After years of wearing ill-fitting bras, I thought it was due more to discomfort than symbolism. It is no fun wearing an underwire bra that pokes into your ribs, with the metal wire sticking into your flesh, threatening to stab you to death. It would be embarassing to have inscribed on your tombstone that your life was ended prematurely because of death inflicted by a bra that should have long been replaced.

I'm an absolutely cheapskate. I mean, why invest in an article of clothing that isn't meant to be seen?

Your bra is like the foundation of your outfit. Get that right, and you'd look your best in whatever outfit you wear. Get it wrong, you might have the fabric puckering unflatteringly if the bra is too big, or your boobs spilling out, leaving a line under your clothing, showing a too tight bra. A bra in a wrong size would make you look flat when you are not. Or it might make you look fat when you are actually curvy. If your foundation is all wrong, you are not going to look your best no matter what you put on over your badly fitted underwear.

Would you prefer to have perky breasts or saggy ones? Breasts need the support of well fitted bras. If your bra doesn't fit you well, it probably wouldn't give you the support you need.

In the first place, replace the underwire bras where the wires have been bent out of shape. If the wire is showing, throw the bra away. Once the wire pokes through the fabric, it can cause serious damage to you when you wear it.

Wear and tear aside, you should measure yourself to find out your real bra size every three years. Weight fluctuations affect your entire body including your breasts. Gain weight? You'd probably need a bigger bra. Lose weight? You might have to switch to a smaller bra.

On top of that, pregnancy, menopause and anything that affects your hormones would affect your breast size as well. Get measured during your pregnancy, after you give birth, and a year after you've weaned the baby off your breasts. Your breast size would have changed drastically during these periods, and you should wear your bra according to your real bra size.

I learnt this the hard way. For ten years, after two childbirths and gaining lots of weight, I wore the same bras I had a decade ago and they got more and more uncomfortable over the years, to the point of causing extreme pain. I hated wearing them and wore them only when I had to leave my home. Finally, I caved in and got myself measured. Unfortunately, the store did not have the design I wanted in my size. The salesgirl tried to sell me a bra in the wrong size but I declined and went to another store instead. By the way, the job of a salesperson is to close the sale. If the bra in your size is not in stock, she'd recommend something with a smaller cup, or larger band, or whatever they have which you might still be able to wear, but the fit wouldn't be half as good. When that happens, walk away.

The difference between a bra that fits exactly and one with an approximate fit is astounding. The bras in my exact size felt so comfortable and looked great. For once I actually liked what I saw.

Try it yourself. Get yourself measured, or use this bra measurement tool to get your exact bra size. Then buy bras in your exact size. Wear them. You'd see and feel the difference.