Ladies: Bra Size changes?
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I'd like to imagine a world where bra sizes are determined by cup first (by volume) and then by length of the band. Now wouldn't that be something?
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The cup size merely reflects the difference between the measurement taken right under the breasts and the measurement that includes the breasts. It's not reflective of breast size itself. Below is a copy/paste from Bare Necessities website:
Size Conversion
BAND MINUS BUST DIFFERENCE
US EUROPEAN UK
less than 1" AA AA AA
1" A A A
2" B B B
3" C C C
4" D D D
5" DD/E E DD
6" DDD/F F E
7" DDDD/G G F
8" DDDDD/H H FF
9" DDDDDD/I G
10" J GG
11" K H
12" L HH
13" M J
Edit: forgive the formatting - it didn't hold up when I posted - but you get the general idea
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I don't have anything constructive to say I'm just jealous of all the casual talk about being D and DD cups. I had to gain 15 pounds just to fill out my C-cups. Just started losing again and I'm already almost back to my Junior department "B" cup bras.
You can have them!
*backs up flat bed trailer*
**loads bewbs**
I'll just need your address.0 -
This is the one thread where I kind of wish a fight would've broken out... just so I could say "Calm your tits" and have it be relavant.0
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maniacallaugh wrote: »This is the one thread where I kind of wish a fight would've broken out... just so I could say "Calm your tits" and have it be relavant.
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LOL no worries. I should have made it more clear in my original post. I know my correct size and needed to go up a true cup size (36D to DD, or as you have it, 4" to 5" difference). I was just trying to figure out the cause.The cup size merely reflects the difference between the measurement taken right under the breasts and the measurement that includes the breasts. It's not reflective of breast size itself. Below is a copy/paste from Bare Necessities website:
Size Conversion
BAND MINUS BUST DIFFERENCE
US EUROPEAN UK
less than 1" AA AA AA
1" A A A
2" B B B
3" C C C
4" D D D
5" DD/E E DD
6" DDD/F F E
7" DDDD/G G F
8" DDDDD/H H FF
9" DDDDDD/I G
10" J GG
11" K H
12" L HH
13" M J
Edit: forgive the formatting - it didn't hold up when I posted - but you get the general idea0 -
Since I don't personally know you I can only tell you my experience but I have a feeling you may have been wearing the wrong size. Which is very common. A year ago I measured a 48 J. That size is very hard to find. I have bought DDD bras with a bigger width. I had spillage but managed where. I've worn HH. I pretty much bought the biggest size I could find and make it work. Try to find a store in your area that has a salesperson who knows the correct way to measure bra sizes. Good luck. Side note: I'm sad because now that I lost weight in my bust they are 2 different sizes.0
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Basically, the cup size is the difference between the rib cage measurement (under the bust) It is getting harder and harder to find bras. I really hope the boobies start dropping fat soon.
More difficult and more expensive as the cup size increases...I have found. I share your hope.0 -
I'm sure that my size was correct when I purchased it, just not anymore LOL.purplemystra wrote: »Since I don't personally know you I can only tell you my experience but I have a feeling you may have been wearing the wrong size. Which is very common. A year ago I measured a 48 J. That size is very hard to find. I have bought DDD bras with a bigger width. I had spillage but managed where. I've worn HH. I pretty much bought the biggest size I could find and make it work. Try to find a store in your area that has a salesperson who knows the correct way to measure bra sizes. Good luck. Side note: I'm sad because now that I lost weight in my bust they are 2 different sizes.
Sorry to hear about your woes. Next time you look for bras, make sure that you fit them to the larger cup. If there isn't too large of a difference, I'd suggest trying cream bras that are better at molding around your tissue. If you feel there is too large of a difference, invest in some inserts and have them sewn in for a custom fit.0 -
daniwilford wrote: »Basically, the cup size is the difference between the rib cage measurement (under the bust) It is getting harder and harder to find bras. I really hope the boobies start dropping fat soon.
More difficult and more expensive as the cup size increases...I have found. I share your hope.
From my own personal experience and working in a bra store, I feel like most everyone has used a sister size where the band is too loose. I think this is probably the most common way women wear the wrong size. It might just be me not being a teenager anymore but I feel like a majority of women I encounter are navigating their way to larger cup sizes nowadays. I guess I'm just curious if the phenomenon has to do with more women getting informed on their correct sizes (hopefully!) or if anything has really changed between generations. Anyway, I hope the former is the case so stores like mine will get the hint and start carrying larger selections of cup sizes. It's definitely the #1 complaint I hear in the store.0 -
I have lost 90 pounds and I started at a 46 DDD and am now 38 DDD. The cup size is still DDD, but each time the band size gets smaller the actual size of the cup is smaller too. So, I may still be DDD, but the girls are significantly smaller.0
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I'm about to give up on wearing bras. I have no idea what my size is. 32 B or none at all works the best.0
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arditarose wrote: »I'm about to give up on wearing bras.
Soooooo not an option for many of us! I really can't even wear a sports bra unless I am doing something super low-impact, like walking. Anything more and I need an underwire bra and a shaper top.
OP, the VS sizes are definitely NOT standard, and I bet that this is where some of your confusion arises. I actually can fit into their bras, just barely, even though I am a larger size...but I decided that for the price, the quality and fit should be a lot better.
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Consider this another vote of appreciation for the bra-fitters at Nordstrom's.
They will not only find a bra with the right cup / band size, but one that flatters your shape. 0 -
Any chance you're pregnant?0
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Basically, the cup size is the difference between the rib cage measurement (under the bust) which determines your band size, and the measurement over the fullest part of the bust. You can easily gain a cup size while going down a band size if you lose fat from your upper back, sides, rib cage, etc., but not drop as much from the "girls" themselves. How and when you lose from the actual boobies depends solely on your body.
I have gone from a 50 F to a 44 I as I have lost weight. It is getting harder and harder to find bras. I really hope the boobies start dropping fat soon.
Preach! I have a terrible history of never losing weight in the ta-ta's. Just in the band. I've already dropped a band size, and had to go up a cup size to have bras fit.
And I'm only half way to goal. I'm wearing 34K bras.
I do not want to know what I'll be wearing minus another 45 pounds if the boobs don't shrink.
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missladyfit wrote: »daniwilford wrote: »Basically, the cup size is the difference between the rib cage measurement (under the bust) It is getting harder and harder to find bras. I really hope the boobies start dropping fat soon.
More difficult and more expensive as the cup size increases...I have found. I share your hope.
From my own personal experience and working in a bra store, I feel like most everyone has used a sister size where the band is too loose. I think this is probably the most common way women wear the wrong size. It might just be me not being a teenager anymore but I feel like a majority of women I encounter are navigating their way to larger cup sizes nowadays. I guess I'm just curious if the phenomenon has to do with more women getting informed on their correct sizes (hopefully!) or if anything has really changed between generations. Anyway, I hope the former is the case so stores like mine will get the hint and start carrying larger selections of cup sizes. It's definitely the #1 complaint I hear in the store.
Speaking as someone with a large chest, I have to agree with this, and place the blame squarely on US bra manufacturers and the outdated advice to add 4" to measurements. It was a cop-out to limit the amount of bra sizes offered.
The band does the heavy lifting (so to speak) when it comes to support. Had I been wearing a proper fitting bra from the beginning... had they been available (they weren't... I came of age before specialty shops and the internet), I doubt I'd have permanent shoulder dents from my bras.
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arditarose wrote: »I'm about to give up on wearing bras. I have no idea what my size is. 32 B or none at all works the best.
Bra sizing is simple. Measure under your breasts. That's your band size. If it's an uneven number, round up.
Bend over at the waist, parallel to the floor while you're naked. Measure around the fullest part of your bust. Subtract your underbust measurement from the measurement you just got to calculate your cup size. The difference you got?
1" = A
2" = B
3" = C
And so on...
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mamapeach910 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »I'm about to give up on wearing bras. I have no idea what my size is. 32 B or none at all works the best.
Bra sizing is simple. Measure under your breasts. That's your band size. If it's an uneven number, round up.
Bend over at the waist, parallel to the floor while you're naked. Measure around the fullest part of your bust. Subtract your underbust measurement from the measurement you just got to calculate your cup size. The difference you got?
1" = A
2" = B
3" = C
And so on...
Yeah, I know how to measure. Still bras fit funny and if I round up from my 31 inch measurement to 32, I only have a 1 inch difference in my bust but I don't think I'm at 32 a...or don't want to believe it.
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arditarose wrote: »mamapeach910 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »I'm about to give up on wearing bras. I have no idea what my size is. 32 B or none at all works the best.
Bra sizing is simple. Measure under your breasts. That's your band size. If it's an uneven number, round up.
Bend over at the waist, parallel to the floor while you're naked. Measure around the fullest part of your bust. Subtract your underbust measurement from the measurement you just got to calculate your cup size. The difference you got?
1" = A
2" = B
3" = C
And so on...
Yeah, I know how to measure. Still bras fit funny and if I round up from my 31 inch measurement to 32, I only have a 1 inch difference in my bust but I don't think I'm at 32 a...or don't want to believe it.
Maybe try on some 30's then. If the band is hella loose on the 32, maybe you're someone who should go down instead of up.
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azulvioleta6 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »I'm about to give up on wearing bras.
Soooooo not an option for many of us! I really can't even wear a sports bra unless I am doing something super low-impact, like walking. Anything more and I need an underwire bra and a shaper top.
OP, the VS sizes are definitely NOT standard, and I bet that this is where some of your confusion arises. I actually can fit into their bras, just barely, even though I am a larger size...but I decided that for the price, the quality and fit should be a lot better.
The bending over at waist measurement never worked for me, probably because gravity works against me, if you know what I mean. LOL. Otherwise I'd be a 34I instead of a 34F.
As for VS bras, believe me when I say I've tried on every bra currently in the store, and for each I've been fitted to be the same size (A solid 36D in all styles before my recent weight loss). Now of course not all of them are flattering or comfortable, but in terms of cup volume and band length they were the same. This may not translate to other brands (ex. I've heard from customers that CK bras are slightly smaller overall), but within the brand the sizing seems pretty standard. Again, this is my personal testimony but I would think that if it wasn't true then I would hear more about it directly from my customers as they were trying them on.
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I know it varies from person to person, but I've always done the bust difference before rounding the band size, but that's because I round down instead of rounding up. If you're measuring 31 and 33, then I'd put you in a 30B (that is, if we carried that in storearditarose wrote: »
Yeah, I know how to measure. Still bras fit funny and if I round up from my 31 inch measurement to 32, I only have a 1 inch difference in my bust but I don't think I'm at 32 a...or don't want to believe it.
)
I'm currently measuring at 35 and 41, so 6 = DDD, and then round down to 34. I think the rounding down in band size instead of rounding up is more important in larger busts because you need more support. Also, many of the women I see with larger busts are larger women. I think this contributes to the sister sizing issue I mentioned before because looser band = less back bulge. I always try to convince them that this is the size they really should be wearing and that back smoothing options are always available if that's their concern.0 -
This discussion has cured me of wanting bigger boobies..... I feel like bras were made to torture women all the way from buying to wearing them. I like my sports bras. I gave up on underwire a few months ago. I may buy one for special dresses but that thing is comming off the minute I get home. 0
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LOL! I definitely hear what you're saying. But I'm insecure about my girls not holding up as I get older (or even just now), so I'm always in the market for a good supportive bra. I'd look into the pros and cons of wearing compression bras (assuming those are the types of sports bras you use) all the time though.lizholloway1003 wrote: »This discussion has cured me of wanting bigger boobies..... I feel like bras were made to torture women all the way from buying to wearing them. I like my sports bras. I gave up on underwire a few months ago. I may buy one for special dresses but that thing is comming off the minute I get home.0 -
I lost 6 inches from my ribs but less off boobs, so 38D to 32E! Makes my norks sound huge lol!0
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Numberwang22 wrote: »I lost 6 inches from my ribs but less off boobs, so 38D to 32E! Makes my norks sound huge lol!
You're like me! Don't they feel huge now? I keep waiting for someone to ask me for my plastic surgeon's information. 0 -
Numberwang22 wrote: »I lost 6 inches from my ribs but less off boobs, so 38D to 32E! Makes my norks sound huge lol!
You're like me! Don't they feel huge now? I keep waiting for someone to ask me for my plastic surgeon's information.
Ha ha yes! Smaller but proportionally bigger... If I was taller would look like a femme-bot 0 -
missladyfit wrote: »Again, I needed the bigger cup size before even attempting to size down the band. So I'm still not sure exactly what's going on but I guess it is what it is.
Maybe we should all start a pool of gently-used bras until we all hit our goal weights. LOL
Could you have lost fat deposits where the bridge of your bra sits? If your breast size didn't change, the distance between the apex (nipple) and your chest wall would increase (and therefore the total distance from the bridge side to outer edge would also increase) if there was no longer a fat pad pushing the bridge outward.
I trained as a custom bra-maker, and a bridge that sat away from the chest wall was a sure sign that the cups were too small, so if you essentially "push your chest wall back" by losing fat there, and had no change in breast size the result would be that the cup that fit previously would then become too small.
I don't know if that makes sense. I usually like to make diagrams, lol.
Edit: I thought of an analogy, admittedly a bit silly, but here it is: Two mountains, partially submerged. When the water level recedes, the total volume above water is greater, because the mountains rest on the sea bed (chest wall) rather than the surface of the water.0 -
I'm currently rocking the "no *kitten*, huge boob" look. HAWT.
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MakePeasNotWar wrote: »
I trained as a custom bra-maker, and a bridge that sat away from the chest wall was a sure sign that the cups were too small, so if you essentially "push your chest wall back" by losing fat there, and had no change in breast size the result would be that the cup that fit previously would then become too small.
I don't know if that makes sense. I usually like to make diagrams, lol.
Ah. That makes complete sense. Even in my larger band size my bridge sat way out. Now it's snug up against my chest. (I just checked at work, I hope everyone saw.)
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