Is it possible to be a 32DD yet have 'small' boobs

[TangerinePuppet]

Hmmmm. Not one of life's most profound questions I'll admit, but it sure is bugging me.

I've been 32A - 34E and everything in between owing to breastfeeding DD.

Been fitted in a few places recently and I'm now apparently a 32DD. Eh? I would consider myself to have small breasts tbh. I realise 32 is a smallish back size, but DD sounds mahoosive!

What's going on here. Have bra sizes really changed that much?

I know what you mean. Mine aren't what I'd call huge. PRobably what I would assess as maybe a C cup 10 years ago. But no, 32DD.

I have normal sized boobs i'd say ( i'm 5ft 10 )however I'm a 32F (an F ffs!!!) Really don't think they look that big but when I look at my bra hanging over the clotheshorse I think..man they look HUUUUUGE!!

I'm not sure that sizes have changed, just that people are now wearing the correct size. I used to wear a 34B, now wear a 30 or 32DD - my boobs are the same size, I too would consider them small/average, but they look an awful lot better with a smaller back size.

There was a link in a thread a while back to lots of pictures of boobs () and mine most resembled those that described themselves as a B cup. A B definitely does not fit me, however.

I think that bra sizes can sound very misleading, as it all depends on the shape of your breasts, and not just the fullness. I am a 30C and until I was fitted by a lovely lady in HOF I had always worn a 34 AA - as instructed by several M&S bra fitters - but never filled the cup. Now I have bras that fit me properly, don't gape or sag, but when I tell people that I am a C cup they look at me as if to say I am having them on as I am so flat chested!! I need width in the cup, rather than fullness, which a 30C provides.

Thank goodness for that lovely lady in HOF! I was ready ditch the bras and go back to vests!!

I am a 32 DD

I have, I reckon, small boobs

I am tall though, with wide shoulders

a 32 DD on a 5ft nothing 7stoner might look quite big

not on me though (5ft 10, 10 stoner)

Duchess I'm like that, I need the width, my boobs are tiny but I'm a D cup!

I was measured about 6 months ago 32b, bras started feeling tight again so went about 2 months ago 32c, now I'm pregnant I'm a 32d!!! I don't even have huge boobs!!

sparkly, I hate to tell you this, but when I was pg I steadily went up to a 36DD

then when i was bf, I was in a 36G nursing bra

gawd...no wonder my 32D'ers (have just realised I made a mistake in my previous post...I am 32D, not DD) have to be poured into my bra then sit like a puddle in the bottom of the cup

I have this issue too. My breasts look large-ish in appearance, but not as big as they actually physically are.

It can be very misleading to shop assistants who instantly assume I am a smaller size and try and fit me into a size 12 top for instance. They don't believe me when I say I need a size 14 or 16 minimum till I try the item on and show them. It happened just last week while trying to buy a winter coat.

Being 5.8 and reasonably broad in the back and shoulders probably helps the illusion.

So yes, mine are relatively huge, but look way smaller.

Yes. I'd say it would make you about average.

According to this guardian article, the average bra size these days are 36D.

36D

So, as a 32DD, you would be the equivalent to a 36C - which would be one size smaller than the average woman if that makes sense.

If its any consolation, I'm now a 32G - equivalent to a 36 E/F and I don't feel huge. Bigger than average, yes, but not massive iyswim.

Yes, what Letchlady says. I'm a 32 G also, and have always felt a little bigger than average, but not mahoosive.

I am 30DD and seem to have huge breasts, though am tall. It is because I have v. narrow shoulders and rib cage. Bras are so expensive. It is difficult to buy them in my size and they go bad after only a few months.

I have this too! 30F and while I do have reasonable boobs - more than a handful :o - they're certainly not on the porn star scale. Bravissimo lady described it as hidden boobs.

It really pisses me off when my friends doubt my cup size. I've been fitted at Rigby and Peller fgs, I think they know better than someone who's been fitted at M&S all their life and has back ache from refusing to go down a back size

Like Duchess and Random I need the width. Also remember a lot of people with small boobs are wearing padded bras, especially on nights out when boobs seem to be on display everywhere, so that can skew one's impression of the range that's really out there.

wholly - you should get yourself down to John Lewis at sale time!
I used to be 30DD and got Freya bras for 1/3 to 1/2 price all the time. Now my size has changed I'm so every time I see them.

32DD/E is strangely popular/common I think.

32DD?

I'm pregnant and have 'grown' to a whopping... wait for it.... 34A.

i'm a 30DD and not huge boobed either. I am quite hollow in the middle and they are spread out if that makes sense. I used to 32B when I was younger.

I have quite narrow shoulders and a narrow back.

Bra size is something no one seems to really understand properly and its a real bug of mine.

In my teens I never knew 28 or 30s existed and it was thoroughly depressing as nothing fitted and everything was uncomfortable. I was 24 before I was measured by a lady at Selfridges at Trafford Centre in desparation and it was a revelation. Back then there were few brands that did sizes, but they are becoming so much more mainstream as retailers actually start to wake up to how many women have been wearing the wrong size for years.

The cup size is a differential measurement, not a size as such. So someone wearing a DD who is a 36DD will have bigger boobs than a 32DD.

I think a 32DD has the same cup as a 30E, 34D or a 36C. (Go up one back size, go down one cup). A 32C is the same as a 30D, 34B or a 36A etc.

In proportion to your body a 32DD is big, in comparison to other women it is not. If that makes size. Which is why a disagree with what Letchlady says. It doesn't work like that. A 32DD is not average for women with that size frame - its big.

M&S are terrible for fitting. Beyond terrible. My rule of thumb is if you are normally a dress size 6/8 or below, and they don't stock a 30 back don't shop there, as they have no clue about fitting properly.

I'm a size 30E (sometimes F) and the number of people who have said "thats not even a real size" is surprising. It ignores me.

If you think its bad here, try the states or europe. We have the best bra retailers and manufacturers in the world. Bar none. When even celebs like Katie Perry are wearing the wrong size there's something wrong. (the back of her bra rides up which is a sign she is wearing a back size which is too big - she claims she is a 32 back. She is, without doubt, given her other measurements a 30).

I read somewhere that 40% of women should be wearing a D or larger. So DD is not so massive, no.

Oh and can recommend www.brastop.com for cheap bras for women with small backs. It can be hit and miss for what they have in stock, but they have good customer service, quick delivery, good returns policy and are cheap. Bravissimo unfortunately tend to be hideously expensive.

LDNmummy, have you looked at bravissimo's sister site www.pepperberry.com ?
They have an alternative sizing method to mainstream shops, designed for curvy ladies. My feeling is that you are probably top heavy with a smaller waist in comparison to your boobs - which is why you are needing to buy bigger sizes than perhaps you actually are. (I could be wrong)

If I was to buy a buttoned shirt, I would have to buy a 10 - 12 to fit my boobs in without popping out. But I'm actually a size 6. Pepperberry sizing catered for this. I've not tried any of their stuff yet, so have no idea how good it is, but I WISH more places would start thinking about sizing in this way.

"If you think its bad here, try the states or europe"

I disagree - French bras are the only ones that fit me. But maybe I'm a freaky shape or something . Broad shoulders and back. Flat as a pancake.

No chance of squeezing into UK 32 or 30.

Plinkerty- French and Italian bras are excellent, but only if you are, as you put it, flat as a pancake.

I am a 30DD (well, actually I'm not right now as I'm pregnant and they have exploded) and have small breasts. But I am small and they are the right size on me .

I think that the way bras are fitted has changed.

Or perhaps it just that M&S measure differently from everywhere else?

I had always been a 34A or B and used to always buy bras in M and S. I was measured there recently as 36 but could not find any bras that felt right.

Went to John Lewis where they looked at me and told me I was a 32. I find this surprising as I am fairly broad (am 5'9" and at the top of the size 12 range)

The john lewis lady fitted me with 32D and 32 DD bras - madness I thought as I am not in any way big busted.

I ended up with 32D but felt they were actually uncomfortably tight so swapped for 34D which do not fit properly.

Agree that it is the width in the cup that I need, not the depth.

Still have not found a decent comfortable bra but at least am getting closer!

gilmore, it's normal that a 32 is uncomfortable if you have been wearing the wrong size for so long. You will get used to it though and it will feel a lot more comfortable than your old bras. If you are a size 12 then it's very unlikely you are 35 like M&S claims.

I'm 28F and as AnyF says, they look fairly big on me as I am only 5'2" and small framed. Someone the same height as me could have a much larger size but when you looked at them their breasts would not look that big in comparison with the rest of them, if they were very overweight. It's all about proportion.