To suggest that M&S should train their staff to measure bra sizes correctly?

[quietlyafraid]

It would seem that rather a lot of women on here think M&S are rubbish at measuring bra size and that they are responsible for making many women walk around wearing the wrong size bra. Especially since they do not seem capable of stocking a full range of sizes, like other department stores. M&S always had the reputation of being the place to go for underwear, and its SCANDALOUS that they are not not leading the way in proper boobs loving support. If I search my size on their website, I am even directed to bras in the wrong size!

Being told to shove your cleveage into the wrong size has created a situation where women think they are a bigger back size than they actually are. They are responsible for making the lives of women a living hell and suffering in constant strap sliding, wire poking, saggy tits, four boob syndrome, falling out at inappropriate times or other such hardships.

I blame M&S and their terrible measuring. AIBU?! Have you been a victim of the M&S "just shove your bras into the wrong size it'll do" mafia? Have you got measured there only to find out you are a completely different size elsewhere?

Worse still an underclass of unrepresented women are being persecuted for daring to be little. The high street does not seem to recognise that 30 backs are a real size and thinks there is no demand for them. This is despite the fact that a size 8 loosely equates to a 30 inch rib cage. Most places start clothes at size 8, so why do most bras, only start at size 32? And just cos we are small back size does not mean we are all flat chested. We are real people too!

We are fed up of having to hide away and use mail order rather than shop on the high street which stocks next to nothing or is totally sold out anyway. We are fed up of being asked whether a 30 back is even a real size and we are fed up of having a choice of deeply unsexy black or white only by other stores.

And AIBU to ask you all people who got measured at M&S to go and get yourself remeasured at House of Fraser or Debenhams (Especially if you are size 8 or below to see if you are one of us and to join the 30 Back club, to increase demand so we can be better represented on the high street) and force M&S to change their policy on boob shoving and fudging?

First AIBU thread of my own. Hope it is silly and hysterical enough to do MN proud. Seriously though, is M&S bra dept rather shit or not?

I join the M&S bra measuring dept is pants petition.

Rubbish rubbish. There must be millions of women who have been wearing incorrect sized bras for generations.

I laid them flat on the floor and moved the measure around bit-by-bit and held them still.

Unfortunately I've just thrown the M&S one in the skanky kitchen bin and am not going to pull it back out I have put the Bravissimo one together and measured it very carefully as if I were wearing it. It was 25.5" if I made the tape touch (pivoting it against the curve of the wire) every edge of the wire.

*second 'wire' = bottom strap

It's interesting that there's such a big difference in the actual length of the bra compared to the size. Do you know what you measure around your ribcage?
I couldn't wear a 32" back bra without doing it up on the tightest setting or it would ride up my back, so that would imply that a 32" bra on the tightest setting measures 31", which is my back size.

Just measuring mine.

R&P, Missmadalay, Masquerade, Curvy Kate, Fanatasie, Elle McPherson all have about an inch max difference between them on the 30E/F. That could easily be down to style and where the hooks are though. Some are more plungey than others. All between 23 - 24 inches approx

My Myla 30E measured a full 2 inches smaller again. The fabric seems stretchier in that one and is a little on the small side for me.

The only other size I currently have is a Pretty Polly 32D thats coming in at 27".

Unfortunately my tape measure is a paper one from IKEA and in trying to get it to match the firmness of my back strap I broke it It was a 27" just before it broke, which was just touching my skin all the way around but not firm, IYSWIM, so I imagine to get it to my bra's tight fitting it would be a couple of inches smaller.

When you buy a bra you should fit it to the widest hook setting. Then as you wash and wear it will get looser over time and you can tighten it up by fastening it on the tighter settings.

Had a set to with the lady on the checkout at m and s when heavily pregnant. I was minding my own business buying pyjamas when she asked if I had my nursing bras yet. I said "no, thanks, but I don't think you do my size". "I'm sure we do" says she. "You're not that big". Should have left it there, after all not exactly a contest I'm aiming to win. But I had to say it "last time I was 34k". I think she was a bit surprised! But anyway, no yanbu, they're rubbish and the last time they measured me, admittedly 15 years ago I was in 34 DD and they measured me as a B!!!

The add 4 or 5 inches method was changed by the industry about 3-4 yrs ago iirc

I am very confused by those saying that bra measurements have changed! I have always worn a 32 as have stayed pretty much the same size (going up or down a cup due to pregnancy etc) so wouldn't I have noticed if bra sizes changed?! My bras fit really well and always have and don't ride up or dig in. I have a 28inch back so doing the add 4inches rule I am a 32. If sizes had changed I would now be wearing a size 28 but I am not. I still wear a 32 and it is NOT 2 sizes too big as it would be if the sizing had changed.

I don't shop in these posh places you speak of and wonder if the change may be restricted just to those. My most recent purchases are from Sainsbury, are a 32D and fit lovely.

Never in my bra shopping at Sainsbury or any of the other cheap places (am skint) have I seen a 28B or 30C etc, which would be the replacement for the old 32s and 34s. 34 was always a very common size and so if they had changed the way bras are sized, the shops would have to be full of 30s to replace the old 34s yet they are not.

34 was always a very common size and so if they had changed the way bras are sized, the shops would have to be full of 30s to replace the old 34s yet they are not.

Nail hitting on the head for me. I really don't believe they have changed. I just think the market has changed and recognised that they weren't making a full range of sizes that they should have been and that women have been wearing the wrong size for decades.

I agree. My bras haven't always come from Bravissimo and, indeed, I could only (in desperation as I was so fed up with ill-fitting bras) afford a couple. My DM bought me two more as she was horrified I only had two bras. I have had bras from everywhere, including Sainsburys etc., and none have fitted. My DM always told me this was because I was buying cheaply and I should go back to M&S.

Even though M&S didn't really fit any better I thought I was the one with the problem, as a shy teenager and young adult, partly because 'everyone' shops there and partly because the measuring ladies I have encountered have been a bit ferocious about being right. I think I have always (until now) had the wrong size suggested to me and until I read the Bravissimo guidelines I had no idea what a bra should look or feel like when it is properly fitted. I didn't even know that different bras in the same size won't always fit the same - I always thought any discomfort was in my head.

There was a remark upthread about why we are complaining when we can figure bra sizes out ourselves - who has the time to sit in a bra shop for several hours trying on different bras in random sizes until you find one that fits if you have no idea where to begin in the first place? Thanks to finally having a bra that is comfortable I can begin to go to cheaper places and have an idea of what range to look in. I also think that if you advertise a service you should provide it properly - at least Bravissimo are refreshingly honest about what does and doesn't fit and if they have got your size wrong. I have never encountered that at M&S.

Thats my bug with M&S. If they don't stock your size, then why try and fit you into something that doesn't fit. Why not just tell you that they don't cater for your size. Instead their website actually redirects 30E to the wrong size! They aren't interested in giving good customer service or satisfaction only in just selling you anything at all.

I went to m & s for my annual tights buying this year and I couldn't even fine any tights I wanted. M & S really don't give a shit anymore.

M & S really don't give a shit anymore

^^ This. This is what pisses me off. They're all X-factor sponsoring, Per Una Specialzing, Myleene Farking Klasseing but what we really want are well made, naice bras and pants and good quality hoisery.

I bought their autograph tights £12. One pair.
Worst bleeding tights I have ever worn. I am going to get my money back!

I am rather confused. I have been wearing a 32B from M&S for the last few years (I am dead skinny :() Following this advice:

"The proper way to measure is along these lines:

Measure your ribcage, making sure the tape stays horizontal. Round it down to the next even number, or maybe round up if you're very close to an even number, eg. 31.5". This is your back size. So I measure 31" and wear a 30" back.

Then measure at the widest point of your bust while wearing a bra that fits reasonably well. Take the first measurement from this measurement, eg. I measure 43", so the difference is 13" (from 30, not 31).

Then for every inch difference, add on a cup size.
0" difference is a AA
1" is an A
2" is a B
3" is a C
4" is a D
5" is a DD
6" is an E
7" is an F
8" is a FF
9" is a G
10" is a GG
11" is an H
12" is a HH
13" is a J
and so on..."

am I likely to be smaller than a 32 and bigger in the cup if I were to go to another shop? And if I were to measure my boobs in the "new way" then would the resulting size not work at M&S? I would do it now except there is no tape measure in the house other than a lethal DIY one.

You would round up to 32 not down to 30, if you are measuring 30.

Which still makes 12 inch difference between your rib cage and fullest part of your breasts!!!? And you say you are measuring a B cup? You haven't mistyped 32B from M&S and you are wearing 36B or something. Either your measurements are WAY out or you are wearing a very wrong size. Can't make sense from what you've put. Are you sure you are measuring in the right place?

Would you say you have a large handful of breast or just a gentle curve?

PS if you haven't a tape measure, a piece of string can be used and then measured by a lethal DIY one..

sorry, i reread you post and think i got wires crossed.

start again...

Ariesgirl

If you want to get a good idea whether you are wearing right size:

1 what dress size do you normally wear around your waist?
2 if you look in the mirror is your bra horizontal at the bra or does it ride up?

If you are a size 6/8 or your bra is riding up, its worth getting remeasured elsewhere. You are more likely to be a smaller back and a bigger cup.

Gosh - I have just blindly accepted I was a 32b for years - my boobs have been falling out of my bras for a while! Just did the calulator that someone posted and it says I am a 32 E!!! Gosh - that explains why my boobs are unsupported and I have to adjust my bra all the time to stuff them back in! Sorry,tmi.

I ama size 8-10 in clothes and have always had quite small boobs which seem to have inexplicably grown since I turned thirty - since I haven't been pregnant since I was 22, I'm not sure why they should have changed now - age?

Nickelbabe, your posts made me howl with laughter. Just because the industry thinks they're right in the way they tell us to measure our breasts, doesn't mean they're right. Bra sizes will be completely overhauled at some stage, of that I have no dout.

Everyone has different breasts, so how on earth can we be categorised, especially as breasts are about volume and you can't measure that with a ruddy tape measure!

And the reason there are three hooks on the bra strap is that you're supposed to start on the loosest hook and as the bra stertches with wear and washing, use the tighter hooks..

Your bra is loose on your back because it's too big for you. And I have no doubt the bras you made for yourself fit perfectly because you made them to measure. Am pretty certain that if you actually went to Bravissimo or Rigby & Peller and got fitted properly, you'd instantly see the error of your ways/beliefs

For the record M&S insist I'm a 32C. I'm not, I'm a 28E, my breasts look vastly different in each bra, indeed, I look positively flat chested with very low slung boobs in the 32C, whereas in my 28E, they look amazing. Indeed, since getting properly fitted, all my friends have followed suit and now claim to have perfect Sancucre breasts too!

Anyway, the only thing left to add is YANBU and for anyone still using tape measures, throw them away :o

aswellasyou

You need a smaller back size and probably a larger cup if your bra is riding up on your back. The back of your bra should sit horizontally under your shoulder blades, any higher, or if it rides up, indicates that it's too big.

Cathycomehome, if you're an 8/10, I would also try a 30F, sometimes these calculators overestimte the band, so you go down a band and up a cup size for a better fit.

I realised I had written my last measurement down wrongly, it's 30E. Inspired by this thread I went to the m&s website to find a nursing bra in that size. as i said earlier.....ha! ha! ha!!

Hi
There was a thread on this in the summer and I completely agree with you

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/1255286-AIBU-to-think-that-any-bra-measuring-services-are-utterly-inaccurate