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

I was always told to add 4 inches to an even number and 5 to an odd number to get your bra size.

M&S put me in a 40HH
I'm actually a 34K

There's a great series if I can find it on Instagram... she tried loads of different brands that did bra measuring

Nah m&s are insane

I went in, wearing a 32HH

tha lady said I was a 40B

i humoured her and tried it on, my boobs didn’t even fit the cups and it was miles too big at the back.

I asked her to bring me a 32HH

SPOILER ALERT

it fitted perfectly 🤣

Found it!

She's a 30J

M&S

www.instagram.com/reel/CwiagS8qeoT/?igsh=dm9xcHpvM2h4NzRz

And showing different sizes and explaining why they don't fit

www.instagram.com/reel/CzMRlHEKBGp/?igsh=MTN3YWNmZHN5bmRzMg==

Only you know what's comfy and what balance of support vs tightness you're happy with. Ignore them!!

They measure me as 40C but I actually wear a 36GG. Also M&S don't have a FF cup size so sizes after F will not be the same as in other brands I.e. a G in there will be a FF in other stores.

They sound crap. Seconding the recommendation a previous poster made for Bravissimo, if you’ve got one anywhere near you - even if it means a day trip somewhere it’d be worth it imo, bras are every day things and wearing a correctly fitting one makes a huge difference.

They give some advice about what a well-fitting bra should look like here: https://www.bravissimo.com/bra-fitting-guide/

If you’ve got the budget for it I’d recommend Rigby and Peller even more highly, but they are horribly expensive (think £100 per bra).

I feel slightly reassured by this thread. I had a horrible experience in m&s the other day being fitted for a bra. The lady just couldn't stop commenting on the asymmetry between my breasts (which I think it quite normal, yes?) In the end she said one is a D and the other a DD which I didn't think was so bad, but then she started sort of quizzing me on whether l intend to lose weight as that will determine the recommended back size. I'm a size 10-12 with a slightly pear shaped, softly squishy perimeno body. I came away feeling like my self esteem was a bit battered and like my boobs are deformed. For reference I know that one boob is slightly bigger. Always has been. And it was always the less popular side when breastfeeding my children too!

I’ve not RTfT, but this is historical, to do with the lack of materials with stretch in them when bras were first designed - you had to add the extra of you’d not be able to move. M&S have never got over this hangover from the 50s/60s and I would never go to them for a fitting on that basis.

However I do like their bras. I measure myself, and try in sizes either side of the measurements to find a supportive and fitting bra. I use the boob or bust principles but not quite as tight!

Personally I don’t like the shape of bravissimo bras, but if you go somewhere with one it’s worth a try. They are very well trained in there!

@AllGoingOnA thats horrible. Firstly I’ve always heard boobs described as sisters not twins. And to be asking you about potential weight loss is way out of her job description. You want a bra for the boys you currently have. I would seriously consider making a complaint about that.

It's no coincidence that so many women get measured in M and S and so many are wearing the wrong size bras. Fortunately the Internet is educating people now even if it's just telling them to go to a decent shop.
I do have some M and S bras but in my actual size not their opinion of it.

They’re terrible. My boobs are very different sizes, they just measured around me anyway, ending up with a cup size which was the average so too big one side and too small the other! Bravissimo at least have the sense to fit to my bigger side then pad out the smaller.

These days I use the boob or bust calculator to give me a starting size, then try a couple either side of that, as bra brands are as bad as any other clothing retailers for not being standard sizes.

Once I’d learned the basic principle of boob or bust - ie the support is in the band, that should be snug and you swoop all the side boob in to the bra - it was a revelation! Also the fact that if your straps fall down (mine always used to) it’s because your band is too large and riding up. Now my band is snug my straps never fall.

Also I do actually like M&S bras - their full cup ones fit me nicely - I just totally ignore their view of what size I am.

M&S measuring is bonkers! I went while I was pregnant because no where else had nursing bras, and despite being a small framed size 6 they insisted I needed a 38 back. I’m usually a 28 and even with pregnancy my rib cage hadn’t expanded that much!

In my early to mid 20s when I didn’t know much about bras and my local options were an old fashioned department store and M&S I used to swap between the two. Then I discovered I was actually a 28 back but at least a C to D cup in the front. Didn’t help that very few bra shops sold that, not where I’d been going. There weren’t that many bra boutique shops and they sometimes did that size but not much choice.

Go to Bravissimo or a local bra boutique shop preferably specialising in bigger sizes and get measured and get bras there. Bra Stop and online are good for getting larger bras cheaper.

I got measured in M&S once years ago and they said I was a 38D. At that time I was a slim size 10.

I'm now a size 14/16, and wear a 34G based on the boob or bust method.

M&S fit you to the sizes they stock and their selection for smaller band larger cup is poor. I'm 12/14 pear shape and wear at 32G with plenty space at the band. I really should be wearing 30GG but it's harder to stock and the one I have is a really thick band that digs in after a few hours.

I've just tried that boom or bust; I currently wear a 34D, I'm a size 10 and 5"3. It came out 30F; surely this can't be right?!?

30F is a sister size of 32E and 34DD (same cup volume on different back sizes) so the 30F is only 1 cup size bigger than what you currently wear but on a smaller back size.

M&S are totally useless at bra fitting. I went years ago when at my thinnest due to illness, around 7 stone. She said I was a 36G Left and got measured in House of Fraser, 30E and it fit perfectly.

Not that size now sadly. Loved having small boobs.

I read that your band size should be your dress size plus 20 -give or take. So if you are a size 10, you'll wear a 30, a 12 will wear a 32 and so on. Gives a good starting point.

They are terrible for measuring there. I booked an appointment at a boutique bra shop - walked in and the woman proclaimed me to be a 30D which I thought was nonsense as I had been wearing a 38B which M&S had told me I was. She was absolutely right- she measured me and brought me some bras to try on. It has made my figure look soo much better!

For reference I am not the lingerie model type that I thought would fit a 30D. I am a size 8-10 with small deflated boobs (thanks kids).

I went to an expensive independent shop who tried to tell me I was a 30g, it was so uncomfortable! I didn't buy their suggestions. 34e fitted so much better without making marks