To ask what bra size you are?

[Blondie1993]

I got myself measured for the first time today. I have been wearing a 34A basically my whole life. Apparently my back size (not sure if that’s is the correct term!) is 27 but the lady advised I would probably find a 28 too tight so to go for a 30. After trying a few on she told me to go for a 30D for plunge/t-shirt styles and a 30C for balconette styles. Does anyone else have to get different sizes for different styles? My friend thought it was weird the assistant suggested that! I can’t believe I have been wearing the completely wrong size

I was wearing a 36B for years only to find out I’m a 36D

@Notquiteagandt I've seen a few polish bras but never tried one, just stuck to UK 28s

I think I'm going to need pointing in the right direction for nursing bras too though because panache (my go to brand) does ONE nursing bra in a 28 band (DD-G) only.

32E but spent most of my life wearing a 34C Thank goodness for all the bra intervention threads!

olderthanyouthink I've bought Polish nursing bras on eBay and Amazon and been amazed at the quality for the price. They're pretty and shapely too which is unheard of for nursing bras.

I was wearing a 36B but I’m actually a 34D after getting measured properly

Pre-pregnancy I was a 34H/36GG depending on brand. Now 23 weeks and I'm a 38HH.

Need to start thinking about non-wired bras as my bump is starting to interfere with the underwire which is really uncomfortable.

I am a 30G and that’s after a reduction!! I was prob a J or JJ before.

42HH, I have massive boobs! I prefer them small.

It’s common to have to change sized for different styles and/or brands.

Depending on style, brand etc I wear a 30/32 E/F but one bra I have is actually a G cup.

@n0ne thanks! I just had a look and the 28 bands that come up are all matronly I think but the 30 bands look pretty nice actually. Do you remember how much you paid for yours?

Olderthanyouthink [[https://www.ewa-michalak.pl/eng_m_NURSING-BRAS-154.html]]
I’ve not tried the nursing bras, but I mainly wear Ewa bras. I measure 26/27 ribs and I find their 30 backs are fine for me, I’ve never bothered ordering the 28. Some of the bands come up snugger than others anyway, and fit like a small 28 . They use the older system so their 30 is like the 30 back used to be here when they first appeared, several Inches smaller than they are now, (I have my old bras here still in storage).

I really don’t understand bra sizing. I used Ann Summers online guide and I came out as a 30F.

I went in their shop and looked awful in that size. The band was so tight I had back fat hangover and the cups were so huge I looked like a child trying on their mum’s bra!

The assistant came to help and I ended up as a 34D

So why did their website get it so wrong?

I just tried that boob or bust site and ended up with 30F again. I really don’t understand how sister sizes work

Pre pregnancy I was a 30 B/C but wore a 32B as more comfortable.

Now I just buy lovely seamless/underwire less bras from uniqlo in a XS. (Am still breastfeeding and will hopefully be pregnant next year)

30F=32E=34DD with regards to cup volume. As you go up the back size you go down in the cup and vice versa

I was a 34B before I got pregnant. Now (4 months after giving birth) I wear a 36DD (not breastfeeding). And apparently thats slightly too big for my right boob (a D cup) and slightly too small for my left boob (a DDD/F cup) but the happy medium between the two. Been told to avoid balcony bras as it will be obvious ones bigger than the other. Never noticed one was bigger than the other and neither had my partner.

38L

I always used to wear a 34b, after being properly measured I now wear a 30e. So so much better.
I didn't believe it at all, but I tried a few bras and was amazed it was right.
I used a girl on Facebook called fairboobmother, she was recommended by a friend and she's absolutely amazing. Send her a picture from front back and side in your usual bra, tell her your dress size and the size bra you're wearing and she'll be able to give you a very good estimate immediately. Majorly recommend.
I wear different sizes in different styles too.

38GG. I hate them.

34E
I wore a 36C until I got fitted for a bra and learned to 'up the cup & down the back'.

36HH, i don't live in the UK anymore so i have to order mine on-line and have them delivered.
Some styles i have to go up a back size

Bra sizing, as with shoes, is just a starting point. Different women with the same measurements may need different sizes because fat is distributed in different ways, and breasts vary in shape, spacing and width. Some women are not comfortable in a band which at full stretch Is the size of their ribs, either because they are bony, or because they have more padding and the band digs in. Always better to try different sizes and brands. The band should be snug enough to not ride up at the back, but should not be digging in. The cup wires should lie flat against the body but should not press onto breast tissue or poke up into the armpit. The edge of the bra shouldn’t dig into breasts (“quad boob”) . The breasts shouldn’t be pulled apart by too wide spacing between the cups (wide central gore). As with clothes you need to only use the suggested size as a starting point, and then ignore it as you find whatever fits well. Be prepared to be a different size in different brands and styles, and for some styles or sizes, as with shoes, to not work with your shape. I can’t wear Fantasie bras, they make my breasts point East/West. Many Panache bras have wires that are too wide and high for me and poke into my armpits. In my 20s I measured 25 around my ribs and I spent years cutting bras up and re positioning them to try and fit my size and shape. When 30 bands came in (then made to fit a 26” rib cage) I finally managed to get bras that roughly fitted, but nothing has ever fitted me as well as Ewa Michalak because they work for my shape. (Rounded, no gap between my breasts ). It takes a lot of trial and error to find the brands and styles that work.

Atm I'm wearing 44GG.
I can only wear non wired bras due to wires aggravating my costochondritis.
According to bra intervention I should be in a 38J or L cup but I prefer my bra not to be tight around my ribcage (yes I know that's where most of the support lies!)
I also like those sporty crop top bras but only for around the house as they give me a uniboob. Comfort rather than anything sexy!!!

@SirVixofVixHall thanks, I've seen ewa bras before, might have to give them a go soon. I've heard they come up smaller, good to hear from someone similarly sized. Interesting to read your post about shapes, panache bras seem to work well for me but I tried a Freya deco ages ago and the cups were all wrong (I think too close together and to narrow)

I've appreciated these threads; although I still wear 38A I've known what to try on to check it really is best for me, and tried several smaller back/larger cups the last time I tried anything on. (Like another poster up thread I'm nearly 6' so in proportion for a bigger back size). I remember being amused to be sent to the "teen" section with my toddler eldest a few months after I'd stopped feeding her, having been told "37AA" when measured. I wasn't sure how they could tell me 37 with a straight face though...

But where it has been most help is with my now teenaged daughter; I've always made sure she tries on bigger cups / smaller bands and not been "afraid" of an apparently large cup size in finding a comfortable fit for her. Her grandmother was a bit surprised at the size she was in though.