Bra too tight? Here is how to make it wider with an extra hook

Is your bra band too tight around your ribs? The extra hook, that little extender piece that comes in the box with a lot of bras, is made for exactly this. Hook it to the inside of your closure and your band opens up a couple of inches in one go. Doesn't help? Then your bra isn't too narrow, it's just too small, and you need a bigger size.

What's that extra hook that comes with your bra?

A lot of bras, including the Daily Essential Bra from Monavida, come with an extra piece of closure in the box as standard. Reviews call it all kinds of things: bra extender, extension piece, add-on hooks. At its core it's an extra row of hooks and eyes that clips onto one side of your existing closure, so the other side sits further out.

The result: your band gets a couple of inches roomier, no need to buy a whole new bra right away. Handy on days your body just needs more room: after a big meal, in summer heat, or during a stretch where your weight shifts a bit.

Good to know: this piece is made for small differences. A couple of inches, not a whole size up. More on that below, because that's exactly where people go wrong.

1. The band was already tight when you bought the bra

This happens more than you'd think. You measure yourself, you land right between two sizes, and you pick the smaller one because "it'll give more support." Or your band measurement came out tighter than you thought. You feel it the moment you hook it closed.

Try this: close your bra on the tightest hook, the one farthest to the left when you look at it from behind, and take a deep breath in. Do you feel the band cutting into your skin, or see a red line the second you take it off? Then the band was already too tight on day one, not after a few wears.

This is exactly where the extra hook comes in. You don't have to wait for the band to stretch out or your body to change: hook in the extender now and the pressure is gone.

2. Your body has changed since you bought it

You've gained weight, just had a baby, are going through menopause, or you're losing weight and your ribcage is changing along with it. Your measurements shift, and the bra you wear every day is the first thing that tells you.

Try this: measure snugly under your bust with a tape measure, the same way you did when you bought the bra. Are you now a couple of inches above your old number? That lines up with the feeling of the band digging in.

A couple of inches of difference is easy to handle with the extra hook. If the difference is bigger, say more than two band sizes, a new size is fairer to your body than a bra you're forcing closed.

3. The bra shrank in the wash

Elastic doesn't like heat. A hot wash instead of cold water, or a few spins in the dryer, and the fibers in the band tighten up. Your bra is literally smaller than when you bought it, while your body stayed the same.

Try this: lay the band flat and compare it to a new bra in the same size, or to the brand's size chart. Is the band noticeably shorter than it should be? There's your answer.

The extra hook helps here too. For the long run: wash bras in cold water and lay them flat to dry instead of using the dryer, the elastic holds its shape longer that way.

4. You've been wearing it on the last hook for a while

Elastic stretches out, that's normal. If you've been wearing your bra on the loosest hook for months, you've already used up that stretch. Now you're stuck: no room left to loosen it, but the band still digs in.

Try this: pull the band a little away from your body. Does it give easily for an inch or two and spring back smoothly? There's still stretch left. Does it feel slack, flat, or barely give at all? The elastic is worn out.

In this case, the extra hook gives you exactly the bit of room your band can't provide anymore on its own. You move back to the middle or tightest hook with the extender attached, instead of being stuck on the last eye of a stretched-out band.

How to attach the extra hook

It sounds more complicated than it is. Unhook your current closure, slide the row of extra hooks and eyes in between, and hook the bra closed again like the extender was always part of it. A few things that make it easier:

• Always start a new bra on the tightest hook. That way you have room to loosen it later, with or without the extender.
• Attach the extender to the back side, not the cup side, so the closure stays where it should.
• After hooking it in, check that the band still sits level all the way around. If it rides up in back, it's still too loose; if it pulls down, it's still too tight.

"I got an extra piece (closure extender) to make the bra a bit wider. Fits great, lifts well, feels comfortable."

That's exactly the idea: no new bra needed, just a couple of extra inches where your body is asking for them.

When does an extra hook stop being the answer?

An extra hook fixes a band problem, not a cup problem. If your cups are also tight, flesh spills over the top edge, or the straps are cutting deep into your shoulders, your whole bra is too small, not just the band.

Try this: loosen your straps by an inch and look in the mirror. Does your chest drop right away, or does flesh spill out the top of the cup the moment you lean forward? Then you don't just need a wider band, you need a bigger size overall.

Out of nearly 2,900 women we asked, 2 percent name the closure itself as their biggest frustration with their bra. It more often goes wrong right next door: a band that digs in or straps that cut. So an extra hook doesn't fix everything, but it does fix exactly the one thing it's meant for.

Not sure if your size is still right? Read our article on what to do when your bra size runs different than expected.

That's why the Daily Essential Bra from Monavida comes with an extra hook in the box as standard. The 3-inch-wide band already takes a lot of weight off your shoulders, and with the extender you can fine-tune it to your body on the days you need a bit more room. No underwire, memory foam cups that shape to you, and a size chart that goes up to cup H, for anyone who can't find anything between small and extra-large at most other brands.