If everything else about the bra fits well, the reason is the underwire is too hard and rigid. A softer underwire will help. Try something from our FlexWire collection.

If the centre gore hurts because it's too tall for you, try a bra with a shorter centre gore. Here are our bras with short centre gores.

If the cups are too big (your breasts feel like they are swimming in the cups), this can cause the centre gore to poke too. Switch to a smaller cup size.

If you're looking for a wireless bra that offers separation, check out Cate or Cooling. They both have a fabric "centre gore" that reduces the monoboob look.

If the bra otherwise fits well, but the underwire pokes your armpit, the underwire is too tall on the sides. This tends to happen to people with petite body types (5'2 or under), or people with shorter torsos. Switching to a bra with a wire that comes up shorter on the sides will fix the problem. Check out bras with shorter underwires.

If the bra otherwise fits well, but the underwire hurts because it's reaching all the way to your back, the underwire is too wide. Switch to a bra with a narrower underwire. Check out our bras with narrow underwires, and bras with regular width underwires.

If the underwire hurts on the sides because it's sitting on your breast tissue, this is a sign that the underwire is too narrow. To fix this bra fit problem, try a bra with a wider, more open underwire. Check out our bras with wider underwires. Alternatively, try a wireless bra. Here are our wireless bras.

Another reason for the underwire sitting on your breast tissue is the underwire being too short. If the underwire is too low on the sides, and your breast tissue overflows and sits on top of the underwire tip, it can be painful. Here are our bras with regular to tall underwires.

If it feels like your breasts aren't "dropping" into the cups, because the cups don't have enough room in them, choose a bra with deeper cups. Here are our projected bras and our very projected bras.

If your breasts are very centre-set, with very little room in between (you can stick only 1 finger or less in between your breasts when they are supported), the only bras that can "tack" without causing pain will be bras with low centre gores. Here are our bras with lower centre gores.

If you have symmastia (where your breasts are connected in the middle), choose a UniWire bra. UniWire bras have no centre gore. The underwire does not curl up where they meet in the middle. UniWire bras are sometimes called monowire bras, or continuous underwire bras.

If this bra problem tends to happen to you, choose "Firm Fit" when using our size calculator. Make sure you are measuring your ribcage snugly, imitating how tight you want the bra band to feel.

If the cups feel fine everywhere else, but there is some wrinkling or gapping at the top (feels like there is "too much bra" at the top), try a bra with a shorter cup. Here are our bras with less front coverage.

If the cups feel like they are too deep, try a shallow bra. People with "plate" shaped breasts (breasts don't "stick out" as much compared to the "base" of the breasts) often encounter top gapping. Here are our shallow bras.

If the cups feel too big and too small at the same time, gapping at the top but feeling suffocating in the bottom, this is a sign that your bra size needs more nuanced troubleshooting. We recommend remeasuring and using our size calculator to double check your size.

Tighten your shoulder straps and do the scoop and swoop. Top gapping can be due to a number of reasons. We recommend remeasuring and using our size calculator to double check your size.

This is when there is excess space between the wire and the bottom of your breasts. This can happen for a number of reasons.

First, make sure you scoop and swoop.

If this is happening because the bra is overall too tall for you (both gapping above the wire and gapping at the top of the cups), pick a bra with a shorter cup. Here are our bras with shorter cups.

If this is happening because the bra doesn't have enough room at the bottom (it feels like your breasts can't "drop" into the cups, try a bra with deeper cups. Here are our projected bras, and our very projected bras. Padded t-shirt bras (i.e. molded foam cup bras) in general run shallow, so if that's what you are wearing, try unlined bras (i.e. made with only fabric, no foam or padding) for a change.

If this is happening because the underwire is narrow and is pinching you on the sides, try a bra with a more open underwire. Here are our wide underwire bras.

This is a lesser-known bra fit issue, and something not many people notice. When it happens, you don't feel held in by your bra. It feels like your breasts have too much room, but when you size down, you get overflow at the top. A too-wide underwire can cause side gapping. Here are our bras with average width underwires, and our bras with narrow underwires.

Top overflow (also known as "quadboob") typically happens when the cups are too small. If the overflow is more than a smidge and clearly visible, this signals that you are wearing a cup size that is at least two sizes too small. We recommend remeasuring and using our size calculator for a quick check.

Full-on-top shapes (when you hold your breasts up with your hands, most of the breast tissue is above the nipple) tend to struggle with top overflow. If you've tried the same bra in several neighboring sizes, but you always overflow, you need a bra that's full-on-top friendly (tall cups, more open pattern for the top half of the cup). Here are our bras that suit full-on-top shapes.

Bottom overflow is usually caused by the band being too loose, and/or the cups being too small. A properly fitted band shouldn't let any breast tissue "escape." Overflow from the bottom is a usually sign that your bra size is significantly off. We recommend remeasuring and using our size calculator as a starting point.

If the side overflow is only a smidge, we recommend the same size, but in a wide underwire bra. If the style you are wearing is already a wide underwire style, we recommend going up one size.

If the side overflow is about 2-3 fingers, we recommend going up at least one cup size.

Our asymmetry-friendly collection has bras with some padding. The padding is removable in some styles, and sewn-in for other styles. They can help even out the two sides.

When your bra band creeps up your back, and the whole bra "see-saws", this is usually because the band is too loose and/or the cups are too small. This signals that your bra size is significantly off. Remeasure and use our size calculator for a quick check. Make sure to measure your ribcage snugly, imitating the tightness of the bra band.

If your cups fit well - the cups encapsulate your breasts without gapping or overflow at the top, sides, or bottom - then sister size up (e.g. if you are wearing 34G, try a 36DDD). This will take away a little bit of the lift, but it will be better for ribcage comfort.

Sometimes, the band feels too tight because the cups are too small. If your breasts feel suffocated by the cups, your body can confuse it for the band being too small. Do an independent band test: wear the bra with the cups pointing down your back, so you are only wearing the bra band, not the cups. If the band feels ok in this case, stick with the same band size and tweak your cup size. If the band still feels too tight in this case, go up a band size.

As a rule, shoulder straps shouldn't be doing much of the lifting when you are wearing a bra. The band and underwire should do the majority of it. The cups do a little. The straps are mostly there to keep things in place.

If your shoulder straps fall off, and you have other bra fitting issues on this list (such as overflow, gapping, the band feeling tight, underwire pain), we recommend remeasuring and using our size calculator for a quick check. Make sure to measure your ribcage snugly, imitating the tightness of the bra band.

Don't just tighten the straps for more support! If the band is loose, only tightening the straps without changing sizes will cause the shoulder straps to dig.

If your bra fits well otherwise (band feels comfortable, cups encapsulate your breasts without overflow or gapping), only the shoulder straps fall off, try bras with a U-back (sometimes called leotard back). These bras have straps that sit closer together in the back, preventing them from slipping.

If your bra has slipping shoulder straps along with some other bra fitting issues, such as overflow, gapping, feeling tight in the band, or underwire pain, then it's time to remeasure using our size calculator.