Question about measuring for a bra and other clothes, and what size you think of yourself as

[shoppinghelp]

I know it sounds ridiculous but I can't work out my underbust measurement because it varies throughout the day, so I don't know which number to use. It varies by two entire inches depending on if it's hot or cold, if I've just had a shower, other factors throughout the day. Also, how tight should I be pulling the tape measure exactly?

Also my waist is an inch smaller than yesterday for similar reasons, and I was wondering what size waist you think of yourself as for clothes sizing purposes if you're buying online. I always wonder if I'm actually losing any weight or if my waist is going to be larger again next week.

Well clothes sizing is so inconsistent, that until you try on the exact item, you have no idea whether or not it will fit. I tried on a size 14 coat in M&S a couple of weeks ago and it was massive. I double checked it was a 14 and it said it was. I tried a 12 on and it wouldn't even fasten.

I then decided I wanted another colour which they didn't have, so when I finally found the colour I wanted, they only had it in a 16, which was only slightly too big, nowhere near as big as the 14 that would have fit rugby player DP, so I bought that one.

You can't argue about inches, but they bear no resemblence to what is actually going to fit you. Just because an item says it will fit a 30 waist, it might not. Even within the same item and size, there will be a significant variation, so it's just pot luck and half the time, shopping online is a total waste of time unless you order multiple items and send back 80/90% of it.

To answer your question, I am somewhere between a 12 and a 16 depending on the above.