The bra Interventions continued....

[StatisticallyChallenged]

We filled a thread, so here's another!

Love this thread... Apart from have discovered none of my bras fit. I measure 38.5 under the bust and 44 at the biggest point when bent over. Got measured as 42B in m&s some time ago and they are dreadful so dot wear them.

Double, I would agree with Sorrel. It may be that you will be able to see the "line" of the bra at the back through clothes (I get this as despite being a 30 I'm quite squishy!) but it is still really very smooth. It is honestly nothing compared to the huge rolls and lumps I had in the M&S 36.

And the improvement in your overall shape will be very worth it.

FlyingFruit, another M&S victim...try a 38E to start but be prepared to try a lower back size in order to get adequate support. It's quite common for slightly larger ladies to need a back size which is smaller than they measure. If you need a smaller back, then remember to go up 1-2 cup sizes to compensate

I want to thank you lot so much! It appears I've been wearing bras that were too big in the band and too small in the cup for as long as I remember! As advised on this thread a few days ago, I tried a 36E, which was OK but a very slight bit of boob was escaping at the top, so tried the 36F. Wow! It is amazing! It fits perfectly!

So thanks very much, cannot wait to go out and buy lots more bras, DH is very much onboard with this plan as well!

It could just be new bra syndrome Waswondering - some do take a wee while to break in. However it may also be the wrong bra for you - do you have breasts which are quite close set, and if so which bra was it?

Yey Chestnutmare! Please help us to educate other women if you are on Facebook or Twitter - we're trying to make the retailers listen..

Can I ask a question??!! I got my new bras on Friday & was really pleased with them.. But I am in agony today. The strap is quite tight & it has now cut into me (open cut wearing a bandage). My measurements are 38 under & 44 over. Bought 38E. It has definitely mad a difference to my underarm pain but just the back strap so painful. I remeasured last night & still 38 but maybe 45/46 over. Would it make a difference to go up a cup size on my back?

Of course, it's the least I can do!

It could be that it is needing a little more cup space - at a 38 wearing a 38 cutting is definitely not good BUT at 45/46 I would suggest trying an F/FF as a too small cup really can distort how the back feels in a pretty significant way.

Thank you SC I thought it might have been that. Will go & try bigger cups tomorrow. Even though it is very painful underneath the difference from wearing a B (M&S) to an E is amazing (no more underarm pain). Thank you again

Hi Everyone! I've been lurking without being a member for a couple of weeks now.. until I found this thread
I'd been wearing a 34D bra and knew something wasn't right, so I visited M&S to get measured and after waiting half an hour for someone to come and measure me, she popped a tape round me, said "Yes, 34D" and walked off. So I've been putting up with awful bras ever since.

I measured myself your way and had a bit of a shock... 28G! I didn't quite believe it, so I bought two bras from Amazon, one 28FF and one 28G. They arrived yesterday and I was amazed that the FF was too small, but oh my goodness, the G was perfect!! I thought that wearing such a big cup size would make my boobs look enormous, but under my top they actually look smaller and perkier
I wore my fab new bra for the first time yesterday and my PILs both commented that it looked like I'd lost weight (I'm only size 10!) And I took my bra off last night and no red strap marks for the first time in years :) My bra is finally doing all of the work, without me tightening the straps to try and get it to actually do something.
I've been raving to my Mum and sister, and I think my Mum's converted, but my sister hasn't got a tape measure at uni so hasn't tried it yet. I'm a bit worried because my sister is a diddy size 8 but with definite boobs, and I think she wears a 30D at the minute - so if she does this and comes out as a 26 back size, where could she find bras?

Wow, sorry that's long... TL;DR: Thanks!

Waswondering Panache wires are a bit harder and generally tighter overall than some other brands, do you know what the style was? If you're not sure, there's a 4 digit number on the bra label or a long code ending with the size on your receipt. It may be a style issue and should not be that uncomfortable.

I may not be back straight away but I will come on at some point to help figure this.

Finvim Yey! 28s are hard to come by although Panache is supposed to be bringing some out and Ewa Michalak will custom make them too. What most 26s do just now is buy the 28 which fits in the cup and then either do a small alteration to take the back in, or use a Rixie Clip (available on Ebay)

Oh lovely, thank you. I'll tell her to have a look at Rixie Clips since she's a poor starving student!

Hello, I wonder if someone could suggest what size I should be wearing? Measurements are 32 (just) and 38. I am currently pg and wearing 34D but I know this has got too small.

Also, sorry if this has already been covered, I'm still reading the rest of the thread, but: The central part that should be against your ribcage, does that apply to non-wired bras too? As there is currently enough space at the front of mine to store a Cadbury's Creme Egg. (Not that I would, I have much better uses for creme eggs than shoving down my bra!)

Thank you!

Try starting with a 32E MrsPennyApple but maybe try an F too. Also, you don't actually need to go wireless in pregnancy. A lot of retailers peddle this myth but the only reason is because wires sitting on the breast tissues aren't good and can lead to issues with Mastitis etc. If your bra fits well (i.e. wasn't fitted by M&S et al!) then wires are absolutely fine.

I avoided soft cups for as long as possible, but they should still sit pretty well - look at some photos of the Freya Deco Soft cup for examples.

Thank you! I do prefer underwired where possible so that's good to know.

I did have a fitting at M&S a year or two ago, the bra they flogged me felt ok at first but within an hour it was like a vice round my ribs! I will go shopping today and see what I can find.

Measurements are 33 and 40 (and a bit). I had an M and S fitting and they fit me in a34 C. sometimes they feel ok, other times it feels like my boobs are popping out. I have to fit them on the tightest fitting for them to be on and always feel like I'm hanging out at the sides.

Always been measured there or at La Senza so I'm starting to think my boobs have never been in the right underwear :(

WednesdayNext, the 34 isn't as bad as it could be - you are in between back sizes and will probably get on better with a 32. However a C, you poor thing! Something I discovered yesterday is that M&S do not advise on how to put on a bra. I would suggest you start with a 32F/FF and a 34E/F

Wow! Thanks StatisticallyChallenged I almost fell off my chair at the E/F/FF - C cup is the highest I've ever been told on measurements and was always told B cups before I was pregnant. Thank you :) I can feel a bra shopping expedition coming on!! Thank you

WednesdayNext, hook your bra up as tight as it goes (as an experiment) and try scooping - basically pop your right hand inside your left cup, right round under the armpit, and scoop all the soft tissue/flesh forward so it is inside the cup. Do the same on the other side..I bet you have 4 boobs afterwards

You're totally right. In fact my bra is only just covering my nipples when I do that, so half my boobs are hanging out of the top!!

There's the bigger cup needed evidence! If you are at "only just covering nipples" territory, then it suggests that bra is probably 3 cups too small. So that 34C needs to be around an E-ish. When you then account for going down a back size, you get you your F/FF territory in the 32.

One cup too small isn't actually hugely obvious - IMO 1 cup is "I've scooped, put my t shirt on and there is a bit of a bump when I breathe in", 2 cups is "I've scooped and there's always a bump but not that big" and 3+ is "I've scooped and there's boobs everywhere"