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. 🥴

That's the system I remember. Which isn't the system op described.

That's the system I remember. Which isn't the system op described.

I just looked at an old book and the history of sizing. I remember the add inches too. However, it is quite uncanny how the people I knew in the 80s bra sizes corresponded with the measurements for their dress size. My mother was a 1980s 14 top and wore a 36C bra. When I was a 1980s size 12, I wore a 34C (if I could get one) if not a 36B. My Granny was a 14 top but hated tight bras and had 38Bs or more usually just wore a camisole/dress slip. We did have the add 4/5 inches measuring guide in a catalogue which we did use but the figures we came up with did correspond to dress size measurements.

Maybe it only worked for certain frame and dress sizes. There wasn't a lot of sizing choice in the usual shops - either dress size or bra size.

As an aside I remember wearing one of my Granny's old 38B 'cross your heart' Playtex style bras. It was a bit big, granted, but gave a lovely shape with great uplift.

It was identical to this one, if I recall correctly.

See if this works now

They seem very ugly now of course but at the time they were just every day functional bras. And they did work well, no underwires either.

Sizes in all matters of clothing are near useless. Every manufacturer every style fits differently. You need to try and find comfy without any reference point.

Remember the advertising for cross your heart bras

My slim 11 year old daughter is in a 28 inch bra and I cannot imagine how an adult woman could possibly fit into that band size.

I can confirm that it is possible.

I'm a 30-32 back size 10

Me, too. I’m a fairly standard size 10.

My slim teenage dd should be in a 26 back, but as no-one makes them she makes do with a 28, or with bralettes that come up small on the chest band.

I get where u are coming from

I am very plus sized so I will always have some back fat, I can’t just keep going baggier as the bra would offer me no support at all,

i think it all depends

Not read every post but I get your point - and I say that as one of the original mumsnet bra ladies.

A bra should be comfortable and supportive (primary objective) and look good/give a nice shape under clothes (secondary objective). When the bra threads on here first started - and I think boob or bust was the same - it was in response to shops like M&S who were using old fashioned fitting methods which gave bras which were shit for the majority of people. It wasn't about making people give up comfy bras for tight ones, it was about finding bras which were better all around. Because of the old methods the solution was often to go down in the band and up in the cup

The problem is, imo, that people have forgotten that the numbers are only ever a starting point, a guide to get you in the right ball park. The idea was always that ftom there you would tweak and adjust the size and try different styles to find something good, and we always used to give loads of advice on what good fit was. That adjusting process involves taking in to consideration all the elements that contribute to comfort so things like scar tissue absolutely 💯 need to be considered. So does overall body shape, breast shape, breast size and weight and a bunch of other factors.

People who are absolutist about wearing a bra which is exactly your underbust measurement are often, ime, not actually that knowledgeable or experienced. Similarly people who draw really definite conclusions from dress size; it gives a guide - there was someone recently claiming their daughter was a size 4 and a 34 back which is probably wrong - but there are still a fair range of possible combinations because it's more closely related to waist size and your dress size is dictated by your largest body part so a pear will have a different dress to bra size relationship compared with an apple.

Wise words @StatisticallyChallenged

and I think boob or bust was the same - it was in response to shops like M&S who were using old fashioned fitting methods which gave bras which were shit for the majority of people. It wasn't about making people give up comfy bras for tight ones, it was about finding bras which were better all around. Because of the old methods the solution was often to go down in the band and up in the cup

I think the things is the old add 4/5 inches methods were always just a hack because the EU had declared the size should refer to the band not overall bust measurement, as it did originally. Shops still had bras in sizes from when the size referred to overall bust measurement and women still expected to buy bras referring to their bust measurement so shops got the idea of adding inches to the actual underbust measurement to give a size that was closer to what was expected from customers and going up and down in cup sizes from there to get a fit.

And I remember, even in the 80s, although we had measuring guides, shops and catalogues only stocked a narrow range - no cup sizes bigger than an A in a 32 not sizes smaller than a 32AA, we automatically experimented trying different bras on to find a fit. We just didn't call it 'sister sizes'.

From the earlier convention, Boob or Bust, I think, developed as just another hack, really but ironically it was maybe was closer to what the EU intended in terms of standardisation.

But at the end of the day, elastic on the underband stretches - 13 inches on the bra I measured. Ranges from a 27 with an unstretched band to 40 with the band stretched all the way. So there is certainly a possibility that people who measure the same will find bras in different sizes to each other most comfortable.

My skin is such I don't like too much grip on the elastic and my support needs are such that I don't require this for support (one remaining not particularly large or heavy breast). Even running it doesn't move in a 34C. I would say, though, if you have to stretch bras out to maximum capacity the elastic will fatigue and break. If you have to break a bra in this is what has happened.

I think it goes the other way too - technically I should be in a 36/38 but because I'm quite squishy, I size down to get the support which means a 34. But it's genuinely comfortable - if I went for a nap I wouldn't take it off
Style too, Elomi are the best for me but only the plunge style. Panache centre gore try to stab me and Freya just doesn't fit

It absolutely does go the other way too - squishy torsos often need to go down to get the support, as do heavy busts which very rapidly stretch the elastic so if you buy at "already comfy " level they rapidly hit "climbing up the back and spilling out the front" status.

It's a bit like buying some jeans which can really loosen off with wear, for me at least.

"I would say, though, if you have to stretch bras out to maximum capacity the elastic will fatigue and break. If you have to break a bra in this is what has happened"

Unfortunately if you have larger/heavier breasts you don't really have a choice as the weight of your breasts will stretch it out anyway. So quite often (does vary with fabric composition) if a bra feels soft and ok support wise when I first try it, by the time I've worn it for a day it becomes too big as the breast weight forces the elastic to stretch, then it rides up, cups fall forward...not pretty. There's al element of knowing the right level of starting tightness that means it will be "just right" after that happens and sucking it up til it gets there.

See this is what happens with me. New 34 bra. Fastened easily. Ok from front. But then I get rolls at the band which can get sore. Extender on no rolls.

I struggle with it but I have severe scoliosis so that’s probably why.
I did see a post on Facebook, someone asking for bra recommendations for their 94 year old mother, someone said to do BorB and I couldn’t help but laugh, the woman is nearly 100 years old, just let her go for comfort!

Looks wise I'd say it's fine but that's irrelevant if your skin makes it too uncomfortable. Just a thought, are wider bands better? Sometime a longline with a much broader strip can help and they tend to move less

For me the backfat has a kind of optimum point - one band size too small and it's bad, but it's worse a size too big as my breast tissue tries to escape sideways and under my arms.

And no bra is not comfortable either - fine around the house if I'm not doing much but otherwise a recipe for backpain and rashes.

Me too. I'm a 30 band size and not petite. Size 10 top as I'm 34 overbust.

Just a thought, are wider bands better? Sometime a longline with a much broader strip can help and they tend to move less

Nah, I just get a squidge of flesh further up!😂 I'm road testing with the expander on (and a small thin contain hankie held flat underneath the gore as the seam right at the top of the edging irritates where it folders over...I'm thinking of sewing a lining inside the gore with some soft cloth to stop this.) Anyway so far so good. Here's hoping...

Cotton!