If one's breasts is wide and shallow, and a cup is narrow and deep, it is like trying to fit an orange in a glass.[1]
The orange-in-a-glass effect (OIG) is when one's breasts are the same volume as a bra cup, but the cup is too narrow and deep for one's breast shape, "like an orange that doesn't fit into a narrow glass".[1] This will make the cup size look empty, wrinkly, and all-around too large, when, in actuality, it is either too small or simply the wrong shape.[1]
If underwire does not fully encase your breast tissue, width-wise, you compromise both support and shape, and you can have health issues, such as pain, blocked milk ducts, and breast inflammation, especially when nursing.[1]
Signs[]
There are several signs of having the OIG effect:
- The wires sit on breast tissue.
- There is a starburst pattern around the nipples.
- Breast tissue is popping out of the sides, but the cup seems too large in the middle.[1]
Opposite OIG effect[]
The opposite can also occur, where one's breast shape is narrow and deep, and a particular cup is too wide and shallow. This has been nick-named the "aubergine-in-a-bowl" effect.[1]
Visual representations[]
These three containers can all contain to exact same volume (480 ml), but they're all shaped very differently.[1] The container underneath is meant to represent one's breast, and the container on top is meant to represent one's bra cup. You can see that they don't easily fit inside of each other in either situation.
