Ultimate Bra Challenge

"She's also getting a lot of pressure on her shoulder straps because more support is coming from the strap than from the band." In fact, Susan says, the opposite should be true. 90% of the support you get from your bra should come from the band and just 10% should come from the straps.

"The band on this bra is much firmer," Susan says, "so by going down in inches, you actually get more support. You can see it makes a huge difference; this bra, even though it's still low-cut, holds her up in the cup and gives more support."

Tabitha chose her old bra because she could convert it to fit under her halter-top, but this bra is also convertible and gives the halter or racer back options. "Finding a good-fitting bra doesn't mean you have to lose style options," says Susan. "And, in the end, it's going to give you the best support, which is great for the health of your breast tissue."

Expert tip: With every cup size you go up, subtract two inches from your band size.

Marie Jo L'Aventure "Tom" in caffe, $100

The cups on Ivana's old bra doesn't have enough support to give her lift and shape. "They're too small and they cut her off, which is why there's some spillage, and she's falling forward and out," Susan says.

The band on this bra is also too loose and unstructured. "It's made to be seamless," Susan says, "but, because the band is so loose, it's riding up and accentuating her back fat a bit more."

Susan gave Ivana a bra with a band two sizes smaller than her old one; in this bra, she's getting way more support from the band, and it's not riding up. "Because she's used to wearing bras that are too big in the band," Susan says, "she kind of has some natural denting in her shoulder. Over time, and with the help of a good-fitting bra, that will heal itself and smooth back out. The major thing here is that we gave her a better cup size, so she has fuller coverage in the cups and her breasts aren't sliding toward the center. And because her breasts are adequately supported, she actually looks taller and thinner, and her breast size looks much smaller, too!"

One problem for Ivana, and a common problem for a lot of women, is that she has one breast that's slightly larger than the other. Always find a bra that fits the larger breast. "You never want to compress breast tissue because it softens it and causes sagging," Susan says. "A good-fitting bra will hold the breasts in the cups properly, thereby alleviating the feeling of being uneven and seeing unevenness in clothing."

Prima Donna "Satin Smooth" in cognac, $85

Michelle's bra is loose and falling off the front of her. "It's not up underneath her breast tissue, which is why she isn't getting any lift," Susan says, "and the straps are falling down, causing gapping in the top of the cup. The bra just doesn't fit onto her body; it's overpowering her!"

This bra of Michelle's is a laser-cut micro fiber bra. "This kind of bra continues to stretch out over time," Susan says, "which means it doesn't give continuous support."

"This bra is a demi cup style," Susan says, "a T-shirt bra that doesn't leave her with the excess of coverage that she had before." The lace band offers Michelle more support and structure, and is more long lasting than micro fibers and elastic. "The demi cup is more youthful, too, especially when accented with these decorative straps," Susan says. "It's just simply a better fit for her."

Expert tip: "You should wear lace bras at least twice a week," Susan says. "They offer twice as much support as smooth bras because of the cup structure."

Chantelle "Rive Gauche" in cappuccino, $76

"The cups on this bra are far too tight, " Susan says. "They're not only making her spill out, but they're not allowing the bra to sit properly up in the front."

The too-small cups are causing the whole bra to slouch down, and the straps, which are also too tight, are digging into her shoulders, and cutting into her body.

Because increasing cup size means decreasing band width, Susan gave Rachel another cup size, but a smaller band when fitting her in this new bra. "She's much more supported now, and this allows the bra to sit up securely on her chest," Susan says.

Expert tip: A really great way to tell if you're wearing the right bra is to turn sideways and look in the mirror to see where your bust falls in line with your arm. "The fullest part of the bust should be midway between your shoulder and elbow," Susan says.

Fantasie "Savannah" in latte, $80

What this bra offers in coverage, it lacks in support. "Heather's bra is, once again, too big in the band," Susan says. "This is causing the cup to rise forward and gape open; in fact, you can see down the front of the bra if you're standing over her."

The too-big band is riding up in the back, causing the straps to fall down; "It's just sitting on her body," Susan says, "making her look smaller that she actually is."

"What makes this bra special," says Susan, "is that it's a non-padded push-up, which means that the actual structure of the bra is what's displacing the breast tissue and pushing it up."

Heather's new bra is a memory foam push-up, which gives "more coverage, but it's also not totally covering her up," says Susan.

Le Mystere "Francesca" in nude, $75