Time for a new bra thread

[SorrelForbes]

I am officially a mad bra lady. I staged an intervention today in M&S in an attempt to stop a young lady buying a 36B. She was with her mum who told me her daughter was a size 12 and that's why they'd picked up a 36. I advised her to try a 30! I am now feeling a mixture of shame and pride.

They were like this

AT because most women on this thread were, in fact, measured/fitted. Badly.

AT, because most places don't measure you correctly

Hence, a large proportion of the population wearing bras that don't fit them

I had been doing it for over 30 years !

AT - because M&S et al would have me in a 42E, when I'm actually a 34H.

And no-one on this thread is guessing, they are measuring themselves

At, unfortunately there are very few places where you can trust the results of their fitting. Most shops use an old fashioned method and dont know what a good bra should look like. Which is why there are always so many women on these threads, and why we generally spend lots of time explaining how a bra should fit too. It's the opposite of guessing your size

... and the result of reading this thread instead is is great looking boobs, better posture and two people already asking me in the last 48 hours whether I had lost weight.

I'm not going back to my old m&s size of 36B. Me and my 32Es are here to stay!

Hey ladies!
Is it normal for some bra cups to crease in places?
I find that at some point during the day my cups start to crease at the bottom.
They're not too big as a smaller size would result in quadraboob.
Is it to do with with the fabric of the cup?
I find the worse bra for this is Cleo Natasha, the fabric isn't at all elastic or stretchy. I get a bit miffed by the creasing but I love the shape and uplift the Natasha gives me so I stick with it.
The Cleo Juna has a very slight wrinkle but nothing major at all.
The Cleo Marcie I haven't had a chance to wear much but I imagine it will be a bit creasy too as it is similar shape to the Natasha.
Is it the shape of my boobs?

velve I have this with some bras and yes I believe it's the shape of the boobs or rather shape of the bra cups. Sometimes the cups seem to be too narrow, so breasts just don't fill them all the way.

Well, my order of Curvy Kate bras arrived and I am very pleased to report that they fit perfectly. I'd usually go for padded styles but the ones I ordered give me great shape and plenty of lift so I'm really happy. 36E right here, formerly in a 36A!!! At least they got my back size right I suppose

Velve I suspect the cups on Cleo aren't quite the perfect shape for you. Some bras have cups which are deeper than others - this is one of the issues I have with Panache. I would maybe try another brand - e.g. Curvy Kate - and see if you can find a wire which more closely matches the shape of your breasts.

OneLittleLady, A to E instantly, that must be a huge difference.

Cartoon, the reason for leaning over to do the "over" measurement is to counter the "spaniel ears" effect where some breasts hang significantly below the chest when free
Also, if people are in a very wrong bra size and measure while wearing a bra, the "flattening" effect can distort the true measurement. HTH.

can i join in please :D been waiting for a thread like this. Am just so confused about all the measuring and how some people in comments have been wearing an a cup when really they are a d???? Am basically just holding onto the hope that i may not infact have to sneak over to the teenagers section to buy bras anymore!! i think id actually be forced to do a little celebratory dance if i found out that real bras could actually fit......theres only so many ways you can try and make pink fluffy cats and faries on the cups sexy :/

ah ok. thank you spare. I did already know most of the other points about measuring and fit but that one confused me slightly. I'm looking forward to buying some better fitting bras next weekend.

Absentmindeddoooooooodles, have you measured yourself? Also, what dress size are you (roughly) and what bra size are you wearing?

HOW TO MEASURE (since we are near the start of the thread)
Measure yourself firmly underneath your bust, in inches.
Measure your overbust, this should not be a tight measure. This should me measured around the widest part and there are two ways to do this:
1 - with a well fitting bra on (not padded)
2 - bra off, lean forward at the waist so your breasts are hanging down at 90 degree (i,e, away from you) then measure around.

I have struggled with bras for years. I did feel I had the right size at last (after being measured in Bravissimo) and it certainly looked good. But it is SOOOOO uncomfortable! The bit of wire that is on the outside of the cup really digs painfully into my armpit - could this mean a wrong size bra or just that this particular style doesn't suit me? I've tried adjusting shoulder straps but they fall down if I do them any looser (I'm quite short in the top half of my body).

I wear Panache Tango in 36H. I measure 36" under but the over bit confuses me. Overbust is 48" (oh dear god ) when leaning over but 45" when standing with a bra on (I thought the 2 ways of measuring over bust should be the same size?) Does this sound the right size for me?

Any advice VERY gratefully appreciated :)

Unfortunately the two don't always match up PassTheTwiglets. It depends a lot on the shape of the bra - if you look at your breasts side on, some bras make them stick out further, but with less "height" where as others make them flatter against your chest, but taller. So two "well fitting" bras can give different measurements IYSWIM?

Going on your measurements the size sounds about right - I suspect a brand issue. A LOT of people report problems with Panache digging in to their armpits. I have never got on with them really. I get on with Curvy Kate, Bravissimo, Fantasie/Fauve etc but not Panache. There is a little trial and error involved I'm afraid,

My Curvy Kate Emily 36G arrived today - my ebay bargain, £8.99 - and so far it feels a really good fit. I like the fact it has three rows of hooks, and a wider band - seems to fit me better and I feel more supported. I have the band on the loosest and it feels ok.

I still have some 34G/GG's on order, and will see how they feel. Could be I am a 34 in some and 36 in others. Maybe this feels a better fit because of the wider band?

Could well be SilverStar, I loathe bras with 2 hooks (I'm a 30hh so pretty similar breast volume) and 2 hooks just doesn't feel secure enough. This is something that irritates me though, most brands define a cup size where they go up to 3 hooks (it's GG in Freya for example) but as we know, all GGs are not equal! It seems daft that someone with much heavier breasts (e.g. a 38G) would have two hooks, when a 28GG would have 3.

statisticallychallenged- am a size 8 (ish) can wear a 6 in vest tops etc......am currently wearing a 34a and the cups are still gaping :( need to find a tapemeasure now!!! thankyou so much for that though. if i report back with measurements can you give me an idea of what i should be buying?

In that case...wrong bra. The chances of someone withh a 6-8 waist actually being a 34 back are pretty damn tiny. According to this a size 8 has a waist of around 24"...you would have to be pretty triangular to get from a 24" waist to a 34" underbust. It is possible, but it's unusual.

Chances are you are more like a 28 back, and probably more like a d cup :)

Will point you in right direction once you post measurements

Even with my D cups I like 3 hooks, not 2

absent, I would wager you are at least a 28D (with the "at least" bit being a bigger cup, not a bigger band)

Statistically, thank you so much Good to know that lots of people have issues with the Panache digging in - at least it's not just me being odd!

The under-bust measurement is supposed to be the actual bust size, yes? ie. if you measure 34 then you are a 34-something. I know my mum wears bras with a back size far too big but she refuses to believe me (she is half my size all over, yet wears 2 back sizes bigger than me!) I want to prove she's wrong :)

seriously?!?!?! okkkkaaaay. obviously been getting this very wrong then. got measured at marks n sparks after having ds ( this was maybe a year ago) and the woman quite bitchily told me id be best off shopping in the 'young girls section' snooty cow :( just waiting for dp to come home so i can dig around the car for a tape measure! :)

marks and sparks are crap at measuring

Pass, yes the underbust should be your band size as a base point.

Absentmindeddoooooodles...according to their chart m&s would put a woman measuring 29 & 33 in a 34A...She should be a 28D. Anecdotal evidence from their fitters suggest the would possibly put a woman measuring 29 and 35 in a 34A too (their fitters often use a formula rather than the chart). At 29 and 35 she would be more likely a 28F. Not your fault, they're useless. And that's assuming they even manage to operate the measuring tape properly