"THE GIRLS": YOUR BODY IS CHANGING - are you in the right si
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MzFury
Posts: 283 Member
One of my MFP friends just had a dramatic shift in measurements and was looking for some bra sizing advice. I answered and decided to stick this up here and on my blog, for anyone else feeling foggy...
Are you wearing the right bra size? Chances are good, if you live in the US, that you aren't. There is evidence that at least half of women are wearing bras that are too large in the band, too small in the cup, or generally ill fitted. Why would we do this? Because we have no other options, is why. Even if you don't have larger boobs, you may well have a smaller chest than you can find a band for, getting stuck with a 36 or 34 at best when maybe you need a 32 or even smaller. Many women are narrowest at this point on their torso.
I struggled from my early twenties with a hard-to-fit bust, because US brands and stores generally carry a very narrow range of bra sizes. Fortunately, I knew I had to visit boutique/specialist lingerie shops to get the right sizes, and sometimes I could even find something on sale. But it was a miserable world of high prices and low availability of styles, for the most part.
Living in England 5 years, I was absolutely graced by what I think are much better cultural perceptions of the female body. Not only is there a great deal less judgement than here, but a wide range of bra sizing and availability in beautiful styles is standard. The wonderful shop Bravissimo (www.bravissimo.com - now shipping to America) even has walk-in stores around the country, and the major department stores carry great range for decent prices. Marks & Spencer (www.marksandspencer.com), which also ships to the US, often has very cheap and 2-for-1 bras in a wider range of sizes.
If you're losing weight, your bra size is changing. If you've been in crappy bras your whole life, I suggest you remeasure and start treating yourself to new underwear.
As a good starting point, measure under your bust for your band size (DO NOT add inches to it, DO NOT measure OVER your bust, and go up if you are an odd number - my chest is 33" and I wear a 34 band) and then take the difference in inches between that and your bust measurement at fullest part and convert to cup sizes - one inch per letter-size. This is likely to look like: US: A, B, C, D, DD, DDD, G (not sure after that) UK: A, B, C, D, DD, E, F, FF, G, GG, H, HH... and higher, depending on brand. Check out this page from Fig Leaves for more fitting advice: http://www.figleaves.com/us/fitting_room.asp?cat=189&txt=5679. I have a 33" chest and a 40.5" bust - I typically wear a 34F UK/EU or a 34G US.
There are a few US brands offering up to DDD cups and maybe G, but not a lot. Your better department store should have a wide range of sizes in cheaply made bras that cost a bit less, along the back wall, usually, that you can go try on to get a quick feel for whether you need a new size, and maybe afford as interim-sizes if you're losing weight and don't want to spend a lot of money on new underwear.
But now's a groovy time to treat yourself, too... So don't forget to measure the girls regularly as you shrink, and treat them - and your back, beauty and confidence - right.
Are you wearing the right bra size? Chances are good, if you live in the US, that you aren't. There is evidence that at least half of women are wearing bras that are too large in the band, too small in the cup, or generally ill fitted. Why would we do this? Because we have no other options, is why. Even if you don't have larger boobs, you may well have a smaller chest than you can find a band for, getting stuck with a 36 or 34 at best when maybe you need a 32 or even smaller. Many women are narrowest at this point on their torso.
I struggled from my early twenties with a hard-to-fit bust, because US brands and stores generally carry a very narrow range of bra sizes. Fortunately, I knew I had to visit boutique/specialist lingerie shops to get the right sizes, and sometimes I could even find something on sale. But it was a miserable world of high prices and low availability of styles, for the most part.
Living in England 5 years, I was absolutely graced by what I think are much better cultural perceptions of the female body. Not only is there a great deal less judgement than here, but a wide range of bra sizing and availability in beautiful styles is standard. The wonderful shop Bravissimo (www.bravissimo.com - now shipping to America) even has walk-in stores around the country, and the major department stores carry great range for decent prices. Marks & Spencer (www.marksandspencer.com), which also ships to the US, often has very cheap and 2-for-1 bras in a wider range of sizes.
If you're losing weight, your bra size is changing. If you've been in crappy bras your whole life, I suggest you remeasure and start treating yourself to new underwear.
As a good starting point, measure under your bust for your band size (DO NOT add inches to it, DO NOT measure OVER your bust, and go up if you are an odd number - my chest is 33" and I wear a 34 band) and then take the difference in inches between that and your bust measurement at fullest part and convert to cup sizes - one inch per letter-size. This is likely to look like: US: A, B, C, D, DD, DDD, G (not sure after that) UK: A, B, C, D, DD, E, F, FF, G, GG, H, HH... and higher, depending on brand. Check out this page from Fig Leaves for more fitting advice: http://www.figleaves.com/us/fitting_room.asp?cat=189&txt=5679. I have a 33" chest and a 40.5" bust - I typically wear a 34F UK/EU or a 34G US.
There are a few US brands offering up to DDD cups and maybe G, but not a lot. Your better department store should have a wide range of sizes in cheaply made bras that cost a bit less, along the back wall, usually, that you can go try on to get a quick feel for whether you need a new size, and maybe afford as interim-sizes if you're losing weight and don't want to spend a lot of money on new underwear.
But now's a groovy time to treat yourself, too... So don't forget to measure the girls regularly as you shrink, and treat them - and your back, beauty and confidence - right.
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Replies
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Thank you for that information. I just bought some new bras and they seem to fit beautifully, but I don't really know what size I am at. Your measuring tips will help me to find out for sure.0
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so i'm a 28DDD?
lol..
under my chest is 28 around
my boobs are 34 inches around
I wear a 32B at the moment.
hahaaa I don't thin 28DDD is a bra size.0 -
I've never been fitted for a bra in my life. I've always just bought what I felt fit properly. For a lark, I followed your measuring instructions, and, lo and behold, came up with the size I've pretty much always worn. I am looking forward to that size becoming smaller in the future, though, and will keep your measuring guidelines in mind. Thanks!0
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As a 32F at my current weight, and around a 30DD/E at my ideal weight, I am very thankful for Bravissimo and some of the little independent shops. I love the clothes they do too. I can get tops and dresses that fit round the waist but still go over my boobs without pulling at the seams. Great place! Thanks for posting this so others can experience the joys of shopping with larger assets :laugh:0
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What's worse than not knowing your own size is when you do find out your size, then find out bras of the same size are not created equally. When I was at my biggest, I ordered two bras. Both 54B. When I held them up side by side, one was 4 inches longer than the other. How exactly is that possibly if they are supposed to be the same size!!! Obviously one fit and one did not. So it doesn't help to know your size when the manufacturers don't stick to a measurement!0
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Whew!!! I just ordered new bras,thankfully these gave me the same size that the instructions on onehanesplace.com gave me.Funny thing is I was just telling hubby that I hope I measured correctly because I have not worn the new size in many years, and then I found this thread!!0
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What's worse than not knowing your own size is when you do find out your size, then find out bras of the same size are not created equally. When I was at my biggest, I ordered two bras. Both 54B. When I held them up side by side, one was 4 inches longer than the other. How exactly is that possibly if they are supposed to be the same size!!! Obviously one fit and one did not. So it doesn't help to know your size when the manufacturers don't stick to a measurement!
Same bra? Or different?0
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