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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think 40a is still bra size?

77 replies

Dhalandchips · 15/01/2019 19:47

I've recently lost 4 stone. Still fairly solid and chunky but I've never had huge boobs even when breastfeeding, never went above a C cup! I do have a massive ribcage though. Went to M&S to get measured for a new bra. I'm a 40A!! I didn't even think that was a real size! I'm fat with teeny tits! Who knew!

OP posts:
JustKeepSwimmingJustKeepSwimmi · 15/01/2019 20:10

( i wanr to know how you lost 4 stone!!)

AnotherPidgey · 15/01/2019 20:10

I'm in the "32B" family. I usually have to suck 32B up as it is what is avaliable and it is very hard to find sizes like 30C or 28D. The couple of bras I have found do maximise my bust better as it brings it forwards rather than spreading it around my ribs.

40A is highly unlikely.

dementedpixie · 15/01/2019 20:10

38C is not the same cup as a 40C. Do you have your measurements?

SouthernComforts · 15/01/2019 20:11

What are your measurements?

Felicia3 · 15/01/2019 20:11

I was measured in Debenhams and it's spot on.

SandunesAndRainclouds · 15/01/2019 20:11

Post your measurements here OP

StasticallyChallenged is a marvel!

KatharinaRosalie · 15/01/2019 20:12

If you've been wearing 40C and lost 4 stone, it's really odd if your back size did not go down at all. Put the 40 on backwards, how does it feel now? Is it so tight you can only just get 2 fingers under the band, or an entire fist?

StatisticallyChallenged · 15/01/2019 20:12

I'm struggling to word this without sounding rude so please please don't take offence as there is none meant - but do you have any sort of noticeable breasts, or are you completely flat?

An A cup, when measuring properly, means a 1" difference between underbust and widest part of your bust. It's a very tiny difference when measured around a 40" circumference.

NotCopingWithThis · 15/01/2019 20:12

I wear a 30GG, in reality am more like a 28H but like a stretchier band since having a baby and tbh you wouldn’t look at my boobs and think ‘holy shit she has massive tits’ or even think they were particularly remarkable. This idea that a DD is on any way large (it really isn’t if you’re wearing the correct bra size) is very old fashioned.

I reeeeeally doubt you are actually a 40A. That would basically mean you have no breasts at all.

Mammylamb · 15/01/2019 20:13

Well done in losing 4 stone!!! I found after my son was born that my bra size completely changed; from a 38F to a teeny 38b!!

DameSylvieKrin · 15/01/2019 20:16

Try reddit’s abrathatfits. Thanks to their calculator I have the first perfect bra in my life. It’s like thousands of tiny angel hands are holding my breasts up. It’s a 32H which was a disappointment but can’t be helped.

SuziQ10 · 15/01/2019 20:17

M&S always get it wrong lol.
I was measured 32A in there and went to a specialist bra shop and they said 30C

StatisticallyChallenged · 15/01/2019 20:18

M&S bra quality is also all over the place, but as a PP says can you try your 40 band on back to front (that bit is really important at this stage) and then pull the band away from your body and tell us how far it comes?

BayandBlonde · 15/01/2019 20:19

M&S are rubbish. They measured me at 36D. I'm a size 8 with non existent boobs!

I went to a bra fitting place in house of Frazier. Can't remember what it was called, but she was mortified at what I was wearing. She measured me again and I am actually a 34b (maybe c depending on the bra)

KatharinaRosalie · 15/01/2019 20:23

Bayan have you tried the links above? At size 8, quite rare to have a 34 back. I'm a 12 with xmas fat 10 and need 30.

Pasithea · 15/01/2019 20:24

I was measured at RAndP I’m a 40 A or 38 B. So fed up looking for bras I don’t bother now.

Mayrhofen · 15/01/2019 20:24

if you can possibly get yourself to R&P do it

Hilarious. Only on Mumsnet.

StatisticallyChallenged · 15/01/2019 20:26

Definitely have a look at the links BayandBlonde, a 34 back (when properly fitted) on a size 8 is very very rare. It only really happens with women who are ultra muscular on the top half (so they have a very strong triangular shape if that makes sense). For most people, their underbust measurement is within about 3" of their waist measurement.

delboysskinandblister · 15/01/2019 20:27

Bravissimo or John Lewis.

Both fab at fitting and teaching you what to look for. Never pushy with sales. Both firms never sold me a wrong fitting bra indeed refusing to sell me a bra if it didn't quite fit. They ordered the size in and posted it to me directly!

Also they gave a list of alternative companies that stock my size and style preference. M&S rubbish always have been for bras and bra 'fitting service'

Beeziekn33ze · 15/01/2019 20:30

I've had poor fitting at both M&S and Bravissimo. House of Fraser had a fitter who told me the correct size but didn't have the bra I wanted in stock. She suggested I tried Debenhams, I got two from there.
I liked the idea of a bra from R&P as a treat until a friend went and found the staff unhelpful and overbearing.

Original poster
Dhalandchips · 15/01/2019 20:34

I'll do the fiddling around later, when I get up of the sofa to go to bed! I'm not completely flat, no. In fact I have been told (by a gay bloke 😊) they're quite big!
Does it cost at R&P ? I'm not too far from London. I never though of John Lewis...

OP posts:
Pythonesque · 15/01/2019 20:35

Agree, well done on the weight loss. In your position I'd use that size as a starting point and try on a range, dropping the back size and increasing the cup. I'm currently in 38A (also never went above a C when breastfeeding); was once measured as a "37AA" after I stopped feeding my eldest ... When I last tried bras on I think I tried 38A, 36B, 36A and if the 36s had fitted better I'd have tried a 34B or C to check as well.

Huskylover1 · 15/01/2019 20:36

I was recently measured in M&S as a 38DD, but according to the guide above I'm a 34FF. How confusing!

StatisticallyChallenged · 15/01/2019 20:38

HuskyLover if you have a look around the better bra campaign website lined above a few people have posted stories of their M&S fitting experiences. They were wildly inaccurate - off by as much as 4 band sizes and umpteen cups.

OP if you can it might be worth doing quick measurements yourself so you have an idea of size - bravissimo are d+, although they're generally very good on the (relatively rare in reality) occasions that someone isn't in their size range. John Lewis are also generally very good. Personally don't love R&P but they carry next to nothing in my small band big cup size.

Fink · 15/01/2019 20:40

I love R&P and, although there's a lot of one-to-one attention, I don't find there's an undue pressure to buy. Both I and friends I've been with have walked out before without purchasing (I also have purchased, on other occasions). I would really highly recommend their measurements. The bras do feel tighter around the bust than what I used to wear from M&S, but that's because they actually provide support rather what I had which was basically a bit of fabric for me to bounce around in! Why don't you try them, if you can, just for measuring, without actually buying anything.