Bra fitting advice!

[RockCrushesLizard]

Hi all

I've seen some brilliant advice on here for bra interventions, so all though I don't need an intervention, I do need some lost 3 stone, then had a baby and breastfed for two years, then stopped advice!

I'm going to put as much info as I can think of, so this may be epic!

My ribcage measures 29, overbust is 40.

While breastfeeding I was wearing and Anita nursing bra, in 32 J, which I knew was a bad fit: Cups too small, back size only too big, but needed due to the small cups.
I'm currently wearing a (resurrected from about 8 years ago and fairly well worn) Freya Eleanor, on a 30J, and a mostly unworn Freya Arabella in 32HH. They seem to fit identically! Both feel equally loose round the ribs, which is to say that although they feel comfy, and indeed quite tight compared to two years of nursing bras, I can easily pull it out 3 inches from my back.

The cups are too big, or maybe it's that I've lost top fullness, but I can slip my hand in the top of the cup easily, and it gapes at times. My actual breast us very soft and malleable, has a lot of jiggle on the top, so I feel it needs a bit more structure to get a nice shape.

My boobs are quite narrow where they attach to my chest - there's no breast tissue in my underarm, and in fact the wires go about an inch/inch and a half beyond the breast tissue on my ribs. In the middle they are quite close set.

I have recently tried (from my collection of bras that I bought but didn't wear because I got pregnant) a panache Harmony in 32J - central gore dug in and the wires were very high under my arms, and a 32J Bravissimo Alana, which was the same but more so - really painful.

I always liked a bra with side support to keep my boobs central, and prefer a balcony to full cup shape.

So, with all that in mind, help?
I just don't know where to start. I was thinking 30HH/32H, but in what?
I leave myself in your hands !

Hello

A word of doom warning! Marcie is much wider accross the top of the cup than the first three that Sorrel listed. Sometimes you can get away with wearing it a cup smaller, assuming it works at all.

Some of the Panache styles have stretch lace at the top which can be useful with asymmetry- Jasmine and Andorra are narrower ones and the Idina, Envy and Clara have more width like the Marcie.

Thanks StatisticallyChallenged I'll go look at that blog. To be honest I've never worn a bra except when pregnant/breastfeeding so am very picky, cost's not the issue (although that's very sweet of you OliviaBlue) just comfort. I'd just like to see whether a perfectly fitted bra would really be comfortable (might well be I've never got the sizing right, I've only once been fitted, at John Lewis long long ago). dd says that I just need to learn to get used to wearing a bra, not sure I want to

Just to say that I found that blog really helpful. I have a skinny rib cage with no padding, I think this probably explains why I don't like bras. I have to admit I would never have read a blog about busty women without the bra intervention - I've always seen myself as fairly under endowed, and centainly no where near a D cup. It's all been very interesting :)

You might also want to look up the bra band project. It's basically a site full of photos of women in bras which have been properly fitted. It's usually very useful for women who discover thru need a small band and d plus cup and think that sounds huge. If you are very slender you might find you need one band up from your base measurement

Will check that out too. Useful for dd too. My mother never wore a bra and never took me for a fitting so I don't have much experience!

I'm back! I have further information

I've now tried a vast range of Bravissimo bras in a 30HH.

sweet Bon Bon, mademoiselle, and others on a similar style all fine in the back but too small in the cup by about one size.
There was also Betty, which I could barely do up, and the cups were crazy small.
Ring I roses was quite a good fit, slightly quad boob on my larger side, and a bit diggy in the central wire.
Alana seemed okay, but too small.

My lily remains nice and comfy in the 30H.

So I'm still looking! I'm going to order a Marcie in a GG and H (subject to guru approval...) and bratabase has recommended the bravissimo dotty spotty, which I thought I'd try. It also recommends lots of Ewa M bras, but I confess the letters confuse me. Can I ask for more help with that?

Thank you all so much, I can't tell you how much time it is saving me having your help in narrowing down the options

I don't get on with many of the Bravissimo own brand bras as the cups are too shallow for me. The Mademoiselle was a particularly disappointing failure. I couldn't get the gore to sit flat no matter how big a cup I tried.

You can find discontinued Cleo bras on the web (via Google) so if you want the same/similar cut as the Lily, search for Cleo Meg, Cleo Minnie, Cleo Bella, Cleo Melissa and Cleo Marcie.

Hopefully Stats will be along in the minute with some advice about EM bras. I've only tried a couple but found that the CH and CHP work well for me in my usual UK size.

Thank you - yes, I had high hopes for mademoiselle, but not to be!
I've tracked down Minnie (GG was too small, currently awaiting the exchange in an H and HH) and Marcie and Meg, which is quite exciting

As a general rough guide, try one cup up from your lily size in bravissimo own brand and sometimes two, they run smaller in the cup. I probably would suggest the ewa s and sm styles as the chp has wider cups

May I slightly hijack? Having measured myself properly as per the link, and having been wearing 36G or 38F for ages, it turns out I'm 32HH. I bought a Panache Tango in that size which fitted nearly ok (bit of quad boob after a couple of hours but I've never found a bra which didn't do that). It felt snug in the band and dug in a bit where the side seams were but I stuck with it. Next day I woke up with my back in spasm and today it's still bad.

Is this just because I've transferred the weight from my shoulders to my back? Or am I doing something wrong? V depressed at the thought of finally finding the right size but being crippled by it!

Great advice about the bravissimo. What size would it be in an Ewa compared to a Lily do you know? I'd have to get it made to order, so want as much info as poss since they can't be returned

Ewa sm styles run about the same in the cup but they are snug in the band -I still wear a 30 in most but I have one in a 32 and it's fine so maybe start with a 32gg or h. That takes you in to standard sizes too so might be worth trying to gauge sizing. The s varies, some are a bit snug and others normal. I wear one cup up from lily in most s styles, and lily cup in sm -or one down if going up in the band

Fresh, what are your actual measurements? Quad boob means it's still a bit small in the cup

Underbust snug: 32.5"
Underbust tight (breathing out) 31"
Overbust standing 43"
Overbust leaning forward 45"
Overbust lying down 43".
Wide boobs. Gravity has taken its toll.
All done without bra.
If you could just tell me whether you think I've got the right size or not then I'll stop hijacking and go and try some more on! Thanks.

Base measurement would be around a 32J/JJ I would suggest. Style wise, you might get on better with Freya/Fantasie/Curvy Kate than Panache (as a very rough rull of thumb) as Panache tend to be narrower although some are wider such as the Envy. Some of the Bravissimo own brand bras are wider too, balconettes like Betsy Bow and Alana spring to mind

Thank you! Will take your advice and sorry for hijacking OP.

No apologies required - hijack away!
A good bra is a wondrous thing, that everyone should have