To want to shout about my new bras from the rooftops?!

[RedPandaMama]

THANK YOU to whoever it was who told me about the boob or bust method on here a few months ago. For YEARS I've been wearing a 38G as I was told that's what I was in M&S. I knew it wasn't right, my back isn't 38 inches and if I bent over I'd get the hideous double boob

Measured myself using boob or bust and came out as a 32J or 34JJ. Went for 34JJ and ordered a load of Curvy Kate and Flirtelle bras in the brastop sale. They arrived about an hour ago and I've just been prancing around with the mum tum flying in all directions in my new bras. I feel AMAZING. They're comfortable, they manage to lift up my (huge) boobs and not make them look saggy, they look GOOD.

So it turns out I'm two back sizes and FIVE cup sizes (GG, H, I, J, JJ) bigger than I was previously wearing! No wonder I always had bloody back pain.

Just wanted to shout about it for all the women in the back who haven't tried it yet, or still trust in the outdated method M&S and a few other places use.

I AM SO HAPPY

As I posted before it looks like BoB tends to overestimate cup size. It does for me.

BoB doesn't work for me either. M&S still works just fine.

I'm a size 8-10 and a 34 back.

I still remember the shame of being measured at M&S even up to my late 20's - just because my mum swore by them. It was a total revelation to be measured in Debenhams and go from a A cup to D cup - she asked why I hadn't come in sooner as the wire had been rubbing the skin away under my left breast which was so painful, yet the lady at M&S said there would be no support (for my apparently A cup) without such a tight band underneath. I still have a 2cm scar there.
I'll never set foot in the undies dept at M&S again, especially not with my daughter!

I'm a size 8 and have been wearing a 34D for years. I was measured a couple of years ago as a 30 and bought a couple of bras from a few different shops. Every one of them rubbed horrible and one from Bravissimo gave me a big blister. So I'm convinced that I just can't wear snug bras.

Debenhams comes up almost the same as M&S for me. M&S just a fraction larger in the cup.
It's quite bewildering how different we all experience these things. Why they can't just do them like trousers with the two measurements (28/28 being a 28 waist and a 28 inside leg for example) I'd like to know - so I'd be a 34/30 (34 round the boobs, 30 on the band).

I've been wearing a 34 dd I knew it was not fitting properly this calculator makes me a 32 g! I will order some bras and let you know!

34 band bras must surely be huge on a size 8 I'm also a size 8 and wear a 28 band. I find even 32 bands too big on me. Also a bra that is snug in the band but too small in the cup can make it feel even tighter. But at the end of the day no one can force you into a size you don't feel comfortable in.

Well they don't measure at 34". They're described as 34B or whatever so have a 30" approx band and 34" round the cup.

A 34B would be a 34" underbust and a 36" overbust

I’m still essentially unsure about this. I don’t like skinny jeans, I don’t like socks with tight tops, I don’t wear tights because they cut you in half in the middle and I definitely don’t buy shoes that don’t fit me to start with.

I wear a 38B or a 36C currently. I wear a size 12 in clothes mainly (but can only wear that where there’s plenty of “give” in the bust - if I go by size guide on my busy measurements I’d usually be in a 16 minimum, 18 in some places. This swamps the rest of me totally so I just buy my clothes carefully. Having read threads like this and others, I concluded that I was likely to be wearing the wrong size. I get no pain or problematic rubbing from my current size.

I was measured at an independent shop and they put me as a 30F. Hideously tight, and the seams inside the cup rubbed painfully.

6 months down the line (and some weight gain later) I went into Bravissimo. They concluded I was a 32G. This is vaguely legitimate (still unpleasantly tight!) except that the distance between the bottom of my boob and my armpit is barely the height of the cup. So then the bra rubs my armpit in a way that means I essentially can’t move properly because of the width of the front of the bra. I tried on 25 different bras. Most fit on the cup after the “scoop”. Some are tight on the back, some are big on the cup, but mainly they “fit” if by fit we define contain my breast tissue effectively. Did they fit in any way, shape or form that I would be prepared to wear in my day to day life? No. Because I like to be able to move my arms.

M & S had me in a 38e for years, saw the bra intervention thread on here and got myself into 34g, so much more comfortable and looks better. Last year my DD went to get some bras from M & S and they still tried to add 4 inches to her band size - up to a 34 (girl is a slender size 8) Luckily I had measured her beforehand and told her to go for 30dd, fit perfectly.
So frustrating that we are still experience such poor bra fitting.

I’ve now been to bravissimo. I started off as a 34c, and came out as a 32e on the boob or bust algorithm. The woman who dealt with me at the shop thought I looked more like a 30f. I tried some on and I was amazed at how comfortable and well fitting they were. And no back fat either which was a bit of a concern. I have more back fat with the 34c than with the 30f. Go figure!!

For years I thought I was 36c, then as I gained weight bought 38d, then 38dd then 40dd. (I'm a size 16). I also began to get itchy rashes under my boobs.
I finally got measured a couple of months ago in Debenhams. The lady said I was most definitely not 40dd.
I came out as a 38G!!!
I tried on a couple of styles in this size and they fit perfectly. She told me to get bras with full cups and side seams, whereas before I always wore smooth t shirt bras. Also, I always had problems with straps falling off my shoulders.
The bras in my new size are amazing. No more rashes as my boobs are not squashed against my ribs, no more straps dropping, and look at least a dress size smaller!

@etymology that is probably more about the style than the size. Its worth trying on different styles as well as the sizes around the "official size" but i find wire placement and flexibilty / comfort can vary from bra to bra. I cant bear the rigidity and size of wires in strapless or balconette bras

I’ve been wearing a 40C and the calculator says I should be a 38G. I am sceptical regarding the cup size itself (the band size I can agree with) as I find the C a bit gaping I’m going to go try some of the G in anyway and see what the results are!

*try some in the 38G

DD in the UK is big. I have trouble believing this as I see how fat so many people are, and I am a size 10 and 34DD.

M and S mirrors are awful, used to send me into a state of self loathing. Debenhams have been amazing. In general, I go to a department store and get fitted and helped.

Thanks for this I am going to measure when i get home and give these a try.

A 34B would be a 34" underbust and a 36" overbust

No. In the traditional way of measuring, you measure your underbust and then add 4 or 5" depending on whether you got an odd or an even number. Then you measure your actual bust. If there's no difference between the two numbers you're an A, 1 different is a B, 2 different is C etc.
So 34B is 29 or 30 underbust and 34 bust.

I do see loads of websites saying the new method but it just doesn't work for me. I was wearing a 32B tonight as I needed strapless and I've got nasty red marks round my underbust after 4 hours wear. I've also ordered bras in the past at 30D (BoB) and 32C and they're just ridiculous. Way too tight and loads of 'fat' spilling out in the underarm area.

No. In the traditional way of measuring, you measure your underbust and then add 4 or 5" depending on whether you got an odd or an even number. Then you measure your actual bust. If there's no difference between the two numbers you're an A, 1 different is a B, 2 different is C etc.
So 34B is 29 or 30 underbust and 34 bust.

As I understand it though, the traditional method was devised when bras didn't stretch. If I take my 34 band bra (I'm a size 16 btw!) then it measures about 30 inches just laid flat on the floor. But if I stretch it out (I'm talking a fairly gentle stretch, not yanking it as hard as I can!) which is what happens when you wear it, it measures about 35 inches so fits my 34 inch underbust. If the band went round me without any need to stretch, which the traditional method's 38 inch bra would do, then it wouldn't be giving enough support for me. (Although as the cups would be too small, it would still feel tight.)

I do have a considerably larger cup size than you though, which may affect matters!

A 34B bra will stretch to fit someone with an underbust of 34" and an across the fullest part measurement of 36".

The old way of fitting (pre elastic) would fit this size bra to someone with an underbust of 30" to allow for no stretch in the band.

Now we have elastic we don't need to allow for that extra 4/5" anymore.

ferrier almost definitely you need a bigger cup in the smaller band size.

Mountainsoutofmolehills there really is no such thing as a DD. Cup sizes don't exist without. And size. A DD on a 28 band had a totally different volume to a DD on a 36 band.

That’s fabulous! Sadly for me I am the opposite to you - massive back and tiny cup 😄 38B. I buy a 36 and use the extender things because somehow a B in a 36 fits better than a 38.

Ugh I hate wearing bras.

@ferrier an underbust of 30 and an overview of 34 would make you a 30D, definitely not a 34B. The +4 method is the reason so many women are in poorly fitting bras. As other users have pointed out, that method goes back to when bras were made of non stretchy material so you had to add extra inches. These days you don't.

BendydickCuminsnatch What are your actual measurements? 36" under bust and 38" around?