Why are we all wearing the wrong bra size, it can't be rocket science....

[Idreamofdaleks]

Surely there is no great mystery to knowing your bra size - don't you just measure yourself

www.amplebosom.com/acatalog/Measuring_Guide.html

It is supposed to be the classic bignorker error to go too big on the width fitting and too small on the cupsize, but surely all the programmes are plaion wrong when they say 70% of us are wearing the wrong size?

Well, i inputted my meacurements into the bravissimo site (think it was them) And it came out i should be wearing a 34C!! I couldn't get 1 nork into that size!!! i'd be spilling out over the top.
I'm currently in a 36E but do also have a 36F in my drawer.I find it also depends on the style.

measurements even

I'm not coz I went to John Lewis yesterday and got fitted for a new bra and 'til lurvely.

I wear the right bra size and I am forever sugesting that people get measured.

I sorted out a few Mumsnetters one drunken evening!!!

I have been measured many times - often similar to wurzel - they tell me that I am a ....36B, one time - 2 weeks later i was a 38C ????

I made an effort to wear the right bra. It was so uncomfortable. I knew that this might be, only becasue I had got used to wearing the wrong one. So I perserveered. But in the end I had to give up - after about 8 months - because it was just so awful.

it is to do with the bra style. So each time you by a new bra yiu shoudl be meausred or - once you have beenmeasured look out for the obviouls signs.

Gone are the days when I could pick up a 38C in M&S. I now need to pick up everything from a 36B to a 40D, depending on cut / style - as wurzel says.
Mid you I need to do that with clothes - I take a 12,14 and 16 sometimes - why should bras beany different.

No one's got time to be measured for every time they buy a new style, surely ?

I buy mine form Bravissimo - rder three of four and then send the ones that don't fit back - as I amnever the same size and certain cuts don't suit.

I don't get measured everytime but I know what to look out for - as the op says it is not rocket science

I went to Rigby and Peller and was wearing completely the wrong bra size. I would never have bought a bra in the size they said I am. But now I wear the right size, I look much better.

I think everyone should be measured at least once a year - it makes such a difference to your appearance imo.

I took my daughters to Rigby & Peller. They can tell your size even without measuring. Very good. It makes a huge difference to wear the right size.

It's also partly a weight issue for me anyway. The fatter I am the larger they are.

So half the problem is that we all change bra size on a regular basis

Don't believe in so-called correct bra sizes.

I have been measured many times as 34D.
I have bought bras that size.
Within hours of wearing them I have backache, indigestion, slight nausea. They are too F*ing tight and don't allow for proper size meals.
I wear a slightly larger size, it doesn't give me back or tummy ache. The norks are as perky as ever, ta.
Bra-sizing... does it have a scientific history or basis? I bet not.

when i finally got a decent fitting bra...from bravissimo....it stopped riding up at the back/straps stopped falling down, and my norks were where they should be. I felt like I'd had a boob job!

My sister is a lingerie designer and I'm afraid it actually IS rocket science. She recommends always trying a selection of sizes just like you would for other clothes - well, at least account for variance across brands and styles.

A lot of more mature women might be wearing too-small sizes as bra sizing has changes over the years but people often don't bother to get measured.

A friend told me that your boobs should rest half way between your shoulder and elbow on a side profile. That really works for me. trying the differnt brands is v important- i started pre-pregnancy as a 32F, i am now a 32H in some brands and a 32G in others at 16 weeks. I recommend going to rigby and peller- they are expensive, but I use them as a guideline and order from figleaves.com or bravissimo, sending back the Gs or Hs that dont work. Or going into John Lewis who do do larger sizes from £20. ALso i do wear underwired because the support is so much better and if it fits properly it won't dig into the breast in any case. Rigby's do underwired nursing bras, too.

As an ex-bra fitter I am with Walnutshell.

Sizes vary across different manufacturers. Different styles won't fit everyone - because two people can measure the same size but be completely different shapes. And then sometimes the same bra can be slightly different size in different colours (something to do with the dyeing process).

My advice is
-always get fitted somewhere reputable. If they measure you with a tape measure and proceed to tell you your size, but don't come back to check, then ignore it.
-get a good bra fitter to show you what to look for. Then when you try on different bras you can tell whether it fits or not.
-don't buy bras without trying them on first - unless its one you always wear

Good advice, p.

Suey2, my boobs rest as you suggest they should. This is braless however and probably due to their miniscule-ness. I probably need two hankies and a piece of string and I could make my own bra. With room for spare change and a pack of gum.

I go to a small independent bra shop and although they measure you, they won't sell you a bra until you've tried the ones you want on and then they come in and have a check that it fits correctly. Makes a huge difference and I go every 6 months.

Message withdrawn

some shops aren't very good at it though are they? I had a very young (and embarrassed) girl in Mothercare trying to measure me for a nursing bra once and she plainily didn't have a clue.

Have had rubbish measures in M&S, Debenhams and John Lewis - not sure that there is anywhere else locally that does it tbh.

Walnutshell, I had a friend who used to keep peanuts in her Wonderbra pockets (she was very thin and needed to keep her energy levels up!)

Walnutshell - me too!

I have an odd combo of extremely small boobs which are also saggy. I think I need to go for a slightly padded bra.