position and poke myself till I bleed. I tighten the thread until the angle of the cups changes enough to provide more support and a more flattering "seat" for the old gals I then make that angle permanent.

This sounds very interesting...

Originally Posted by Souzan

I have some lingerie bras that have wide pieces of elastic sewn inside the cups attached at the top and bottom of the cup and unsewn between. Their purpose is to help push the girls together.

This is another question I was going to ask, because I have a wider cleavage, and I was trying to figure out how to push 'em closer together.

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

This just seems to be a problem with newer Egyptian costumes in general. Though I have sort of the opposite problem, I find the shape of the cups borderline impossible to work with. It's like no amount of padding or strap angling does the trick and I always have to either disassemble them completely or otherwise sell them. The hardness of the cup makes them more resistant to alterations.

I've NEVER had this problem with a Turkish costume. I think softer cups are just a lot more forgiving for everyone.

You should have seen the look on my face when I knocked on the bra cup, and it actually made sound! ..l;,

Maybe the bellydance store needs to hear some feedback about these bras? If I had just spent a couple of hundred dollars on one of their costumes, I think I would let them know.

Originally Posted by anala

These bad boys are usually plastic (think cheap football)

I have done the nipple to nipple tension trick as well, but I am vastly more stupid. I put on the bra, I have a needle with 4 runs of carpet thread, I poke a hole with the needle at the bottom of the cup on the inside to the outside. I run the thread over to the exact same position and poke myself till I bleed. I tighten the thread until the angle of the cups changes enough to provide more support and a more flattering "seat" for the old gals I then make that angle permanent.

I can just imagine an ER visit. "Doc, you see I have this hard plastic bra and it doesn't fit so I sewed my nipples to each other."

..l;, ..l;, ..l;,

That's great, Souzan!