M&S bra measuring - absolute insanity?

[Aperolsprizter]

Just wanted a sanity check here. I’ve not had a bra measure in a few years, used to love Debenhams. Had an experience with m&s when I was younger and hated it but thought I’d have to give it another go as nowhere near me does bra fittings on the high street any more (have tried boom and bust, measuring myself but never seem to get it right).

anyway, go in wearing a soft unsupportive bra and state that I’ve been wearing 38Ds, but feel they aren’t holding me and I can pull them onto my stomach so want something with more support. She tries to put me in a 44 B - I humour her and try it on but can literally pull it out miles on the back and the cup clearly doesn’t fit. She then says my current bra made my boobs look deceptively small and actually I might be a 40 D. I try and then again, don’t feel supported. We size down to a 38 E and it’s still too loose. I eventually ask for a second opinion (possibly snippy but I don’t want to spend 40 on badly fitting bras!) who says I’m a 36e. I try this and it gives support and fits fine.

she then tells me it’s policy to size up at least four inches on what you measure (so she was a 32 but said she was wearing a 36) and I must like bras a lot more fitted than most women.

is this normal??? For context I’m 5’3, a size 12/14 and yes, quite top heavy with a comparitifely wider back to my hips

M&S are appalling for measuring and they always insist on adding 4 inches. What is your Boob or Bust size?

Unfortunately it is for M&S. It's a very outdated method, that was used before stretchy fabrics became common.

You need the band to be snug as that is where most of the support comes from. If you measure round your underbust with a non-stretchy tape, that is pretty much your band size. A stretch band on a bra will fit if a non-stretch tape measure can.

They did this to me!! I was horrified I'd suddenly put so much back fat on, only to find it the worst bra I've ever worn 😂

Thank god it’s not just me! I measure a 36 but sort of worn a 38 because of weight fluctuations (and to be honest I like the extra coverage over where my back roll is, but it’s not supportive). So if I measure a 36 I am a 36 and not a 40?

It’s normal for M&S but outdated and totally wrong. M&S are the worst for bra fitting. Have a go with this calculator for a starting size (lots of variation between styles and brands) and get to a Bravissimo if you can

https://www.booborbust.com/

I'm 5 foot 2 and a size 12/14.
I'm a 34 and I can still stretch my bra, although a 32 would feel tight.
M and s notoriously bad a measuring.

Also just saw you wear a 12-14, in that case it’s unlikely you’re bigger than a 34 back at a push, measured properly

I was measured for years at M&S. I went back religiously each time I finished breast feeding - 36A.
A friend, rinsing my bikini top, told me there was NO WAY I was that.
I went to a fab independent bra shop and got measured at 32DD.

I went to marks and Spencer's..... bloody horrible experience. The woman had freezing 🥶 cold hands and the bras she tried to sell me were so tight I could hardly breathe 😳😳 not impressed at all

They’ve always been shit with bras, why you’d size up is beyond me. I’m a size 6, I don’t order a size 12 I order a 6.

If you have a bravissimo near you, I'd go there. Their bra fitting service is excellent and they fully understand different bras fit different, so do a fit for every single bra. I've got some 34HH some 30J. It all depends on the styles/shape/brand.

Oh how I miss Debenhams!

I use BorB now, as does my DD.

Do you measure 36 around the band or the boobs? They mean add four inches on to the band measurement. I know you’re not even meant to do that, but I find using the actual band measurement is pretty tight.

I remember reading articles on measuring yourself for a bra in teenage magazines in the late 1990s and I’m sure the rule was to add 4/5 inches to the underbust measurement (to get an even number). Interesting to know that’s not how its done now!

I always wore a 34c as a teenager (size 8-10). As a young adult I went to m and s who recommended a 38b! I did not buy it. I’m now pregnant and a size 16 and just bought a 38e - there’s no way I needed this band size when I was 3/4 sizes smaller!!!!

I read somewhere to try and fit your band first, so maybe try them on backwards to get a firm (not painful!) fit. Once you've pretty much got that sorted, then start working on the cup size. You just have to take loads in and try them out until it fits just right but you should get there in the end and its kind of methodical which i like. I wouldn't ever bother with m and s fitting, they clearly aren't doing it right!

Our nearest M&S has a wonderful bra fitter who doesn’t measure, she just looks at you and tells you what size, brings you that size and a few others for you to try.

bras are always a good fit.

I found the M&S bra measuring useless.

I popped in recently and the lady doing the measuring me told me I was definitely a 34A before I'd even taken my coat off.

When I told her I usually wore a 30F she said no way and that I'd obviously been put in a training bra/junior size?! Im 40 btw and haven't been wearing a training bra for a long time!

Across the board I find measuring tricky post Covid.

JL used to be my go to but now they won't touch you with a tape, which I find useful for accuracy, you have to tell them what size you are which rather defeats the point.

I had a M&S fitting with no issues. They measured round under the bust so 36 so that’s what I got with relevancy cup size, bras fit well

M&S told me I was a 42D. Tried one on and it was huge, I could easily get both hands under the band and when I lifted my arm up, one tit fell out underneath the bra.

Went to Debenhams, they told me I was a 36G or 38E, depending on brand/style. I bought their own brand bras in a 36G for years after that. I tried to order some recently, but they don't seem to do the smooth t-shirt bras in that size any more, they're always shown as out of stock.

When I can bear to visit M&S and try bras on, I'll give theirs a try in 36F, 36G and 38E and see what they fit like. If none of them are any good, I'll have to go to Bravissimo and buy bloody expensive ones!

@Aperolsprizter Measure with a tape measure under your boobs and hold it reasonably tight. That's your band size.

Measure across your boobs- widest part incl nipple area- and that is how to get the cup size.

Each inch bigger than your band size is a cup size up.

So- if you measure 36 under your boobs and over is 40 - that's 4 inches so that is a 36D.

M&S have always done this. I used to buy a 34A (sometimes 34B) and I am really a 30D.

My under boob back size is 29 but I often go to a 30 or 32 for comfort.

Go to Bravissimo.

Oh and just to confirm this, I once looked at bras in a local shop selling high end bras. I said I was looking for a size 34 and the owner took one look at me and said 'no way- you look more like a 30/32'.