New Bra - gone from 34B to 32E - WTF

[Ncfreely]

Went for a bra fitting at John Lewis - genuinely cannot recall if I have ever had one before, just assumed for most of my life I was either a 34C or B depending on weight.

Turns out I am a 32E. WTF? I don't look like an E cup? Can anyone explain.

As it goes the bra I bought feels quite tight at the moment but I measured myself and I am 31 inches around the underneath of my breasts so maybe I am just not used to proper support?!

Any advice?

I don't understand what advice you need. You were wearing rhe wrong size before, now you're not? The elastic in a new bra will be tighter for a bit and if you had the wrong size then yes you probably aren't used to xorrect support.

What advice do you need?

Just because someone measured and fitted you doesn’t mean it’s the right size for your comfort level.
please don’t suffer in silence over what someone else told you is the right size.

and if at 2pm you would rather gouge your eyes out than wear the bra for one more minute of your life ditch the 32E.

An E is not a cup size for large breasts if it is on a relatively small band.

At 32C you could go to Bravissimo where you would probably get a better fitting and more advice.

Sorry, I meant 32E…

@CherryMaple Thank you - I was wondering that - is it that the band is small?

@fallfallfall Should a new bra be tight for a while - I am feeling right now like I would like gouge my eyes out. But the bra has had good reviews and I have always worn a 34 so think I might not be used to it

No two women have the same bodies, who honestly cares about reviews if you can’t tolerate it? Not to mention fake reviews and people paid to drum up business.
your old “ill” fitting bra isn’t going to harm you. but if while driving home your trying to slip out of the new one, you might hit a pedestrian.
sure try it, maybe even under certain pieces of clothing it looks better but if you honestly can’t stand it don’t wear it.
would you do this with shoes?

Some people in here are evangelical about fitting bras this way. I tried it and found it horribly uncomfortable and so went back to my old b cup and larger band size.

The Boob or Bust Facebook group is great at the explanation.

Most women wear bras that are too big at the back with cups too small. They squash into them incorrectly as a lot of boob is squished in the wrong place and held down by the chest strap.

If you measure yourself at 31in, then a stretchy bra strap will go round you (assuming it measures true to size). It may feel tight at first if you aren't used to it, but it's holding the bra correctly in place. Most of the support should come from the chest strap and not the shoulders.

32E is 32in round the chest and 6 inches boob = 38in total
34B is 34in round the chest and 2 inches boob = 36in total
34B/C is actually smaller than a 32E.

Cup sizes aren't fixed, they depend on the back size:
E cup on 32in is quite a small volume.
E cup on 40in is a much bigger volume.

Historically in the very distant past, you would by a 36 if you were 32in, or buy a 40 if you were 36in as bras didn't use to stretch. However for the last few decades they've been made out of elastic and now you need the correct size. A lot of stores will still unfortunately fit the old way from decades ago (M&S are known for it). Gradually people are becoming aware that above a D cup does not mean huge. I believe the average actual correctly fitted size in the UK is now around a 30G.

I did a similar switch (32C to 30D, sometimes 30DD depending on the bra) after reading the Boob or Bust website that's often recommended on here. Am also pretty small busted. I found it took a bit of getting used to and sometimes wore a bra extender for the first few days. It does seem to be a better, more supportive fit, though. I tried on an old one of my 32Cs recently and didn't feel comfortable in it at all.

@RamblingFar @thebottomofmypencilcase wow this has blown my mind. thank you this is so helpful. not on FB so can't find that group - but that really does make a lot of sense.

@Ncfreely there's an actual website too:

www.booborbust.com/

I have had a number of fittings for bras- the last Bravissimo told me I need a 32 F when I had been wearing a 36DD comfortably.
During the fitting I told the assistant that the bra felt unfomfortable, felt like it was restricting my breathing and created bulges of back fat where I had none before ( I am a size 10- 5'6") she gave me a withering look, said I would get used to it as I had been wearing badly fitting bras before and had to get used to wearing "proper support".
I agreed it did give me a great uplift when I dressed, and wore the bra out the next day. It was a struggle, and by the end of the day the wires under my armpits on both sides had dug so deeply the skin was broken. I took the bra back and was refunded.
I now wear comfy pull over the head sports bras. They are super easy to wear, they give me enough support for comfort. My sports bras don't give me the uplift to look like an 18 year old- but I don't really care.
I am not 18, women's breasts to sag with age- and so what!!
Just another con to make women feel not good enough, they growing old is a bad thing to feel less than because we have breasts that look like they have been through child bearing, fed children, lived life.
There is no conclusive proof that bras stop the natural sagging with age.
I prefer to feel comfortable- move and breathe with ease rather than be trussed up like a christmas turkey to conform to some outdated idea of beauty.

OP I walked into Rigby and Peller wearing 36D and out wearing 32G. My shape was totally transformed, I looked slimmer and my clothes looked so much better.
Stick with the tightness, it will loosen up.

John Lewis, like Bravissimo now go up in the cup and down in the back size. You were probably wearing the wrong size before.

John Lewis did say that they fit for actual size rather than comfort. What are the downsides to wearing the wrong bra? My breasts are already saggy from babies

I measured myself around my chest - breathed in a lung full of air so I was at my biggest - and measured 29/30inches.

I popped into M&S to buy a bra - their 32 band size is far too small - to the extent that it doesn't even do up on the largest setting.

I don't trust bra measurements.

What cup did you try though. A cup that is too small will make the band feel tight

What are the downsides to wearing the wrong bra? My breasts are already saggy from babies

Quite a lot if the bra is far too tight. Digging into flesh is never good. So the skin can break up and cause nasty infections. Scar tissue can form. As we age the skin thins and is often less tolerant of tight straps digging in due to less 'bounce back' from collagen.

Equally, if you are doing high impact sports and there is not enough support and too much movement you can get nasty chafing and injure the soft tissue.

So, yes, you should feel comfortable. If you look up 'sister sizes' you can move up the back sizes with a decrease incrementally in the cup size to find a more comfortable fit for you.

Boob or bust (straight method) doesn't work for me at all. I've had a mastectomy so have no breast on one side and not much padding of flesh over my ribs on the flat side at all plus scars. My skin has also thinned and is sensitive due to menopause after chemo treatment. I don't tolerate any under band digging in. So I go up a couple of band sizes and decrease a couple of cup sizes. I end up with a bra size which is more like the old fashioned (add 4/5) measuring system but cup size follows more the sister sizes info.

And if you look at how clothes are made often elastic when not stretched is only a couple of inches shorter than what you measure. With bras I have one 34 size under band which is 26 inches when unstretched. That is too much grip for me and I wear an extender with it.

I find that fittings at JL, Fenwicks and Bravissimo all tend to end up with similar results. Often they recommend the exact same bra in very similar size. Bravissimo have the edge on those three because they have a larger range. Sometimes JL and Fenwick will have only one non-lacy bra that fits me.

M&S fittings on the other hand always end up with ridiculous massive band small cup bras that float in front of my boobs, giving no shaping and no support. I don't bother with them any more.

The others always want to put me in a 34" band, but I'm fat and I don't find it comfortable. So they find a 36" that works well.

I have several bra extenders in different styles and colours, for the days when my bra just doesn't fit comfortably. Perhaps I'm too hot or too grumpy. Or I just want to extend the bra for the first day's wear after it's been washed.

My Mum finds that occasionally a bra that fits perfectly in the shop just don't work for her afterwards. It's like she can't put it on quite right without help. So it is the wrong bra for her, even though it fits perfectly.

You're the wearer, it has to work for you.

The cup size is not an absolute measure of the breast. It's not like weight or volume. It's a relative description. Very approximately the difference between measuring round the ribs under the boobs and measuring round the ribs over the boobs. So your 32E boobs will be smaller than another woman's 36E boobs because your overall measurements are smaller than hers, but the proportion between both of your over and under measurements will be about the same.

People can say what they like but I remember buying bras 20 years ago and a 34D cup was massive. It's now quite small - around what a 34B would have been in the old days. It's just another example of vanity sizing op. Just buy the bra you can breathe in and ignore the Facebook bollocks.

Oh and I measure a 30 around the rib cage for info.

There is no such thing as the wrong bra size in my opinion, it's not a maths equation with one correct answer. It's like any clothes or shoes. The fit depends on the style, the brand, the fabric, the body shape and how they like to wear it. Just wear what you feel comfortable in and gives you the support you need.

I’d been wearing a 36DD forever, I did a bra fitting with curvy kate, the fitter took me to a 34G and I’ve never had such well fitting bras in my life!

I honestly thought she was a bit mad but figured I’d go with it as I could send any back I wasn’t happy with but they’re brilliant.

I’ve had bra fittings in the past but god knows what’s gone on!

I thought we all switched to wireless bralets post COVID.
I wear ... S.

I think what's most important is getting the right bra shape that suits your body then sort out size. I have always struggled with plunge bras and had no idea why until I did the BOB nipple test.