With all the Boobs threads, I thought a PSA might be good

Kurindal

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2275741/?tool=pmcentrez
That is a scientific study. It tells us that 80% of women are wearing the wrong size bra. This, factually speaking is unhealthy for you.

Reddit's: A Bra That Fits is a subreddit dedicated to women finding a bra for them. Here is the link for them:
http://www.reddit.com/r/ABraThatFits

Here is the measurement guide:
http://www.reddit.com/r/ABraThatFits/wiki/fit_guide

Here is the FAQ.
http://www.reddit.com/r/ABraThatFits/wiki/faq

This is my first time trying to post links so I hope it works...

edit: it didn't work

When copying the links, copy the whole thing, from http all the way down to the last letter!

wanna_b_there

That's so stupid. I've yet to meet anyone that dumb that they can't figure out their own size.

PatheticNoetic

When you wean your baby - trust me... no idea what's going on with my bra size at the mo.
But yeah... I pretty much agree with your statement.

creativerick

I have a tape measurer ready and I am free to assist.

Kurindal

While you may think it may be stupid, that study is solid statistics on the fact that most women are mistaken about their own measurements. Might be worth a read through the websites for all the women.

JumpingDog

That's so stupid. I've yet to meet anyone that dumb that they can't figure out their own size.

Congrats on being one of a minority of women who either wears a common size (that can be purchased for less than $40) or was taught how a bra should feel.
I personally wore the wrong size for most the time I have worn bras because 1) My mother taught me wrong, because her mother taught her wrong. 2) I have a 29 in. ribcage and only fancy department stores (not Victoria's Secret) even carries a 30D or 30E.
3) Most bras of the correct size, for me, cost more money than a tank of gas

Kurindal

That's so stupid. I've yet to meet anyone that dumb that they can't figure out their own size.

Congrats on being one of a minority of women who either wears a common size (that can be purchased for less than $40) or was taught how a bra should feel.
I personally wore the wrong size for most the time I have worn bras because 1) My mother taught me wrong, because her mother taught her wrong. 2) I have a 29 in. ribcage and only fancy department stores (not Victoria's Secret) even carries a 30D or 30E.
3) Most bras of the correct size, for me, cost more money than a tank of gas

Thanks, if I'm honest I felt marginally creepy posting this, but I thought it would be good for everyone to see, and maybe some people chiming in that it's true won't make people think I'm full of **** ^ _ ^

JeaninePaige

That's so stupid. I've yet to meet anyone that dumb that they can't figure out their own size.

*waves* Another dumb one here lol...
I was wearing the wrong size for a while until I got measured. Didn't realize the cups were too small for me and that's why something just felt "off" all the time. Now that I went up bras feel much better.

Leonidas_meets_Spartacus

Really? Whats the point of fitting rooms in the store?

diannethegeek

Really? Whats the point of fitting rooms in the store?

Many/most stores don't carry larger cup sizes, making them quite difficult to try on in stores.

Add me to the list of dummies. The measure your band size and add on a cup per inch method is what I was taught and it just doesn't work for everyone. Also, I didn't believe I could be a 34H, but here I am.

Lovely_77

So what is the proper way to do your measurement and figure out proper cup size? Right now I wear a 34D

shaynepoole

That's so stupid. I've yet to meet anyone that dumb that they can't figure out their own size.

Waving wildly... me me... I am that dumb...
I lost 150 lbs I had a really hard time figuring out my adjusted bra size after all that weight loss... then after being totally confounded I finally measured myself... it happens...

Then even more confounded when my cup size went up from where I was thinking I was especially since I was awesomely looking forward to going down a cup size or two....

Kurindal

So what is the proper way to do your measurement and figure out proper cup size? Right now I wear a 34D

I included all the links you should need in the original post, just copy and paste the one for the sizing guide!

savithny

Really? Whats the point of fitting rooms in the store?

Also, the fact is that a lot of people don't know how they're supposed to fit. The tendency is to wear the band too big and then size the cups down to try to get them to fit right. SO someone should be a 34D, but they're walking around in a 36C and wondering why it rides up in the back and doesn't feel supportive.

The band is supposed to be tight enough that the whole thing stays up if you drop the straps off your shoulders. The cup is supposed to come up around but not cut in anywhere.

In addition, a number of the most famous lingerie brands actually promote wearing the wrong size. The models in the pictures with flesh curving up above the line of the cup are actually wearing badly-fitting bras. You can get away with it if you're posing in certain positions, or if your breasts are so silicone-filled they stand up on their own, but the look in the catalogs is often the result of a bad fit.

Lovely_77

So what is the proper way to do your measurement and figure out proper cup size? Right now I wear a 34D

I included all the links you should need in the original post, just copy and paste the one for the sizing guide!

Yeah did that first before asking here, but it says page not found

Kurindal

So what is the proper way to do your measurement and figure out proper cup size? Right now I wear a 34D

I included all the links you should need in the original post, just copy and paste the one for the sizing guide!

Yeah did that first before asking here, but it says page not found

http://www.reddit.com/r/ABraThatFits/wiki/fit_guide

try that

truetarot1988

I was having a hell of a time finding a comfortable bra, until I went to JCPenney, they measured me & said the same thing.... MOST women are wearing the wrong size and don't even know it. It sparked my curiosity... yep, most of the chicks I asked said the same thing, "mine's uncomfortable", "I just thought no one liked wearing bras", "You mean everyone's straps aren't supposed to fit just right?" yeah, you are right, most women just don't know they have the wrong size. Thanks for posting this. (& I'm willing to bet there's gonna be tons of us measuring our chickens after reading this)

alfiedn

What I found interesting when I was measured is That I order to get it right, you really have to be wearing a pretty good bra to start. The women at nordstroms are my saviors! Without them, I'd definitely be wearing the wrong size! Most women have a smaller band and larger cup size than they expect. I know that was true for me. I've worn the wrong size for great portions of my life. By the way, VS never measures me correctly and ALWAYS think they have a bra that fits me. They don't.

Kurindal

I was having a hell of a time finding a comfortable bra, until I went to JCPenney, they measured me & said the same thing.... MOST women are wearing the wrong size and don't even know it. It sparked my curiosity... yep, most of the chicks I asked said the same thing, "mine's uncomfortable", "I just thought no one liked wearing bras", "You mean everyone's straps aren't supposed to fit just right?" yeah, you are right, most women just don't know they have the wrong size. Thanks for posting this. (& I'm willing to bet there's gonna be tons of us measuring our chickens after reading this)

That's the goal! A lot of people here are losing weight, so the remeasure is likely going to be needed regardless, but I want everyone to be healthy!

BinaryPulsar

Really? Whats the point of fitting rooms in the store?

The fitting room is useless if none of the bras fit. I also didn't know they made a bra size for me until this past year. Prior to that I would cut and sew the bands myself. I have a 26 inch rib cage.

In the store they will say to increase the band by 4 inches, and even doing that they didn't have one in that size.

CTcutie

Jockey brand bras are sized volumetrically... You order a sizing kit and well, there are plastic cups you use to find the proper size. I haven't tried their bras yet but I really liked the idea of it.

281Danielle

After 2 kids and gaining weight with both of them I didn't realize what size bra I wore until I actually went and got measured for one. Before I had kids I was a 38D and I was trying to fit into a 40DD but in reality i was a 42DDD, hardly any stores carry my size and if it wasn't for Torrid I would be shopping online for bras. A lot of women I know don't wear the right size. And i for one was never taught how to measure myself until recently.

mildammm

YES! THANK YOU! A true convert here! I went from not knowing my size (bra shopping was a nightmare that is comparable to shopping at a regular clothing store while being plus-sized; nothing fit properly) to 32GG (felt like the sexiest thing alive when I got that bra in the mail) to 32F (after dropping 40 lbs.). Will get to 32E soon, hopefully.

Thank you reddit.com/r/ABraThatFits!

transparentenigma

That's so stupid. I've yet to meet anyone that dumb that they can't figure out their own size.

Not to beat a dead horse, but count me as one of those women. I have always been on the heavier side. Thus, I was of the opinion that my bra size should also be up there.

For most of my life I have been wearing the wrong bra, all through my teens and twenties. I would get aggravated when after one was the "perfect" bra either gave me three breasts or fell out the bottom. I wore a 44DDD and that's all I bought, when I lost weight I started buying 42DDD thinking that this was my correct size as I was a big girl and I just got used to wearing the wrong sized bra.

I went in the stores to get taped up, you name it, JCP, VF, Bali, some exclusive designer ones and I would still have that problem with bras after a wash or two. Imagine my surprise when getting taped up by an Ardyss sales lady that she told me that my rib-cage was a 37 but that I should get a 38 for comfort as a 36 would squeeze me. Also imagine being told that I was not a 42DDD but a 38L/M.

First I did not think that bras went that high, second 38? I have friends smaller than me that wore 38 she must be joking. Then imagine my surprise when I bought a 36L and it fit. No third boob, no falling out after a few washes, no more riding up my back, no more ability to place both of my fist around the band. I was told I have for a lack of a better term a huge rack, but my back was not all that wide, that's why I have back pain and such....

So this is all to say that many of us wear the wrong size bra because of perception issues, we believe that this is what the bra should feel like and don't think that there is a bra out there that can hold in the girls properly all the time. We wear the wrong size for so long that we don't think about it, we just except it.

p.s. oh yeah... another thing what we need to keep in mind... when we lose weight or start to tone that also changes our bra size so lets keep that in mind also that the perfect bra for me may be 38L/M at my current weight, but when I lose weight this is subject to change.

Erikalynne18

Part of the issue is that if a woman does not fit in the sizes that the 'normal' stores carry, the sales rep will use 'sister sizing' to make a sale (when you go up a band size, and down a cup size). The issue then is that some will 'sister size' TOO MUCH. La Senza had me sized as a 40 band when I was probably a 36, simply because they didn't have my cup size available. Now I am a 30/32 band and they would still probably size me as 36 if they thought they could make a sale.... one store tried to convince me my only option was to start wearing maternity bras :huh:

I've lost 50 lbs and I am still the same cup size I was before (depending on bra of course).

My advice, go to an actual high end lingerie store and get properly sized (not Victoria Secret!)

moliva4

Most women don't wear the correct sized bras -until I found some decent sites online for my size (and not too expensive), my wearing the wrong size was mostly based on the fact that I couldn't find bras that fit me properly. I remember the first time putting on a bra that fit properly just being in shock at the difference in how it felt... Like "What?! Material is supposed to be able to actually touch my rib cage between the bottom of my cleavage?!?! That actually happens?!"

Kurindal

YES! THANK YOU! A true convert here! I went from not knowing my size (bra shopping was a nightmare that is comparable to shopping at a regular clothing store while being plus-sized; nothing fit properly) to 32GG (felt like the sexiest thing alive when I got that bra in the mail) to 32F (after dropping 40 lbs.). Will get to 32E soon, hopefully.

Thank you reddit.com/r/ABraThatFits!

I always see it promoting itself on reddit, and all the women rave about it, so I thought I could say something here since the subject of boobs were popular today and yesterday :P

Nice to see someone who knows the subreddit though!

frood

I think one way women get into the wrong size is they work their way into it over time. You have something that fits at one point in your life and as you grow you pick new sizes incorrectly without getting refit or change brands and everything gets completely confused. The place I go to now remeasures me every 6 months just to make sure...more often if I go in with a complaint.

Ohh, and I recently got a proper sports bra. No squishing. Miraculous.

Kurindal

I think one way women get into the wrong size is they work their way into it over time. You have something that fits at one point in your life and as you grow you pick new sizes incorrectly without getting refit or change brands and everything gets completely confused. The place I go to now remeasures me every 6 months just to make sure...more often if I go in with a complaint.

Ohh, and I recently got a proper sports bra. No squishing. Miraculous.

excellent points!

jennpaulson

Most women don't wear the correct sized bras -until I found some decent sites online for my size (and not too expensive), my wearing the wrong size was mostly based on the fact that I couldn't find bras that fit me properly. I remember the first time putting on a bra that fit properly just being in shock at the difference in how it felt... Like "What?! Material is supposed to be able to actually touch my rib cage between the bottom of my cleavage?!?! That actually happens?!"

This was me, I never had a bra that fit properly once I got to high school (and I was wearing the biggest I could find 36DDD). By the time I was in my early 20's I had really deep grooves in my shoulders from any support the bra gave me coming from the shoulders and not the back band. When I finally found a company (Bravissimo) that sold smaller back sizes with larger cup sizes it was like my whole world changed. You can't imagine how different a properly fitting bra can make you look (and feel).

I think the biggest problem for most women is that they don't have a clue how a properly fitted bra should look and feel (with the band taking the weight and supporting and with the wires laying flat against your rib cage and chest) The second biggest problem is with stores telling you you're a size you're not so that you will buy a bra from them. I've gone in VS with friends and it never fails that a sales woman will ask if she can help me find my size... Really?? No, you have no bras in here that will fit me (34HH). Thank you anyway.

diannethegeek

Part of the issue is that if a woman does not fit in the sizes that the 'normal' stores carry, the sales rep will use 'sister sizing' to make a sale (when you go up a band size, and down a cup size). The issue then is that some will 'sister size' TOO MUCH. La Senza had me sized as a 40 band when I was probably a 36, simply because they didn't have my cup size available. Now I am a 30/32 band and they would still probably size me as 36 if they thought they could make a sale.... one store tried to convince me my only option was to start wearing maternity bras :huh:

I've lost 50 lbs and I am still the same cup size I was before (depending on bra of course).

My advice, go to an actual high end lingerie store and get properly sized (not Victoria Secret!)

The sister sizing at some stores is ridiculous. I get that they can't allow a sale to walk out the door, but I wear a 34H and Soma.com's bra sizer thinks I should buy a 36C. The little admonition beside it that most women are wearing the wrong bra size cracks me up a little (if their calculator weren't quite so sad).