When is a 32B not a 32B?

[Lonecatwithkitten]

I asked to lovely ladies for help getting bras for DD. So correctly I am buying the band with she measures. She is 31inches we tried 30 from JohnLewis too tight 32inch perfect. The lovely ladies here also suggested Debenhams.

Today we visited Debenhams and DD tried on 32 very tight I measured it against John Lewis 32 much smaller so asked for a tap measure and the band measured 27 inches.
Has anyone else actually measured any bras? Is it possible they are measuring us, adding 4 inches and then selling bras that actually measure 5 inches less than the label says?

If the unstretched band measured the same as your chest, it wouldn't stay up.

When you first buy a bra, it should feel quite tight when worn on the loosest hook. So as it stretches (as all stretchy clothes do), you can then use the tighter hooks.

I had pulled it fairly tight when I measured and it was a good three inches shorted than the JL bra which fits nicely.

That's intersting. They might be doing it that way but if some are its totally inconsistent. No wonder so many of us are wearing the wrong size.