Why are 28 band bras so rare?

[magicalkitty]

I don't think I have a particularly narrow rib cage, but I require a 28 band bra. I can't be that rare, but it's very hard to find bras this size without spending £££.

M&S and the like don't carry many styles under a 30 band. I'm sure a lot of women actually require a 28 but settle for 30 or maybe even larger because they have to.

It's easier to find things in very large sizes than it is in smaller, even though 28 isn't particularly tiny anyway.

I have enough problems getting a decent affordable bra in 30D.
I have alot of variables though, throwing in cost and style, only marks and spencers etc.
It must be so difficult getting one in your size so I can sympathise.

And I’m wearing size 10 like @2024theplot. Also 5’4”, 9 stone 6. We’re all built differently.

How can you be a 10 on the top? I’m 6-8 (which used to be 8-10 before supersizing). I wear 32E trad sizing although technically I could get into a 28F/FF. I’m 5’4”, 7 stone 12 for reference.

Because you are wearing the wrong size bra. I can also wear one 2 band sizes too large and it is fairly comfortable and if I didn't know better I would assume that is my size. In fact I used to do exactly that until I finally got properly measured NOT by M&S. and just like you I would have sworn blind a 32 was my correct size. And I would also have banged on about vanity sizing and "they already take the 4 inches off really" thing. I was you!!

However the support and fit and the way my clothes hang and the COMFORT of a properly fitting bra is light years away from the way I used to be. It took a couple of days to get used to what I thought was 'too tight' in a smaller band until I realised my band didn't rub AT ALL, the cups didn't cut in under my arms and actually finished halfway under my armpits instead of in front of them which is what happened with the larger band/smaller cup scenario. And no more marks under my breasts which are - paradoxically- caused by a too large band.

It still took me years of reading bra threads before I actually went and got properly measured.

I've reread your comment, in light of other replies, are you suggesting I can't be a size 10 and a 28 back, because you're a smaller dress size and a larger back size?
If so you've answered your own question by saying you're a 32 underbust but could wear a 28.
My 28 back bras fit perfectly, I absolutely could not get a 24 back bra done up around me as I am a 28 underbust size. I could wear a bra that is too big underbust, like a 32, but it wouldn't be as supportive so I buy my actual bra size.
If you have a look in the Boob or Bust group, you will see that the vast majority of women in that group wear a back size that isn't bigger than their dress size plus 20.

I wear a 34 band at a size 16/18
36 is too big on me

do you have a sewing machine? Just shorten the width yourself, takes 2 minutes.

Unlike you I have long been measured at Rigby & Peller and other bra specialists. I’m aware of the different methods of measuring sizing. However, some companies make bras to +4 and some don’t. (Rigby and Peller advised me that very slim women shouldn’t wear the bras the same as their back size as they can cause pain, whereas women with more natural padding don’t have this problem. Originally the same back and bra size concept was specifically for women with large breasts that needed a tighter back size to produce sufficient lift.)

M&S which is what we were talking about, size their bras in the traditional way, so a 32 in M&S is for a 28” back.

I gave the example of my M&S bra above, which is a 32 - it’s closed stretched circumference is 27 inches, which fits me perfectly at 28 inches.

If I bought a bra from a brand which specifically make same back and bra size, then I follow their size guide.

I’m not a larger back size, I’m exactly the same - 28 inches, and apparently a similar cup size. I thought perhaps you were really tall.

As I’ve said the way M&S size their bras a 28 is to fit 24 inch chest.

My underbust measures exactly 28 inches, my 28F M&S bras measure 28 inches stretched, and they fit me perfectly. I can wear it for 16 hours without any discomfort at all.
A 32 back bra from M&S would be so huge on me it would be completely unwearable.

And yet my size 32 measures 27 inches stretched. I wear underwired though and the metal across the front means it has less stretch that softer types.

Shoulders could be limiting factor, and won't depend on weight so much as bone structure. I'm a 28 band at around 80kg/size 12/14 and have 28 band bras that fit at nearer 90kg (were never true 28s to be fair, Curvy Kate sizing).

Bras should be worn (when new) on the loosest hooks, moving to tighter hooks as the band stretches...

Just go up a size. I’m supposed to be a 30DD but I buy 32D because they’re easier to find. The cup size is exactly the same, no difference at all, and I just keep the hooks on the smallest setting.

Most combinations of small band & large cup are pretty limited anywhere but specialist retailers which is weird, given that it is the fashionable body shape of the moment.
I wear a 32FF and there is very little choice of bras on the high street. Swimwear is even worse, completely impossible.

My dd is size 6 and wears a 30 c been fitted recently, 28 is pretty rare. 34b was always the most popular size

@KnittedCardi alas bravissimo closed their clothing range but look out for it secondhand, pepperberry label

Yes, me, I hate it. I'm a 28 FF and there's 0 chance of finding anything outside a proper lingerie shop.

Boux Avenue also do small band sizes.

I look on eBay for old (new) stock.
30 f /ff here

I know they should in principle but it’s only a method to eke out the length of a bras life and personally I feel that wearing them on the loosest hook subtly alters the relation of band to bra structure. So I only wear the tightest hook and if they stretch too much I buy a new one. I’ve never found that to be a problem.

Yes 34b was the most popular size but it was the wrong size for most of the women wearing it 😂

@Mirabai the old add 4 inches were indeed because old stiffer bras in the older days. They originally had no stretch then they had elastic panels but even then they were far less stretchy than today. Textile technology has revolutionised undergarments. It is a very interesting topic to read up on.

The old bras were so unforgiving that without adding inches you were rubbed raw. Old fashioned elastic packed didn't offer the comfort of today's products.

@boopboopbidoop I’ve actually seen vintage lingerie going back to the 30s and 40s and that’s not true. Underwear was made with elastic and latex, and Lycra was invented in 1958. M&S used Lycra in their bras from the early 60s on. Even in the 30s you could buy bras with solid elastcation and elastic panels sewn in - altho women also made them themselves, or had them made, from satin and cotton.

You may well have 'seen' old bras but the bra people say otherwise.

M&S have loads of 28 back bras

@boopboopbidoop

“The bra people” 🤣 They’re a bra companies, not historians.

The first link gets it wrong - 50s bras were most certainly made with elastic, although they did have satin and cotton bras too. The third link is correct that bras back in the 20s and 30s were made of satin, but even in the 30s elastic was used for the straps and sewn into the band.

If you read a more from the Ample Bosom link you will see that they tell you how to measure for a contemporary bra - by adding 4 inches to your cup size! They say that nowadays:

”better, more expensive bras are made firmer with less elastic in them and you need the extra four inches to get the correct size and make sure you are comfortable”

“However you can find that some cheaper bras/brands have more elastic in the bras and the four inches are not always needed as you have the extra stretch in them.”

I’ve used Ample Bosom they have some great bras.