Comfort is your guide

If you feel yourself wearing a bra, you're wearing the wrong size. The best way to look at a bra and understand how it should feel on your body is that the front of your bra should sit at exactly the same height as the back of your bra. Run your finger underneath the front around to the back so that you can feel if the bra fits around your body. It should feel snug around the ribcage and if it's not lifting at the back then you know you're wearing the right size bra. It's got to feel lovely, comfortable and like a second skin.

Don't guess your size

I would say that 75% of the women out there are wearing the wrong size and you can tell by so many different ways. You know by the discomfort you're having when you're wearing your bra and you've obviously got the four breasts syndrome by spilling out in the front which means that it's too small in the cup. Don't just guess it during your lunch break. The best way to get it right is to take the time to go and get a proper fitting.

Rotation and routine

You should change your bra, ideally, every six to eight months, but it can be quite costly. I would recommend getting six good fitting bras and alternate between them so that they last longer. If you can't afford that, buy four bras and alternate them. Don't wear the same bra every day as you will find the back will start to stretch and it just gets too small in the cup.

Never put your bras in the washing machine! Always hand-wash and don't put them on the radiator. Bras hate heat. All bras have an element of elastic in them. Have you ever seen in your bras where you've got little squiggly worms coming through? That's elastic. It's saying "Help! Don't put me near any heat." Just let them drip dry.

Allow room for adjustment

When you buy a bra you've always got three or four rows of hooks and eyes at the back fastening. Always buy your bra on the first row. If you've bought it on the last row then obviously it means that it's too loose and you're trying to tighten it and you shouldn't be doing that. It's going to stretch over time and when it does get to that point you've got no way of tightening it. That's what they're there for. It's not to look pretty, it's for you to prolong the life of your bra.

Match your bra to your activity

When buying a sports bra, never think that you can get away with a normal bra. Sports bras fit differently, they fit a lot smaller and they give you support. There are different versions of sports bras such as high impact and low impact. High impact is for the gym or for running, and low impact is for riding your bike or playing tennis. For me personally, I like to wear bras that have got the band along the bottom. The band actually holds you into the bra.

An encapsulated sports bra means that the bust is actually separated with the effect of an underwire, but without actually having it. A lot of women like that because it makes them feel smaller, maybe more pert.

There is also the 'compressing' bra where the breast is compressed against the ribcage which when you're exercising is actually quite nice to wear because you feel supported. It's probably better for the bigger busted girls from a D cup upwards. Always make sure you get the nice thick straps.

Comfort in colour

Sport bras can be different from what you wear every day, but are quite funky. When you go to the gym you want to feel powerful, slimmer, and confident. A good fitting sports bra will give you a great shape, you'll look good and you'll feel a million dollars.

Colour is so key at the moment and it's so trendy. Years ago all we had were the basic colours: skin, black and white. How boring! If young girls and women want to feel good about themselves, they should go for the colour. It's out there. Just go down to your local stockist, go to your department store, do a bit of research online and get it right. The gym is positive so the bra should be positive too.

Layer your look

I love layering. I wear my bra, then I've got a vest and then I've got another vest so I actually feel really contained and supported. It doesn't matter if the bra shows, it's a funky look.

When I was younger I remember that I didn't want anyone to see my body. I just wanted it all covered. If you try going for darker colours, or anything that's got a double fabric, you'll feel more secure because of the double layers.

Never wear a white bra under a white top because it will show through. Go for a bra that matches your skin tone and no one will ever notice.

It's all in the material

There are vest tops that have a bra sown in, but this is not something I would recommend unless you're probably an A or a B cup. If you're a bigger busted lady, this won't tend to give you the support you need. You need to have the sports bra. That is key. Even if you're an A or a B cup, you must have some sort of support because you've got tissue there and it's got to be supported.

With bras, especially sports bras, don't buy 100% cotton because when you have 100% cotton it's going to stretch and will give you no support. There are so many new fabrics that have been designed, such as the wonderful new fabric called Coolmax, that allows your body to sweat and it actually absorbs the sweat back into the bra and it doesn't stick to you.

Feel uplifted

When you wear the right size bra you feel like you've actually been lifted. Like a string's been put through your head and pulled you bolt upright because you feel like your back's supported, your shoulders are back, you feel more assertive and you feel so much more in control and self-assured. You can also look two or three times smaller than you actually are!

If you wear the wrong size bra, it's going to cause pain, you're going to feel uncomfortable and you can actually look bigger. You see a lot of women crossing their arms or they're hunching or they're covering. It's because they're not quite sure.

Invest in you

Don't forget, you're not wearing your sports bra all the time so it is an investment that will last quite a while. I do recommend that you check your size and make sure you haven't grown. When you gain weight and lose weight your bust size can change. You have to make sure that the size that you bought six months prior is exactly the same as you were before.