Do You Reckon You Wear The Correct Size Bra?

[BunnyLover7]

Apparently something like 70% of women wear the wrong size (not sure if that’s UK women). I’ve been for 2 fittings at M & S in the last month or so & hoping the lady I saw today has got it right! Her colleague that I saw before ended up selling me a bra that was actually smaller than the one I’d arrived in ( I didn’t question it until later on as I presumed it was because it was a different style) but it gradually got tighter as the day went on. She’d said that if it turned out that I needed to wear my extender with that bra, which I did, I could then try the next band size up with the same cup size. I ordered 2, meaning I’d spent just over £50 altogether,but unfortunately the same thing happened even with the extender on.
Today, the assistant reckoned I was another band size up & that I fell between 2 cup sizes. I bought 2 different styles of non wired bra in a 42C & so far so good, although obviously I’m allowing for a certain snugness as it’s brand new. Fingers crossed! I was in pain & it even affected my eating so more often than not I went bra less after a certain time of day to get comfortable. Do any of you struggle with bras?

I don't believe it, if you were to put the bra on upside side down with the cups hanging towards the floor I bet it would fit. You're are underestimating your cup size.

It won't make any difference to the band size if I'm upside down, sideways or back to front! The 34 bras I've tried on are too tight around the band and I'm very happy with the 36A I wear. I don't understand why people are trying to tell me I'm wrong! Believe me, I would not be able to fasten a 32 up at all, seeing as even a 34 is painfully tight even on the furthest hooks. As I said previously, I wear mainly M&S bras so maybe their sizing is different?

Yes, as I was fitted by Bravissimo. If I change shape slightly I know how to alter it, and check using the Boob or Bust method. Usually a 34 or 36”, J or JJ

Never, ever go to M&S or rely on their measuring system.

@BusterGonad By the way, I didn't use the M&S measuring service.

If you're happy in the size you're wearing then good for you. You're the only one that matters.

Pretty much.

I wore the wrong size bra until about 10 years ago.

Never looked back and now dont need to be fitted again as I know how it should look and how it should fit. I was in a 34c and was actually a 32dd

Yes. I go to an independent shop now. My bras feel right and I know how long to have the straps for best support.

For years I relied on department store fitters.

What a wrong decision for my breasts that turned out to be.

Why doesn't the calculator work on me? Is it only for a certain type of shape? I've tried it lots of times and it always tells me my measurements are wrong and won't give a result. I have a tailoring tape measure and I'm sure I'm measuring correctly. It says my leaning forward measurement can't be the same as my standing one, but it really is. When I add an inch to leaning forward to get it to give a result it says I'm a 36 F, but my bras are 40C. I'm so uncomfortable in my bras I absolutely hate them but there's no way a 36F is right for me, I'm fat and can barely do up a 40 band, it digs in and leaves red marks. And a C cup is actually too big for me in most styles, I've got nothing to fill it so there's no way I'm supposed to be an F. Does it only work on people in a normal weight range?

I was being facetious when I said I mounted a campaign.

I just mentioned it a few times when bras were relevant, mainly because we're a very similar size so I couldn't believe I was an F cup and she was a B cup. I thought she could find a more comfortable and better-fitting size than what she was wearing.

I also suggested she try getting a Tesco delivery and she now much prefers that to going to the store herself. Sometimes Mum doesn't know best!

I don't buy this at all. The 'right' size bra is the bra that feels comfortable on. The right size might vary from brand to brand and from style to style. I like Bravissimo bras, but when I had fittings with them, the size they said I was wasn't comfortable. Too tight in the band.

I think a lot of people don't realise how much of the boob should be encased in the cup and that the band should do most of the work of supporting the weight - which it can't do if it's too loose.

See it confuses me when someone a size 8 (for example) says a 34 band is too tight when I’m an 18 and wearing a 34 band that’s comfortable enough to sleep in
maybe I’m used to a tighter band as I’ve always needed the support?

Doesn't this make it hard to close and open the bra when you need to pull it with hands high up behind your back?

I always fasten my bra behind me
i put my thumb on the middle clasp and my opposite hand thumb on the middle hook, so do the middle first then the others
it sits below my shoulder blades so not as hard as zipping up a dress!

When the band actually hurts and leaves big red marks and indentations/weals, it's too small. In the bras I wear, my boobs are fully encased in the bra cups and well supported without needing to inflict pain on myself.

Yeah it shouldn’t hurt
marks like from socks or jeans are ok, I mark very easily so red marks are normal after I take mine off but they don’t last (same as lines from skinny jeans etc!)

@ConflictofInterest a 36F bra is equivalent to 38E or 40DD with regards to the cup volume. This means your current bra is likely too small for your cup volume if youre only wearing a C cup in the 40 back size

A 36F has a smaller cup size than for e.g. a 38F as cup size is related to the back size.

You can measure yourself but you also need to try on because manufacturers are not accurate - I’ve bought a 3 pack and all 3 were different!

This is a really interesting Instagram, it shows all different sizes in different bras

This graphic shows how cup sizes and back sizes work together and the meaning of sister sizes

Surely it's easy to tell if the band is too tight though? Just put the bra on without putting your arms through the straps/putting the cups on.

Yes but only since I started getting measured at bravissimo - I didn’t realise that I am very small in the back (28) therefore require a larger cup size

I've only had one bra fitting (Bravissimo). Off I went with the "correct size" bras, only to return them a few days later because they were so tight they were extremely painful.

I'd rather wear the "wrong" size and be comfortable, even if people get all sneery about it.

Yes b/c it's from rigby and peller

Anybody found Tiger's Eye bras comfy? They come in letter sizes.