those who know about calculating bra sizes....

[popsycal]

www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A4455272

is that right?

i have never heard of the addiing 4 or 5 to the underbust measurement then comparing that to the boob measurement

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/style_and_beauty/733856-those-who-know-about-calculating-bra-sizes?rnd=12389162 88461
guys - just have a look there about bra size please....i am very vrery confused....

ignore last post

Could you bear to go into somewhere to get measured? I have done this a couple of times in the past, need to go again actually.

A wel fitted bra does make a huge difference

never measure yourself with a tape measure! the result is usually way off.

i did that and it told me i was 38A, went and got measured at John Lewis and was told i was a 34DD, so get yourself down to John Lewis or Bravissimo and get properly measured by an expert.

Could you bear to go into somewhere to get measured? I have done this a couple of times in the past, need to go again actually.

A wel fitted bra does make a huge difference

you don't add 4-5 inches that is v old school and ends up in a poor fitting bra

figleaves is useful if you are working from an existing bra size

a haooy to get measured

since dec 01, i have been either pregnant or breast feeding contuiinuosly, bar one year

for the last 5 years it has been continuous

Don't add the 4 or 5 inches to the back measurement because it results in a bra that is far too loose.

Measure your back size, measure your boobs around the fullest part (with or without a bra on depending on perkiness) then subtract one from another. Round your backsize up to the nearest even number and your cup size is determined by the difference i.e. A=1, B=2 etc.

The most important step is then to try bras on, the measurements only give a starting place and then you need to understand how a good bra fits to make a final decision.

Bravissimo are fantastic at this and can even provide advice down the phone. :D

Go to a shop and try them on.

Adding inches was apparently the way to do it back in the olden days when there really weren't that many sizes of bra available, so to get a bigger cup you had to go up a back size.

If you can be bothered to trawl through there was some useful advice on this thread recently.

ok just skimmed the thread picking out piratecat's posts in particular
so if I measure 33 under and 38 on, that makes me a 34E?!?!?!?!

no way surely?

34D/e

Quite possibly. Is that bad?

If you measure 33 under you should try 32s and 34s (more likely to be 34s) and D/DD/E cups. You really do need to try them as different brands vary a bit and also different shapes might suit your boobs.

well i am currently wearing 38Ds....

i am going bra shoppping this afternoon
#sod the nursing bras

Using Mrspnuts caluculations I am a 36 L

do they even make that?

So even though you hadn't heard of it you were doing the 'add 4 inches' thing.

36DD or 34E (up one cup size down one back size) - makes you instantly slimmer!

Trillian, I have nothing to add...I feel like Obi Wan Kenobi < sob > I have nothing more to teach you, my work here is done

No - I'm sorry, someone needs to stick up for the adding 4/5 inches thing. That's how M and S do it. But if you're an odd number it's worth trying the back size one down, just to be on the safe side.

The cup size is proportionate to the back size - so the size of the cup is the same for a 34B as it is for a 32C - the only difference is that because the back size is smaller, the difference between back and boobs is greater.

So popsycal if you're 33 under, that's 38 for the back, and 38 on - would make you 38A. But since you're an odd number round the back, it's also worth trying one back size down - 36B. Which will be the same cup size, just a smaller back.

Just filling in while we wait for the experts to come along...

so what does that make me then?

36 inches under bust
49 inches around fullest part

apart from gigantically norked obviously

Laurie - do you really have 16 inches difference between your back measurement and your boob measurement.

Are you sure that you shouldn't be a 36HH instead?

M&S do it wrong, wrong, wrong.

Just because they have been seeling badly fitting bras to women for years does not make them right.

The best bra fitters can tell a woman's size by eye alone and they certainly don't need a tape measure.

Besides which, all the people on here whom I consider to be giving the correct advice have all said that the measurements only give a starting point and that the best way to get a correctly fitting bra is to try them on with the guidelines so you know what to look for.

Adding 4 or 5 inches on will put too much strain on the shoulders and you would end up with your boobs somewhere around your midriff. The back band has to be tight because it has to hold up the weight of your boobs.

Maybe, but I didn't count all the inbetween sizes at all - some ranges have AA, DD, FF (like Freya) so that's why I counted it all the way up to L.

I am wearing a 38 H at the moment which is too large round under the bust (boobs poke out the bottom) and too small in the cup.

Also I read somewhere that you should have a space in the middle where the bra strap touches your sternum - I have never had that.

easily 16 inches difference - more like 35 1/2 and 49 1/2