Bra shopping. Large band size but small boobs.

[Charsy01]

Sorry wrong place but posting here for traffic.

Where I can find some places that cater for a lady (me) with a large chest measurement (42) and only just filling a B cup!

A lot of places don’t go up to a 42 and when they do it starts at a C - I need a B cup.

Marks and Spencer’s for a few but selection not great.

I like something slightly padded and I also really like plunge style bras as the wiring doesn’t come quite so far up between my boobs - that are also set quite far apart 😂 cannot go for anything to full looking on the cups as it just feels too big and often can be seen peering above t shirts and blouses etc that are lower cut!

I don’t want a sports bra as I do need some support and I do like underwiring to give me a bit of a push up!

Any ideas? Anyone else in the same boat? I feel shops feel curvier ladies will always have bigger boobs but my boobs don’t seem to increase or decrease with weight gain or loss!

It was much easier when I was slimmer and smaller band!

I am working on losing weight so don’t want to spend too much either as may need another soon!

If you visit the Nudea website you can order a bra measuring tape which shows your size in band and cup. Only £2.50

I recently measured mine using boob or bust because I was struggling to find bras in a 42B or similar and needed new bras (also just finishing BF so boobs have changed - not bigger unfortunately). BOB measured me as a 36G and my boobs are tiny! I brought a couple of bras in that size and they actually fitted brilliantly, give it a go, you might be surprised!

A 36C is seen as an "average" size for a size 10 to wear whereas that's probably not right

It's very likely that a woman with a 36C bra is a size 16 dress size. A size 10 is going to have a 28 or 30 back size. I'm a tall size 14 and my back size is 32.

People have read about slim and busty celebs with 34DD bras and go from there. Whereas when you see them in real life, a lot are tiny compared with an average woman and their back size is probably 26 or 28 at most.

Have a look at little women bras, designed for small breasts.

@BarbaraofSeville definitely
Katie price being a "busty size 36DD" in the papers

@Charsy01

Thanks all! I am really clueless! My social anxiety has always got the better of me going to get measured and my mother never took me to get measured or anything as a teen! really shameful I know! 😒

It's not shameful at all and I totally get it, I've only been measured a couple of times because the idea of getting topless in front of a stranger in a cold M&S changing room is something I avoid!

I'd also recommend giving the boob or bust method a go.

I also have a large chest (I like to say a big rib cage but that's to make myself feel better) without big boobs to match!

@MazekeenSmith

38A is exactly the same as 36B, I think? Google 'sister sizes' and it might give you more options

No it isn't
36b fit my breasts but are far too tight around the chest. I can only wear a 36b with extenders

That's odd because according to several bra websites I've looked at, they're exactly the same size?

@MazekeenSmith be mcause the chances are massive that she is wearing the wrong size bra. A size 40a bra would likely to be someone who is over a size 20, whos breast tissue is just 1 inch bigger than their ribcage. More likely is that as their old bras got too small, instead of increasing the cup size, they've assumed they need a bigger band size.

If you are wearing a bigger band size, it may also feel too small in the cups. Basically, because it's too big in the band, your breast tissue is not being held up by it, but instead is moving around to other places- under arm and back fat anybody? So that flesh that should be in your cup is under your arm instead, or tucked into your band.

If your waist measured 30 inches, and you put on a pair of 34 jeans, would you expect them to fit properly?

This is the one I’m currently wearing... in a 42b. My breasts don’t even fill it out completely... I’m so confused. But feels a good size around the band. Maybe a little loose but I’ve had it a while and has probably lost its full shape...

If you have a tape measure, try out this website.

www.abrathatfits.org/calculator.php

It's got rave reviews for accurate and supportive suggestions. It will also tell you which size you are and which size you might find comfortable in a sister size

With your description in mind, I have to ask.

Did you steal my tits while I was sleeping.

It's so hard to find a bra when it is assumed that being broad around the chest automatically leads to huge knockers. Not helpful, I know, but wanted to say you're not alone.

Get the bra you want in a B cup and closest possibly back size, then use a bra extender to make it more comfortable. I can't stand tight bras, so I do this.

Thanks all 💕

@BarbaraofSeville

Maz

An A or B cup means virtually no breast tissue at all. But the OP says she needs support, which implies she has something that needs supporting so isn't an A or B cup.

On the matter of bras being comfortable, they don't just have to be the correct size, but the correct shape. Not all brands fit all women and if a bra doesn't fit, it won't be comfortable.

When measured properly, very few women are below a C cup, even those who would say they have quite small boobs.

Grr ffs this is so annoying Breasts are different - some are fuller than others. Mine are more prominent than 1 inch but they are not very full so a B cup or bigger might technically be the right fit but my tits will be swimming around without any support. I wear an A cup because that is the size cup that supports my breasts. Can you not grasp that breasts are different shapes and fullnesses?

Do you have a tape measure OP?

What do you actually measure under the boobs? You say that 42 feels too loose, so chances are you're rather smaller, and thus might be the staring point for finding a size that is both more available and also a better fit

@MonkeyNotOrgangrinder I've just googled it and the cup size is exactly the same but the band is not
Hence why one is a 36 and one a 38 I assume
And hence why one feels ok and one feels too tight on me

@BarbaraofSeville I so wish I was a C cup or more, was an AA as teenager and A cup during my twenties, now am in my thirties and have moved up to a B cup, did a little dance out of the shop when I found that out . I defoe have small boobs :)

[quote MazekeenSmith]@MonkeyNotOrgangrinder I've just googled it and the cup size is exactly the same but the band is not
Hence why one is a 36 and one a 38 I assume
And hence why one feels ok and one feels too tight on me[/quote]
Oh, OK fair enough. I obviously didn't read it properly. Apologies

Surely with sister sizes the cup size stays the same but the band changes. Therefore a 42B cup equals the cup on a 32F or 34E or 36DD etc. Certainly would require support!

[quote KnobJockey]@MazekeenSmith be mcause the chances are massive that she is wearing the wrong size bra. A size 40a bra would likely to be someone who is over a size 20, whos breast tissue is just 1 inch bigger than their ribcage. More likely is that as their old bras got too small, instead of increasing the cup size, they've assumed they need a bigger band size.

If you are wearing a bigger band size, it may also feel too small in the cups. Basically, because it's too big in the band, your breast tissue is not being held up by it, but instead is moving around to other places- under arm and back fat anybody? So that flesh that should be in your cup is under your arm instead, or tucked into your band.

If your waist measured 30 inches, and you put on a pair of 34 jeans, would you expect them to fit properly?[/quote]
OR and hear me out here it could be a large woman who doesn't have much breast tissue??
Cup sizes are not as simple as 1 inch bigger than the band - the fact that a 36b and 38a cup size is the same indicates that.
OP said her breasts don't change size with weight gain and nor do her mother's. I would suggest she probably has very little breast tissue, maybe due to breast hypoplasia, which her mother also has, meaning she has very little breast tissue which does not grow in a uniform manner and hence needs a much smaller cup size than you insist she does

@AnguaResurgam

Do you have a tape measure OP?

What do you actually measure under the boobs? You say that 42 feels too loose, so chances are you're rather smaller, and thus might be the staring point for finding a size that is both more available and also a better fit

I’ve just re measured. Definitely 42 around band. I do have quite a large mid drift. I tend to carry all my weight in the middle! My current bra may be loose as it’s quite old now and it’s also quite stretchy. It’s never been tight though which is good. I’ve found some bras so snug and horrible over the years. Going down to a 40 might be an idea if it’s stretchy!

@YetGo

Surely with sister sizes the cup size stays the same but the band changes. Therefore a 42B cup equals the cup on a 32F or 34E or 36DD etc. Certainly would require support!

Exactly! And it doesn't mean the same woman can wear any of those sizes as the band size obviously varies!!

I feel your pain op.
I need 38a in m&s measurements but in boob or bust it was something like a 32d
Absolutely bewildered how that can be right as I literally have no boobs. Cant quite bring myself to by a 32d either as it just seems ridiculous.
When we can try things on again I'm getting every size possible in the shop and trying them all on.
Tbf I dont think there is anywhere that measures up for bras anymore. They all want to do fitting too which I dont want.

Why don't you want a bra that fits properly? .

Why is a 32D ridiculous? I'm something like a 32F and I have medium sized boobs, so I'd expect a 32D to be quite small.

Measuring is only a starting point as all styles fit differently. An experienced fitter can look at you, in a bra if you prefer and know better than a tape measure what brands and sizes are likely to fit best. There's nothing to be embarassed about. They see breasts day in day out. Yours are unlikely to be memorable to them.

These are all d cups.. they're not a big size