Bra sizing - MORE confusions

[RollerCola]

I noticed the other day there was a new independent bra store (for larger ladies apparently) on twitter based near me. Out of interest I sent them a message asking whether they still added 4 inches to the chest measurement to get bra sizes and they said YES!

I gave her my measurements (30/36) & asked what size she'd put me in & she said 34B (wail!) but I 'may' be able to go down one back size & up one cup size depending on the bra.

I'm currently wearing, as advised on here (and admittedly very comfy & fits well) a 30E.

So WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE SHOP'S BRA SIZING?

I don't get it . Why do they insist on adding the inches?

Hmmm, there is an independent retailer near me (South West) who proudly told me that " adding 4" works for some people". I left pretty sharpish!

It's madness and you should ignore them. They know not what they do .

So how should you measure for a bra? Clueless!

they have got it wrong, what a load of arse. no wonder women are in the wrong sizes.

all i know, from working in bras (Rigby and Peller-who taught me so much) is that yrs back there was no diverstity of sizes ie back to cup ratio like we have now. So they added inches to get a cup big enough to pop larger breasts in to. So if it fit the boob into, to hell with the band iyswim, and hence the band is up round your earholes.

INeed. Lots of info on here and other recent threads.

Thanks.

ARGH! I hate inch-adders. If you were a 34 you would not be able to even do a 30 up!

But if they've got it so wrong why have they ALL got it so wrong? (Apart from R&P)

Marks, La Senza, Debenhams etc, all the places women go for bras that (don't read mn for advice!) all say on their websites/catalogues to add 4 inches to your chest measurement.

While I love my new size and it does fit & makes me feel like I'm a bigger size than I was before therefore giving me more confidence, why has nothing changed in the shops?

I ordered something from Ample Bosom and they sent me their catalogue, which also contains the bollocks advice about adding four inches. Ridiculous.

the sad thing is that many women believe them as well. I've been pretty much shouted at to shut up and stop talking bollocks when I said that this is not correct. You know, the "I have been wearing 38 my whole life, just as M&S said. Are you saying I'm stupid and i don't know what fits!?!?"

So I guess if the shops and fitters in question have never actually seen a well fitting bra, they might not know what one looks like, so actually believe those +4 inch bras is as good as it gets?

It would be extremely costly for shops to admit that they are wrong!

Take an average shop selling 32-38 A-DD. That's 20 sizes that they expect to fit Ms Average wearing a size 8-16. A woman in a size 8 wearing a 32C is probably nearer a 28F. She won't know that unless she gets fitted properly so the 28F will stay on the shelf and the extra 30 odd sizes that the shop made in 28-30 A-G and 32-38E-G (at great manufacturing expense) will be seen as a waste.

And who is going to think of themselves as those kind of sizes when Ms K Price STILL insists she's a 32DD

It's a conspiracy, seriously.

and then the shops claim that there's no point ordering small backs and big cups, as nobody asks for those. Well of course I don't ask any more, I've tried, for years - you never have any!

That's why places like Bravissimo charge an average £25-30 for a bra. Because 28-40 D-K alone is 84 sizes. The manufacturing costs are way higher. Not everyone appreciates why. You can't do that many sizes on the cheap.