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Original poster

bra sizes and buying and shape

27 replies

zippitippitoes · 13/04/2008 11:31

...i tried to buy yet more bras yesterday in mands as is only place here

and found them useless

so i have lost loads of weight in the last 18 months and being old have rather flimsy breasts

so a 36 b the cup is too small and squashes me flat tho i can get in it

the 36c is fine on the back but the cup is too big at the top nothing on the top bit of breast to fill it

so 38 b seems better is a 38 b cup a bigger cup than a 36 b cup so is it logical that if 36 b is too squashy then 38 b will fit better if 36 c is too big in the cup

and then it is just a question of finding the right styloe/shape of bra

if i lose much more weight i will just have those drawstring puches left tho i would like to lose some fat from tummy and bottom

OP posts:
Psychomum5 · 13/04/2008 12:17

I had this issue just before xmas with me losing weight and then ending up upset in M&S with their evil bra measuring ladies telling me that the bra wasn;t wrong, it was me needing to tone up!!!

I waited and then went to john lewis a few weeks ago, and the experience was uncomparable and the bra's I have got are fabulous......oh, and from being a 34c and losing weight and then M&S still insisting I was a 34c but just needed the toning, I was in fact measure and found to be a 32d!.

I had lost weight, but around my back rather than my boobs (), and the difference in back size was amazing.....oh, and the difference in the bra (fit in triumph really well), was also shocking. obviously all my bra;s previoulsy had been from M&S and therefore thier own make, which doesn;t seem to allow for different bodies/shapes/sizes.

I would recommend you go elsewhere.....honestly, was the best advice I got and that was from here....MN

Original poster
zippitippitoes · 13/04/2008 12:19

thanks i have definitely lost a lot of weight off my breasts

which i would have done as i have lost more than 4 and half stone altoghether

it means travelling to go somewhere else

OP posts:
littlelamb · 13/04/2008 12:23

Since bfing dd my boobs aren't what they used to be! I too lost a lot of weight after stopping feeding, and I find the only style that actually fits me now is a padded balconnette - I have lots of this kind of thing. I have stayed away from maternity bras even though I am 33 weeks as they just don't fit me the way they should. And I too find M and S staff useles- I refuse to be fitted there as my friend went and was told the lady could tell she'd had a baby as she was very saggy . Charming!

Psychomum5 · 13/04/2008 12:24

fantastic for the weight loss!

yup, it does sound like having to travel, but I did too (live i bournemouth and john lewis is southampton) and the wait was sooooooooo worth it!

one thing, are you still losing weight??. altho tis a pain for now as I am assuming that the new bra's now would give such a boost, if you are still losing weight then a couple week wait to get measure could make a huge difference again in the measurement.

is there anywhere else local you can go to just get a couple of 'cheap' bra's to tide you over until you can get somewhere else??

Original poster
zippitippitoes · 13/04/2008 12:27

at the mo i may or may not lose more weight

if i could get it off where i want to get it off i would but im not likely to lose much more than half a stone

i have about ten bras i have bought in the last year and they are all too big now

i am desperate to get something that fits approximately because bf has noticed that i dont fill them well it is prety obvious

OP posts:
Original poster
zippitippitoes · 13/04/2008 12:27

thanks i ma very pleased

OP posts:
TheBlonde · 13/04/2008 12:43

order some from figleaves online
if you find a code you get free delivery and they do free returns

Izzywhizzy · 13/04/2008 12:49

IMO you should never, never, never get measured at M & S. They ALWAYS measure too big on the back and too small on the cup. Get measured at a specialist bra shop- Bravissimo or Rigby and Peller. You can then always go back to Marks to buy the cheaper bras in the right size.

After my own personal epiphany last year, I pushed several of my friends in this direction and, believe me, wearing the correct bra size completely changes the way you look and feel.

TheBlonde · 13/04/2008 12:51

I also wouldn't trust all John Lewis fitters - I had one fit me in a 38E last year during preg which was huge in the back

Original poster
zippitippitoes · 13/04/2008 12:56

bravissimo are only big tho arent they there is one of their stores here

well ithpught ill try

38b 36c 36b and one will fit but it didnt seem to work out tat way

so i am thinking the 38b seemed the nearest

at least 36 fitted but not a c cup which was too big or b cup which was too small

OP posts:
CrackerOfNuts · 13/04/2008 13:01

Am I the only one who thinks that being measured is a waste of time because all bras are different styles and materials.

I am roughly a 34DD, but this can differ depending on which shop I am in.

Original poster
zippitippitoes · 13/04/2008 13:04

well that was my thinking nutty

what iwas trying to work out was how to see what order the sizes came in

so is it theoretically possible that if 36c the bra is fine but the cup is too big but if 36b the cup is too small then 38b would be morelikely to fit or maybe 34c

total confusion here i shall go and try some more

OP posts:
CrackerOfNuts · 13/04/2008 13:05

I find M&S rubbish for bras anyway tbh.

Most of mine are from Asda or BHS.

Original poster
zippitippitoes · 13/04/2008 13:08

i have to get something

i look a right prune in these too big ones

well the thick jell ones look ok just when someone sticks there hand down my top/bra its abit hollow

OP posts:
TheBlonde · 13/04/2008 13:11

interactive bra size guide

Psychomum5 · 13/04/2008 13:11

I still am confused tho as to why they measure under your ribs and then add to it to make your size.....why can they not just take that measurement as THE measurement IYGWIM. I mean, when you measure you waist, you don't exactly add to it to make your size now do you........

I am 29" under my ribs, yet that makes me a 32 in JL and a 34 in M&S......WHERE is the rhyme or reason in that hey????

and how does that then go with your boob measurement to make your cup size.....

confusion reigns in the psycho household!

Original poster
zippitippitoes · 13/04/2008 13:23

ah the blonde that was interesting

i think it mentions my problem in there and where the mands woman was wrong

the 36c is probably right for me

as i have an empty bit at the top according to figleaves it could just be my shape so it advises to go for a balconette i shall go and try again

OP posts:
Original poster
zippitippitoes · 13/04/2008 13:25

it also says what iwas trying to work out which is yes the cup size does change withe band size so a c cup in 38 is bigger than a c cup in 36

OP posts:
Original poster
zippitippitoes · 13/04/2008 16:41

ok in desperation and after spending ages trying on i have bought 4 bras

2 from mand s which i think are the same but different patterns in 36c

and two from new look which are both different one is 36c and one is 34 d

i now have to try them on a thome to see whether to keep them

which i probably shall but they arent particularly good fitting

it seems the balcony ones have tendency to gape at the top unless i thrust my shoulders back my posture is pretty ppor i hunch forward so my breasts droop

and the ones that arent balcony seem to flatten me or maybe i am just flat anyway and i havent got used to the idea

also notice d my jeans are wquite baggy round the bum

i am such an annpying shape

and i have spent do much on clothes the last year

getting things which only foit for a while

OP posts:
Meeely2 · 13/04/2008 17:06

hi all, I was measured very recently at a cheapy outlet place, as same as you all, since babies the boob area not been quite the same. Anyway I have ALWAYS been a 32C, but after kids they shrank and drooped but I stuffed em in the old bras for financial reasons. I then gained a huge amount of weight and my boobs began squirting out at all angles, so trotted off to M&S and was told I just had the bra on the wrong hook at the back and I was still a 32C.

This cheapy place put me at 32E! I laffed at em but she fetched a load of bra's and by jove she was right! Everywhere i go now I buy a 32C or sometimes may go to a 34DD depending on style. The way she measured (and I have checked) is she did REAL size under boobs, so I actually was 32inches and then across fullest part which would have been 37inches (A=same as under boobs, B=1 inch bigger, etc etc).

I would recommend measuring yourself with a dressmakers tape measure as a guide and then order online at a place that does free returns and try em out.

I feel so much more comfortable in the right size and my shape under clothes is fab. I wouldn't say I have huge boobs, but I have wide ones and the bigger cup makes sure that ALL of the boob is in the bra.

Meeely2 · 13/04/2008 17:08

sorry that should have been always buy 32E or 34DD. Plus I am currently loosing weight but due to swimming 3 times a week breast stroke I seem to have retained the boobs.

TheBlonde · 13/04/2008 20:06

zippi - I tried some on in bravissimo recently (just stopped bf myself), I thought it was too big in the cup as it gaped at the top

fitter told me to lean forward, stick my hand under the bra and smooth my boob from under the armpit past the side underwire (hope you can get what I mean) - and lo the cup was full!

Original poster
zippitippitoes · 13/04/2008 20:10

i stopped breastfeeding in 1986 lol i am ancient hence not the best shape

but i did spend a lot of time pulling myself this way and that in the bras if i pull my shoulders back they fill up

i think these ones i got are ok for now

they do seem to express my inner teenager on the pull tho

OP posts:
TheBlonde · 13/04/2008 20:13

oops serves me right for not reading the thread properly!

Original poster
zippitippitoes · 13/04/2008 20:13

sweet twins meely

the blonde is disappointgly headless tho

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