So I just measured by bra size and I'm shocked, is it right?

[SchrodingersFanny]

I measured under and I'm 34. Well I'm 33.5. That is taut, completely flat to skin.

When I do the lean over measurement (which made dh smirk) I measured 41inches.

Am I right thinking that makes me 34E?

I have teeny (saggy and deflated) bosoms!

OK, I am completely confused re the supposed new way of measuring. HEEElp MEEEE ladies. Am roughly 26.5" ribs, and approx 10 inches more measured leaning over, but that is quite hard to judge, not sure how loose to hold the tape? Am about 35" bust standing up. By the old way of measuring that made me 30 bra, and I'm in a 30FF, I sometimes wear an F as my breasts vary in size with my cycle, or from eating less cake....
When I have tried a 28 (sometimes a 30 in a particular style might have been a bit loose )it has seemed uncomfortable and has given me back pain.
I can pull my bra back away from my body about 5 inches, at least I can easily get two fists in there, feels about 5 inches but it doesn't noticably ride up through the day. So advice please, am I in the wrong size, or not? I have no idea what "scooping" is either! Oh and I live in the back of beyond, so can't get to a shop.

OK, a 30 band is certainly way too big for you. Unfortunately there is nowhere that makes 26 bands although a few places like Ewa Michalak who do custom made sizes (26 has disappeared off their website recently but you could email them to check). However, you can buy a 28 and then adjust the back wither using Rixie Clips (from eBay) or by sewing the band - instructions here.

Ideally you should be trying sizes around a 26G/GG. The equivalent cup in a 28 band would be a 28F/FF. However, you're already wearing a 30FF which is bigger in volume than either a 28G or a 26GG! How is the cup on the FF? If you scoop, do you get overspill/bulge?

Scooping:
Lean forward, drop your breasts in to the cups and do the bra up at the back. Now, take your right hand, put it round inside the left cup, all the way round under your armpit, and scoop all the soft tissue and flesh in to the cup. You might not know it, but all that soft tissue under your armpit is breast, and it needs to be in the cup. Now, repeat on the other side. The wire should totally encase your soft breast tissue, and you should have no overspill or wrinkling in the cups. The central gore should sit flat in between your boobs.

Ok, have tried that. This bra does seem about right in the cup, possibly I have slight overspill at the front edges, but that may be the style? It is a Freya Carys, the plunge, not padded. I have a 28G bra here (in a different style though) I will go try and scoop with that and report back. I didn't really have anything to scoop though, it all seemed properly in the cup.

Always scoop, even if you think there's nothing there , it makes sure that everything is in the right place.

I am also at a loss as to why bras don't fit? When I first needed a bra, in the 1970s (I am late 49) there was nothing at all made in my size, even 32s were only made in small cup sizes although a 32 then was possibly smaller than now. I was also a lot smaller, about 24 ribs, I was 25 ribs at the most through my 20s. I spent years altering bra bands, and because there weren't even larger cup sizes below a 34 or even a 36, I had to take in bras by quite a bit. Like my Mum in the 50's I often had a knot tied at the back of my bra band. Anyway I badgered M+S, and other retailers, and eventually 32s arrived in larger cups and then 30s. Fantasie at first, Then they started and more size 30s. Marks and Sparks, who had told me there was no market for small back sizes started making them. I felt a 30E , which I wore pre babies, was a good fit, and certianly the backs on my first Fantasie 30s are tiny, I have some of them here still, they don't stretch t much more than 27/28 at full stretch. So why are bras getting bigger again? I know my ribs were unusually narrow, I could get into Victorian boned dresses with ease before I had the dds, but even so there seems to have been a step back. Indian women often have tiny ribcages, narrower than Western women, and there must be a huge market here from the Asian community alone.

The problem is that as long as stores like M&S continue to use the +4 method, they don't need to extend their size range! In addition, like other clothing items, there is no standardisation both between and within brands. As a nation, we're getting bigger though. A size 10 from the 60s is generally too small for a size 10 now. I guess a similar thing has happened with bras? Having said that, I have a 34 band which is over 10 years old and it measures 34".

I have seen a couple of M&S 28 bands recently, one measured (stretched) 27" and the other 24"!

My first bra (mid 80s) was a 28AA . Looking back it was still too small.

We are getting bigger, but that isn't the issue, as there is a large range of sizes upwards. Vanity sizing has led to things like the silly size 6,( or even 4 ) which measures the same as a 10 did when I was a teenager. We could have just stuck with a ten. And in fact if a M+S 28 measures 24, then that is roughly right going by the old system. And would mean that smaller women and young girls could get bras to fit right now. Whereas if the system changes then manufactures would have to start bringing out 24s and 26s when there is no reason to change if those sizes are catered for by a 28 and a 30 as they were under the standard system. The standard system went on the assumption that if you measured 31 around the back then you would be roughly a 36 around the breasts, hence the 36" name for that size bra. A 30 bra should fit someone with a back of 25 -26. Very few women would need a 28 aside from teenagers. But if the system shifts then it could take a few years for the smaller sizes to be made again. So it is a step backwards rather than forwards ifyswim? We are being conned into thinking we now have a wider range of clothing sizes, but we don't , its just semantics, the names of the sizes have changed that's all.

I see your point but the +4 issue isn't just about the band size. Lets ignore M&S for now as their sizing is all over the place. Adding four inches means that your band will be too big but also means that your cup will be too small as it will have been calculated from the +4 band size.

It's not about vanity sizing. Most brands make their bands to fit that size when stretched. So a 32 will measure approximately 32 when stretched. There is no need to add 4. M&S know this but financially it's not worth it to admit it publicly!

Sorry to butt in mid conversation. I just wanted to say that my new 38I (eek!) underwired nursing bra fits beautifully. Having spent 6 months in an ill-fitting, unflattering and uncomfortable 42D (measured by an independent nursing bra specialist) I can't express how happy we (my breasts and I) are!
Thank you to the woman/women who started all this bra info here on MN.

Sorrell, boobs start at the sides and under bust still 42 no matter which way I lie /stand. I obviously need to set aside a good amount of time to try on lots!!

But my point is that bras didn'th used to reach that point when stretched, the 32 or whatever wasn't intended to be a measurement of the band per se, it was an assumed measurement of the actual chest. Then one measured around the chest itself, and if the number was the same, got the standard cup, an A. Initially there would also be a "full cup", which was around a C. Then bra cup sizes developed and the difference between the assumed measurement and the actual (of around the full bust) gave the cup size, so no, it didn't mean that your cup would be too small, as each inch difference gave a cup size increase. Then one would allow for differences in volume and spacing of breasts and adjust up or down by eye. The system was/is accurate, but many women either found it confusing, or stuck with the cup size they were as teens, or weren't ever measured by a decent fitter. There is much more advice now about getting fitted well. I was a fashion researcher pre children and I have a large collection of vintage underwear, so I understand fitting really well. My problem now is that there is allegedly this new system in place, but stores and manufacturers seem to suggest that the old system still applies. I am now completely confused as to what size I should be, as some bras I try seem "right " in a 30, other 30s seem more like an old 32. They never seem as large as an old 34 though, which is what they should be if the system has shifted. .
Anyway, I tried on the 28G. It fits -ish, feels tighter than I like around the back on the last hooks, but the 30 I am wearing is a bit too loose on the first ones.... The cup could be slightly small, I don't know, they cut in slightly at the cleavage edge, and I bulge a bit too the sides, but that could be the style of the bra. I have worn the 30 a few times, but not the 28 so that might also be a factor. I can't image finding a 26 comfy. It measures 22" unstretched and 26" stretched. It is hard to get any more stretch out of it. (loosest hooks, Freya Pollyanna).

The system of +4/5" developed before modern fabrics (e.g. elastane etc) were around. This is why you needed to add inches as the band just wouldn't stretch enough to accommodate your size. I also have vintage underwear and a hobby that involves wearing the same so I know how much things have changed. However, back in the 70s/80s manufacturing changed to incorporate the new fabrics but alas fitting and measuring didn't change at the same time resulting in the appalling situation we have now where a lady with a 27" under bust and 34" across bust measurement is fitted (by M&S et al) as a 32B rather than a 26F or a 28E. Bras are now made to stretch enough to meet your under bust measurement. As I said I have an old 34 band bra and it measures 34 so I think it really is just a difference between manufacturers causing the slight difference in tightness today.

Some brands are a looser fit than others but this is no different than when buying a pair of size 12 jeans. I am a 30GG and can wear a 30 band in every single brand I know. However, a Panache is a tadge tighter and a Curvy Kate is a bit looser. Annoying but unavoidable.

Visit the Sub Reddit, A Bra That Fits. The people on there are brilliant at explaining all the background and history. Much better than me!

With regards to the bra you mention above (the 28G), it sounds like the cup is at least one and probably two cups too small and this will be contributing to the band tightness. Freya are no really known for very tight bands. It could also be a style issue. I can't wear Freya at all, they just don't suit my shape (deep, narrow set)

janji Unfortunately, it's a painstaking, time consuming process. But well worth it when you find a bra(s) that work for you!

Also with a 28, there is so little of the band full stop, and so much less of it is elastic, it can't possibly have the stretch of a 34 band. This one really wouldn't even do up on someone with 28 ribs, it just won't stretch that far, but I imagine that varies from style to style. Maybe I should try a different style in a 28 GG and see how I go from there? I won't be in London for months, and so have to do it all by post which is tedious and expensive.

Yep you're correct, a bigger band will have relatively lore stretch as it more material. Ladies who measure bigger than a 38 can often size down as they are maybe a bit squisihier and the bra has more stretch too.

The stretched measurment on your particular 28G bra sounds very small

Oops. Stupid phone.

Sounds very small indeed. Is it black? Black bras often come up smaller because of the dye.

I have a black bra in a 28DD (Cleo) and measure 27 around my ribs. It's quite tight but I'm getting used to it - certainly not unbearable. A 30 or 32 is far too large. Maybe try a different style of bra?

Possibly or try it in another colour? I have a Cleo Juna in nude and black and the black one is tighter. Which Cleo do you have?

My mind is blown. I've just discovered this thread and the A Bra That Fits Reddit. I stopped breastfeeding just over a week ago and my plan is to get a new black bra and nude bra to keep me going for a little bit until they settle down a bit more. I've always been a Bravissimo fan and wore a 32e before getting pregnant, however now understand a lot more about why certain shapes fit me more.

Thanks! And great supported boobs to all of you!

I've never tried Cleo, are they nice? Am keen to find other brands as I usually stick with Freya. Panache wires tend to be too high in my armpits. I have a drawer full of bras and not one which I really love . Either they don't really fit well, or they fit but they aren't comfortable, or they just don't give me a very nice shape .

hellymelly Cleo is fast becoming my favourite brand. (I love Ewa Michalak too but have had some issues with ordering!). Fauve is my other love but they are pricey.

I've just bought a Cleo Melissa and it fits like a dream. It gives a very forward shape which suits me and means I have a narrow, deep set shape! I'm about to buy a Cleo Bella and a Cleo Marcie too.

I have the Cleo Meg but I get a big of bagginess at the top of the cup (smaller size cuts in) but nothing noticeable under clothing.

I don't get on with any Freyas and only own one Panache, the Idina balconette which gives me a similar shape to the Melissa.

Have you seen the sub-reddit Bra swap? That might be a good place to so some enhancing of sizes/styles?

Marking place as have been very slack lately

What sort of shape are your boobs helly? maybe we can make some suggestions? I can't wear standard panache either, the shape is just all wrong for me

I have a fauve bra, and it is my favourite, but I am allergic to it! Really! I have chronic hives at the moment, triggered by an allergic reaction to antibiotics, and they have a possible trigger (salicylate in food thinks the doc) but when I wear the bra I come out in hives only where the bra is touching, everywhere except the actual fabric bit of the cups. GP agreed it was clearly the bra and gave me steroids so have been reluctant to try another bra by the same brand, even though I am fine with all my other bras, (maybe it is the dye in this one? I don't know).
Shapewise- rather rounded. I was very round, almost implant like, pre babies, but they have dropped lower and are heavier now. Still a basically rounded shape though. Nipples point forwards and there isn't any space to speak of between the breasts which can make bras with high central wires uncomfortable as they sometimes press into breast tissue. I have slightly lost volume at the top from years of bf and general ageing, but not to any great degree. I stopped breastfeeding about 8 or 9 months ago but my breasts don't seem to have changed much so I am assuming they have settled down now.

I just googled Cleo and it looks as though they are made by Panache, so are like Freya is to Fantasie? Do they have the same high wires?