Help!!! Bra experts - has this bra fitting lady got it wrong???

[PussinJimmyChoos]

Am normally a 40C bra (after a fitting in Debenhams last year) however, it wasn't giving me the support I wanted.

I went to a independent bra shop today - they had certificates etc and the lady said I was a 34E!!!! I'm a size 16 and padded all over so was shocked that my back was that small. She said it had to be that way to give the support for the breasts as it comes from the band rather than the straps and that in the beginning I would find it tight, but it would give etc etc.

The bras I've purchased are a very good fit but so tight in the band. So, when I got home I measured and I'm a 38"...can't even get it down to 36 even with pulling the tape measure tight!!

Has she got it wrong?? Help!!

i would say she has got it wrong, if you measured under you bust, and it is that tight. She has been ridiculous. Take them back, unworn, in packaging.

oh and yes it doesn come from the band being snug, but the staps also have to be substantial enough to support the cups.

what makes did you get.

sounds like you are morelike a 38d or 36 dd.

To my mind if you can do it up that is the right measurement for you. (Esp as they give so quickly.) It probs feels tight after years of comfortably loose ones. I remember being told that the actual support comes in the back measurement.

there's doingit up and it bloody killing you tho, and doing it up and feeling comfortable!

I bought a bra from their shop, which I doubt is open tomorrow as independent shop etc...the rest were from Freya in Debenhams...thinking of going back tomorrow and exchanging them all for a 38D cos if I'm physically measuring a 38, how can I squeeze into a 34???!!!

I tried a 36E Freya on in their shop and it was wrinkling in the cups and she said ahh, its because its not the right band size...am v confused now...I mean its a specialist shop, certificates etc!!

so you left with a 34e?

if a 36e was wrinkling in the cups, do you mean baggy? If so you needed a 36 dd.

certificate schmertificate, my ass.

I'm a size 14-16 and a bra size 34 FF. Your bra might feel a bit snug because you may have been wearing ones that are not the best fit and so feel different.

Most people wear bra too big in the back and too small on the cup. I often encourage my friends to go Bravissimo and they always come away with a smaller back and a bigger cup.

Also , if you try one of old ones and comapre to the new ones I bet you have much more uplifted profile.

Good luck X

I've just looked on their website and they said

"we don't use a tape measure to calculate your bra size, as this does not account for shape or volume. Instead we assess the fit of the bra according to the individual's shape, size, and needs"

I don't know what to be bloody thinking! Am annoyed now!

Little old - what do you measure under the band with a tape measure? I'm physically measuring 38"

i used to work for Rigby and Peller, and they don't always get it 100%. If you feel it is far far too tight, pleade take them back. i have put on bras that are supposed to be a 34 and they have nearly cut me in half, and thats in the better brands too. Style, and even colour of bra can differ, ie black can be tighter as the dyeing process can shrink material, so if your 34's are really really hurting, you don't have to put up with it.

I was really surprised when I put the right sized bra on - it was really tight around the band. But as everyone else has said, that's normal because most women wear bras that are too big around the band. The bra should be quite tight to start as well because the bra will stretch when you wear it.

A 36E has the same cup size as a 34F, by the way, so the cup would be too big (and wrinkle) if you really are a 34E. The other size to try wouldn't be a 40C, but a 36DD, which would be the same cup size as the one that you say fits well, but a bit looser in the band.

pussinjimmychoos, i measure 34 under my bust and i am a 34. If i measured 38 I would no way get into a 34.

i am size 14/16 just have a small ish back. rest of me makes up for it.

i'm a 30e or 30f depending on style. and yes, the band is a bit tight. but the fit looks just right.

I do measure 34" just checked But I also have sone 32" that fit me fine.

I measure 40 around my mahoosive rig cage but where a 36 or 38 (depending on brand etc) They always feel a bit tight the first 2 or 3 wears but do stretch quite a lot and if I wear a 40 that is extremely comfortable when I but it, becomes too losse and makes me saggier

The fit is lovely I have to say... really supportive and it sits straight across the back, doesn't ride up like my old one did...I can get my fingers under the band, albeit snuggly and the middle bit of the underwire sits perfectly between my boobs - its not digging in, not gapping and I can put my thumb in comfortably.

I have found that I've got a slight bulging under the band at the back but my friend got measured by Bravvisimo and was a band size lower and had the same thing until the bra gave a bit...

I'm driving myself mad and DH is annoyed with me as I'm sat here in new bra, feeling various bits of it and typing while he's doing the bedtime routine

is he not just jealous that your own hand is rummaging in there???? (sorry, sorry i'm depraved deprived)

What about taking the Debenhams ones back and persevering with this one for a few days or so and then if you really hate it go somewhere else and get measured or if it get's comfy go and get some more.
Did you try the ones in debenhams on, I vary hugely in size in there with all the different brands.

puss, sounds like it fits properly then.
forget the tape measure. your not a number, as the ad says. if the suppor t is good, and it doesnt hurt, but most impportantly, it looks good, then go for it.

in my youth, i used to wear a 34c. now, three children later, and middle aged, i am a 30

I'm going to wear one Freya one for the week and see how that goes...if it becomes awful, I'll take the rest back. If not, then I'll go for it.I bought 4 bras you see as could never find anything nice in a 40C and was soo excited at being able to buy the pretty patterned ones off of the rack etc..

Gawd, its hard being a woman

But the measuring guides on the web say measure under your bust- round where the band goes- then ADD 4 inches to get your band size!

I measure 29 inches- and have always worn 34 bras, but I recently tried to go down to a 32 band- some are a better fit, but others I have tried don't fasten on the last hook even.

I used to be sure i was 34A, but now I am filling 32Cs!

They also say that every bra is different, so you need to try them all on....in M&S I have 34 As, 34Bs and 32Cs!

In a really good shop they don't always need to measure. My brother's ex had norks in her waistband - we took her to the Rigby & Peller factory shop near my folks where they are experts. The no-nonsense lady measured her as a size 32 and said "I can see that's not going to work dear" and promptly fitted her into a 28HH - she looked so much better with them properly hoisted... M&S are appalling, never been fitted properly in there. They don't even go below a 32.