Please can we talk about measuring for bras- looked at John lewis guide.

[ameliagrey]

Why do John Lewis add on 4 inches to your back size to get your bra size?

After a lifetime in 34As and occasionally 34B an assistant in a small lingerie shop took one look at me and said there was no way I was a 34 back. I am a size 8 usually verging on a 10.

I then began to try on 32 backs and they fitted much better- no always fastening on the tightest hook.

I now wear a 32 C or sometimes a 32D and very occasionally 34C.

HOWEVER just been reading the John Lewis size guide on their website and they are still sticking 4 inches onto your back measurement- so my measurement of 30 inches ( round rib cage) is classed as a 34 inch and they make me a 34B.

So come on you experts- under bust is 30 inches ( just- verging on 29) and over bust is 35. ( or 34 depending how tightly I pull the tape.)

[HazleNutt]

no this is wrong. wrong wrong. I would put you in 30DD. Go to Bravissimo, they know what they are doing.

[Trills]

The most important thing is not the measuring but the knowing when it feels right.

[paranoidandroidwreckmyownlife]

That guide is years old and goes back to the day when there was no elasticity in bras. To be honest at a size 8 you'd be best looking at an even smaller back size. DD1 is an 8 and fits a 28DD best.
Go to your nearest Bravissimo, it will be a life changing experience for you I promise. Whereabouts in the country are you, i'll tell you where your nearest one is. They fit by eye, never let any bra fitter near you with a tape measure!!!

[ameliagrey]

30 is too small- I lose the will to live as I cannot breath! A 32 seems a good fit but it does depend on the bra. Got a great one in La Senza recently which fits perfectly- 32C.

Also- TMI- measuring nude, the over bust measurement varies according to nipples- cold adds on another inch i am sure!

[ameliagrey]

Thanks ladies- I don't have large boobs by any means, and like push up styles to make the most of what I've got. I could not believe that JL were saying ( online) I was a 34.

[paranoidandroidwreckmyownlife]

I would still advise goint to get fitted, a 30 will feel to small if you don't go up big enough in the cup. Every time you drop a back size you need to go up a cup size to get the same space IYSWIM.
Please please please get fitted, it will change your opinions so much. Bravissimo rocks!!

[HazleNutt]

la senza sizes are somewhat different, I've found. and if you have been wearing 34 until now, yes 30 will feel too tight, but it needs to be tight to offer enough support. No really, go to Bravissimo.

[ForwardOcho]

Hi amelia. I think you've said it yourself - 32s fit much better. Many shops now don't measure for bras but fit (as your independent shop did) as most bras are different and sizes vary across brands, as they do with clothes. I buy most of my bras at a small independent store and the knowledge of the owner is invaluable. She understands how different bras fit, how they are constructed and what kind of shape they will give you. She explained to me that you should never buy a bra if it only fits on the first set of hooks, but that you should actually buy it when it is snug on the LAST set, so that you can tighten it as it stretches with age and washing. She also makes sure I have my straps pulled tight too. If you look at Rigby & Peller's website (they are supposed to be the corsetiers in the know) they are clear about not measuring, as are Bravissimo. No wonder is is estimated that 80% of women are wearing the wrong size bra if confusing information is out there. Are you concerned about the numbers cos you want to buy online?

[ameliagrey]

Hi
No I was just curious- not going to buy online.

I find that all makes are very different- la Senza and Elle McPherson are very small- I need a C or even a D cup in those.

I am reasonably happy with what I have now in the way of bras- I tend to take a huge selection of back sizes and cups into the fitting room and try until one fits.

But I will look into Bravissimo.

[lottiegb]

I was confused for years about this. I'd understood the 'under bust' measurement was the number, with bust +4 an A, +5 B and so on. So, how to explain that my 'under-bust' measurement is 29.5 yet the smallest bra size commonly available is 32?

I'm a size 10-12 so by no means tiny. There are lots of women smaller than me, so where are the size 30s and 28s in M+S etc?

That give the impression that M+S and co are using the system you quote from John Lewis, though they claim they aren't. Even more confusing. No wonder it is really common for women to wear too wide a bra with too small a cup size.

So, yes, go somewhere good and get measured, try a few different ones on and see what feels right. I went to Rigby and Peller for the professional 'by eye' method and emerged a 30D (had worn 32 C and even 34 B). Even that doesn't quite match the +4 idea but it does fit (or now, carrying more weight, a 32D), though as someone who has a visible but not proportionally large bust, the idea of being a D took a bit of mental adjustment!

[two4one]

Just make sure it's tight enough to suffocate you and provide you with a nice big bulge of flab above and below the back strap and preferably under your arms too. If it feels comfortable, it's the wrong size. if it makes you say "I'm sorry, I think this is for somebody with fewer ribs than me" then it fits.

At least that's the impression I get from my experience of being measured.

To be fair to the other fitters, this is based on experiences at John Lewis where they always try to get me into a 30G despite my yearing for a nice, comfortable, bulge-free 34DD.

[ameliagrey]

LOL!

lottie John Lewis do a 28 and 30 inch bras

[latrucha]

If you're in London, get measured at Selfridges. An absolute revelation to me!

[MayDayChild]

latrucha what is their price brackets at selfridges?
I am sick to the back teeth with bras.
I am a 32F. No problem with that.
But freya, fantasie and fauve do not fit me as they are all made by the same people and the shape of the wire isn't good for me.
Have added
Curvy Kate, Pour moi, flirtelle and a couple of others from bra stop, plus a new crap shop at bluewater (dumb woman insisted I was 34 because the tape measure says so)
I think they are all manufacturing bras from the same wires. They seem to put the straps about two inches too far out on my shoulders (I am not narrow).

I need brands which don't use the same cheap stuff all made in the same cheap factory in china.
I don't like bravissimo, they always try to push a particular brand on you, obv one that creates most commission and they never have a full range of stock.
HELP

[latrucha]

I can't remember exactly, but it wasn't mad. I think they stock things like Freya and Fantasie but I was there a while ago.

[talkingnonsense]

Also bravissimo start at a d cup and I am best in a (triumph) 38c.

[latrucha]

I said those two brands to give an idea of price. The woman wasn't at all snotty.

[bigfatgypsy]

I'm exactly the same measurements as you OP and I also spent many years wearing 34As with the odd 34B.

I started to read things about going down a band size and up a cup size so after I had dd I bought some 32Bs and later 32Cs (this was great as I'd always thought I had no boobies and here I was in a C cup

Even more recently I've read that you should really wear a band the same size as your actual under-boob measurement (30 for me) and each inch increase for your boob measurement relates to one cup size so officially I'm a 30DD.

This is unbelievable to me as I still feel that I have small boobs and I've not yet gone looking for a bra in this size yet. I haven't seen any 30s in the usual shops so I've stuck with my 32Cs. I do have a 32D which is ok but slightly big in the cups so I'm not actually convinced I'm a 30DD.

If I'm anywhere near a bravissimo though I am going to get measured as I'm intrigued to know what they'd put me in.

I've been told the style is as important as the size - plunge styles are notoriously difficult to fit, balconnettes are better for our sort of sizes. Lots recommend Freya but I'm not keen on their full cups as they look like they'd show under some tops.

[ameliagrey]

Hello bra twin!

A lot depends on the make- in John Lewis bras ( never bought but tried on) I am deffo a 32 as the 34s are massive.

I have found M&S push up T shirt bras with graduated padding are a really good fit and give me a cleavage which seems in excess of what I have! I buy a 32C or 32 D in those.

I find it hard to decide if a C or D cup is better- I recently bought this www.lasenza.co.uk/bras/luxury-lingerie/level3.aspx?d=1&collection=22&style=703729&product=010013711&img=AW111_62 in a 32C and TBH there was very little difference between the C and D cup- tried both.

I think I'd feel a bit silly going to Bravissimo as I don't need much support- still quite pert- and their bras are contructed mainly with full cups and a design for bigger boobs.

I WILL try a 30 back but I suspect it will be vice-like.

[lottiegb]

Thanks Amelia, the idea that one really can buy underwear from anywhere other than M+S will take some mental adjustment too!

I was measured there once too and, while they did put me up a cup-size, they didn't explain how it is that 29.5 = 32. I've vaguely thought that either they do add 4 onto the number, or they just give you the closest thing they have, which can't work for petite women at all.

[paranoidandroidwreckmyownlife]

Amelia, there are loads of half cup, plunge and generally sexy styles at Bravissimo too.
DD has been shopping there since she was 14, can't really go anywhere else at a 28DD. She says the range of styles and shapes is so much better nowdays, many more younger styles. Do try them.

[paranoidandroidwreckmyownlife]

Maydaychild, have you tried Panache bras? I too cannot wear Freya or fantasie, have wire problems, i end up with blisters under my arms from them DD and I both find Panache to be the most comfortable, esp the porcelaine tshirt bra for everyday use.

[ASuitableGirl]

I am size 8 at the top of me and wear 30c. Was wearing a 34a a while ago which was silly, then had 32b which was better and then went to an independent place and came out with a 30c. Felt a little tight at first but is much better. Will try actually measuring myself sone time when I find a tape measure and see what they are.

[Melfish]

I worked at M&S about 10 years ago as a bra fitter and they trained us to measure the same as the John Lewis guide. It may be different now.
I 'measure' as a 36B but I was fitted at Rigby and Peller as a 34D which do fit better (my boobs were falling out the bottom of the 36B). The bra was surprisingly tight to begin with but they do loosen with time and the fitter told me you are meant to feel them (tho not to the extent of leaving marks etc). A lot depends on the cut of the bra and the shape of your boobs- I find half cups and balconettes the best fit but full cups/push ups are a bit baggy and do me no favours. The 2 bras I bought at R&P were £40 each but armed with the knowledge of my size and trying all the bras on, I usually buy them from M&S (during the sale).

[HazleNutt]

It's not different now, M&S still puts all women in very wrong bras. there was a massive thread about it and someone actually sent it to M&S, telling them that their measuring-fitting is wrong and there are so many unhappy customers. Unfortunately the reply was something in the lines of "We value our customers blah blah but please now go away".