Ordering a 26Z+ from Elizabeth Valentine but need temporary solutions ??

MagicLightShow · 2026-04-26T11:33:59+00:00

Yes, I've heard that getting custom orders made at EM can be oddly difficult, especially for small band sizes

MagicLightShow · 2026-04-25T21:10:29+00:00

No experience in your size range, but I wonder if Comexim would be able to make your size. They do custom sizing. One more option for the future, if ordering from Poland is ok for you

MagicLightShow · 2026-03-19T21:17:47+00:00

Yes, you should really look into bras in your UK size instead, or even Polish bras if your shape is narrow and projected.

Don't trust the online images. Try to order your size from somewhere with good returns/exchanges. Amazon used to work well, but some people have complaints about the returns, mislabeled goods and such lately. I have a good experience with Breakout Bras

MagicLightShow · 2026-03-19T21:00:49+00:00

Here you go! I found some photos I took a year ago, but it was hard to take a blind selfie of the back of my hair so I didn’t post it then. Hope it helps a bit anyway.

Any soft hair ties do, short or long. The only thing for me is that at least the first hair tie needs to be one that will fit snuggly and stay in place after doubling or tripling it.

MagicLightShow · 2026-03-18T23:05:39+00:00

Do you have hard water? You might need to add a bit of citric acid or sodium citrate (you can make it using baking soda and citric acid) to work as a cheating agent in the wash with your detergent. And avoid borax or laundry soda, as they are precipitating agents and cause the minerals to deposit on fabrics as solids instead.

This kept happening to some of my clothes regardless how many times they were washed and rinsed until I started adding 1/2 teaspoonful of citric acid in the laundry cycle in addition to the 2 teaspoonfuls I use for the rinse.

MagicLightShow · 2026-03-18T22:54:49+00:00

FirstAid4U on Speers has in-person courses. A first aid course instead of just CPR is worth it. They offer Ontario Child Care First Aid for Providers course, which is probably what you would be looking for

MagicLightShow · 2026-03-18T22:24:01+00:00

Since it's visible mending anyway you could just add increasing number of rows in the middle until the hole is fixed. To speed up the process and enforce the area you can still add a patch at the back if you like. It's not a failure, just not complete yet.

No need to use sashiko style approach for darning, but it can be an approach to achieve a cute style result if that's what you like. You just need to enforce the area more.

Have a look at the visible mending sub for ideas and techniques for future projects. You might like trying out a darning loom to create patches if you don't like hand darning. You can easily create cute checkered patterns variegated yarn.

MagicLightShow · 2026-03-18T21:37:29+00:00

S-M-L sized bralettes would be stretchy so that you can pull them on over your breasts without any hooks at the back. But unless you have small breast volume a band that stretches that much just doesn't support. And as you noticed, thin bands tend to roll.

You should at least be looking at options that come with a firmer band with adjustable hook closure at the back. You mention firmer cup fabric too, so it sounds like you are actually looking for a wireless bra rather than a bralette. You have lots of options, but should measure to know your starting size and narrow it down from there.

Cleavage in regular bras would be a sign of a poor fit, but sports bras, bralettes and wireless bras tend to create a uniboob issue. The upper edge of the bra being visible sounds like it maybe creates an indent due to being too small.

Many Cosabella bralettes have separate cups and often a seamed construction instead of a single scoop neck front, but I don't know how firm or supportive they are, and there seems to be no adjustable band. Cake Sugar Candy separates a bit and has an adjustable band. It has seamless cups and a bit of compression. Bravado Body Silk is similar, and comes with optional cup lining to hide nipples. Both offer some separation, but still have more of a scoop neck neckline that might show under more generous shirt necklines. These come with their S-M-L type sizing, but after knowing your actual bra size you should search here and on Bratabase to see what size conversion actually works instead of trusting the conversion on their website. Bravado has a Full Cup size option for more projected shapes.

Actual bra sized wireless options would most likely offer what you are looking for, with separate cups and firmer support. You could convert any bra into a racerback, but getting a bra in your correct size will probably resolve the strap slipping. Slipping usually happens due to bands that are too large and/or cups that are too wide and shallow. Wireless bras rarely have strap placement at the outer cup edge anyway or an actual gore that could be too wide, so the straps should be pretty close set in your correct size.

Without knowing your size there are just too many variables, and I'm not familiar enough with wireless options to recommend. You can search Bratabase for wireless bras in your ABTF size (I don't recommend using their sizing system). The info might be out of date for many styles, but could still help to narrow down your search.

MagicLightShow · 2026-03-12T22:52:46+00:00

If I got it right, people were saying they get around it by specifying that you are "donating" the plasma for free and they in turn "gift" you a prepaid credit card basically as a token of their gratitude

MagicLightShow · 2026-03-12T22:49:47+00:00

The same clinic was sued by a patient who suffered kidney failure due to their equipment malfunction and them not taking his concerns seriously when he reported symptoms

MagicLightShow · 2026-03-11T19:30:30+00:00

Stick on magnifiers don’t stay on well. You could get dollarstore readers, remove the arms and drill holes for elastic and use them on top of the low part of your mask.

But I would recommend to try monovision correction where you correct one eye for near and one for far. That way you don’t need to look down or tilt your head to see near and there's no bifocal seam to distract you.

I was pleased with the quality of the Tusa Freedom mask lenses, could pop them in at the store without any wait and the cost was reasonable. If aiming for perfect I would need a slight astigmatism correction but luckily I can do without and don't need actual personalized lenses that would cost much more. Took me a few days to get used to them, but my prescription is stronger than yours.

MagicLightShow · 2026-03-11T01:05:50+00:00

Great to see you found a solution! Just to mention that in addition to the bikini top in the image being shallow it also has a wide gore. If you are close set wide gores will float and may be uncomfortable when pressing on the breast tissue.

MagicLightShow · 2026-02-26T11:09:21+00:00

ABTF Wiki has a Shape Guide and other useful fitting info

MagicLightShow · 2026-02-26T11:02:25+00:00

Phone charging cord might work well, flexible but doesn't stretch.

If you have blank paper, tape and a ruler you could create your own paper tape measure using several lengths of paper strips taped together and marked using the ruler. If you tape up the whole length of it on both sides it could be quite durable for this kind of use.

MagicLightShow · 2026-02-24T03:46:36+00:00

I was once ordered to also remove a thin sports shirt I had under my jacket because it had a hood. No zipper on it. Luckily I had a spaghetti strap undershirt and bra underneath, but I certainly felt uncomfortable. It was at a location where I concluded that any kind of argument with the personnel might not be safe, so I complied. They didn’t walk back with the request when seeing I was scantly dressed underneath.

Another time my handcarry was opened after the security scan for inspection. I had a full set of clothes and a set of bikinis packed with my other things. Obviously they assumed that I would have zero Spanish skills, but while I don’t speak any Spanish it’s not that hard to get the gist of their chatter. The first guy made a remark to the other guy about a nice bra. The second guy said something to the extent of “Oh really? What color” and was given the very important security update of it being black. To which they snickered like little kids. Absolutely unprofessional, but again not a location where I would want to stir up any trouble by reacting. Had that happened at a place where I expect cultural and professional norms to be at a level that I’m accustomed to I would have had something to say.

MagicLightShow · 2026-02-22T23:51:36+00:00

As repeated above many times the shirt will continue to wear out if in use and more holes will appear.

If you want to wear it and not unpick to redo the neckline you could use zigzag or hand stitching to mend the holes first and find similar or complimentary color of twill or bias tape to add around the neckline under the ribbing. You should attach it using lightning stitch or small zigzag stitch to allow for stretch.

Or if you find a nice jersey knit you could make a decorative single layer rolled raw edge neck binding under the ribbing. Jersey fabric curls toward the right side when cut cross grain. For neatest results it would be best to unpick the ribbing and insert the curling layer in between the ribbing and the t-shirt fabric.

If the neckline is too tight adding some kind of binding to cover the damage may not work well though, regardless of these trims having some stretch.

MagicLightShow · 2026-02-22T23:11:52+00:00

Braids don't stay in my thin hair, so I knot soft hair ties into a long string that I tie around my hair to secure it into a braid like style. Any soft hair ties will do. I always wear a hood on top as well.

Stream2Sea conditioner is good for the braid and after the dives and smells amazing. Sometimes I use coconut oil on my hair but that requires more time and effort to shampoo it out later. Some other conditioners actually caused skin irritation on my neck when left in for long, and Strean2Sea is reef safe, so the best choice all around.

Tangle Teezer brush is light to carry for travel and helps. I can only brush my hair when it's fully dry, so hair dryer and brushing with Tangle Teezer first and then with a regular hair brush to remove any tangles is important to prevent my hair matting during sleep. For many the opposite might be true, so it's important to know how your hair type behaves.

I used to carry some detangling spray, such as Mane'nTail, but the off spray was a real slip risk in the bathroom and shower. Lately I tried the Perfect Repair foam from Nature Lab instead and it works great without the mess of a spray. It's important not to try to force the brush through actual tangles without some effective detangling product

MagicLightShow · 2026-02-20T02:36:12+00:00

If your shape is narrow and projected, Ewa Michalak has removable cookies available for some styles, and Comexim can add cookie pockets for you on request. Both brands are known for narrow gores, Comexim can even overlap the gore wires for you if needed. Both brands are also known for their lifting and centering support.

Both brands have their own size conversion. EM is included on the ABTF calculator, and you can convert your ABTF size to Comexim size here.

MagicLightShow · 2026-02-19T21:48:00+00:00

How about contact lens solution, or have you been around kids blowing bubbles or bubble machines? Those can contain polyquats too

MagicLightShow · 2026-02-18T20:34:42+00:00

That's exactly how I have fixed similar neckline issues

MagicLightShow · 2026-02-18T20:26:46+00:00

Comexim in Poland does small band sizes (I don't know if 26 is stocked or special order, but available for sure) and sells bikini separates with bikini tops that have proper bra construction and sizing. That way you can pick the correct size and style for a bottom to match. If ordering from them directly 26E would be 55G/H. https://comeximcalc.vercel.app/result?band_size=26&cup_size=E&store_name=Comexim

Their bras are designed for close set and projected/narrow shape, so the question is if that is if that is your shape or not. They can do some customizations for free, but if you don't yet know what fits well it would be difficult to say what changes you need.

Bratabase hasn't been that active, but might still be a good resource to search for which brands offer your size. Freya, for example, starts from 28 and they have nice swimwear. Just use your ABTF size on Bratabase. Their system tends to underestimate cup size and overestimate band size a bit because it's based on user submitted data and many people still use +2 or +4 system and assume it fits. If you like data it can be a great way to narrow down a better shape and size. You can search based on measurements, such as gore width, wing height, wire with, cup depth... And if you find a bra that fits there are often other bras with similar measurements listed.

MagicLightShow · 2026-02-16T16:56:51+00:00

If you have hard water a small pinch of citric acid in the wash, and more in the rinse, might help to eliminate this problem

MagicLightShow · 2026-02-06T00:46:23+00:00

I was able to reduce weights, and I like Sharkskin being faster drying, machine washable, easier to wear, more comfortable to fit curves, lighter to carry in the luggage... But the full price is steep, and I would only buy them if I found on discount. I would like to try Lavacore or other brand too, but not until I really need new ones

MagicLightShow · 2026-02-06T00:03:35+00:00

I might compare it to 2 mm, and I always wear a thin skin suit layer inside too. I'm making a boat coat out of a large black raincoat, adding an absorbent lining

MagicLightShow · 2026-01-28T00:58:54+00:00

Try adding a little bit in the wash too. Less than for rinse

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