To think the boob or bust bra evangelism goes too far!

[hihellohihello]

I can't use this method. I've scars and sensitive skin after a mastectomy and then menopause. Soft tissue which will redden and go dry if anything digs in.

I don't feel that these issues are unusual. Granted, many women have not had mastectomies but many have soft tissue, dry and sensitive skin. No matter what size they are. I have tried to build muscles up and have but still got a layer of soft skin over them on my back and underarm area. I'm not big - the opposite 5 ft 7 and size 8 with a BMI on the low side so losing weight would not be the best option for me.

So I choose bras with a 34 back size. (Measure between 30 and 31). However, this seems almost taboo now. They don't ride up and don't leave red marks. They are the most comfortable apart from comfort bras/bralettes (which I get in a medium). Tighter bras leave red marks and my skin gets dry.

So sick of hearing 'You'll get used to the underband being tighter' and 'You need to go up a cup size' . Complete with a Facebook page. I've tried it. It doesn't work. I see so many pictures even in lingerie catalogues of flesh billowing over underbands. Underarm rolls and back rolls (Although the breasts may defy gravity). These rolls aren't suggestive of a good fit. Granted my breasts are not as high as they could be versus hoisting them up with a smaller band and shorter straps. They don't look like they are about to defy gravity. But they look normal and don't sag, when wearing my bra, at least. They're not at my waist or anything - they are where they should be.

I understand it might be empowering to get some uplift / look slimmer but horses for courses. Running everyday, watching what I eat, walking and weights got me slimmer already. My bra just needs to be comfortable, hold a prosthesis and not show under my clothes.

But such is the Boob or Bust evangelism that many stores will not even publish measuring guides. Thankfully, I do know about 'sister sizes' - one thing I can thank Boob or Bust for, I suppose.

Rant over. 🥴

I think they're akin to a cult. I have a wide ribcage and smallish boobs, so I don't think it works for me, as I never get to fill the bras. Also most bras in the sizes they suggest are something I would never wear. There's another system called "a bra that fits" much better and comfortable! The BOB suggested size was 28E/F but I'm a gazillion million times happier as a 32B/C

My bob band size is 30, I bought a couple in the hope they would give me great support but ended up in physical cuts around my sides but was convinced to carry on. I gave up and eventually came across 'A Bra That Fits' calculator which put me in a 32 band, so much more comfortable it's life changing!

Actually they don’t- they often advise that different brands fit differently- the Facebook page is full of discussions

the system worked perfectly for me, went down back size, bras comfortable no red marks, no back fat.

There are no rules about bras, just wear what feels comfortable and looks good to you. Every body is different and so there is no fixed rule.

I remember when the 'rule' was don't wear horizontal stripes. I wore them, because when I looked in the mirror I thought they looked good. Then new scientific research was published about why horizontal stripes make you look good.

Trust your own judgment!

There's another system called "a bra that fits" much better and comfortable! The BOB suggested size was 28E/F but I'm a gazillion million times happier as a 32B/C

Yes, I've seen those methods before but unfortunately they're a bit tricky when you have only one boob. I tend to measure for the cup size with a bra on. I know this is perhaps a more niche issue, though. Interesting that they have gender related questions on that site - do perceptions regarding gender affect bra fit?🧐

I measure 28-29. In some brands (Freya usually) with particularly stretchy bands a 28 is fine. In most brands a 30 is better, and occasionally I’m more comfortable in a 32. M&S et al would probably have me in a 34F/FF which I can tell you now would look awful and feel uncomfortable. I think it’s just about understanding how sizing works, how it can vary between brands, the different factors that contribute (breast shape, whether you have a squidgy or firm underbust, comfort etc) and being able to appropriately select a sister size. BoB is a starting point.

It comes up as 34 for me but that is always way too tight

I think you have to make it work for you. I think I've read that it's not unusual for people with less body fat to size up slightly from their underband size.

For me it was not about the boobs looking a certain way. I think sometimes boobs look slightly smaller in the "right" size bra because we're so used to seeing underwear photographed to emphasise a boobs spilling out look. There's not much jiggling in the right size either and big bras are often far from sexy.

But anyway for me it cured my awful shoulder pain. A year of pain that nothing could touch, went for good 48 hours into wearing the right size.

Also agree "a bra that fits" has a better calculator.

Yes, I’ve thought this for ages! I am fairly slim and have small boobs so perhaps I’m not really who it was designed for.

I'm between a 30/32 but the 30s sometimes dig in lately. I seem to have more back fat nowadays

I wear a M&S 32 sports bra at times

The trouble is bra straps sometimes slip off my shoulders so a narrower back may work better itms

Ah, noticed I have just noticed some interesting facts:

My 34 bra's back band measures 28 inches unstretched. So the question is how far do you want to stretch the elastic?

My 1970s copy of Shirley Conran's 'Superwoman' size chart indicates that under Bust girth corresponded exactly with the clothing size (overbust) bust measurements at the time. So a size 8 was a 30 inch (overbust) and you would expect to buy a bra in a size 30 with the cup size you needed. A size 10 was a 32 inch (overbust) and you would expect to buy a bra in a size 32 with the cup size you needed.

I've another 34 bra that the back band measures 27 inches unstretched.

Which all makes sense as I remember my first bra being a 32A (or AA) and riding up at the back. My mother said that ideally I would need a smaller size as my underbust measured something like 26/27 if I recall correctly but they didn't make them in that size. I was only just into adult clothes and had a (1980s) size 8 pair of trousers.

I'm not fat and quite small/average breasted but I do have a large rib cage which increased in size with my first pregnancy and never went back. I'm an inverted triangle shape. The only size i'm comfortable in is a 36 C, anything smaller leaves big red marks and makes me very keen to get home from work so I can take my bra off. I fail to see how anyone else can know better than me what fits.

That's interesting. Obviously clothing size relates to overbust measurements. That's the biggest part of me so that the size my tops need to fit over.

But the numerical part of a bra is your underbust measurement as that's where the band sits.
The cup size is the difference between underbust and over bust.
If I measure my over bust (52"iirc) and then buy a 52 bra, how do I know my cup size? If I still use the difference between the under and over measurements then I'll have a band that's big enough to fit around my over bust, and cups that are however many inches bigger again.

It's the invention of the stretchy fabrics that mean we no longer "add 5" to the underbust measurement. Because it stretches to fit but is then snug.
Of course this is too snug for some people and they prefer to stick to the old method. (Or so i was told)

@IstayedForTheFeminism,

"But the numerical part of a bra is your underbust measurement as that's where the band sits.
The cup size is the difference between underbust and over bust. "

My point is that in the 70s the bra size (which we think of as underband size) corresponded exactly to clothing size. To measure for a bra it was expected your frame would be smaller. I do actually recall reading somewhere that women wanted to by a bra size that corresponded to their 'vital statistics'. It was a measuring for a bra that you added the inches to the underbust measurement.

So in 1970s sizes, I would be a size 12 (size 8 now) and my bra size would be a 34.

"It's the invention of the stretchy fabrics that mean we no longer "add 5" to the underbust measurement. Because it stretches to fit but is then snug.
Of course this is too snug for some people and they prefer to stick to the old method. (Or so i was told)"
Elastic was still around, though! The stretch of back bands was similar, in the early 80s at least, I remember!😉

Just going from that old book anyway. But it's how I remember it too.

So if you were a 1970s size 12 but with a tiny bone frame you'd get a 34 with a bigger cup size than someone with a bigger bone frame but the same size.

I agree!

Sick to death of being told I'm wearing the wrong size bra, need to go down two band sizes (to a 28).

A 30 HURTS. So why would a 28 not hurt more?

And I know my physical "size" of the actual boobs. I've had implants. I know 100% what they weigh and the diameter and all the crap.

I am not, never have been and never will be, a 28JJ.

I'm a bog standard 10, sometimes an 8, with 32 E boobs. End of.

Now, if bra makers could just make bras in that size without the fugly bit between the cups I'd be happy.

I wasn't even around in the 70s, much less wearing a bra. So I'm not saying that's not how it was done. But it seems incredible to me that in the 70s I'd wear a 52H. The band would be 10 inches too big!

Where is this evangelism coming from? I’ve never heard of boob or bust til clicking on this thread!

I wasn't even around in the 70s, much less wearing a bra. So I'm not saying that's not how it was done. But it seems incredible to me that in the 70s I'd wear a 52H. The band would be 10 inches too big!
Not necessarily, the bra size numerical value wasn't the same as underband measurement. It corresponded to the overbust measurement.

I think the original BoB thing was most relevant about ten years ago for those of us with big boobs and narrowish backs who were fitted with 38DD bras from M&S because they didn't do big enough cup sizes in smaller band bras. My boobs were around my waist. Then I went to Bravissimo and got a 32G (I think) which was a revelation.
I've gone up to a 34 band now as I've put on weight, to avoid the back fat bulges.
The whole point was to help women find a bra that was more comfortable and looked better if it doesn't work for you it's not compulsory!

But my over bust measurement is 52. So I'd buy a bra with the numerical value 52.
My underband measurement is 42!

I wear a 36 or a 38 back for comfort. H cup. I’m a 12-14. Boob or bust would have me in a much smaller back but I’m not going there