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

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  • 281Danielle
    281Danielle Posts: 113
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    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
    mildammm Posts: 67 Member
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    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
    transparentenigma Posts: 565 Member
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    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
    Erikalynne18 Posts: 558 Member
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    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
    moliva4 Posts: 29
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    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
    Kurindal Posts: 355
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    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
    frood Posts: 295 Member
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    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
    Kurindal Posts: 355
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    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
    jennpaulson Posts: 850 Member
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    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
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    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).
  • wjstoj
    wjstoj Posts: 884 Member
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    and as I said in one of yesterday's boob threads - I'm glad I don't have these problems with underwear sizes...I walk in grab a package of "mediums" and out the door I go
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    Yeah, at the regular bra stores they will want me to wear a bra that is at least 6 inches too big in the band. It's ridiculous.
  • Kurindal
    Kurindal Posts: 355
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    Yeah, at the regular bra stores they will want me to wear a bra that is at least 6 inches too big in the band. It's ridiculous.

    That's just stupid. People will lie about anything to make a sale.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    Yeah, at the regular bra stores they will want me to wear a bra that is at least 6 inches too big in the band. It's ridiculous.

    That's just stupid. People will lie about anything to make a sale.

    I think it's just how they were trained and they don't know there are other options and they feel like they need to help you purchase something. So, I don't think they are necessarily lying. They just don't know any better.

    It is just too bad they don't sell a wider range of sizes in most stores. But, they do in some stores, you just need to find the right stores.
  • Leonidas_meets_Spartacus
    Leonidas_meets_Spartacus Posts: 6,198 Member
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    I see the need for best selling book " Art and science of Boob size: Picking the right bra size."
  • obsidianwings
    obsidianwings Posts: 1,237 Member
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    I wear the wrong size a lot as my size is hard to find. I thought it was just uncomfortable, didn't realise it was a bigger problem than that. I blame the bra companies!
  • Kurindal
    Kurindal Posts: 355
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    I wear the wrong size a lot as my size is hard to find. I thought it was just uncomfortable, didn't realise it was a bigger problem than that. I blame the bra companies!

    Visit reddit's abrathatfits! There are a ton of people like you that now find it much easier to find their size!
  • KristinaB83
    KristinaB83 Posts: 440 Member
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    After years of trying to cram myself into Victoria's Secret bras, I finally went to a real bra store. Turns out I'm a 36I (i)... Main stream stores don't even carry that. I would never have been able to try one of those on in a fitting room.


    Edit for spelling.
  • obsidianwings
    obsidianwings Posts: 1,237 Member
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    I wear the wrong size a lot as my size is hard to find. I thought it was just uncomfortable, didn't realise it was a bigger problem than that. I blame the bra companies!

    Visit reddit's abrathatfits! There are a ton of people like you that now find it much easier to find their size!
    Thanks :)
    But I already know my bra size from some similar information I found awhile ago. Its just that noone near me stocks it (I have done a lot of phoning around the worst reply I got being "well we sometimes stock very small sizes but not really that small" LOL thanks lady!) I have one thats a perfect fit that I got online, and a couple of to big ones that I wear when this ones in the wash. I did buy a couple more online but they didn't fit properly even though they were technically the right size, can't keep spending money on stuff I can't try on. Just one of those things I guess.

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