Bra sizing after inches lost?

Options
ReyneDrop
ReyneDrop Posts: 68 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm sure most of you who have lost significant amounts of weight have bought new bras! Personally I hate when I see the tape measure decrease around my breasts, but when it decreases underneath it's all fine with me :)

Anyway, at my heaviest, I wore a 36 band, about a 36C. I still have some 36Cs and Bs, and last year I realized the bands were riding up in the back (sign they are too big), but I thought maybe it was just because they were stretched out. I bought some 34s (Cs) and they seemed to fit decently back then (although spillage WAS a problem).

Well, they wore out and the underwire started poking me, so I bought some new ones about a month ago in 34C.

I haven't lost any weight since then because I'm just getting back into the swing of school and being in the same place as my boyfriend (lots of date nights... we like food... maybe not a good thing), but the bands are riding up again.

I'm tempted to try a 32, but that just seems so small! And, I'm going to school in a small town where I've never seen a 32 in anything bigger than a C cup. My rib cage measurements are usually around 29-29.5" and over the top usually a 37-37.5" depending on time in my cycle.

And what about sports bras? I always seem to have this problem where they either totally smash me down (and it HURTS) or the band is too loose and I don't get proper support. Are there any good brands that provide comfortable support?
«1

Replies

  • louised88
    louised88 Posts: 159
    Options
    I'd get professionally measured if I were you, and take a few hours to go shopping and try on a lot of different styles and brands to find what works for you. As for sports bras, I've heard good things about Panache, and if you're in the UK/Ireland, Marks and Spencers do good ones. I'd try to find ones that have cup sizes, rather than the ones that come in small/medium/large, but again, getting properly measured and sized would be the first step.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Options
    I just went out last night to buy a bra and found that they don't sell them in my size and I'm going to have to order one online.

    I was wearing a 38D. As you say, the back band was rising up and the front was falling down because I'd lost a few inches.

    After trying on 20 bras last night going from 36D to 38DD, I realized that I needed a 36DD (or maybe DDD). And they don't sell them around here. DD starts at 38.

    Bought a 38DD and am ordering a 36DD in the same style online. I am surprised that weight loss made my breasts bigger, but it did. Actually, it made my ribs smaller so everything else looks better.

    BTW, try different styles. A lot of them are made for small busted women. I bought a Hanes or a Fruit of the Loom bra for $10 in a style I haven't worn since I was a teenager. And they fit better and looked better than the expensive ones I've been buying.
  • ReyneDrop
    ReyneDrop Posts: 68 Member
    Options
    I am surprised that weight loss made my breasts bigger, but it did. Actually, it made my ribs smaller so everything else looks better.

    Haha, yeah, looking at what I'm technically measured for vs what I used to wear, the cup size is bigger. I'm a pretty petite girl though and they just look smaller to me, but I think having a 4" band difference and going up only a cup size is obviously losing some boob volume. Boyfriend says they are perfect though :P I need to hit up a big city and try to find a good 32D bra.
  • Bonny619
    Bonny619 Posts: 311 Member
    Options
    32 SOUNDS so small to me too but it's really not! I'm 147 pounds and I wear a 34D and I still have 25 pounds to lose, I imagine I'll end up in a 32D when all is done. But I totally get what you mean, 32 sounds really small! But I bet you are there.

    ETA:

    A d cup on a 34 inch band is smaller than a D cup on a 38 inch band. I used to wear a 38C at my heaviest and my breasts WERE larger but I was wearing a smaller cup size but it actually wasn't smaller at all. Kind of crazy.
  • vodkoffee
    vodkoffee Posts: 160 Member
    Options
    This bra size calculator is on a weird site, but it has been super accurate for my friends and me. http://www.atlastravel.nazwa.pl/mini/
  • BaileyBoo13524
    BaileyBoo13524 Posts: 593 Member
    Options
    Go to Victorias Secret and get sized by a bra specialist. My bras fit the best they've ever fit since I went in :) good luck!
  • roguestates
    roguestates Posts: 223
    Options
    So many women wear the wrong size bra! Don't be afraid of a 32" band. I thought I was a 36DD for years before I got a proper fitting and discovered I was... 34G. Seriously, WTH, right? Now that I've lost some inches, I may be needing 32" bands soon. I also hope to lose some cup sizes because 34G is hard enough to find, I'm not too interested in being a 32H/I...
  • shenitamo
    shenitamo Posts: 147 Member
    Options
    Get fitted for sure....at a more upscale department store they tend to be more accurate...such as Nordstrom's (just my experience), and they have ladies who that is their specialty and they can point you to the right bras (everyday and sports) for you. I need to do that too, so sad that it is the ONLY place I do not want to lose weight, but it is the FIRST place it leaves from.....
  • Marjrides
    Marjrides Posts: 28 Member
    Options
    There is a company out of Seattle called Decent Exposures that makes products not sold in stores (only web, phone, or mail) but they have wonderful bras in many, many sizes, colors, etc. They make bras TO ORDER, and are very helpful in helping you to find a comfortable fit. Check out their web site and/or give them a call. I have worn their bras and other items for years!!! (and no! I don't work for them<g>). Check out www.decentexposures.com and see what you think.
  • HSingMomto7Kids
    HSingMomto7Kids Posts: 345 Member
    Options
    I swear mine are deformed and I was only losing 20 lbs but after 5 kids. lol
  • birdieaz
    birdieaz Posts: 448 Member
    Options
    As others have said, get professionally fitted.

    I would steer clear of Victorias Secret as they will give you a bra size that falls within the sizes they carry, regardless of whether it's correct or not. Nordstrom's is the best place from my experience. I'd been wearing a 34C but in fact I'm a 30DD, but can also wear a 32D. You will be surprised how comfortable your bras feel when they are the right size.
  • droogievesch
    droogievesch Posts: 202
    Options
    Take a tape measurer (or better yet, have somebody else take the tape measurer) and holding it nipple line wrap it around your body and pull it tight above your breasts. The number is your band size. Round down if you land on an odd number (33 to 32, 35 to 34, etc). Then, holding the tape at the nipple line wrap it around you at the fullest part of your bust. Subtract your first number from this number. If your answer is 1 you are an A, 2 is a B, and so on. So if you measured your frame to be 32 and your bust to be 36 you'd be a 32D.

    I worked for VS for over 3 years. Have seen and measured many women. Please try on before you buy, because each style is different (like jeans).
  • LotusInTheSky
    LotusInTheSky Posts: 16 Member
    Options
    Its so stupid that there is so much variation between brands sizing - even for things like bras. I have had trouble in the past trying to find good sports bras - and now I swear by Berlie. Their sports bras are awesome! Check them out if you are still looking. :)
  • mamakira
    mamakira Posts: 366
    Options
    I buy the same brand over and over again as I know it fits and feels still comfortable after a long day. But I still have to try them on, there are varieties in the shape of every model. I wear them also for my workouts. First time I had them measure me and in the shop they were very professionel. I highly recommend to have you measured every time you try a new brand, otherwise they will never really fit.

    I have a 85 D European measure at Triumpf, that can be completely different for another brand. Before my first weightloss I had a 90 D. Now it is still D but I fear I will shrink in a C cup soon. :(
    This is a 38 C American size at Victorias secret. It took me a long while to figure that out when I travelled to the US. But next time I go I will have them measure me again. Bodies change and bramodels change.

    I hope with more weight loss I won´t lose another cupsize, that would really suck!

    Buy rather something that really fits you than something cheap or fancy that is just bearable, it is not worth it.
  • georgie181
    georgie181 Posts: 68
    Options
    I am back to the bra size I was when at my smallest! (34B) and I don't have no clue what I will end up as! probably end up like a ten year old boy by the time I am finished, its really getting me down.......but then on the bright side I am looking better in other places then ever before. muscly bum, arms and shapely hips, so its all swings and roundabouts.
  • jenneal89
    jenneal89 Posts: 243
    Options
    You probably have to go down a band size and up a cup because when you decrease the band size the cup gets smaller too. Try a 32D and see if it fits. Also I would get professionally sized. I wear a 30D which is pretty hard to find but I did find a store that sells them. I didn't realize that the band was supposed to be so tight :)
  • waveindigo
    waveindigo Posts: 39 Member
    Options
    This bra size calculator is on a weird site, but it has been super accurate for my friends and me. http://www.atlastravel.nazwa.pl/mini/

    I tried that site and it was perfect! Good link :)
  • drusilla126
    drusilla126 Posts: 478 Member
    Options
    Yeah that was the first place the tape measure decreased on me so I feel your pain :(

    A lady who used to do measurements showed me how to measure yourself. All you do is measure around your rib cage under your boobs in inches. Then measure around the fullest part of your bust. Now for every inch in difference between those two numbers you go up a cup. For instance if you're a 36 around your ribs and a 40 around your bust you would go 37 (A) 38 (B) 39 (C) 40 (D.) So you'd be a 36D. She tried it with both hers and mine and it came out right so I believe her.
  • pixtotts
    pixtotts Posts: 552 Member
    Options
    im assuming here that bra size is worked out the same everywhere...
    in the uk you take the under bust measurement where the band sits, in inches, if its even add 4 if its odd add 5 ... then you take this from the measure bust measurement across the nipples if the cups of the bras you have are restrictive you take this without a bra if you can, if there not over the bra is best...
    if the two are the same - A
    1 different - B
    2 different - C
    and so on

    sooo using "My rib cage measurements are usually around 29-29.5" and over the top usually a 37-37.5" depending on time in my cycle. "
    29 + 5 = 34
    37 - 34 = 3
    34 - D

    then take that and go try :) if it doesnt feel right or they dont have that size you can go up in the one and down in the other for example i wear 38C if they dont have a 38 C i can wear a 40B i havent tried a 36D... but you get the idea...
    the band of a new bra should fit on its loosest loops to allow for loss in elasticity, and the piece between the cups should sit flat against your chest

    i always measure myself now because iv always looked smaller than iv measured (they used to comment on it when i went to get measured) and they do it by sight now a lot of places which is just stupid in my eyes because they would always be making me try something which isnt going to fit, but meh

    Hope this helps, good luck :)
    x
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    Options
    " My rib cage measurements are usually around 29-29.5" and over the top usually a 37-37.5" depending on time in my cycle. "

    With those measurements....you should probably be wearing a 30F! That won't be easy to find. You would have to mail order it.

Categories