I need to go bra shopping and I'm totally clueless

[workatemylife]

Over the weekend I've cleared out my wardrobe and bagged up the accumulation of random items that result from two pregnancies & bf-ing, weight gain, weight loss, and wear and tear. It all looks a lot better, and I'm planning a mixture of Ebay and charity shops to get rid of it.

It is all much improved now, except for bras. Most are a bit more like crop tops and are looking a bit saggy to say the least, but these are what I wear most of the time. I have two sports bras, which feel okay under the bust, but I come nowhere near filling the cups. I need to sort myself out!

Where do I start? I got the tape measure out today, and I'm 30" under the bust, and 33" round the fullest part (without a bra) and 33.5-34" with a bra. I saw some advice on here about measuring with my back parallel to the floor, and this gives me a cup measurement of nearer to 36". However my breasts look like a pair of icing bags and nozzles dangling from my chest when I do this. There's not much there, really.

My crop top style things are a 34" (no cup size) and my sports bras are 34A. The sports bras don't fit. The crop tops are comfortable enough, but don't do much shape-wise. But having spent a chunk of yesterday trying on loads of my clothes and deciding what actually fits these days, I'm left wondering if some more shape up top might actually help.

Lovely ladies, where do I start?!

[WhiteHairReally]

With a 30F, if your bra intervention measurements are followed I think.

Bravissimo or John Lewis will help you.

I get a sense that you might be reeling at the F bit? Or that Bravissimo might be somewhere you'd go to. And if you've favoured the crop top, 'proper bras' might also be concerning too.

I'm sure the proper bra experts will be along before too long but I just wanted to say how genuinely nice and sensible the women who fit you in both these places are. Not scary at all.
Good luck OP.

And you are right. A good bra will make your clothes look much better.

[workatemylife]

Thank you whitehairreally for the encouragement. I'm a bit surprised by the F cup recommendation, but not entirely - I've read a few threads here where a smaller back size and bigger cup size have been recommended.

I just had a look on the JL website. By their size guide, I'd be a 34AA, but I appreciate that there are different ways of measuring, fitting, and wearing. There's a JL not too far away though, so it might be better to look in store. No local Bravissimo, although their website looks helpful.

[Conflictedoncemore]

Hey OP - I measured exactly the same way as you did and also went to various different stores to get measured. Unhelpfully they each gave me a different size and I think sometimes it really depends on the bra.

In most lingerie shops I'm a 32 dd but in some of the higher end stores such as : agent, la Perla and Bordelle I'm a 30 d. I would say try before you buy.

x

[MyWineTime]

After wearing a B cup for years, I've recently bought some DD bras and they fit SO much better!
Go try some on.

[Rumtopf]

From your measurements I'd say to try a 30dd on and go from there. If you're used to wearing soft crop top styles, you might want a looser band so try a 32d. Different brand and different styles can vary massively.

[joopy79]

Go to m&s, choose the type of bra you want, book a bra fitting session and they will tell you what size to get.

[bluebiro]

Do not go to M&S! They don't have a clue. They use this ridiculous method of adding 4" to under measurement and they will not fit you in a good bra! Have a look at the many bra intervention threads on her for advice.

[bluebiro]

*here not her