Advice for bra for dd aged 10

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I've noticed my dd aged 10 is developing so decided to measure her using the underneath chest and then bending over and around fullest part method. I got 26" under and 30" around which I work out as being 26D. Surely this can't be? She's only ten and quite slender. Any advice would be great.

Tia

Glad to have been of help!

NOOOOO to adding inches! Its outdated and just plain wrong

I have the same problem as DD is 26 band and the smallest I have found here is SA is 30. I am 29 so I wear 30 too. But she has various soft bras (she is 11) and they vary in size - she wears those that she feels comfortable in. I have no idea how manufacturers measure up as one of them that she is wearing is a 34B that clips at the front and she says its the most comfortable out of them all. The 32 in that brand didn't even clip at the front . It was from a high street store but surely there should be some standard in sizings between manufacturers. I am not going to go and buy her expensive ones, firstly the high end boutique bra shops here do not do teen range or any that have no wire, and I cannot justify those prices for something that probably wont last 6 months. Bra shopping is quite the nightmare right now . Op, she wore a sport top for quite a while, when her breasts starting to become fuller and get a shape to them, we decided it was time for a proper bra then. We get the longer ones here in our shop which is equivalent to M+S. Its not those that come in a set (those all seem to be shorter).

I don't think the adding inches is wrong actually. A 30 bra is usually designed to fit a ribcage of 26", it might be possible to stretch that bra to fit someone bigger, but the band will be tight, and the elasticity will go faster. I measure 26/27 and I wear a 30 in modern bras. Years ago when bras were slightly less generous (although that varies with makes now) I wore a 32 as there were no size 30s. Sometimes that was ok, sometimes I had to take in the bra band. I measured 25 around the rib then. As others have said, the interventionist method may work fine for women who have a little bit of soft flesh around the ribs as then a smaller band will give better support, but for those naturally at the very small end of the scale it often does not work because there is no flesh to squash, so adding the 4 inches as was normal will work better. I can get a 28 on, but it feels too gripping, and as long as a bra band doesn't ride up, then I feel comfortable. I think that we are going from women with their bra bands riding right up their weeny backs, because they were in too big a band, to women with really tight looking bands making rolls of podge instead. Neither looks great imo. I think the best way to find a bra to fit is to have a very rough idea of what to start with, and try on tons of bras in sizes either side of that, until you find one that fits snugly but not tightly, and that isn't so loose that it will ride up. That size is less to do with what one measures and more to do with body composition and personal comfort preferrence. I have a bad back, and really tight bras make it worse not better, even though a supportive bra should help. (Am an FF cup). Breast shape and postition makes a difference too, buying bras is like buying shoes.

To be fair Helly, we always always provide a starting size and loads of guidance on how to recognise good fit. But that starting point shouldn't be with inches added. Actual measurement is correct on average

To be fair Helly, we always always provide a starting size and loads of guidance on how to recognise good fit. But that starting point shouldn't be with inches added. Actual measurement is correct on average

SC- do you have a bra shop?

Ha no, one day I would love to though! I just know far too much about bras. By we I meant the mumsnet bra brigade! The intervention method isn't "you must absolutely wear the size you measure" btw, not at all. We even say that on the fitting advice on the blog. It's just that it's the best place to start from, as for most people if you start with a measurement that is say +5" it can be really difficult to work from there and figure out what you need as it's so far off for some people. M&S try to stick me in a 36F when I actually wear (and am fitted by Bravissimo in) a 30HH in most cases. Having seen how that 36F "fitted", without the bra knowledge I have I don't think I'd have been able to work out what size I actually needed if I had started there. It was ridiculously awful (I'll try to find the photos but I reckon some large seashells tied together with string would have been more supportive!)

There are definitely woman who do need inches added - they're generally very slender women who have little padding on their torso, people who have some sort of nerve issue which makes them painful, or people who have certain shapes of ribcages. There are also people who need a smaller band than they measure - those with very squidgy torsos, often combined with very heavy breasts where it's better for the band to be firm as the weight of the breasts can cause major health problems for shoulders and neck. The average woman needs what they measure, pretty much.

Are you still struggling to find bras which suit your shape? what works for you at the moment and I may be able to suggest some options.

Yes I am struggling! How kind of you to ask. There used to be an amazing woman in Bath who advised on bras and was able to source bras from abroad, but she seems to have stopped, retired possibly. Perhaps you should take up the task professionally! Anyway, at my "natural" fighting weight I would be just over 25" around the ribs with about 33" around the breasts.( I wore a 30E pre babies). I've had some thyroid problems and am fatter than I should be , so I am now more like 27" around and 35" ish around my breasts. I am wearing a 30FF. That seems slightly snug in the cup at the moment but because of my thyroid my weight goes up and down a lot, so next week it might be fine! My main problem is shape. The bra I wear most, Freya Martha, is comfortable but makes my bosom look a bit lower than it should and rather matronly. I often find bras are not forward facing enough for me, I have roundish breasts and I find anything where the wires come up high in the centre will dig in or gape away, and I have a real problem with wires that come up too high into the armpit or in too much of a straight line at the armpit side. Even when I was slim I could hardly ever find a bra that was really comfortable and gave a nice shape. Sorry for the thread hijack op! Bras have been the absolute bane of my life. My friend used to say I was just like the character in "Cold Comfort Farm" who travels miles in search of bras...

Are your breasts quite close set i.e. not much of a gap between them in the middle?

What do you think they are like width wise? Do you have much breast tissue round under your arms or is it all more on the front of your torso?

Would you say you are naturally quite high set too?

Oh, last one - do you think that your boobs are fuller on top, on the bottom or kind of "balanced"

They isn't much of a gap no. They are wide enough to cover all of my front , I'm not sure if I have much under the arms, it is hard to tell as my torso is narrow, and my breasts are full. They were high set and full top and bottom but have dropped with 8 years of breast feeding, and age too probably as I am 50, and now are flatter at the top than they were, although they still have volume all over. They are lower than they were certainly! They used to look almost like implants, now they look softer and lower like 70s breasts.

I have a fair few of those issues myself - the most problematic one for me is probably having very little gap as there isn't really a space for the central gore to sit in. The best bras for this are two polish brands, Ewa Michalak and Comexim. I have several bras from both and they are by far the comfiest bras I own. They're relatively narrow wired which works very well on narrower torsos too.

Because you are narrow, I think from EM you will probably get on better with their S, SM or PL styles. The CHP are lovely but the straps are wide set. I'm a 30" back wearing a 30 band and on me the CHP are a bit too wide. I suspect on you the CHP would hurt! The EM sizing info is a bit crazy - I wear them in the same size as I wear Freya bras as a rule. Comexim are another polish brand who are a bit harder to order from (you have to email for international sales) but they have very narrow gores and are also very low under the arms. I have the Audrey and the Summertime and they're lovely.

Krisline is another polish brand I've had some success with (although not as good as Ewa/Comexim) and they are available on Brastop. Ignore the vaguely porno style advertising, they're nice bras!

Oh that is interesting. I have bought a bra from ewa michalak. It is the CHP style though, the capuccino. I haven't worn it yet as although it fitted when I bought it when I went to wear it last week I thought I needed a bigger cup. It gives me a really nice shape though. There is another style I like but I am confused about ordering, it isn't showing my size in the drop down menu, but it isn't showing in the list of "we will sew for you" sizes either, so I can't tell if it is available. i did email them but the response was even more confusing! I am off to check out the other brands you suggest. Should I buy my usual 30FF? The band seems ok in the one I have but I haven't worn it so can't be sure.

I've tried the Cappucino, I would say it's fairly "normal" for EM sizing! Can you give it a longer try on, and maybe try it with a top over it to see if it is actually too small, or if it's just got less coverage than you are used to...the CHP is quite wide and square and the first time I tried mine I thought I would fall out but...nothing shifts!

Style wise - PL is a very definite plunge of the "hello, I have cleavage" variety, but also great for close set boobs. The S style is higher in the gore, but does still give me plenty of cleavage. It's a bit fuller coverage though, and gives a fantastic shape. The CHP is a half cup/balconette style with a much wider/squarer neckline. These are all lightly moulded/padded styles like the CHP (more supportive padding than make you bigger padding)

The SM is cut like the S style, but unpadded. Also really nice, but tend to run tighter in the band due to the fabrics not being nearly as stretchy!

Generally, if a bra isn't on their drop down or on the "we'll sew it" list it's because it's sold out in that size pre made. They normally do up to a 30GG as a standard size, and 30H cup and above as custom orders. What did they say in response (I've become adept at interpreting their sometimes odd responses!!)

Looking at Comexim I think I might need a completely different size to normal, in fact now I am really confused, as a 30 bra is in fact 25 and a half, in polish bras, as 30 is supposed to be a 65. So would someone who measures 30 actually need a size 75 bra? Would I need a 70 rather than a 65? It is so confusing! And the cup sizes don't have DDs or FFs so that takes a while to compute, now I have no idea what I would be, but looking at their scale they say their bra bands measure what they are marked as so a 65 would now be too small in Comexim and I would need more like a 70 if I measure 27...????? and cup? H?

According to their chart a 70E, really? I am 69cm ribs and 91cm bust.

The comexim chart is nonsense too :) I have one 60 and one 65 from there (ie a 28 and a 30) as I was warned the one I liked was pretty stretchy! They don't do doubles, so you just count through the cups. Normally, I would say a 30FF usually should try a 65H. I'm working from the size you prefer rather than your measurements IYSWIM as I know you don't like the bands as firm.

Basically, back when god was a boy Britain went down the "add 4 inches to get your band size" route, and EU instead added the 4 inches to the band size (10cm) but kept the numbering the same. So they don't "line up" properly even now that we shouldn't add inches.

BTW, how do you measure your overbust? Have you done the "dangling" measurement (bra off, bend forward to 90 degrees, measure loosely round the lowest part) - it tends to be more accurate for working out cup sizes (in absence of a huge range of bras to try on!)

Well that measures 38/39 !! How can that be? That seems Mahoosive. (Maybe I misunderstood "lowest part" I measured around my nipples?) What size does that make me by measurements then? Maybe when I have tried 28s they have been too tight because the cup is too small, but I do know how a cup should fit I think. I find with the couple of 28s I have tried, one was hard to do up and felt really far too tight, the other felt very grippy and I noticed my bra all the time rather than forgetting about it. It also seemed to aggravate my back.

No, that actually makes a lot more sense. In basic bra math, a FF cup is 8" difference between your band size and your overbust. Roughly, approximately, etc etc. So I was a little confused that you were needing a FF on a 30 band when you measured about 35 overbust.

But, on a 28 band you should probably have tried a GG and H at least...what cup was it?

It was either an FF or a G, as I can't remember if I was an F or an FF in a 30 at the time, My weight has been so up and down with my thyroid. I fluctuate from one dress size up to the next and back again every few months it seems. I was assuming that to go down one band size , one went up a cup size, is that not the case? I did think the cup seemed smaller on me than in my 30 bras.

See now I'm even more confused as I thought it was 8"ish from rib size to bust circumference, eg, 27 to 35/36 which is what I measure standing up in a bra.

It's slightly debatable...when you wear the band size you measure, then it's 1 cup size per inch difference, as the band and the bust measurement are the same. When you wear a size which is different to what you measure then it's not quite as straightforward. a 30FF is "designed" for a woman who measure 30" underbust, 38" overbust. Although you measure smaller underbust, that just means that you don't wear the bands as stretched as most people. But in most bras the cup measurement isn't really very stretchy...

Sadly a measuring tape just isn't as good as seeing someone in the flesh, with bras...

Do you still have any 28s out of interest, or did you send them all back?

I have two here upstairs.

Do me a favour, grab them and try them on back to front. I know, sounds bonkers - but it takes the cups out of the equation so you can see how tight the band actually is in isolation.

When the cups are forwards your boobs just get in the way and if the cups are too small they will pull the band.

ok, am off to bed but will do that in the morning. It is really kind of you to help like this. I really appreciate it.