Tell me if it’s not true for you, but of the five bra fitting checkpoints below, I know which one you’re most likely to compromise on:
- snug band that won’t ride up
- no quadraboob
- complete coverage of breast, including tissue on the side
- straps that don’t dig into shoulder
- tacking center gore
My guess? Number 5.
If you’re like me, you have either questioned (a) the purpose of tacking or (b) the possibility of it even happening. Add a multitude of opinions from different manufacturers and bra fitters, and it’s no wonder so many of us are walking around with a floating center gore.
- On the one hand, you have the Empreinte rep who told me in no uncertain terms that if an Empreinte bra doesn’t tack perfectly, then it doesn’t fit.
- On the other hand, you have an inexpensive brand that sells mostly to department stores that invited me for a look-see to determine if I could be a fit model for them. I tried on their bras and critiqued the fact that they didn’t tack. “Oh, you like your bra to fit that way?” the pattern makers asked.
- Then you have Miss Underpinnings, who when I flashed her my Kris Line bra and said the half inch of space between the center gore and my sternum seemed okay, she answered, “Oh, God, no!”
- Finally, you have three of my favorite veteran bra fitters who recently checked out the fit of my Prima Donna Deauville that floats 1.5″ from my sternum. Each proclaimed that the bra fits.
Instead of a declaring how things absolutely must be, today’s post is simply my exploration of the subject. I’m trying to understand why it’s important for the center gore to tack and why some of us aren’t as picky about this fit detail as we are about others.
First, a tacking center gore is like a firmly anchored rope bridge.
Think of the bridge in this photo as the left underwire of your bra and the people walking across the bridge as your left breast. The left side of the “bridge” connects with your ribs beneath your arm. The right side connects with your sternum. There may be some wobbling as you cross the bridge, but essentially you feel pretty secure.
You can see how secure a properly tacking bra must feel in the photograph that accompanies Miss Underpinnings’ recent review of the Miss Mandalay Amelie.
Now imagine that someone is treating the right side of this bridge as a jump rope. The person holding the bridge is super strong and is firmly anchored on the cliff, so they’re not going to drop the bridge, but you’re not going to feel secure anymore. From what I can understand, this is how our breasts are supposed to feel when the center gores of our bras don’t tack.
A water balloon in my Kris Line bra demonstrates the insecurity that will result when one end of the bridge is anchored on a moving surface rather than a stationary one.
Now let’s double that insecurity with two bridges.
Although you may still get some of the lift and separation that underwires are meant to provide, you’re veering dangerously close to the curse of a soft cup bra, or as Braless in Brasil brilliantly calls it, the “boob hammock“.
The purpose of a hammock is to swing, but when it comes to my breasts, I want them supported by a bridge, not lying in a swinging bed. When I think of it this way, I’m astounded I’ve ever put up with a floating center gore.
However, there are several reasons that many of us have lower standards for the center gore of our bra than we do for our band:
1. We’ve never had tacking center gores, so we don’t realize we’re insecure. 😉 For instance, I love my 36G Wacoal Alluring even though the center gore floats 1/2 inch to 1 inch from my sternum. It’s one of the most supportive, lifting and separating bras I’ve owned, but the support is even better when I push the center gore flat against my chest. Since I haven’t been able to find a full-cup bra that tacks, however, I’ve only ever known full-cup bras that don’t tack, and they’ve felt fine.
2. Certain styles tack better than others. Balconettes, plunges and demi-cups tack just fine on me and every other fit-conscious full-busted women I’ve talked to. The other bra fit enthusiasts and I have theorized that the underwire likely comes up higher between the breasts in full-cup braa than in balconettes, plunges and demi-cups. That’s why some full-busted women only wear these styles. I, on the other hand, feel much more secure in a full-cup bra than I do in the other styles. My Wacoal Alluring is far more supportive than my Fantasie 4520 demi that tacks perfectly.
3. Close-set breasts mean the center gore isn’t going anywhere. It’s a catch-22 because close-set breasts mean there’s less room for the center gore to lay fat, but they also hold the center gore secure between them. Let’s take an aerial view of the water balloon breasts.
If the center gore were to fall deeper within the crevice between the two balloons, you can see that the balloons would hold it in place. The aerial view of bra #3 in the following diagrams (from my recent Lilyette review) makes the same point. It’s my Wacoal Alluring.
4. Certain styles don’t come in our cup size. Some of us buy a cup size smaller and put up with the non-tacking because it’s the only way we can enjoy a gorgeous bra we’ve had our eye on. If the center gore were to tack, it would give us a horrible case of quadraboob, but because it doesn’t, we can get away with it (especially if we have close-set breasts). Okay, I’ll admit that I’m also guilty of buying certain beautiful bras that create a slight quadraboob on me just so I can wear that style in the highest cup size available, but if the bra were to tack, the quadraboob would be so extreme that I could never wear it.
5. We can tolerate extremely tight bands. (Warning–this is an untested hypothesis on my part.) Bra-fitting calculators never prescribe 34 bands to me. Based on my measurements, I should be able to wear a 38, which even feels secure on me in the store, but it will begin to ride up within a week. As we know, cup sizes are relative to band sizes. Perhaps because I wear 34 bands, the underwires and cup depth in the full-cup bras will never be as generous as I need them to be, leading to a floating center gore.
I would love to hear your perspective on the subject of tacking. Is it a deal breaker for you when purchasing a bra, or are there certain factors that cause you to overlook this particular pillar of perfect fit?
Have you ever tried the Andorra??? It always tacks beautifully on me!
I’ve found that I get better tacking in a “smaller” cup size than what I need. This is usually because the center gore is shorter and hits me in a better spot. Taller center gores almost never tack. The bra I have on right now? “tacks” on one side. The gore is too wide and the wires fight with each other.
I would have to agree that yes, tacking is REALLY important for the most security, etc. Perhaps you just haven’t found the right bra yet!!! Have you tried EM’s yet? I can’t remember.
Hey, FussyBusty! I wanted to try the Andorra, but the fitter told me I wouldn’t like it based on the 3-part bras I was requesting. I think I’ll have to go back and try it.
I’ve had the lopsided tack before, too!
And no, I haven’t tried EM’s yet, despite June’s insistence. However, Leah is going to write about her experience with them soon!
You just have to try Ewa! I never knew what a tacked center gore could be until I tried Ewa bras. With my close-set breasts, I sort of assumed I would never be able to find a bra that laid completely flat. But my Ewa plunges tack even when I’m wearing the wrong cup-size. I *think* it has to do with the superior construction and the triangle-shaped center gores. Of course, with the right cup-size, the fit is absolutely incomparable.
I judge all other bras against my Ewas. And with certain UK brands that are *close* to a excellent fit but for the center gore (like Cleo), I’ve started doing an alteration I read about on Bras I Hate—taking it the center gore so that there’s no expanse of fabric between my breasts, just the supporting underwires. This alteration also re-positions the cups, bringing them away from my armpits and towards the center of my chest, where my breasts are most voluminous. You might try this to address Reason #5 in your post!
I find I’m more comfortable with a tacking center gore. I also wear a tighter band than some would recommend for me, and do not have close-set breasts. Living down here in the hot southwest, I find myself much more comfortable with a tacking gore simply to reduce sweat between the breasts. It really is one of the top things I look for and I find myself rather uncomfortable if the gore doesn’t tack.
I should maybe mention that I fit best in balconettes, plunges, and demis. I have a super short torso and full coverage bras often cut into my armpits and/or come up very high on my chest.
Non tacking is an absolute deal breaker for me. Interestingly enough, my breasts are close set. In fact, I have a few bras (Freya Pollyanna and Chantelle Rive Gauche-both 34F) that I will wear even though they’re a cup size too small because the center lies flat on me. Maybe it’s because growing up in the South with ill fitting bras, I always had a lot of under boob sweat because the central gore never would lie flat on my (wrong sized) bras. I apparently have vowed, never again now that I know what my proper size is :).
Hahahaha, I swear I’m not a tacking-tyrant! I think this is a great post though because it reflects and summarizes the diversity in “fit theory” that exists across this ONE niche market in this ONE specific ‘fit check’. If you think about it in the general scheme of all-size lingerie fitting, the differences between the “schools” of fitting is enormous.
While I came down hard on your Kris Line center gore (which is a lovely bra and I would’ve bought tacking or not!), I was being a giant hypocrite. For all the reasons you mentioned above, me and my close set ta-tas fall for non-tacking bras.
However, I will say that I will count this against a style, even if I’m enamored with the design. I think my personal “best” bras are the ones that tack PERFECTLY and I’ve found they share certain qualities. And generally, the BEST BRAS EVER, are the ones that tack for the majority of people most of the time. In my experience, the Andorra tacks 99.9% of the time in the right size, for any age group or breast shape. For me, that’s pretty miraculous – and surprisingly rare! – quality.
Also, I’ll say that when people “play” with their fit, tacking is the first standard thrown out the window. If you size down in the cup or up in the band, you might not always see the “riding up” but you’ll definitely see a “lack-of-tack”. 🙂
With my limited budget (thank you, grad school), I feel like I shouldn’t settle for a less than near perfect fit. If I am spending a good portion of my clothing budget, I should get the best fit possible for that amount. In the last year or two, the only bra I bought (and kept) that didn’t tack was a non-wired sports bra that’s terrific for dancing but I feel even more secure riding in the wired sports bra I bought at the same time.
I’m #3, all the way. Balconettes usually tack pretty well on me, but I can still squish it down because it’s pushing through the very edge of my breast tissue. My sternum and ribcage are fairly bony, so the difference between “breast tissue” and “I’m a human” squish is noticeable. The lack of tacking is more noticeable on a high plunge like Freya’s seamed plunges than it is on a super high gore like Curvy Kate’s true balconettes. I guess this is because the higher gore does a better job at separating the boobs and I don’t get tissue from above pushing the gore away.
Less tacking probably does mean less support for me, not that I notice. The higher gore bras are my better-fitting, more comfortable bras in the first place.
I don’t think I have found a bra that tacks perfectly yet, my freyas do for the most part.
Now what about the tack that is putting to much pressure on the sternum?
I have an Elomi and Goddess that each tack perfectly for me in H and I cups respectively, however neither provides the right shape needed for button-down shirts or tailored dresses and jackets that my non-tacking Kris Line bras provide.
I’m with Darci, I often have trouble with gores that tack too much and poke in. I’m also close-set, and I find that it’s nearly impossible to have both underwires tack properly, due to having only maybe .25 or .5″ space. It happens even on bras where the wires are next to each other, so the gore alteration wouldn’t help. I try to find styles that have lower gores to compensate.
I tend to have problems with wires fighting each other in the centre gore due to my close set chest, so I will not keep bras that don’t lie flat at gore as it cause me pain and redness just trying bra on ! Some a simple stitch sorts the problem.
Gore digging is a new problem but that a new thing due to weight loss as my ribcage is experiencing the most weight loss. I have found the gore only tend to dig in just before I have to go down another band size !
Actually that rule might be the one I break the least of the rules. A bra looses so much of it’s support if the bridge doesn’t sit close, or at the very least almost close enough (so no visible room between just that it feels a bit loose, as it would with a band that isn’t quite tight enough, but not very much too big). And if the gore isn’t close, then it moves when your boobs move, and the wires can poke at the skin. No thank you!
All the other ones, I do compromise on regularly, unfortunately, it’s impossible to find a bra that fits completely, when you both have a size that isn’t made so much and a shape that’s also difficult to fit.
For me it’s actually #1. Other than the unfortunate lottery that is custom ordering from Ewa Michalak, pretty much all bands are too big for me immediately, or are tolerable on the tightest hook and only for the first few wears.
I could compromise with slight quadraboob (this is what happens with Panache Porcelain Plunge for me, but it’s my only nude bra and I didn’t find the alternative yet, there is not much bras with wires wide enough for me in the market and balocnettes’ wires are always poking).
I also could wear not very snug band, because my body provides a sort of natural anchoring for the band (my back becomes significantly wider toward the shoulders) and my breasts are not heavy.
But I hate when the bra doesn’t tack, because it can shift then and I can’t stand underwires on my breast tissue.
Great post! A couple of things going through my mind:
I think that a fitter who says that a central gore doesn’t need to lie flat is not a very knowledgeable one. It should tack because otherwise the bra doesn’t work the way it should. And also, I believe everyone can have a tacking gore, you may just need to have a lower/wider/narrower gore or stronger wires. If the wires aren’t strong enough, the weight of the breast might turn the angle of the wires so that the gore doesn’t tack. So it’s not just about a too small cup size, even though I guess that’s the most common problem.
Also, a flat central gore anchors the bra in it’s place. If the central gore doesn’t tack, the bra has more room to move and therefore it can do damage to your skin (even if the band is tight enough).
If you feel that a tacking central gore gives too much separation, I guess the bra just isn’t right for you and you should look for a more upfront shape in a bra. This is a common problem in full bust bras: if fitted correctly, they often give a wide shape, give very full coverage and have an extremely high central gore.
With all this being said, I also have a few bras that don’t tack. And the ones that do, sometimes dig in to my sternum. But I find that I always choose the ones that tack properly because they are the ones I feel more secure in.
Based on what you write, I wonder if you are very full on top with a very soft breast tissue? That might explain why you feel more secure in a full cup bra even though the central gore wouldn’t lie flat. Because a boob hammock doesn’t just cover the breasts, it also keeps the breasts in their place, kind of like a compression sports bra. 🙂
When I push the gore flat (34H) the look is just ridiculous. To get a gore that lies flat against the sternum the cup would need to be much bigger than a H which is far too big. Or a totally different shape of bra. My breasts are simply too heavy, full and droopy for any gore to lay flat. It is wrong to say a bra doesn’t fit properly if the gore is not completely flat against the sternum.