Bra size help

[asblackasyoursoul]

Hi, I measure 28inch underbust and 33 inch overbust. There seems to be quite a few guides out there, but according to the one I’m using I’d be a 28DD?

Are you using Boob or bust? If so, that sounds right

Yes, thanks!
I’m asking as I’ve actually tried on 28DD bras before and even on the loosest strap they felt awfully tight. What should I do about this?

Try a 28e. It might be that the cup is too small making the band feel too tight when it actually isn't. Failing that try a 30d/dd , boob or bust is great but you might need to try a few sizes to find what's right for you.

Agree with Oval, BoB is just a guide. I went up a size on the band and used the sister size for the cup. Also, it can depend on the type of bra, full, balcony etc

Your bra band should sit comfortably and not dig in to your flesh; when you take the bra off after wearing for a while, it shouldn’t be leaving deep marks. You should also be able to get your fingers between the clasp and the spine. If none of these are true then you are wearing a bra that is too small in the band.

When you say you measure you 28 inches underbust, is that what the tape measure reads? In which case you should add 4 inches to get your bra band size. So a tape measure reading of 28 inches means you should start trying bras that are sized 32 inches. (If the tape measure reading was an odd number, you would add 5 inches, i.e. round up to the next bra size.)

Cup size is then calculated as the difference between your bra band size and your overbust measurement. If these are the same, then try and A cup. Each cup is then 1 inch difference, so B cup is 1 inch, C cup is 2 inches etc. (cup sizes increase with band size so a 28B cup is not the same “capacity” as a 30B cup).

With your measurements I would have thought you should be trying bras that are 32B as a starting point (you may need to adjust band/cup size depending on brand and style).

HTH (Have spent some time recently remeasuring for maternity/nursing bras so have had to get familiar with how the sizing works again!)

Please do not add 4 inches, that is outdated advice. A person who measures 28 does not need a 32 bra. That would climb half way up your back.

Try the 28 bra back to front - if it feels looser now, go up in cup size. If still too tight, only then go up in back.

@PrincessSarene Stop telling people to add 4 inches. That advice went out with the ark!

@KatharinaRosalie As I said, I’ve had to do some remeasuring recently and haven’t seen anything about adding 4 inches being outdated? You might also note that I gave some general fitting advice to see if a bra sits correctly, and that I suggest using the calculated result as a starting point not that it is definitely her bra size.

In my case, as my ribs have expanded I now measure 35/36 inches on a measuring tape, and my 38 inch bras were definitely getting too tight and leaving deep marks after a day’s wear. I’m now wearing a band size of 40 inches and the difference in comfort is wonderful 😊

See I'm not convinced by the boob or bust method for all brands of bra. It might work for some brands but seriously, I just measured an M&S bra of mine which is a 36C and it is not 36 inches around the band. I fully appreciate there are some women wearing too big a band size who needed to increase the cup size to get a proper fitting, but has anyone actually checked whether this method works across all brands of bra?

Surely it’s logical. If your underbust measurement is 28” then you need a band of material measuring 28”. Which will be a bit stretchy so should fit nicely. Getting a band 4” bigger may have been necessary when the material didn’t have any stretch in it years ago but not these days.

That said I’ve never measured a bra to see if it is what it says it is.

I measure 32” under-bust. Goodness knows where my tits would be if I wore a 36” band.

@NoBaggyPants As I said to KatharinaRosalie, I’ve not seen anything that’s suggested the add 4 inches method is outdated - all the website size guides I’ve been looking at recently were giving that advice for measuring yourself. I was also just trying to help the OP based on my experience (isn’t that what we’re all trying to do?). Maybe I’m just the outlier for whom that method does work?!!

I just measured an M&S bra of mine which is a 36C and it is not 36 inches around the band it will probably stretch to 36 though, no?

Princess if you have never heard about that, try boob or Bust on facebook or abrathatfits on reddit, or google Mumsnet Bra Intervention. If you measure 36 then in most bra brands, you will need a 36 bra. Sure, some fit a bit smaller or bigger, but I measure 30 and do not know any brand where size 34 would be a good fit for me.

If you add 4 inches to your band, the back will ride up and your cup will be too small. It's not good for your back or your boobs.

You might vary a bit up or down from your actual back size but not four inches. A 40 back would be roughly a size 20 dress size, if you're not (or thereabouts) then you're in the wrong size.

I recently went into marks and Spencer to get my dd measured for a bra, she had not been measured before so I got measured too as a kind of reassurance. My DD is a tiny teen, seven inches shorter than I, who barely fits into an adult size 6. I’m an adult woman who could do with losing a stone to be honest, I wear a dress size 12.

They wanted my DD in a 32A and me in a 34B. That’s pretty much only one size different. That’s insane. We are now wearing a 28AA and a 32DD respectively.

Thanks for the tips. Will do some reading later. Although I am puzzled as to how those measuring methods would suggest I need to be trying a 36 inch bra when my 38 inch ones were getting almost painfully tight? Unless because the website I bought my 40inch bras from still uses that size guide then they manufacture their bras accordingly? Will have to dig out the tape measure later and check However, I don’t want to derail someone else’s thread so...

OP, based on the far more knowledgeable other posters, do ignore my advice to add 4 inches. Good luck with finding a bra size that fits properly

Princess, you probably needed to go up a cup size, not back. If you try the 38 back to front, I would expect it is not overly tight.

Go and get measured, best thing I ever did. Was wearing a 34A, needed a 30DD. I have very flat boobs so never thought I'd need a DD. Also going by the inches difference I'd be an A cup but the 30DD that I have on now is amazing and so comfy.

@KatharinaRosalie I don't think it will, no. I am currently pregnant and normally wear a 34 but my ribs have expanded. By the boob or bust reckoning, these should still fit me as my ribcage is still not measuring 34 inches yet they were way too tight on the slackest hook and I was having to use bra extenders. Same for my Shock Absorber sports bra - have had to size up to a 36 in that too and it is the right size as nothing moves in that before someone suggests I am not being supported adequately because the band isn't tight enough.

As I said above, I get that there are some people it seems to work for, who were wearing the wrong size previously, but until I have actually seen comparison between these different brands of a notionally same size, I am not convinced that you can apply this rule universally.

Shock absorbers are notoriously tight, I need them at least one size bigger too. But almost all other bras I have are the same size.