I need the bra people - is it possible I have worn a bra 6" wrong all my adult life?

[CharlotteSimmons]

I am not sure of the names of the bra experts but I remember reading a thread a while back and finally got hold of a measuring tape...I am pretty petite, sporty and extremely flat chested, especially post breastfeeding. I always wear a bra, and prefer under wired padded ones, but I don't think I actually need one. I have always worn a 34A, I was measured once I think but they have always kind of fitted, I think...anyway, they have not fitted nearly as well since finishing breastfeeding and I was trying to come to terms with the fact I must be a 34 AA but then I read the thread, finally got a tape measure and...I am a 28" and a 32", so what bra size do I need? And where makes good bras for people with an underwhelming chest?

Doing some bra browsing this morning and came across this:

how your bra should NOT look

If this fit looks ok to you, your bra probably doesn't fit

Ouch. What do you guess, 2 back sizes too big and 3 cup sizes too small?

At least. I'd say 3 cup sizes on the same band IYSWIM, so more once you adjust for the band difference. What do you reckon, they've got her in a 32D when she really need about a 28 (26 if they existed)G/GG?

It is amazing how many people I know who seem convinced that their ill fitting bras are correct...or comfortable

I was trying to convince a friend to go the bra shop I frequent, good range of prices and they don't mind if you don't buy

She said no thanks her adsa bra fitted fine and I looked at her and thought "but you've got four boobs love!!!!"

Dd came to 'my' shop and the lady said that M and S teen bras are great "but don't let them near her with a tape measure"

I'm finding it hard to believe that I need a ff on the same band.. I could see it if my band size had changed but?!?!
Where's a good place to order a few from and I can send them back if they don't fit for free? :/

Rufus, it's frustrating, isn't it! I have a size 12 friend who insist on squeezing herself into a 36B - four boobs and bra strap is somewhere around her neck..

I have measured properly and ordered two 28E bras from figleaves...ive been wearing 34DDs for years. Quite interested to compare the fit.

Finding your real bra size truly is a revelation! Although, I went into M&S a few days after having DD desperate for a nursing bra or just a soft bra, and was bundled into a fitting room by one of the fitters, and I was quite snappy with her after she tried me in 40D despite me having been wearing a 36F before, then left and came back with a frigging 42C and suggested I try online because they didnt have larger band sizes in store.

I'm now happily wearing a 32HH and I'm fatter now than I was then.

To be fair, I'm a size 18/20 so you probably would expect me to need a bigger band, but I have a weirdly small waist/ribcage area so a 32 does fit. I need a 30 in some Curvy Kate bras!

A 28E will be smaller in the cup than a 34DD, how do your current bras fit DeliciousIrony?

OP, I had been wearing a 36A for years. And then I did the intervention measuring, and I am most definitely a 30D or 32C.

I've found a bra which comes in loads of different colours that fits me perfectly. Its lepel fiore padded. It is only about 14 or so an Amazon and its great.

shame on you NExt!

www.next.co.uk/inspiration/editorial/lingerie-guide/1

and john lewis

some of the bad fit pictures are quite good on Next site, but I wonder how they don't realize that if you put a woman measuring 27 into a 32 bra, her bra back will most certainly extend more than 4 cm.

My bras have arrived!!
From John Lewis - T Shirt bras in a 28D
And....
the cups feel great, no overspill (although tbf that was never likely!) and NO GAPING
but
I think the back strap may be too tight. It feels fine (I have moved it to the middle fastening though), I am aware it's there but it's not digging in but i now have flesh overhanging at the back and the sides. Not loads admittedly, and I can't scoop it round to the cups, but if I was wearing a tight top you would be able to see my bras strap and the flesh above it.
Do you think I should try a 30"? Should I go 30C do you think?
With the exception of the poor aesthetics of the back view, I definitely feel sooo much more comfy so am definitely on the right track...

A new bra should be on the loosest fitting - can you try it on that? If you are able to put it straight to middle then you definitely don't need a 30.

Ha! I am a fool!! I totally misread your earlier advice and was trying to put it on the tightest fitting which was a real squeeze so moved it to the middle. Have now moved it to the loosest fitting and OMG I look like a normal woman!! I have a small bust but it is in proportion to my build and I do not look flatchested and empty.
Thank you sooo much. At some point I would love to get to a department store and try on a wider range/selection but I can make do with my two new bras for now!!
Good luck to everyone else on your bra voyages, and do let us know how you get on!!

Don't bother with the department stores! The selection is really poor. Tried Bravissimo shop today and yet again left feeling really despondent. Going to do the online shop thing, despite it being a total pita, because they just don't seem to believe thati could be a 30F and keep bringing me 32DDs. Glad you have achieved success Charlotte!

Statistically My 34DD cups usually fit ok, sometimes gape a bit at the top...eek, should I have ordered a 28F? I did all the measurements and it came out between a 28DD and 28E, so I went for the bigger one. An F seems ridiculously big

Charlotte , mycurvesandme have some good deals on just now including some 28D cleo bras for under £10

DeliciousIrony, what were your measurements? Did you take the overbust when leaning? Sometime people need a size bigger than they measure

Have a look at the link I posted upthread with real women in bras, a 28F is really quite petite and actually smaller than your 34DD. In volume terms, to maintain the same volume a 34DD=32E=30F=28FF.

Ah - need more help, sorry
Have worn my new bra all day today and the underwiring is digging in at the centre. The rest of it feels fine but it is leaving a red mark and it just feels too tight in the area between my breasts (too tight against my skin, not pulling them together too much)

It could just be a getting used to it issue, as your old bra was probably barely touching you! Or it could be that the shape of the cups is just not quite perfect for you. When you wear a bra that's much too bit in the band you don't even notice more minor fit niggles as it just kind of sits there doing not much!

Are your breasts really close together (so the gore is sitting on breast tissue)? Is it the whole depth of the gore that's digging in or is it the ends of the wires?

I sometimes adjust underwires slightly if they don't seem quite right, at first.

And that Next fitting guide, upthread, is shocking. Even the slim model has back fat!

Yup, depending on the issue you can sometimes just bend the wires out ever so slightly but it's not always necessary.

Another gate crasher here looking for help. I'm measuring 35 below, 41 at widest part of bust, and I currently don't have a single bra that fits properly (still wearing 34C bras despite being an entirely different shape since kids and breast feeding, as the lady at M&S assured me that was my size.) Every bra I own gapes at the top and the straps fall down. Please don't tell me to get fitted in Bravissimo, there is one locally but am flat-chested and fear them laughing me out the shop, so it'll to be online - but should I be buying 34 or 36 bands? And do I count the difference between band or rib cage measurement for cup size? Help!

OK, Bravissimo wouldn't laugh you out of the shop I can assure you

Now, your measurements would suggest trying 34E/F or 36E/DD. Your 34Cm can you pop it on back to front and see how the band fits (back to front eliminates the too small cups from the equation)

Now, put it on the right way. stand side on to a mirror, leaning forward, put your right hand inside the left cup and reach round to your armpit. Scoop all the soft tissue you can find up in to the cup. repeat on the other side. How does it look now?