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The study emphasises the significance of choosing a well-fitting, ready-to-wear bra for physical comfort, overall health, and self-confidence. It asserts that a properly fitted bra offers more than just support, acting as a foundation for comfort and body positivity. The research, involving 147 female university students in South African retail stores, aims to evaluate their knowledge of bra selection. It addresses whether students in university hostels possess sufficient knowledge for informed bra choices and if this knowledge improves post-study. The study also explores the importance of body measurements in bra manufacturing and the consequences of wearing ill-fitting bras. Results reveal a strong emphasis on comfort among participants, valuing support, lifting, and positioning functions for enhanced self-esteem. Surprisingly, only 107 out of 147 participants were comfortable with their chosen bras. The study uncovers a lack of awareness regarding professional measurement services and the importance of regular measurements when purchasing bras. The researcher concludes that for some women, both wearing and adjusting a bra can be a complex process. Overall, the study underscores the critical role of well-fitting bras in physical and psychological well-being, highlighting areas where education and awareness could be improved.

The researchers studied whether there was a bra style or brand preference in adolescent girls and adopted a hybrid approach to study the girls’ expectations for bras regarding the comfort, protection, and support they provide, with a view to assessing the function of the bras for adolescent girls. The research took samples from girls aged eight to 18 who are concentrated in Guangdong Province. The researchers found that teenage girls desire improved bras that are properly sized and fit for them, providing comfort, protection, and support. Additionally, the bras that adolescent girls want should not interfere with their daily study or sports activities. Underwear manufacturers can improve the bra design for teenage girls by incorporating the results of this study, ensuring healthy breast development and meeting their needs and expectations.

Selection of the right size and comfortable bra is very important as the wrong bra selection may lead to many problems like skin irritation, pain, and in extreme cases can induce breast cancer. This study consists of two phases, in the first phase a survey was conducted to investigate factors affecting wrong bra selection leading to health problems, in the second phase a mobile application “Bra Guide” was developed to create awareness in women related to health issues, extraction of breast measurement, and bra sizing system. The collected data was analyzed with factor analysis using SPSS, IBM AMOS 26.0, and the mobile application was developed by using the Flutter framework. Results showed that 84% of women don’t have awareness related to bra sizing system and they also fall behind with bra style feature knowledge. The second most important factor is the nonexistence of bra fitting services which causes most women to use ill-fitted bras for their complete life, furthermore, 79% of women wear bras 24 h a day which causes health issues. A mobile application “Bra Guide” has been developed which helped in delivering awareness and solutions regarding bra size, style, and breast health issues as 91.2% of respondents rated this application as highly satisfied.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the relationship between bra's visual impression and bra parts, and then to explore the application of visual impression in bra design.Design/methodology/approachFirstly, 82 female undergraduates are asked to answered this questionnaire online, which is about the importance of parts in bra design. In the part of data analysis, the method of principal part analysis (PCA) are used to get the relationship between bra's parts, and reduce dimension of factors that influence bra design. After that, those group of features are further discussed from the perspective of visual design. Finally, design an application based on conclusion.FindingsTo get the influence features of bra appearance and improve the visual design effect, this paper matches the bra parts with visual features (color, texture, shape and space) and presents four main features of bra design: “color,” “visual texture,” “design shape” and “spatial expression” together with corresponding bra parts and technique of expression. Moreover, user interface in bra cloud customization is designed.Practical implicationsThe conclusion, which shows the corresponding relationship between bra visual effect and its basic parts, has an important role in bra visual design. First, it can be useful for design idea with different technique of expression, which may supply a theoretical basis for design. Secondly, the combination of bra parts and visual features can be used to evaluate the appearance.Originality/valueDiscussing the bra visual impression based on bra's basic parts and visual features provides a theoretical method for bra design and its appearance evaluation.

PurposePrevious research suggests that many active females are not engaging in sports bra use, despite the positive health benefits. The aim of this study was to establish and compare sports bra use, preferences and bra fit issues for exercising females in some of the largest and most diverse global underwear markets (the US, the UK and China).Design/methodology/approachA survey covering activity levels, sports bra use and preferences, bra issues and demographics was administered via Qualtrics and completed by 3,147 physically active females (aged ≥ 18 years) from the US (n = 1,060), UK (n = 1,050) and China (n = 1,037).FindingsIn general, participants were 25–29 years, 121 to 140 pounds, 34B bra size and pre-menopausal. “I cannot find the right sports bra” was the most frequent breast barrier to exercise (25.4%). Three-quarters of women wore a sports bra during exercise, with significantly higher use in China (83.9%), compared to the UK (67.2%). A third of all participants reported sports bra shoulder straps “digging into the skin”. Sports bra preferences were: compression sports bras with a racer back, wide straps and thick straps in the US and the UK; thin straps in China and adjustable straps and underband, no wire and maximum breast coverage in the US and the UK, including nipple concealment and with padded/moulded cups.Originality/valueInformation provided on differences in sports bra use, preferences and bra issues across three major global markets could be utilised by brands and manufacturers to optimise bra marketing and fit education initiatives and inform future sports bra design and distribution strategies.

Sports bras are an essential apparel for active women, but may exert excessive pressure that negatively affects thermoregulation, thermal comfort and wear sensation. This study measures skin temperature changes during short durations of exercise on a treadmill with different bra pressures. The results based on 21 female subjects (age: 27.2 ± 4.5 years old) show that bras with more pressure at the underband or shoulder straps do not cause statistically significant skin temperature changes during exercise (p > 0.05). Nevertheless, compared to the optimal bra fit, significant differences in bra-breast skin temperature are found during running, cooling down and sitting when the bra pressure is increased (p < 0.05), particularly under bra cup (T1) in this study. The FLIR thermal images can visualize the skin temperature changes at abdomen throughout the four activity stages. Subjective sensations of bra thermal comfort, pressure and breast support are assessed. Despite the increased pressure on the shoulders and chest wall, perceptions towards thermal comfort remain unchanged. The perceived pressure comfort and support sensation amongst the 4 bra conditions are comparable. Interestingly, positive sensations of pressure comfort and breast support are perceived with a tight-fitting sports bra during treadmill exercise. High pressures induced by sports bras (>4 kPa) that habitually considered harmful to the human body may not lead to wear discomfort but enhance bra support sensation and a sense of security to the wearers.

Purpose A feasibility study to evaluate the Chabner XRT® Radiation Bra (CIVCO Radiotherapy & Qfix, Coralville, IA, USA) as a customised immobilisation device for patients with pendulous breasts undergoing radiotherapy was conducted. Methods A total of 34 patients with large pendulous breasts were fitted with the Chabner XRT® Radiation Bra during RT. A mixed-method questionnaire was administered to both radiation therapists (RTTs) and patients. RTTs evaluated the effectiveness of the bra in setup. Patients appraised its comfort level and ease of wearing. Setup reproducibility was evaluated based on a departmental imaging protocol. Acute skin side effects were documented with photos and assessed using the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) classification. Results Of the patients, 27 (79.4%) completed the questionnaire. 23 patients felt comfortable wearing the bra while 20 felt less exposed during treatment. Reproducibility was acceptable, with a median (range) setup error (isocentre) of 0.0 cm (−0.6 to 0.7 cm; left/right), −0.1 cm (−0.5 to 1.2 cm; posterior) and 0.2 cm (−0.5 to 0.9 cm; inferior) achieved based on matched field borders on skin. However, repeated setups and imaging were required for 3 patients due to large breast size (cups D–G; size 4–5). Minimal skin toxicity (grade 0–1) was observed. No grade ≥ 2 was reported. 10 RTTs completed the survey. Male RTTs ( n  = 4) were not confident in assisting patients with bra fitting. 8 RTTs agreed that although it was difficult to reproduce the breast tissue for treatment, it helped patients to maintain the treatment position. Conclusion Our study demonstrated the feasibility of using a customised bra which provided optimal setup reproducibility while maintaining minimal skin toxicity and patient comfort, especially the value-added modesty felt among Asian women during their breast cancer radiotherapy.

To improve the low-temperature performance of the Buton rock asphalt (BRA)-modified asphalt, styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) was added to it. The BRA-modified asphalt and SBR-BRA composite modified asphalt were prepared by high-speed shearing method. The penetration, softening point, ductility, and Brookfield viscosity of the two kinds of asphalt were measured. The dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) and the beam bending rheometer (BBR) were employed to research the performance of BRA-modified asphalt by adding SBR. The results showed that the pure asphalt in BRA was the main reason to reduce the low-temperature performance of neat asphalt when the content of BRA was 19%. However, the ash in BRA was the main factor to reduce the low-temperature performance when its content was more than 39.8%. When the BRA content was 59.8%, the SBR-BRA composite modified asphalt with SBR contents of 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8%, and it shows that the penetration and ductility of the BRA-modified asphalt are increased by the addition of SBR. The equivalent brittle point was reduced, the stiffness modulus was decreased, and the creep rate was increased. At the same time, the Brookfield viscosity was reduced and the rutting factor was increased. The stiffness modulus of the SBR-BRA composite modified asphalt mixture was increased. That is to say, when SBR was mixed into the BRA-modified asphalt, the low-temperature performance could be remarkably improved based on ensuring high-temperature performance. The low-temperature index of composite modified asphalt was analyzed. It was recommended to apply the equivalent brittle point to evaluate the low-temperature performance of SBR-BRA composite modified asphalt.

PurposeEsthetic trend changes with the development of society and cultural differences. A minimizer bra designed to make breasts appear smaller is now popular with large-breasted women in China. To conform to the requirements of modern aesthetics in China, this paper aims to investigate vital features of breast appearance that influence people’s subjective evaluation of breast size and analyze how bra design parameters affect breast shape and make breasts appear smaller.Design/methodology/approachThis study used 3D scanning technology and reverse engineering software to obtain objective breast measurements in detail. A subjective evaluation experiment was conducted to evaluate the overall performance of seven minimizer bras compared to a basic comparison bra. Around 20 design parameters of 8 sample bras were identified to make a further study about the correlation between bra design features and breast shaping effect. To gain a deeper understanding of how bras interact with breast tissue, this study presented heat maps of the breast surface to visualize the deformation of breast shape.FindingsNine breasts' characteristics, such as the distance between bust points, breast depth, outer breast curvature and slope, etc. have been determined to be highly correlated with the visual reduction effect of breasts. In addition, for the bras in this experiment, the high-performance bra for women with large breasts tends to have a wider side panel, a wider under band, higher gore and a stronger transverse rigidity of the bra cup. According to the observation of heat maps of the breast surface, soft full-figure bras provide a wider range of compression to the breasts and effectively flatten the breasts.Originality/valueThis paper first aimed at the need to shape the ideal breast appearance for large-breasted women and make a further study of several hot-selling minimizer bras in China. The suggestions given in this paper help lingerie manufacturers better understand how design features of bras can affect their shaping effect and improve the wearing effect of minimizer bras for large-breasted women.

The sports bra plays an important role in providing adequate support and minimizing breast movement to prevent exercise-induced discomfort, pain, and potential damage. However, there has been limited investigation into the evaluation of sports bras specifically designed for senior females. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify key multi-criteria for evaluating the design attributes of sports bras for senior women. Another aim was to systematically and numerically assess sports bra performance based on human perceptions. To achieve these objectives, the Delphi study was employed to identify key criteria, and the Analytic Hierarchy Process was utilized to rank the importance of both design attributes and sports bra styles. Unlike traditional evaluation methods, this study stands out by first identifying the multi-dimensional criteria for sports bras and then assessing intangible perceptions based on both subjective and objective feedback. The results indicate that the top three important criteria for subjective self-evaluation were overall support, shaping effect, and tactile sensation. Meanwhile, the top criteria for objective third-party evaluation were appearance, underband stability, and fit. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the long-shirt encapsulation-style sports bra, featuring a high neckline and a double back layer, was more suitable for senior women than the other three styles tested. This design provides ample support, an excellent shaping effect, sufficient back support for maintaining good posture, and freedom of movement during physical activities. These findings can inspire designers and manufacturers to develop sports bras tailored specifically for senior women by combining optimal attributes and design features.