To ask how many of you have had a bra intervention by Sorrel, Statistically and others?

[TickledOnion]

I've been reading the recent bra threads and love it when people are shocked to discover they are actually a 32F and not a 40A.

So, if you have recently had a bra intervention by Sorrel, SC and others, can you answer the following please:

What size were you wearing?
Who fitted you? (Name and shame please)
What size are you now?

[Saker]

Can you help me. I am in a 38B which I thought I was happy with until I read this thread . Followed your measurement guide and get 34,39. Thank you!

[piprabbit]

Thanks for the measuring advice - I've had a go and these are my results:
41 under boobs
52 around the widest part.

I'm currently wearing a mahoosive bra because I lost weight last year and this is an old one. I did buy new ones but I'm not convinced. I think I'm getting the cupsize too big as the underwires dig into my armpits. But if I go for a larger cupsize I spill over the top. Basically I've made it to my 40s and I don't understand my body at all.

Please can you tell me what you think? Thank you.

[ceeveebee]

Me!! Although I haven't received my lovely new bras yet so fingers crossed they fit
According to M&S I was 36A. I refused to believe her and also I was on a diet so I bought a 34B which felt better to me around the band

Am actually a 30DD according to Celtic Promise (underbust 30.5, bust when dangling 36)

[MrsRoss26]

I was lucky enough to experience a proper bra fitting in around 2007/08 at a tweeny shop which has since closed down. Before then I was a 36C, since then 34E! Just wanted to add that in here as the manager had obviously been very well trained, and could tell almost exactly from looking at me. I've never gone back to m&s for a fitting.

[HazleNutt]

saker try around 34DD

[StatisticallyChallenged]

SuckingDiesel: As a baseline, try a 44H and work from there. I will post some "good bra" info underneath here for you to read through. I will say however that it is quite common for slightly larger ladies to have to go down in the back size from their measurements, as the bra needs to be firmly fitting to give adequate support. So don't be afraid to try a 42,, or a 40. If you go down in the back, go up 1-2 cups each time.

piprabbit - start with a 40HH, 40H, 42GG

Ceevee you may even need a 30E

[Saker]

Thank you! So it is the case that absolutely no-one is an A, B or C cup - I have quite small boobs and if I'm a DD, I can't imagine who is an A?

[StatisticallyChallenged]

Recognizing a GOOD BRA

Testing the band and cup
To test the band size, put the bra (in this example a 30 back) on back to front on the loosest hooks. If you can breathe but if feels tight and you can only fit two fingers underneath the wire at the front, then that's the correct back size for you. If it's so tight it's unbearable then go up a size.

The cup will differ much more between brands and styles than the back. Put the bra round the correct way, lean forward then take your right hand and put it inside your left cup. Reach right round under your armpit/towards your back and scoop all the backfat/escapage forward in to the cup of the bra. This may require vigour!

Repeat on the other side.

Then put the shoulder straps up and adjust as necessary (not too tight as it's the back that should be doing most of the supporting work). If for example, you've started with a 30D, you will probably find that after scooping, you have some bulging over the cup and four-boobage going on! This means you need to go up one or more cup sizes. Keep going up through the cup sizes until all your breast tissue is firmly in place. Once you have put your bra straps up you may well need to repeat the scooping described above but with the straps in place.

Bra myths and D+ denial
There are thousands of women who should be wearing 32 back or smaller and a D+ cup or bigger but:

?They went to M&S for fitting
?They haven't seen anything smaller than a 32 back in the shops
?Have read that [insert a really slim big-boobed celebrity] wears a 36DD and therefore cannot imagine they could need a smaller back/bigger cup (the celebrity in question is of course in a wildly wrong size as well, or the papers just made it up).

So the next time a tiny woman claims to be a 34 bra, you know what to do..

A good fitting bra?
If your bra is a good fit after doing this it should:

?Be worn on the loosest hook (when new). If you can fasten it on the tightest hook then try a back size lower.

?The band should be completely horizontal

?You should only be able to fit a couple of fingers under the front of the bra. If you can get more than that, or you can pull it more than an inch or so away from your body at the back, it is TOO BIG!

?If you raise your arms, the back should not really move - no riding up

?The wires should be entirely encasing your breast tissue - breast tissue goes surprisingly far back and a lot of people don't realise this. If you feel where the wire is sitting under your arm then it should be sitting on a fairly firm surface.

?The central gore (where the wires meet) should sit flat between your boobs. if it is being pushed away, then the cup is probably too small (and the back possibly too big as well)

?There should be absolutely no lumps over the top of the cup. Take a fitted t shirt with you to put over the top of the bra and stand side on to a mirror and watch as you breathe in. If you have a bit of a bulge only when you breathe in, you probably need to go up 1 cup. If it is visible when breathing out then it's probably more like two cups or more.

?The cup shouldn't gape. If it does, it may be too big or it may be the wrong shape of bra for you. Moulded cups are particularly bad for this as they don't adapt to your shape.

?The shoulder straps shouldn't be painful and digging in. Most of the support should come from the back. If you find that you can't get enough support without the straps being so short they hurt the bra isn't for you. Most likely it's too big in the back but it may also just be a bra that doesn't suit you.

?and on that note; not every brand works for every person. There are quite distinct differences in shape between brands which mean a particular brand may just not suit the shape of your breasts.

[Trinpy]

I was 30e/32dd.

I was measured by m&s and an independant lingerie shop.

I think I am a 26e/f but waiting until panache release their 26 bras and I can see what fits best.

My mum was just about to get measured by m&s, I told her not to and sent her the mn bra guide. She was wearing a 36a but is actually a 32c.

[piprabbit]

Thank you Statistically - I have John Lewis vouchers to spend...I'd be wondering what I needed and now I know.

[HazleNutt]

An A is someone who has just 1 inch between the under- and overbust measurement. While people like that of course exist, they are indeed very rare.

[ChunkyChicken]

Could I cheekily ask for help too please?

I am currently wearing a 34F nursing bra. I bought this recently w/out being measured, I guessed size based on old bras, which was naughty and they seemed to fit better than the 34E, 34G & 36E ones I had. However...

*if I reverse them, the back pulls out a long way from my rib cage despite initially feeling quite snug when on 'properly'
*the back rides up slightly during wear
*the straps are quite tight
*the front centre doesn't touch my rib cage (but assumed this was the nursing style)
*the bits under my arms tend to go baggy, as I wear it

I measured as suggested earlier - 30.5inches chest/back measurement, 40 boob measurement.

[StatisticallyChallenged]

ChunkyChicken, I would start at a 30GG.

[AgathaF]

Me too (and my daughter)!!!!

I was 36D or even 38D - had tried going up a back size as the wires were digging in at the sides.

Now 32f or FF.

For the first time I have bras that are comfortable, don't leave red marks/bruising from the wires at the sides, make me look slimmer from the side and narrower from the front too as what I thought was side fat is actually breast and is now sitting in my bra.

I am very pleased.

[ElephantsAndMiasmas]

I had an intervention in Bravissimo and went from a 34B (M&S bastards) to a 32D. Last time M&S insisted on fitting me they came up with a 36B! Last bra I bought that fitted (Bravissimo again) was a 30E.

The hilarious/sad part is that if you ever mention your bra size - I'm thinking during a RL discussion on the subject rather than at random - people think you are wrong and boasting! I have several times had to explain to a friend that if her waist is, say, 28 inches, her underboob just slightly up from there is HIGHLY UNLIKELY to be 6-10 inches bigger (imagine how that would look!).

My problem is that I find it very hard to find boobs that don't make my boobs want to escape "inward" as in, towards the centre of my chest. The 4 boob looks haunts me. There may well be space in the cups at the "outside" but off they go trying to get closer to each other. Any suggestions?

[ElephantsAndMiasmas]

By boobs I mean BRAS obv :o

[SuckingDiesel]

Thank you, Statistically. That's really helpful.

Just read through your info and I think I need to go down a back size and up a cup (or two). The 42ff I'm wearing now feels a little big around the band and the gore is sitting away from my body which seems to confirm that the back is too big and/or cup too small. Yes?

[speedyboots]

Please could you do me, please? Thank you, please.

33 under, 44 around widest part.

Currently pregnant, so for future reference (as I am sure measurements will change again soon)how do you work out what cup size to try?

[AgathaF]

Elephants I agree with people not believing you.

[itsthequietones]

Hi, could I have some help please? I was measured as a 36D or 36DD but my measurements are 33 and 41, I'm guessing that I'm wearing the wrong size...

[FrankWippery]

Back and measured. 34" round bak and under norks, 44" with norks hanging life you said!

Hit me with it

[mmmerangue]

I have always measured myself according to tip in a Girls/Teens advice book I got when I was 13

It said that you measure under, and around, a difference of 1-2 cm is an Acup, 2-3 is a B etc...

My bras always ride up at the back. Endlessly adjusting at work, (not a good look pulling up bra straps behind a bar) I wont be buying any for a while anyway cause I have no money cause I am trying to gain weight. but tips please.

[StatisticallyChallenged]

Oh so true on people not believing - try being a slightly (ok very) podgy size 14 with 30HHs. Looks of WTF are rife!

Sucking, if it is sitting out at the centre then you need a bigger cup. So, in the 42 you would need at least a cup up, but realistically probably a good bit more as I don't get my bras to stick out much in the middle unless they are about 3 sizes too/ small. So it sounds like in a 42, you would probably need maybe a GG or an H. So in a 40, you would need another cup or two up from there.

Speedyboots, measure under bust in inches. This is back size. If you are between, most people fit better in the smaller size, but if you are pregnant you may be better going up. So non-pregnant you are probably a 32 but pregnant maybe buy the 34 as your ribs will expand. Then it is an inch per cup. So at the moment, try a 32HH, 32HH, 34GG, 34H as a start point

Elephants try something with a much higher central gore to stop them falling in

[ChunkyChicken]

statistically thank you!! Will have a trawl of t' interweb & see if nursing bras come in that size...

The sad part is they'll disappear as soon as I stop feeding. All the more reason to keep going

[mmmerangue]

Oh and the bigger measurement is your number? might have been inches not CMs? It was a long time ago >.