certified plastic surgeon in New York City and spokesperson for the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. “The whole internal architecture of the breast is shrunken‚ and you lose volume‚ skin elasticity‚ and structural collagen so the breast takes on more of a hanging appearance‚” he says. Connective tissue: Suspension
ligaments of the breast attach the breast skin and tissue onto the chest wall. “Since there’s no muscle in the breast tissue and nothing but these ligaments to hold up the breasts‚ over time those ligaments get stretched‚ thin out‚ and lose their elasticity‚ which can cause some sagging‚” says ob-gyn Kathleen A. Kennedy‚ MD‚ director of the Benign Breast Clinic at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. She says this is where a bra can make a difference. “Without a supportive bra‚
your breasts are constantly pulling on ligaments and stretching them‚ but a properly fit bra can support breasts so the ligaments aren’t going to get stretched as much‚ avoiding more sagging‚” Kennedy explains.
Bra No-Nos
Whether your breasts have undergone significant change or you haven’t spent the time to find the right bra size‚ it’s never too late. “Often women think they’re to blame when it comes to not finding a properly fit bra‚” says Susan Nethero‚ owner of the specialty bra store Intimacy. “We hear comments like‚ ‘I lost weight‚’ ‘I gained weight‚’ or ‘I’m taking hormone therapy.’ All these lifestyle changes can cause women to have poor body image. As a consequence of that‚ women often feel like there aren’t solutions‚ but there are.” Nethero says a woman’s
breast shape‚ size‚ and distribution (perkiness or sagginess and whether her breasts spread wide or are more centered) can change about six times in her life. “It’s common for women to stay stuck in the wrong size because they don’t take the time to find a properly fit bra‚” she says. Sound familiar? Chances are
the two most common problems might ring true for you.
Too Big Around
Ninety percent of the support of a bra comes from it being firm and level around the body yet most women wear a width too large. “If something feels a little tighter‚ our first reaction is to go larger to make it more comfortable‚ but when a bra is too large around‚ that’s when it shifts up the back and every component of the bra that’s engineered to provide stability doesn’t work‚” says Nethero. She says think of a bra like a seesaw. If the back is lower or level‚ then the front will come up‚ “which causes all the weight to push onto the lower part of the underwire‚ pulling it forward and causing it to dig into the chest wall.” As a result of the bra back riding up‚ the straps fall down. By bringing the bra down
the back and making it firmer around‚ the breasts get lifted up an inch to an inch-and-a-half. “This is dramatic because every inch we can give a woman on her torso makes her longer and leaner‚ makes her look more proportionate‚ and adds comfort since every part of the bra is now working properly‚” says Nethero.
SPRING / SUMMER 2012 pause 41
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