Full Coverage Bras

These three get used as if they were the same thing. They are not.

• Full coverage describes the cup shape: the top edge of the cup sits high on the breast and the side sits close to the underarm, so the whole breast is inside the cup. A demi cup stops about halfway up; a balconette sits a little higher with a straight neckline; a plunge dips at the center. Full coverage is available in every size, from a 32A Dominique 3500 to a 44K Panache Envy.
• Full cup is the UK term for the same shape, used by Panache and Parfait. When a Panache style says full cup, read it as full coverage.
• Full figure describes a size range, usually a D cup and up or a band of 38 and up, not a cup shape. Natori uses Full Figure for its D to H lines and Full Fit for its full coverage cut, which is why the two overlap on this page. If you are shopping by size rather than shape, the full figure bras collection is the better starting point.

One more that matters: full support on a label usually means a firm band, wide straps and a structured cup, which most full coverage bras have, but a full support bra can still be a balconette.

Full coverage bras are the least forgiving of a wrong size, because the cup is meant to hold all of the tissue: too small and it cuts a line across the top, too big and the top edge gaps. Start with your measured size, not the one you have been wearing.

• Band: snug on the loosest hook, level front to back. If it rides up, go down a band size and up a cup (36C becomes 34D). The band carries most of the weight.
• Cup: the wire should sit flat against the ribs, not on breast tissue, and the top edge should lie flush. A ridge across the top means go up a cup; a gap at the top means go down a cup or try a molded style that sits closer.
• UK vs U.S. letters: Panache and Parfait run DD, E, F, FF, G, GG, H. Natori, Le Mystere, Dominique and Skarlett Blue run DD, DDD, G, H. A U.S. DDD is a UK E, a U.S. G is a UK F, and a U.S. H is a UK FF. The bra size conversion chart lines them up.
• Sister sizes: if a style stops at your band, move one band down and one cup up, or one band up and one cup down, and the cup volume stays the same. The bra size chart lists them.

Measure in about thirty seconds with the bra size calculator. Remeasure after any weight change, pregnancy or a year of wear.

Once you know you want full coverage, the next choice is what is built around the cup.

• Full cup underwire (Panache Clara, Natori Statement, Parfait Emily) gives the most lift and the most defined shape, because the wire anchors the cup to the chest wall. Seamed cups shape from the inside; molded cups are smooth outside.
• Full coverage T-shirt bra (Le Mystere Dream Tisha, Natori Pretty Smooth, Liquid Full Fit, Dominique Anais) is a molded contour cup with a full coverage neckline. Nothing shows through a knit, and the lining stops nipple show without adding size.
• Minimizer (Dominique Mystique, Lila and Wave, Parfait Enora and Pearl, Le Mystere Second Skin) is full coverage by definition: the cup spreads tissue wider and flatter to reduce forward projection by roughly an inch. Good under button-downs and blazers; less rounded than a contour cup.
• Wireless full coverage (Dominique Jilian 6800, Marcelle 5360) trades the wire for a wide, firm band and a molded or soft cup. Comfortable for long days, travel and sleep; lift is a little softer than an underwire in a G cup and up.
• Front close and racerback (Natori Smooth Comfort Front Close, Dominique 7050) keep the full coverage cup and move the clasp to the front, which helps with limited shoulder mobility and racerback tops.

Cannot decide? One full coverage T-shirt bra for weekdays and one full cup underwire for lift is the pairing that covers most wardrobes.

• Natori: the Full Fit lines (Pretty Smooth, Conform, Liquid, Hidden Glamour, Smooth Comfort, Power Comfort) are full coverage contour cuts with smoothing wings; the Full Figure lines (Feathers, Chic Comfort, Elusive, Statement) add deeper cups and wider bands to 42H. Pure Luxe Custom Coverage is the smooth seamless option. See Natori bras.
• Panache: UK full cup engineering for D to K cups. Clara is the seamed full cup, Envy the full cup balconnet, Porcelain Elan the molded T-shirt. See Panache bras.
• Le Mystere: Dream Tisha is the seamless full coverage T-shirt bra the brand is known for, Lace Tisha the lace version, Safari a spacer-foam full coverage that breathes and runs to a J cup, SoftLuxe a lace full fit cut and sew, and Second Skin the minimizer. See Le Mystere bras.
• Parfait: full bust specialists in UK sizing. Enora and Pearl are the minimizers, Emily the seamless unlined full cup, Erika the molded full cup. See Parfait bras.
• Dominique: made in the U.S., seamless, and the widest band range here, to 48. Anais 7200 and the 3500 family are the everyday full coverage underwires, Maxine 4500 runs F to I, Mystique 7000, Lila 7001 and Wave 7100 are the minimizers, Jilian 6800 and Marcelle 5360 the wireless options, 7050 the front close racerback. See Dominique bras.
• Skarlett Blue: Entice and Spellbound put a full coverage underwire cup inside sheer lace, C to H. See Skarlett Blue.

• Gap at the top of the cup: the cup is too big for the top of the breast, common with breasts that are fuller at the bottom. Go down a cup, or switch from a molded cup to a seamed or stretch-lace top cup (Parfait Emily, Panache Clara, Skarlett Blue Entice).
• Spill at the top or side: the cup is too small. Go up a cup and keep the band. Full coverage should not leave a ridge.
• Band rides up in the back: the band is too loose and the straps are doing the lifting. Go down a band and up a cup.
• Center gore floats off the chest: the cups are too small or too shallow for the breast. Go up a cup; if it still floats, try a style with a taller, narrower gore.
• Straps dig: usually a band problem, not a strap problem. Tighten the band first; if the band is right and straps still dig, pick a wider padded strap (Le Mystere Dream Tisha, Dominique Anais).
• Wire pokes at the side: the wire is too narrow for the breast root. Go up a cup, or choose a brand with wider wires (Panache, Parfait).
• Lift drops by afternoon: the band has stretched or is on the tightest hook already. Replace the bra, rotate two or three, and hand wash so the elastic lasts.