Bra sizing

[used2bthin]

I was chatting to a mum from toddler group yesterday and somehow we got round to bra sizes (think we were moaning about post DC bodies!). I told her I'm a 36b and she was adament that I should go to Bravisimo because there is no way that I am. Before having DD I always wore 34c but have worn 36b since stopping breast feeding because I feel I have very little cup wise but am fatter. Would they laugh if I took my very unimpressive chest to Bravisimo? Are there any other places that are good for measuring? We only have debenhams and m and s here and in both I have had very uninterested staff say that my 36bs are ok.

That is amazing GSM what a friend! They are beautiful too. I agree on the bra thing, I need a sports bra too actually as have been running (occasionally).

Am ex-bravissimo bra fitter and current mothercare bra fitter.
36 b is the same cup size as a 34 c but bigger in the back. If you can fit a brand new 36 b around you snugly on the tightest notch then you are wearing it as a 34 c anyway.

The important thing to realise is that bra sizes are a guide. Each bra/manufacturer/design can differ wildly from each other. In the same way you can be a 12 in Next, a 14 in M&S or a 16 in Top Shop. So its good to know what you are looking for so you can fit yourself up in all shops. Get yourself to Bravissimo, or to John Lewis. They are definately the best places, or Rigby & Peller. They will all educate you about what to look for when trying bras. Never just buy a size off the shelf as it may well not suit your shape....which is the other problem. Its not just about size. Its about shape also. Many women, after they've had kids look the weight from the top of their breasts. This happens as you get older anyway, but in my experience, childbirth speeds up the sagging! (great) So, you need to find the most flattering style for you, and to make sure you fit the right bits.

Finally, people are finally realising that a D cup really isn't that big. I would say the average bust size of women who go to Bravissimo is a 34 G.
And the average size of woman I fit who is in their 3rd trimester is about a 34 E or F.

It makes such a difference when you wear the right sized bra your boobs are where they are supposed to be and your clothes look amazing. It gives you back your figure. (or, an element of it at least!)

Some shops have strange equations for adding inches to your back measurement etc, to get your cup size. But it really doesn't work. If I measured a woman as 34" around her rib cage under her rib cage, then that is the back size we start with. No adding anything. Then for the cup size, its impossible to use a measurement, as depending on how big your boobs are, and how low down they sit on your chest, would depend on how many inches the measurement would be. Eg. Saggier boobs, sit lower down, so the equi-distance around the back would be lower and wider/narrower, depending on the weight of the person.

HTH!
Have fun and welcome to the world of decent fitting bras!

ps - they are supposed to be tight. You will get red marks from your bras. They should be the same as socks and knickers. Obviously not massive bleeding welts though! - You may find going from a 36" back to a 32" back a bit of a shock, but you do get used to it pretty quickly.

doh - loads of typos sorry. I meant to say if a person is 34" under their boobs around their rib cage, then that is the back size they should look for.

Thanks Lizziecombie, that makes sense, my bras are loose I think and some gape at the front. I don't feel like they give much support. Have to get dd up now and get to sainsburys but thanks all, I look forward to reporting back with a shiney new bra size!

Fab, informative post from Lizzzombie, very interesting thanks.

Lizzombie- if you are still reading- how come then that I measure 31Inches round my back under my current bra, but wear a 34" bra? And I vary between a A nad B cup depending on the style.

If you measure 31" around the back you should be wearing a 32 or 30" back. Depending on which you feel more comfortable in. (start in a 32 then acclimitise yourself down to a 30" back)
What a lot of people don't realise is that the back is connected to the front via a cup ratio:

eg. 34 A is the SAME cup size as a 32 B or a 30 C.
When you go down a back size = go up a cup size. And vice versa. If you go up a back size, come down a cup size.

There are 3 points to look for when fitting a bra on yourself.

1. The 'bridge' in the middle of the cups, should sit flush against your breastbone. Only in some cases, when a woman has a really full bust (h cup +) or if her boobs are really close together, then this will not be possible. But, as long as when you push the bridge flush against your breastbone, you can see that it won't cause any bulging...
2. The cup should not bulge. There should be no 4-boob syndrome. This is not a classy cleavage. You can get a great cleavage in a well fitting bra. Too many women I have fitted up equate boobs flowing out of cups as a sexy cleavage.
3. The back of the bra should fasten securely on the LOOSEST notch, and sit horizontal around the body. If your bra rides up in the back it is too big for you. Everything will slope forward, the weight of your boobs will be taken in your shoulders and you will basically be keeping your boobs warm, but not supported. The weight of your boobs should be taken in your lower back, not your shoulders.

nb. If you can get a brand new bra done up on the tightest notch straight away, then you are wearing it as a back size smaller. A 34" bra (new) done up on the tightest notch is being worn as a 32" back, as you have taken it in 2 inches. Those 2 tighter notches are there to keep the bra tight and supportive as the elastic gets looser.
So...if you are wearing a 34 B on the tightest notch, then you are wearing it as a 32 C. Does this make sense?

• sorry if I am wittering on, but this is my favourite subject, and I swear, every bra thread which pops up, I am there putting in my twopence worth!

HTH! (I am soooo obsessed by this subject!) Although I mainly fit pregnant or nursing women at the moment, I have also been known to fit up their mothers and friends in the changing rooms too, and send them off to M&S in search of a new size, then they will pop back into mothercare, where I work, and show me what they've brought! I'm wasted! I need to pimp myself out as a personal bra fitter!!!

oh oh oh...
I missed out one more important bra fitting point:

1. When you take off your underwired bra in the evening, look at where the wire mark is on the side of your breast. If the red mark is on your boob, its too small. The red mark from the wire should be BEHIND the breast tissue. When you press the wire against your body, you should feel your ribs hard against your finger. Not the fleshiness of a boob.

And when you lift your arms above your head the wire should stay put, and not ride up letting your boobs fall out the bottom.

My final point (before I get off my soap box!) is that when you are looking at yourself in the mirror in your bra push your shoulders back and stand up straight. If you hunch up and look down, then the cups of your bra will always look too big. Not every bra suits every lady. Sometimes a bra can perfectly fit you at the side and in the middle and around the back - BUT, it will be baggy across the top of the cup and you won't fill it. This does not mean its too big for you. It means its the wrong shape/cut for you.

Right, I really must do my washing up! x

Message withdrawn

Wow! yes you make perfect sense and I bet you wish you had never got involved! I will start trying on 32s but I have to say that even though I measure 31" the 34" feel tight across my back - I have marks when I take off the bra Maybe I am measuring too low down my back???? I will experiment- thanks for the advice!

Message withdrawn

And finally - Girlnextdoor, like I mentioned before, its more about fit rather than size with bras. Shop to shop, brand to brand and style to style the sizes all vary. I myself have 4 bras which I wear alot which are 3 different sizes, and 3 of them are from the same manufacturer. Its the same as clothes on the high street, one size in one store is not always the same as the shop next door. etc.

I'm trying! Think I need to look in the mirror as well to stop the tape sliding down on my back!

yes lizzie you are right-I bought a new M&S one last week in a 34 A but all my other M&S have been 34 B- but this style in a B cup was massive!

Bras are meant to be tight. They are support garments. I was wearing a 34 or a 32 depending on cup size, then Bravissimo put me into a 30" back and I was like "UH UH - I don't think so!!! I can't breathe" Then I brought the 32 back and within a week was wearing it on the tightest notch = as a 30" back and wished I'd gone for the smaller back size.

The red marks you get should be the same as tight sock/pant marks.
Think of your great grandmothers, they knew what tightness was when it came to underwear! -corets, girdles etc!

The only 'problem' I can see with you GND - is that smaller boobs may not need such strenuous support. So if you are fairly small cupped then you may not need it so tight in the back to keep you up in the front. Try some on and experiment!

DA - How are you washing your bras? Could the wires be stretching in a washing machine? Did you know, ONE washing machine wash = approx 10 handwashes. The heat and the friction in a machines wrecks the elastic and the wires of a bra. (even if it says machine wash - don't)
Or, are they 't-shirt bras'? The bane of my life. Trinny and Sussannah have alot to answer for in saying these bras are important. They stretch to fit sooooooo quickly. Bras with seams support so much better. And so, you can sometimes see a small seam through your clothes. Seriously, its better to have your bust in the right place and have a small seam showing than being smooth and seam free, but having them round your waist! iykwim!

This has confused me even more-
found a bit on the web which says measure under the bust then ADD either 4" or 5" depending on even/odd number.

This would make my measurement either 34 or 35- yet other posts here say that the measurement under the bust is the one to use for bar size ( not cup size.)

anyone?

seriously - ignore the ADD X advice. Its rubbish, and outdated, and was used when only A-D cups were available. You can be much more exact with your cup and back size these days.

I am horrified I didn't know about Bravissimo. Thank you everyone - will be going down there as soon as can be arranged as have really struggled to get well fitting bras recently. Am wearing 38D but suspect I'm actually a 36F.

Oh, and Lizzzombie, have you been to Spain? One thing that surprised me in Madrid was how many women wear the wrong sizes - lots of four boobs! and they dress so well otherwise.

Total generalisation, obviously. But would be interested in other opinions...!

I'm always surprised on these threads by people recommending John Lewis for bra-fitting. Maybe it's just ours that is rubbish, but I would never trust them. I normally buy bras from Bravissimo online, but I went to JL a while ago. They saw no problem with the four boob look, or with another style that placed my boobs neatly in my armpits. Never again!

I just fitted my neighbour up.
M&S put her in a 40b this morning. I was gobsmacked, and put her into one of my 34G's, with a bra extender, which fitted her perfectly as a 36FF.

I just don't understand why they do it. They have the sizes there, they just fit people into such wrong sizes.

She looked about 2 stone lighter, and 5 years younger having her boobs up where they are supposed to be!

OOh update, went to get measured yesterday and tried on 28dd, 30d and 30dd in various bras. I am mainly a 30d it seems! None wof my friends believe me I am trying to send them all there! Do you think thier sizing is different to elsewhere? I didn't actually buy anything as they had very little in stock and also I like a bit of padding which not many of them had but am definately going back when I have got more time, they were sooo helpful and professional despite me having a very bored DD with me and being with a friend and her bored DD too. Saw the swimming costume I wanted there too but just can't justify the price tag. Anyway thank you so much everyone I am amazed!

cool! well done you!
M&S now do a 30" back in D & DD cups. They may have something you like.
(welcome to the world of big boobs!)

Glad you had such a positive experience.
I don't think they're sizing is different to elsewhere, because they sell loads of different brands and don't have an in house one. So if anyone's sizing is going to be out of kilter, it's going to the places that sell their own brand.

They're brilliant. I wouldn't dream of getting my bras from anywhere else.

Honestly truly - I promise they don't do anything weird or strange. They just put you in bras which fit you correctly. They can be totally exact as they have over 80 sizes to choose from, and as its one-to-one they have the time to do it properly and not just whizz in quickly like other high st stores.