To ensure a bra’s overall comfort, its wearer needs to know when it is time to retire it. To put it most simply, a bra is worn out when it is no longer comfortable or well-fitting. Some of the warning signs include stretched bands, shape loss, underwire issues, holes, broken parts and back pain. When one, or all of, the issues comes into play, it is time to get a new bra!
Obvious Damage
This might be an obvious one, but when any part of the bra, whether the band or cups, begins containing holes, it is time to move on. If a bra is so old that holes are forming, one cannot expect it to properly and painlessly defy gravity. Another obvious red flag is when underwire breaks or snaps. While it is sometimes fixable, since one can purchase new underwire, usually, it is simply best to trash the offending bra, and, instead, spoil yourself with a new one. It will be well worth it.
Loose Band
When the back band has lost too much elasticity, and it no longer “snaps back” after stretching it out or it begins riding up in the back even when fastened on the tightest hook, it has reached the end of its lifespan. Stretching can occur anywhere in the bra, however, and even if one cannot pinpoint the issue, if the breasts are no longer supported and droop while in a bra, or if the wearer is beginning to experience atypical back pain, the bra is no longer doing its job and it is time to invest in a new one.
Shapeless Cups
Another unfixable issue is when molded cups lose their shape. It happens, eventually, even to one’s favorite bras. A misshapen molded cup will, naturally, misshape one’s breasts, and it definitely will not properly support them.
Other Warning Signs
If any other signs of a poor fit begin surfacing, or even if they have been present since purchase, replace the bra. Cup overflow (also known as “quad-boob”), in addition to painful and/or uncomfortable straps, are always bad news. It is also game over when the underwire floating or sitting below the breast root occurs, or the gore does not fully tack against one’s rib cage. And if a bra is otherwise causing damage by blistering, chafing, and/or scratching, you know what to do.
Sources
https://bustyresources.wikia.com/wiki/How-to_know_when_to_retire_a_bra
https://jannye.blogspot.com/2007/04/lion-and-bra.html
https://blog.lindasonline.com/2012/01/09/how-long-do-bras-really-last/
Breaking it down, Hayley.