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Original poster

M&S bra size calculator- any good?

75 replies

welcometohell · 09/08/2020 10:19

Has anyone used the M&S online bra size calculator thingy and actually had it give an accurate result? I am desperately in need of new bras as I know my size has changed since having my DS. All my old, pre-pregnancy bras are digging in and really uncomfortable now but I can't get go to a store and get fitted properly due to covid.
I was wearing a 34D and the M&S bra size calculator reckons I should be in a 36E! I'm size 12 and my boobs are not exactly tiny but nothing to write home about...36E sounds like it should be too big.

Anyone know an idiot proof method of measuring and figuring out your own bra size accurately at home. I'm so bloody uncomfortable all the time and going back to work soon so going braless not an option sadly!

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 09/08/2020 10:47

@mizu yes you are probably in the wrong size bra

AnnaMagnani · 09/08/2020 10:49

In Bravisssimo most fitters can just look at you and get the size right or near enough without measuring.

Don't think a tape came out when I was last fitted there.

BogRollBOGOF · 09/08/2020 10:55

I'm a "32B" and have been trying to down back and up cup. Not easy when sliding off the bottom of the charts for back and too small for the likes of Bravissimo.

M&S is inconsistent. In store I can only get the teenage bras and their straps are uncomfortably thin. I've just got a 30D online from a standard range which feels good, but the teenage 30C is uncomfortably tight and more than a size smaller. It looks disproportionately small compared to the hypothetically similar 32Bs.

Different styles do affect the way you fill them too.

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BogRollBOGOF · 09/08/2020 11:04

@mizu

Been reading this aghast! I'm a size 10 generally, sometimes a 12 and I've always worn 34B and in the last few years 34C. Does that mean I'm wearing the wrong size? Always been measured at M&S.
There are not many genuine 34Bs around.

I wore 34B before having DCs then my back went down to 32 after everything settled. My older bras are 32B, but I'm happily filling a 30D today. It makes the most of what you have too as it's supported up at the front, not spread around the sides at the back band. It helps to think of bras as being in families of sizes of similar capacity. A cup is the difference between the back and the bust, not an absolute measure in itself.

Elskerdeg · 09/08/2020 11:12

www.abrathatfits.org/calculator.php

I was wearing 38DD and it turns out I'm a 38G. Didn't believe it, but bought a bra anyway and oh my the back pain is gone!

Foxyloxy1plus1 · 09/08/2020 11:26

I went into a Rigby and Peller store wearing a 36C bra and came out with two 32E bras. They were expensive, but fitted beautifully and lasted for years.

I need to go back. They measure you by eye, but they’ve always done that anyway. I loved those bras.

AnnaMagnani · 09/08/2020 11:29

Foxyloxy1plus1 I think I did the same Blush

I nearly cried when she told me the size but when I put the bra on my boobs were amazing Grin

I too loved those bras.

Original poster
welcometohell · 09/08/2020 11:46

I have been suffering with upper back pain so wonder if wearing the wrong size bra is something to do with it. Will get myself down to Bravissimo and get fitted.

I have always hated wearing bras and never wear one unless I'm at work as I find them so uncomfortable. Now thinking it's probably because I've been wearing the wrong size for years!

OP posts:
BarbaraofSeville · 09/08/2020 12:02

Does that mean I'm wearing the wrong size? Always been measured at M&S

M&S fit more bras and than any other shop in the UK. Most women in the UK are wearing the wrong size bra. Think about those two sentences for a minute.

Fluffycloudland77 · 09/08/2020 12:11

M&S put me at 34AA. Am 28D 🤨.

No more back ache or bra straps falling down all. Day. Long.

Original poster
welcometohell · 09/08/2020 12:17

Just looked at the prices on the Bravissimo website Shock A lot more than I'd normally pay for a bra.

OP posts:
Prettybluepigeons · 09/08/2020 12:17

I went into bravissimo wearing a Mark's and spencer 42f and came out in a 36h looking like I had lost a stone!

Prettybluepigeons · 09/08/2020 12:17

But totally worth it

YellowandGreenToBeSeen · 09/08/2020 12:20

I had a very long and informative conversation with the manager of a large M&S last week, where I basically pointed out everything on this thread to him. I said ‘we WANT to spend money here - we like your designs and wide variety but because you measure the old way, you don’t cater for us in terms of size. Your buyers think above a D cup is big and a ‘niche’ size so you stock a smaller amount of stock and the styles tend to be less attractive / huge straps etc. If you look at how JL and Bravissimo etc measure, you’ll see the vast majority of women are best served with bras that are tighter in the back and large cups (the sizes of which vary dependant on band size)’

To be fair to him, he really listened. We chatted for a good 20 mins. He said they know this. That they are trying to change but that the older customers complain if they move too far away from their traditional stock. I said ‘I’m 49, I’m standing here dressed in Top Shop and Zara. I’m becoming your ‘older’ customer and they needed to start listening to us too’. Again, he agreed and said because they are a huge business, changing direction is like turning a huge tanker - lead times and manufacturing mean changes have to be planned way ahead and take time. Understandable. He also said they were the countries biggest bra retailer. I said it was confirmation bias - just because you’re selling incorrect sizes doesn’t mean women are happy.

I said an immediate change they could make was to retrain their fitters ( for post Covid times) as than they’d see an uptake in new sizes.

He really did listen and actually came back to continue the conversation (and this is a large 3 floor store) and we chatted about good basics and how we’d pay more for those classics in good fabrics and could they please never return to the days of Pur Una embellishment!

He’s off to Head Office for an annual meeting & said he would relay. He did say it won’t be at all visible for the next year as they have all this years stock in storage - it will be back on the floor next year when Covid restrictions loosen (if). But maybe there’s light ahead!

Dagnabit · 09/08/2020 12:23

Just try and get out of the mindset that anything over a C cup is big - the cup size is relative to the back size so a 44D would be a lot bigger than a 32E for instance. Definitely get on boob or bust; lots of knowledge there but be prepared for a long frustrating journey of finding your perfect fit because you have to find your style too. It took me ages!

GirlCalledJames · 09/08/2020 12:24

I second @Elskerdeg. Since I used that calculator it’s my 32Hs are being lifted by the hands of angels. Everyone I have recommended it to raves about it.

GirlCalledJames · 09/08/2020 12:25

It’s like...

Dagnabit · 09/08/2020 12:25

@YellowandGreenToBeSeen - great post, thanks. Let's hope they listen!

Original poster
welcometohell · 09/08/2020 12:25

I went into bravissimo wearing a Mark's and spencer 42f and came out in a 36h looking like I had lost a stone!

Well, if they can make me look I've lost my baby-weight/cake shelf then I don't mind spending the extra money! Grin

OP posts:
Fluffycloudland77 · 09/08/2020 12:28

@welcometohell

Just looked at the prices on the Bravissimo website Shock A lot more than I'd normally pay for a bra.
It’s worth it though for the comfort.
Oxyiz · 09/08/2020 12:31

Many years ago I went from something ridiculous like a 36dd to a 28g after abandoning M and S. It makes a huge difference being measured properly, and it is incredible that they know about it and haven't fixed it. Surely they could make some money from a "we've revolutionised our bra fittings, come and find the right support for you" campaign?

BernardsarenotalwaysSaints · 09/08/2020 12:33

Honestly use boob or bust, it gives you a realistic size to start with, you will need to re-measure 6-12 months later though when all the escaped bits are back where they should be Grin. I started around a 32e/f, depending on the make & now comfortably wear 30g/gg (again depending on the make/style). They're really not very big . Yes they are expensive but I tend to wait for the sales & get them then, also if you treat them well (hand wash or wash them while you're wearing them in the shower) they do last.

Bella444 · 09/08/2020 12:40

This thread got me measuring!

Boob or bust : 34FF
M&S and another site: 38D (which is similar to what I've been wearing but not been happy with).

Going to bite the bullet and order something in the 34FF size.

AnnaMagnani · 09/08/2020 12:42

WelcometoHell the instant weight loss was worth the price of the bras.

It was 'Hello waist, Hello girls, Hello feet, oh so now mysteriously all my clothes fit, where did this nice body come from?'

I mean I was still fat Blush but the transformation was unbelievable.

YellowandGreenToBeSeen · 09/08/2020 12:51

@Dagnabit let’s hope so. He was really interested and really meant it when he said they were trying. I said ‘I’ve got a healthy disposable income. I want to spend money here but your lingerie is consistently frustrating. I should be snapping up your Rosie line but you think 30f is a weird, niche size. It’s not. It’s very very common. Help us to help you!’ He nodded a lot.